tikidoc

That makes sense. I was thinking hanging weight. In any case, if your experience is anything like mine was you will be amazed just how large and unruly a hog that size is on the butchering table. No I won't, because I will not see the pig until he is in neat little vacuum packed packages! The chronology - I pay the farmer, the farmer delivers the pig to the butcher, the butcher processes the pig, I pay the butcher for their services and pick up the packages! I'll do my own chickens (not happily) but that's my limit!

Country, no hurry, the hog doesn't even go to the butcher until the first week of December, so we won't have it until a couple weeks later. And we are never growing Cornish crosses again. They stink, they have a really high mortality rate compared to other chickens, and they are just disgusting creatures. Not worth it for the meat, and when I eat them I just picture those nasty creatures wallowing in their own poop. I threw away the skin when I ate them for that reason. Blech. Vengroff, I contacted the farmer and this is what she said: " I used the formula on this site http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/541/weighing-a-pig-without-a-scale. He has a 53 inch girth and 59 inch length. Using the formula 53 inches squared gives me 2,809 multiplied by length gives me 165,731, divided by 400 equals 414.33 pounds. His weight. Hanging weight is usually 75%, this web site says 72%. So multiply 414.33 pounds by 72% and that will give a hanging weight of 298.52 pounds." And "I do feed different than the average hog feeder, not too many have milk cows to feed raw milk We do not feed garbage. They are feed quality grass and grass hay too, I eat them too so I am feeding them what I want to eat. My hogs do not smell because they are healthy. I have heard hogs fed garbage and on concrete and small pens can stink but mine don't. They are tame and love scratches so they live a good life outside on dirt not concrete where they can be hogs. Another thing, mine actually have room to get exercise." Looking forward to non-supermarket pork.

Country, I think the two most important ingredients for Cuban pork roast are time and good pork. But I'll dig up the recipe I have used and post it here. It's been a while since I made it. And I'd love a recipe for pork liver. I don't think I have ever eaten pork liver. Come to think of it, I think all the livers I have eaten have been from birds (or one kind of fish). And yes, we have been to Polyface once, even briefly met Joel Salatin. He seems like a real character. We recently moved from a small farm in the Johnson City TN area to another small farm about 1/2 hour west of Richmond, 3 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake in August. Anyone want to buy a beautiful custom log home with a killer kitchen on 22 acres in TN, LOL? Anyway, we stopped at Polyface once on a trip between TN and VA. It's a fascinating place. Way off the beaten path - you have to take all kinds of narrow twisty roads to get to the farm. Looks kinda dumpy, honestly, but remarkably efficient in use of resources, and pretty doesn't grow livestock. One of our "to do" projects is building a chicken tractor based on Salatin's design, which is a moveable pen that you can use to have the birds pick over the manure of the cows and horses, making for healthier birds and pastures. Maybe next spring, when we get some broiler chicks. We just have a small flock of laying hens at the moment. We also learned from him about a breed of broilers that we want to try, the "Freedom Ranger", which puts on weight fairly quickly but acts like a fairly normal chicken, unlike the Cornish crosses used for most commercial birds. We raised a crop of them for the freezer once and they were freaks. They literally did not walk, just sat next to their feed bowl and ate and crapped in one location. No interest in "free ranging". Anyone who lives in this part of the country who has an interest in farming, either as a fellow farmer or as a consumer, should try to stop by Polyface at some point (or at least take a look at Salatin's books).

Sorry, the word "closely" was a typo, should be close-by. Autocorrect strikes again. And yes, we have a pretty big freezer. It fit most of a year old steer last year. And we have a couple old refrigerators we have acquired over the years that can be put into service if we need a little more freezer space. Not sure on the size, I am going by what the farmer told me. Even if quite a bit smaller, the price is reasonable for a heritage breed pig (actually a cross of two heritage breeds), fed a diet that makes for healthy eating. I guess we'll see once it goes to the butcher. Our local high-end butcher (who is awesome, by the way, but I can't afford him for every day) who buys mostly local grass fed animals for his shop (including from Polyface Farm, which is fairly close) charges a lot more than what I will be paying for the pig and the butcher, even if I cut the estimated weight substantially.

For those thinking of getting one of these ovens, sign up at Bed Bath and Beyond and they will send you a 20% off coupon for one item. They sell the Breville oven for $250, so the coupon gets it down to $200. I really love mine. I have even based ciabatta in it using the convection setting. It does a great job and heats up very quickly. I need to put my oven thermometer in it to check temperatures, but as far as cook times, it has been spot on with most recipes, so I suspect it is pretty close. Jess

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions - I'm taking notes for the sheet that goes to the butcher - they have a sheet you are supposed to fill out, but I'm going to attach an extra sheet. I'm going to try to keep pretty much everything, so yes, feet, head, etc. I've never had feet but I'm willing to give it a try. I'm asking for skin-on wherever possible. Avaserfi, the pig is a 9 month old Tamsworth/Gloucestershire Old Spots cross, raised primarily on raw milk and pasture - minimal grain. Old Spots get pretty big so I guess he takes after that side of the family! As for how we use pork, it is really pretty variable. We do pulled pork, roast Cuban style, grilled tenderloin. I recently picked up a book on charcuterie and we have a ceramic smoker (similar to a big green egg) so we are planning on doing our own smoking and curing. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a good and reasonably priced vacuum sealer for home use, so I think I will ask them to cut the primals into manageable chunks. No steaks but maybe 3 big pieces per side of the loin (bone in) and the shoulder and hams cut into ~5# pieces. The sides, I will get whole, since we will likely smoke/cure one side at a time. Keep the advice coming!!!

We recently moved to rural Virginia, and have found a local farmer selling whole pastured hogs and we are buying one, about 400# on the hoof. They will deliver to a closely USDA approved butcher, and I could use some suggestions as to how to instruct the butcher, and any good resources online, so I can get the most out of the pig. In addition to the major cuts, I'm planning to ask for the extra fat, the caul fat, soup bones, probably some skin, and for all the scraps to be packaged in pieces rather than ground, so I can grind it myself for sausage. Any other tips? And good ideas for things to do with pig organ meats? Is it worth taking the head or should I just stick with the jowls (hubby is a bit squeamish about the head)? Thanks!