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This weekend one of our bull-renters delivered a litter of six piglets to Thistle Hill Farm.
It was cold and gusty, and I was glad their hay-filled pigloo didn’t blow away. These four brothers and two sisters are Tamworth Berkshire crosses. Originally from central England, Tamworths are known for their red color and long abdomen, which makes for wonderful bacon. The Berkshires are black, sometimes with white spots, and produce meat that is not only full of flavor but tender as well. Our pigs, unlike most pigs who when conventionally raised are in pens where there’s not even room to turn around, will be reared in a pasture and given a non-GMO feed to supplement the grass and acorns in the pasture. Carolyn Matthews
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From the kitchens of Thistle Hill…
…and yes while we have two kitchens…son Church continues his triumphs on the Kamado Joe grill. This time it’s a pork belly smoked by that apple wood tree we harvested a few weeks ago. Church recommends scoring the fat side diagonally and then rubbing all sides with Bone Suckin’ Seasoning and extra brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Place over indirect heat and smoke until the meat reaches 200 degrees. My preference is to hold off and make a midnight sandwich. While pork belly isn’t very popular in the States, I have Asian friends who consider this the peak of American cuisine! It is also very popular in Scandinavia, Latin…
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A sign of spring…
…along with Forsythia and Daffodils…baby piglets. And again this year we’re importing our “weanlings” from Indian Summer Farm in Forest, Virginia. Berkshire is probably the leading pig among the heritage breeds and these are 3/4 Berks. But we also like the leaner meat, and particularly the bacon, the Tamworth produces…so these piglets also have Tamworth in their background. Our thanks to Indian Summer Farm for once again sharing their pig crop! David
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A Thistle Hill special weekend treat…
…applewood smoked pork ribs. Son Church got the recipe for the rub from a trucker…a mix of paprika, salt and pepper and chili, garlic and onion powder. Still a long way to go with the 3-2-1 method of wrapping, unwrapping and mopping. The secret of course is the apple wood smoke and we’re using our very own apple tree as the source! Are we sustainable now or what? David
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Holding you hostage…
…hackers have been targeting American consumers recently…by going after fuel and food. First the cyber-attack on Colonial pipelines which cut off gasoline supplies on the East Coast. And now the second largest meat packer in the US has been hit. Apparently Russian hackers are behind this one and demanding a ransom. The two attacks demonstrate how foolish we have been to allow the huge conglomerates to take hold. A neighboring cattleman Joel Salatin addresses the problem here. https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/6/2/2021/mmiidpz556j8jmsaopt0ta7peswvdg David
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The war against red meat…
…seems to have gathered some steam in recent years. Undoubtedly there’s new…and serious…money (Bill Gates) behind the campaign. We haven’t given much thought to what has always seemed like a religious cult…but here’s an Australian who confirms what I only suspected. Vegetarianism goes way back in history but really only flourished near the end of the 19th century when it attracted the attention of the 7th Day Adventists…and yes (following the money) Big Businessmen in Battle Creek, Michigan. Their business was cereal…does the name Kellogg ring a bell? In fact there were about 100 cereal manufacturers in the new industry…all centered in Battle Creek…and all now Adventists and vegetarians. That…
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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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Meat sales soar…
…according to a survey of supermarket and on-line buying. Meat during this pandemic year has gained about 20% in sales volume…it’s now 35% of the food dollar and twice as much as chicken. https://www.supermarketnews.com/meat/meat-sales-reach-record-highs-2020-increasing-192 It’s interesting that on-line sales have really increased while at the same time people are more concerned about healthy food. Now note this summary is based on dollar sales…not pounds. But now that younger people have broken the restaurant habit, will they continue cooking at home? Will their interest in healthy foods continue? Most smaller farmers we know haven’t been able to gear-up production to get a piece of this action. Nor do they have the…
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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