Whole Hog Butchery

So I have been taking a class at the local community college and the class is called Animal Evaluation and Processing. This is a class a bunch of students have to take as part of different ag sci courses.

I knew that we had a slaughter and breakdown coming soon and today I was really excited to find out that we were doing a pig slaughter today.

I was hoping to to hang up my GoPro and shoot the whole process from beginning to end but the teacher said "No". So out of respect for my teacher I pulled it down. I do hope to video as we start breaking down the primal cuts over the next two weeks.

So before the teacher stunned the 350 lb pig all I could think was the Lords Prayer making sure I gave a sense of gratitude for what was about to happen. With a whole class of students the process started at 10:02 pm and ended at 11:32 am.

I was asked by a friend about the kill method.The instructor used a gun that had a captive bolt that was backed by the charge of a .22. This rendered the pig OUT! The next step was to quickly cut the animals throat. This was something that had to be done quickly before  rigor mortis starts to set in.

There are may procedures used to slaughter and animal and due to what we had at the school it was a bit crude and not like a million dollar plant The truth is the way we did it at the school is the way people have been doing it for hundreds of years. Truth is first thing I did was call my dad and tell him about what I just done. He began to tell me about his grandparents and how they would raise pigs and use everything. He told me his grandma would render all the fat, put it in jars and put it in the basement of there home and use it during the years.

Our instructor started  and showed us how to pull the skin off and so I finally get my hand dirty and start helping pull the skin off by cutting against the skin and the fat. As I am watching the process and we are half way through pulling the skin off I look at the teacher and say "I want the head" and that is what I got.

I was talking to the instructor and I made the comment that there is something surreal about this whole process. Watching an animal go from death to what becomes a usable product for consumption.

We as consumers do not think about where are food comes from and how we get it. Today I have a better understanding of where it comes from.

This weekend I am going to be making a batch of my Irish sausage and my goal is to make sure I do not waste a single ounce of meat. Did this change my life....I am not sure. Did it change my point of view on a few thing....DEFINITELY!!!!

Recommended reading: The Ethical Butcher by Berlin Reed

Starting To Get It

So as you see in the pictures I have been working on another
batch of pork belly/bacon. I am going to be honest trying to find quality products to make a good bacon is not easy. Here in the Central Valley there are very few places to purchase pork belly.

I have one meat market that only sells is cryopacked and frozen. I have found another that does not sell it unless you are buying bulk. I have found a mexican market that I am able to buy belly but the only problem is you do not know how good the quality of the meat is going to be.

The first time I purchased 4 pounds of it and the quality was not bad. This last purchase where I purchased 8 pounds the quality was not as good as I would of liked. A lot more fat and a lot less meat which gives you a mediocre bacon.

There is a meat market I still need to pay a visit to and see what they off if anything at all.

When I was younger in Madera,Ca there was a place called the Meat Locker which was where my dad had our pigs butchered after there were slaughtered. It was a meat market and butcher shop and when I was in high school it was where we would go to get all or our deep fried goodness for lunch (deep fried burritos and potato wedges rule)!

You really do not realize the importance of quality over quantitiy until the time comes for you are trying to learn and make your own food. Meat that is raised well is better then meat that is "industrially" raised.

As I learn more about bacon and get ready to start learning how to even make my own sausage my goal is to used some of the best products I can. I want to give my family good food and if I plan to make food available to the public I want to know that I am giving the public a quality food that I can be proud of!

Election is over....Now we eat!!!

    So the election is over and in the state of California one of the most talked about propositions on the ballot was prop 37 "Genetically Engineered Foods Labeling".

   I got up this morning kicked on the news to see that it actually was voted down on. I was quite suprised. For the supporters of this bill it was very straight forward, let us know what is in our food. That was it. It was supported by a union (UFW) and some other organizations.

   People that were against it had a huge list of reason (price hikes for food, effects on farmers, lawsuits...etc). They were concerned about exemptions for some foods and not others. The people that were for "NO" for this bill were Coca-Cola, Nestle and some other major chemical companies (BASF to name one).

   Now that labels are not going to be put on our food by the state what is next...It is really simple. It is our responsibility as consumers to pay attention to what we are buying and eating. Spend the extra money at your farmers market, ask questions of your butcher (find a real butcher). It is not hard to find out what you are putting in your body...Just start paying attention.

    I understand why people wanted to see 37 pass and I thought it was going to, but now it is up to us to take care of ourselves and our families without interuption from the government or big business!!

    Now go eat!
   

My View On Veganism...The Can Is Open!

   So I am going to write this and try to do it without sounding like an ass and being disrespectful to my friends who are vegan.

   I do not support veganism especially as a for of protest. As a healthy lifestyle option if done right I will accept, my boy Burrito has already lost one pant size in less then a month (way to go!!)

   This whole conversation stated when i posted the following quote..."Be a vegan, be vegetarian, but know that you're not actually changing any industry. You're just opting out, not actually supporting small farmers who treat their animals well." -The Ethical Butcher. This is a statement that I actually agree with.

   There are some great farms that are family run that raise there animals in good conscious and when it comes time for slaughter it is done humanely. There are meat markets that are totally sustainable and only sell organic meats and restaurants that support these markets,butcher and farmers.

   Listen I am not talking about shit with Paula Deans overly tanned face on them, I am talking about people that actually care about what they are raising and selling to the public. So then all these vegan "activist" are so against animal cruelty why do they not even give a nod to those who are working hard to things right for those of us who are not vegan.

   Listen I am willing to post vegan recipes here if they are good but this will be the only time I post anything about my view of  being a vegan when it comes to animal rights....Thank you and good night!!

   Bring on the hate!!!