He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.

That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.

The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!

I'll report in March or April.

Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 2007-08-29, modom (palindrome guy) > wrote:
> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate

> Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.

You sound happier than a pig inna waller.

nb

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>
> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>
> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>
> I'll report in March or April.
>
> Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
> --
>
> modom
>

well if you like pork that much

I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?

In article >,
"modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:

> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>
> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>
> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>
> I'll report in March or April.
>
> Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
> --
>
> modom

What's the price if you don't mind me asking? Price on the hoof or
hanging weight or wrapped and butchered? I'm assuming they'll butcher
to your specs? I cry for happy you. My pigmeat guy
(http://www.amorpork.com) will be here on Saturday -- your post reminded
me to check, thank you. Great bacon and sausage patties. Links are
dry. I've not tried his ham.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - Fair baking

In article >,
Picasso > wrote:
> well if you like pork that much
>
> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?

Good question. I think the Pork Producers Council coined the phrase,
"The other white meat" some years back to tout the "new" pork's
leanness. Marketing.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - Fair baking

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> What's the price if you don't mind me asking? Price on the hoof or
> hanging weight or wrapped and butchered? I'm assuming they'll butcher
> to your specs? I cry for happy you. My pigmeat guy
> (http://www.amorpork.com) will be here on Saturday -- your post reminded
> me to check, thank you. Great bacon and sausage patties. Links are
> dry. I've not tried his ham.

My new beloved organic, pastured pork farmer's breakfast sausage is
marvelous. I kick myself for only having purchased 2 pounds of it. I
wasn't as nuts about the Italian-needed more seasoning IMO and was a bit
too finely textured. The bacon is delicious and produces an abundance of
drippings. I keep thinking I need to get some green tomatoes to fry in
them? Or do a fried chicken dinner, which I usually use peanut oil for
but with all this extra pork drippings it might be good to mix it up a
bit .

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >,
> Picasso > wrote:
>> well if you like pork that much
>>
>> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?
>
> Good question. I think the Pork Producers Council coined the phrase,
> "The other white meat" some years back to tout the "new" pork's
> leanness. Marketing.

this new to me "pastured pork" is darker than any pork I've purchased in
the store.

Goomba38 > wrote:

> this new to me "pastured pork" is darker than any pork I've
> purchased in the store.

For sure. It's the only way to go, as far as I'm concerned.

Steve

In article >,
Picasso > wrote:

> modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
> > He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> > grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> > hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
> >
> > That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
> > loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
> > ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
> >
> > The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
> >
> > I'll report in March or April.
> >
> > Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
> > --
> >
> > modom
> >
>
> well if you like pork that much
>
> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?

Yes.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

"modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>
> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>
> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!

I think you'd be much sager to roast that particular fresh ham, and
with minimal adulteration... save the curing (laboratory
experimentation) for a typical run of the sty stupidmarket ham....
what you're proposing reminds of those pinheads who wanna marinate
USDA Prime beef steak... may as well have a pepperoni entree.

Rytek Kutas' book "Great Sausage and Meat Curing" has excellent
instructions. I would suggest that ham from a 200lb pig will be too
small for prosciutto... just the ham portion with none of the round or
shank needs to weigh about 15lbs, needs to be properly boned, and
several need to be prepared pressed together to achieve good results
(pressed during curing to 2" thick)... it's a lengthy processs and
hardly worth it for just one ham. And if this is as I suspect your
first attempt I would plead that you experiment with more commonly
available ham, you'll probably destroy quite a few learning before you
achieve success... I would suggest that you enjoy this one specially
raised ham without subjecting it to anything more than s n' p and the
long heat of a medium oven... no garlic, no rubs, no herbs and
definitely no smoking... with fine meat less is more, a quality fresh
ham is the finast eating meat bar none. Remember, no matter how
impressive sounding the name, cured ham is always just preserved
meat. I would also suggest not using any portion of that pig for
sausage either... better to mechanically tenderize the tougher cuts
and use as cutlets and kabobs... pork shoulder makes a great cutlet
parm. The fatty trimmings can be rendered for excellent cooking/
baking fat (can be frozen), the skin for cracklins'. If you can
wrangle a passel of knuckles those you can smoke.

Enjoy.

Sheldon

In article >, ly
says...
> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>
> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>
> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>
> I'll report in March or April.
>
> Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
> --
>
> modom
>
>

Sounds like it'll be fun to eat when all that work is done.

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:12:29 -0500, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> > In article >,
> > Picasso > wrote:
> >> well if you like pork that much
> >>
> >> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?
> >
> > Good question. I think the Pork Producers Council coined the phrase,
> > "The other white meat" some years back to tout the "new" pork's
> > leanness. Marketing.
>
> If it has a backbone and working boobs, it's red meat.
>
> -sw

Really? Who decided that? Color me Curious.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - Fair baking

Steve Wertz wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > Steve Wertz wrote:
>
> >> If it has a backbone and working boobs, it's red meat.
>
> > Really? Who decided that? Color me Curious.
>
> Any meat from a mammal is considered red meat.
>
> A mammal is defined as having a backbone and working mammary
> glands (at least in the female of the species).
>
> At least that's how I remember it.

Mammal : any of a class (Mammalia) of warm-blooded higher vertebrates
(as placentals, marsupials, or monotremes) that nourish their young
with milk secreted by mammary glands, have the skin usually more or
less covered with hair, and include humans

"Red meat/white meat" is not a scientific catagory, it's a culinary
term, highly judgemental at best.

http://www.answers.com/topic/white-m...=entertainment


Sheldon

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >,
> Picasso > wrote:
>> well if you like pork that much
>>
>> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?
>
> Good question. I think the Pork Producers Council coined the phrase,
> "The other white meat" some years back to tout the "new" pork's
> leanness. Marketing.



Yabbut according to my cardiologist there's more cholesterol in pork,
"Don't let them fool you."

gloria p

On Aug 29, 10:18?pm, Puester > wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > In article >,
> > Picasso > wrote:
> >> well if you like pork that much
>
> >> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?
>
> > Good question. I think the Pork Producers Council coined the phrase,
> > "The other white meat" some years back to tout the "new" pork's
> > leanness. Marketing.
>
> Yabbut according to my cardiologist there's more cholesterol in pork.

If your Cardiologist made that statement he or she is an imbecile...
the lean portion of either pork or beef contains the same quantity of
cholesterol by weight. Naturally how one trims the fatty portion will
dictate how much fat is ingested and therefore how much cholesterol.
But if your Cardiologist had an IQ he or she would realize that how
much cholesterol one ingests by eating meat depends entirely on which
cuts and how one trims the fat. Beef brisket contains a lot more fat
than pork loin. Bacon contains a lot more fat than beef round.

On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:08:48 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>In article >,
> "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
>
>> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
>> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
>> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>>
>> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
>> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
>> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>>
>> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>>
>> I'll report in March or April.
>>
>> Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.

>What's the price if you don't mind me asking? Price on the hoof or
>hanging weight or wrapped and butchered? I'm assuming they'll butcher
>to your specs? I cry for happy you. My pigmeat guy
>(http://www.amorpork.com) will be here on Saturday -- your post reminded
>me to check, thank you. Great bacon and sausage patties. Links are
>dry. I've not tried his ham.

It's pretty pricey. About $4.50 a pound. The final bill is yet to
come, so the estimate is rough. The price is for butchered and
wrapped chunks o' pig. He and I discussed the cuts I wanted and what
I listed above is a rough laundry list of what I came up with. Ruhlman
and Polcyn's "Charcuterie" passed before my eyes as I ordered the
jowls and the belly and the ham. The pig man ordinarily smokes bacon
for his customers. Hams, too. He was amused and tolerant that I
wanted that privilege for myself.

Of course, prosciutto isn't smoked, and now I have to find a place
that's 60 F to hang the meat for 5-6 months. I need a cave.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:34:30 -0700, Sheldon > wrote:

>"modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
>> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
>> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
>> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>>
>> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
>> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
>> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>>
>> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>
>I think you'd be much sager to roast that particular fresh ham, and
>with minimal adulteration... save the curing (laboratory
>experimentation) for a typical run of the sty stupidmarket ham....
>what you're proposing reminds of those pinheads who wanna marinate
>USDA Prime beef steak... may as well have a pepperoni entree.
>
Ruhlman and Polcyn in "Charcuterie" advise differently. They write:
"This ham is in the style of the most famous hams, prosciutto di Parma
and San Daniele, Bayonne, and Serrano. ...[T]he quality of the end
result is entirely dependent on the hog, where it lived, what it ate,
how fat it grew. We highly recommend this recipe and technique to
anyone who has access to carefully grown or organically raised hogs.

The recipe calls for a 12 - 15 pound fresh ham and a long cure. We
shall see.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:08:48 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
>> In article >,
>> "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
>>
>>> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
>>> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
>>> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>>>
>>> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
>>> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
>>> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>>>
>>> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>>>
>>> I'll report in March or April.
>>>
>>> Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
>
>> What's the price if you don't mind me asking? Price on the hoof or
>> hanging weight or wrapped and butchered? I'm assuming they'll butcher
>> to your specs? I cry for happy you. My pigmeat guy
>> (http://www.amorpork.com) will be here on Saturday -- your post reminded
>> me to check, thank you. Great bacon and sausage patties. Links are
>> dry. I've not tried his ham.
>
> It's pretty pricey. About $4.50 a pound. The final bill is yet to
> come, so the estimate is rough. The price is for butchered and
> wrapped chunks o' pig. He and I discussed the cuts I wanted and what
> I listed above is a rough laundry list of what I came up with. Ruhlman
> and Polcyn's "Charcuterie" passed before my eyes as I ordered the
> jowls and the belly and the ham. The pig man ordinarily smokes bacon
> for his customers. Hams, too. He was amused and tolerant that I
> wanted that privilege for myself.
>
> Of course, prosciutto isn't smoked, and now I have to find a place
> that's 60 F to hang the meat for 5-6 months. I need a cave.
> --
>
> modom
>


How much per pound for just a hanging half-a-pig? In other words, are
you paying a fortune for him to cut it up? And does he weigh it before
or after he cuts and wraps it? Do you get all the scraps?

As much as I hate it, I agree with Sheldon about the fresh ham being a
better use than curing it. I've butchered hogs with my dad, and we
cured the hams and bacon. The meat was extraordinary (you could almost
taste the crickets, LOL) but the ham was not nearly as good as what we
could buy already cured from a good butcher. The bacon OTOH was
wonderful. And the fresh lard made the best pound cakes ever.

Bob

On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:41:51 -0500, "modom (palindrome guy)"
> wrote:


>Of course, prosciutto isn't smoked, and now I have to find a place
>that's 60 F to hang the meat for 5-6 months. I need a cave.
>--
>
>modom

One idea I am hearing about on eGullet, on the Charcuterie thread, is
the idea of using one of those wine refrigerators as a place to cure
stuff.

Seems it will maintain the correct temperature, and will also maintain
the humidity needed for some items.

This might be in my future.

Christine

"modom (palindrome guy)" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
> It's pretty pricey. About $4.50 a pound. The final bill is yet to
> come, so the estimate is rough. The price is for butchered and
> wrapped chunks o' pig.

Just in case you are curious, I bought similar last autumn and paid ?8
(+-$11) per kilo (2.2 lb.) but they did not butcher it as I asked. I was
pretty disappointed because I wanted to corn a ham. It is, however, the
best pork I have tasted in decades.

--
Food and fashion
http://www.judithgreenwood.com

Sheldon wrote:

> If your Cardiologist made that statement he or she is an imbecile...
> the lean portion of either pork or beef contains the same quantity of
> cholesterol by weight.

Doctors are not nutritionists.

On Aug 30, 6:27?am, Goomba38 > wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> > If your Cardiologist made that statement he or she is an imbecile...
> > the lean portion of either pork or beef contains the same quantity of
> > cholesterol by weight.
>
> Doctors are not nutritionists.

Has not a whit to do with being a nutritionist. Has to do with basic
intelligence and common sense... actually all six of my cat's brains
can ascertain within nanoseconds that porterhouse contains more
cholesterol than round... and none have a diploma.

Sheldon Lips

Sheldon wrote:
> On Aug 30, 6:27?am, Goomba38 > wrote:
>> Sheldon wrote:
>>> If your Cardiologist made that statement he or she is an imbecile...
>>> the lean portion of either pork or beef contains the same quantity of
>>> cholesterol by weight.
>> Doctors are not nutritionists.
>
> Has not a whit to do with being a nutritionist. Has to do with basic
> intelligence and common sense... actually all six of my cat's brains
> can ascertain within nanoseconds that porterhouse contains more
> cholesterol than round... and none have a diploma.
>
> Sheldon Lips
>
I'm not disputing that porterhouses contain more cholesterol. I just
find it odd that people expect doctors to be nutritionists who can spout
off fat contents or nutritional values of particular pieces of meat for
some odd reason? I can't grasp where they got the idea that they should be?
I just used your post to voice this statement. It was not a statement
about what you said exactly...

In article >,
"modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:

> It's pretty pricey. About $4.50 a pound.

And probably worth it. Have you had pigmeat from him before?


> The final bill is yet to come, so the estimate is rough. The price
> is for butchered and wrapped chunks o' pig. He and I discussed the
> cuts I wanted
> modom


That was the part I liked about ordering a pig (believe I did it once)
or a quarter of beef -- I could specify thickness of chops and steaks,
how I wanted the round steaks cut, weight of ground beef, etc.

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
For your listening pleasu http://www.am1500.com/pcast/80509.mp3 --
from the MN State Fair, 8-29-07

Steve Wertz wrote:

> A chicken thigh, per 100grams, has about 33% more cholesterol
> than a country style rib (but it has less fat).
>
> Chicken skin is a killer....good snack.
> http://i10.tinypic.com/4q8ab2e.jpg
>
> -sw

That picture made me drool. Omigod, I love fried chicken skin, lightly
salted. I also love pork fat. There is no cure for me, I should just
jump off a bridge. My cholesterol is always good though. Go figure.

Becca

modom (palindrome guy) > wrote:

> belly (bacon!)

Here is a nice article by the estimable Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
about bacon among other things; there is a recipe, too:
<http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/foodanddrink/hughfearnleywhittingstall/story/0,,1945134,00.html>.

Victor

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:25:40 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>In article >,
> "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
>
>> It's pretty pricey. About $4.50 a pound.
>
>And probably worth it. Have you had pigmeat from him before?

Not from this purveyor, but I've had pastured pork from others who
offer similar meats in this region. There are several like minded
types around here. This guy is a cohort of the egg lady, about whom I
have spoken in the past, so I'm up for the delivery.

Next time, I want to score some feral pork, but I'll wait till the
Guanciale from this batch is cured before proceeding. (And I'll have
to check on the recommendations of the experts about trichinosis and
killing the little wormy parasitic *******s via cold and/or heat, but
that's another matter.)
>
>That was the part I liked about ordering a pig (believe I did it once)
>or a quarter of beef -- I could specify thickness of chops and steaks,
>how I wanted the round steaks cut, weight of ground beef, etc.

D said she could tell that I had bonded with the pig man after our
call was done. We had discussed packing the ground pork in one-pound
portions, making a loin out of the chops, not grinding the jowls,
letting me smoke the bacon and cure the ham, and sundry pig projects.
As I said earlier, he was really nice about my pork curing visions. It
was just a phone call. It would have been nicer if it was done face
to face. I hope it's the beginning of a relationship. We shall see.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:33:50 -0500, Becca > wrote:

>Steve Wertz wrote:
>
>> A chicken thigh, per 100grams, has about 33% more cholesterol
>> than a country style rib (but it has less fat).
>>
>> Chicken skin is a killer....good snack.
>> http://i10.tinypic.com/4q8ab2e.jpg
>>
>> -sw
>
>That picture made me drool. Omigod, I love fried chicken skin, lightly
>salted. I also love pork fat. There is no cure for me, I should just
>jump off a bridge. My cholesterol is always good though. Go figure.
>
Then don't jump.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:51:56 +0200, (Victor Sack)
wrote:

>modom (palindrome guy) > wrote:
>
>> belly (bacon!)
>
>Here is a nice article by the estimable Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
>about bacon among other things; there is a recipe, too:
><http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/foodanddrink/hughfearnleywhittingstall/story/0,,1945134,00.html>.
>
>Victor

Thanks, Victor. I don't know enough about heritage hog breeds to make
a judgment. In that area I rely on expert guidance.
Fearnley-Whittingsall recommends Gloucester Old Spots, Saddlebacks or
Middle Whites, but my local supplier offers meat from red wattle hogs.
He has an MS in animal husbandry, so I'll take his word for it till
better evidence comes along. And this may be a matter of
transAtlantic local climate and breed issues, anyway.

I haven't taken posesion of any pork from them yet, much less tasted
it, so I can't vouch for the quality. But here's their URL:
http://homepage.mac.com/nbmelson/Personal1.html
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

In article om>,
Sheldon > wrote:

snips
>
> "Red meat/white meat" is not a scientific catagory, it's a culinary
> term, highly judgemental at best.
>
> http://www.answers.com/topic/white-m...=entertainment
>
If you scroll farther down on that web page, you will find a more
physiological definition for white vs. dark meat. The executive
summary: Muscles that get worked extensively (legs) contain more
myoglobin to perform aerobic exercise and are dark as a result. Muscles
that don't get worked as much (chicken breast) contain less myoglobin
and appear lighter. Modom's pig from the pasture probably got lots more
exercise than the factory-raised swine, so the meat will be much darker
than the pale pork chops that are generally found in the supermarket.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

"modom (palindrome guy)" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
> Next time, I want to score some feral pork, but I'll wait till the
> Guanciale from this batch is cured before proceeding. (And I'll have
> to check on the recommendations of the experts about trichinosis and
> killing the little wormy parasitic *******s via cold and/or heat, but
> that's another matter.)

I remember hearing that trichinosis hadn't been seen in a couple of human
generations-- is that not still true?
Guanciale is magic. Keep it in a cotton bag hanging in a coolish, dark
place. You only need to cut off small bits at a time. I cut the rind away
at about an inch, then that makes my cooking slices for about a month. I
cut it less than 1/4", then dice the resulting cut and proceed. I was
surprised to find it wasn't very good on its own-- as is pancetta-- but in
cookery was unbeatable.

--
Food and fashion
http://www.judithgreenwood.com

On Aug 29, 11:52?pm, "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:34:30 -0700, Sheldon > wrote:
> >"modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
> >> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> >> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> >> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>
> >> That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
> >> loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
> >> ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>
> >> The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>
> >I think you'd be much sager to roast that particular fresh ham, and
> >with minimal adulteration... save the curing (laboratory
> >experimentation) for a typical run of the sty stupidmarket ham....
> >what you're proposing reminds of those pinheads who wanna marinate
> >USDA Prime beef steak... may as well have a pepperoni entree.
>
> Ruhlman and Polcyn in "Charcuterie" advise differently. They write:
> "This ham is in the style of the most famous hams, prosciutto di Parma
> and San Daniele, Bayonne, and Serrano. ...[T]he quality of the end
> result is entirely dependent on the hog, where it lived, what it ate,
> how fat it grew. We highly recommend this recipe and technique to
> anyone who has access to carefully grown or organically raised hogs.
>
> The recipe calls for a 12 - 15 pound fresh ham and a long cure. We
> shall see.

Obviously the concept about practicing on a less dear joint flew right
over your head... pigs do fly after all.

On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:15:11 -0500, "modom (palindrome guy)"
> wrote:

>He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
>grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
>hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
snippage

That sounds great modom.
Many, many, years ago I bought a 4-h pig. I still remember how good it
was. Good score buddy.

koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 8/30

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

Sheldon wrote:

> Obviously the concept about practicing on a less dear joint flew right
> over your head... pigs do fly after all.
>


Modom,
Practice on a decent quality fresh pork "picnic" from the supermarket
when you can find one on sale. Cure yourself a really good ham *next*
time you buy a half a pig and you know what you are doing. It's really
easy to ruin a ham (especially if you cure it with the bone in.)

BTW, the jowl makes good "bacon".

Bob

"modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
> He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
> grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
> hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.

I'm expecting a call from my "hog man" sometime in October.
He raises several every year and me and a friend split one.
Quite literally, George, the hog guy, cuts it in half down
the backbone and we take the halves and butcher them ourselves
from there. It's a Saturday morning well spent with the
resulting pork as a reward. I made some really good bacon
the last time. I've been told the hogs are *big* this
year.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

"Omelet" > wrote in message
news
> In article >,
> Picasso > wrote:
>
>> modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
>> > He's hauling a hog to be slaughtered. A pastured hog who ate
>> > grasshoppers and crickets and snakes and acorns, not agribusiness
>> > hogchow and antibiotics. I'm getting half a hog.
>> >
>> > That's 100 pounds of pure pig. I'm getting a side of ribs, a whole
>> > loin, jowls (Guanciale!), a Boston butt, belly (bacon!), a passel of
>> > ground pork (sausage, anyone?), and a whole fresh ham.
>> >
>> > The ultimate plan is to cure the ham. I'm going to make prosciutto!
>> >
>> > I'll report in March or April.
>> >
>> > Living on this benighted prairie sometimes has its pleasures.
>> > --
>> >
>> > modom
>> >
>>
>> well if you like pork that much
>>
>> I prefer beef myself. Are they both considered red meats?
>
> Yes.
> --
> Peace, Om
>
> Remove _ to validate e-mails.
>
Not according to my lab. They say beef and lamb. I always thought of
pork as white meat.

MoM

modom (palindrome guy) > wrote:

> (Victor Sack) wrote:
>
> >Here is a nice article by the estimable Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
> >about bacon among other things; there is a recipe, too:
>
<http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/foodanddrink/hughfearnleywhittingstall/story/0,,1945134,00.html>.
>
> Thanks, Victor. I don't know enough about heritage hog breeds to make
> a judgment. In that area I rely on expert guidance.
> Fearnley-Whittingsall recommends Gloucester Old Spots, Saddlebacks or
> Middle Whites, but my local supplier offers meat from red wattle hogs.
> He has an MS in animal husbandry, so I'll take his word for it till
> better evidence comes along. And this may be a matter of
> transAtlantic local climate and breed issues, anyway.

Fearnley-Whittingstall mentions those particular breeds just as an
example of those he raises himself. In his wonderful, encyclopaedic
_The River Cottage Meat Book_ he lists a few more. More importantly, in
the book he says the following:
<quote> I didn't know just how good pork could be until I raised my own
pigs. Now I sometimes imagine a global band of smallholders and
subsistence farmers, from the forests and lakes of Savoie or the
Auvergne to the sweaty jungles of Vietnam or Korea, from the mountains
of Corsica to the foothills of the Chilean Andes, whose pigs all root
and forage freely and are fattened up on whatever surplus scraps of
cereals or roots, fruits or vegetables come to hand. We all have one
thing in common: we know what pork is meant to taste like. </quote>

BTW, your supplier is planning to raise Gloucester Old Spot, too. See
<http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M9225?p=2>.

Victor

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:34:22 +0200, "Giusi" >
wrote:

>"modom (palindrome guy)" > ha scritto nel messaggio
.. .
>> Next time, I want to score some feral pork, but I'll wait till the
>> Guanciale from this batch is cured before proceeding. (And I'll have
>> to check on the recommendations of the experts about trichinosis and
>> killing the little wormy parasitic *******s via cold and/or heat, but
>> that's another matter.)
>
>I remember hearing that trichinosis hadn't been seen in a couple of human
>generations-- is that not still true?

I've heard conflicting accounts, but the fact that a foodie friend's
mother was diagnosed with it a few years ago settled me back. She's
cured, but the damage to her shoulder joint is permanent.

>Guanciale is magic. Keep it in a cotton bag hanging in a coolish, dark
>place. You only need to cut off small bits at a time. I cut the rind away
>at about an inch, then that makes my cooking slices for about a month. I
>cut it less than 1/4", then dice the resulting cut and proceed. I was
>surprised to find it wasn't very good on its own-- as is pancetta-- but in
>cookery was unbeatable.

I look forward to it. I plan to use Mario Batali's recipe. Thanks
for the information.
--

modom

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On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:00:50 -0500, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>Sheldon wrote:
>
>> Obviously the concept about practicing on a less dear joint flew right
>> over your head... pigs do fly after all.
>>
>
>
>Modom,
>Practice on a decent quality fresh pork "picnic" from the supermarket
>when you can find one on sale. Cure yourself a really good ham *next*
>time you buy a half a pig and you know what you are doing. It's really
>easy to ruin a ham (especially if you cure it with the bone in.)
>
>BTW, the jowl makes good "bacon".
>
I'll take your advice under advisement.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:58:17 -0700, Sheldon > wrote:

>On Aug 29, 11:52?pm, "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:

>> Ruhlman and Polcyn in "Charcuterie" advise differently. They write:
>> "This ham is in the style of the most famous hams, prosciutto di Parma
>> and San Daniele, Bayonne, and Serrano. ...[T]he quality of the end
>> result is entirely dependent on the hog, where it lived, what it ate,
>> how fat it grew. We highly recommend this recipe and technique to
>> anyone who has access to carefully grown or organically raised hogs.
>>
>> The recipe calls for a 12 - 15 pound fresh ham and a long cure. We
>> shall see.
>
>Obviously the concept about practicing on a less dear joint flew right
>over your head... pigs do fly after all.

Ruhlman is the author of several books on cooking. He co-authored
Thomas Keller's French "Laundry Cookbook." He co-authored "Bouchon"
with Keller and others.

Polcyin is chef at Five Lakes Grill, which has been featured in
reviews in the New York Times, Gourmet, and Bon Apetit, among others.
He holds three gold medals from the American Culinary Foundation. He
teaches charcuterie at a culinary institute, and charcuterie is
featured on the menu at his restaurant.

Their collaboration produced the book I quoted. Keller wrote the
introduction.
--

modom

--
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