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This little piggy…
..is off to the market soon. This guy claims to be a Berkshire, but for some reason I keep seeing a Gloucester Old Spot! No matter; both are delicious breeds. However, unless you pre-ordered, you’ll just have to take our word for it. This year’s group has already sold out. Beef coming soon. Don’t be left out again. Contact Church. churchhh@gmail.com David
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Thistle Hill ham…
..using Curt’s go-to recipe with thanks to “everydaymaven.com”. It starts with scoring the ham than patting on a mixture of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and kosher salt. Have to punch cloves in, of course. After 1:15 in an oven, baste with a sixth of a cup of maple syrup. Cook 15 minutes more and baste with more maple syrup. Bake another 15 to 30 minutes and after your family has at it, it will look something like this! Call me a traitor, but no traditional Virginia ham ever tasted this good!
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The Class of 2021…
…the next batch of piglets have arrived at Thistle Hill and will “graduate” next March! We’ve pretty much settled on crosses of Berkshire and Tamworth for our purposes…both are heritage English pigs known for their bacon and hams. We’ve also found they’re easy to handle…no minor attribute when dealing with pigs. Their predecessors incidentally are now in our freezers and you can order cuts. Of course you can also reserve one of the Class of 2021…a half or whole! Contact Church at (214) 802-1283churchhh@gmail.com David
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A true confession…
…I must admit I never liked pork much until we processed the first pigs raised at Thistle Hill. The difference between that pork and the factory-raised pork in restaurants and supermarkets was unbelievable…greater even than the gap between store-bought vegetables and the garden variety. Recently Carolyn prepared one of our ham steaks and it was delicious. She reports she used only some hot mango chutney sauce and cloves…cooked at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. The result: Not to be outdone, grandson Church thawed some pork chops for his dinner. Even the best steaks would have trouble competing with this! Since that first experience…I’ve tasted other pasture raised pork and it’s…
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Make yourself at home…
..and our new piglets settled right in this weekend. Grandson Church gave a welcoming scratch of the head. The source of the newcomers was Indian Summer Farm near Lynchburg, Virginia. And these piglets are certainly a testimony to superior breeding and care. Three are pure Berkshire and two are Berkshire/Tamworth crosses. I’ve been partial to Tamworth but Berkshire probably is the breed of choice for growers of gourmet meat. The combination is exciting to anticipate! David
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Happy great-grandparents day…
…after swearing “no more pigs”, Church has surrendered to my wearing down and come up with some excellent piglets in nearby Lynchburg. You can’t always be sure from a photo of course, but these look like exceptionally healthy, well cared-for youngsters. Some are Berkshire and the rest are a Berkshire-Tamworth cross. I’ve always been partial to the Tamworth, particularly for their bacon, but “pig pros” seem to tilt to the Berks. So here we have on the way the best of both worlds! Believe it or not, it’s not too early to put your name in for one of these guys! David
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Living up to its reputation…
…our Mule foot pigs are sometimes called “the ham breed” and now we know why. Curt topped the ham with chutney and cloves and the family pronounced the results excellent. In Spain this would be called an Ibérico ham…a great delicacy at $400 or more. There they fatten on acorns and while we can’t claim that, by coincidence there were acorns on the ground in the pasture as these pigs matured. Flavor is, after all, less a function of genetics than feed. But it was this we were aiming for when we selected the Mule foot pig! David
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Chops…
Mack serves up the first pork chops from our latest pigs. And Nala is worried. She only counts three chops! In the past we’ve used Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spot pigs…English heritage breeds. This time we’re trying a Spanish pig…the Mule foot. The flavor of these first chops seemed the same though the meat was fatter. The Mule foot is known for its ham though and we have yet to sample that. I’ve noticed that the imported ham is selling in specialty stores for more than $300 a pound! We’ll save ours for the holiday. David
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The three little pigs…
…who went to market the other day averaged 230 pounds hanging weight. Exactly what we were aiming for! And Church reports the spread was only five pounds…227, 230, 232. Can’t wait for our share! There is no matching fresh farm-raised pork. It’s akin to corn or tomatoes right out of the garden. And Thistle Hill pigs have the advantage of browsing for acorns…producing pork like the Spaniards do (and charge so much for!). By coincidence, my daughters and their mother are in Spain right now…where raising pork is an art form. Every region has its own special taste…and pigs raised on truffles can bring as much as $300 a pound.…
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Spoken for…
…the three larger pigs anyway. If you want all or part of the remaining two, contact us now. They should be ready by the holidays but we won’t rush them. It takes time not only to fatten properly but to cure and smoke. You choose the curing you want along with the size of the hams and pork chops…and of course the kind of sausage you want. We guarantee not only a healthy product but the most delicious pork you’ve ever tasted! (Unless you’ve ordered from us before) Contact Church atchurchhh@gmail.com(214) 802-1283 David