Morning Chores

This past weekend I took the camera out with me for my morning chores.

The piglets are always anxious for their breakfast.

The red potatoes are coming in nicely, and the goats are enjoying their job of keeping down the brush.

The chickens are always on the look-out for something tasty.

Big boy is moving slow before his first cup of coffee.

Pig Roast

Since we have more piglets than we care to feed out I started the process of reducing numbers this past weekend. We are planning on culling the boys through out the summer and just feed out the three girls to market weight. This was the first time I butchered a pig and it all went fairly well. The little guy was 32 lbs live weight which made home butchering possible. I don't imagine a large pig would be all that much more difficult, but not have the necessary equipment to manipulate a ~250 lb pig means that I will leave the real butchering to the experts. I had planned to roast up the entire pig on the BBQ rotisserie but he was too long to fit. Instead we cooked up the front half. The back half is frozen in two portions and I still need to make sausage from the head and neck meat. I really need to pick up a copy of the The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating so that I can find out how to make the best use out of the pigs. I already have a book on Charcuterie but need some information on making natural sausage casings and other lost arts.




As far as seasoning all I did was make some slits in the skin and stuffed them with garlic. The pork effectivley self-basted as it slow roasted over indirect heat. The pork was the most tender I have ever eaten. The tenderloin in particular just melted in your mouth. My parents were down to celebrate Sam's B-Day a little early and all enjoyed the feast.