That feeling of satisfaction when you rear your own pigs

Once a year I purchase 2 or 3 piglets to rear for meat.

For my own personal lifestyle I choose to purchase them in August/September time and then send them to slaughter in January/ February as I like to go away a lot during the spring and summer months which then means asking someone to feed them whilst I am away.  This is my personal choice and others would say purchase them during the spring so you have them over the summer when it is warmer and hopefully not so muddy.

I like a pure breed such as gloucester old spot or british saddleback.  I have tried cross breeds but from experience I think the meat is better on a pure breed.

So how do you not become attached I hear you say.  Well here it is - when you buy these cute little weaners, they are just that - cute.  They usually follow my kids around and the kids love to play with them.  However they grow and they grow big and cumbersome.  They are no longer fun to play with, the kids don't want to feed them any more, the older they get the more they dig up their pen, the more mischievous they become with their digging and generally they start to destroy anything in their path. This for me means its time to go to slaughter.  Do I feel guilty - absolutely not.  Anyone who eats meat should experience this.  I pride myself on giving pigs a good life for the time are they here and I always eat every last bit of them.  I do not expect a pig to sacrifice itself for me and my family and then not eat it because it is not the perfect shaped chop etc.
I get a huge sense of satisfaction from eating my own pork, knowing how it has been fed, it has been reared naturally with plenty of room to roam around.  It has not been injected with chemicals and water to make it grow bigger, faster so it can end up on a supermarket shelf.

Are they easy to keep?

Yes - they are very easy to keep.  You will need a few basic essentials.

• An area of garden/ land which is well fenced off with electric fencing.
• A registration to keep pigs from DEFRA How to register to keep pigs
• An arc for the pigs to sleep in.
• Hay/straw in the arc
• pig food - start with growers pellets and then progress onto pig nuts.
• Fresh water supply

Pigs need minimum attention - each day they will need fresh water and food.  They can be fed vegetable waste (peelings and left overs etc). Do not feed pigs any meat leftovers.

As well as any left overs they should be fed pig food daily - start with growers pellets and then about two weeks before they go slaughter change to pig nuts.

It is important to get the amount of food right - you need enough fat on the meat to make it tasty but you do not want over fatty meat!

Choose a good abattoir who can offer you advise.  I use Bakers of Nailsea bakers of nailsea website who also have a butcher on site which is great as I can talk to him in detail about my requirements.

I love the fact that my kids get involved in every part of this process.  They feed the pigs when they are weaners, help load them into the trailer to go to slaughter, label the meat when it come backs and my really proud mum moment - my 8 year old helping me get the meat from the pigs head!  He was not at all phased about the fact it was a pigs head!

What do I get from my pigs?

Last week I had my 2 british saddleback slaughtered and butchered.  Here is what I got back:-

• Heads and trotters - I will make a pigs head terrine/pate with this.
• Offal - liver, hearts, kidneys - this will make fabulous faggots and offal is so good for you.
• Leg joints - great for that Sunday roast.
• Pork chops - great for a mid week roast or why not have chops with a different accompaniment.
• Sausages - really meaty sausages without additives and without all the "extra bits" the supermarkets add.
• Bacon - dry cured bacon - delicious.
• Gammon - roasted gammon joint, boiled gammon joint the choices are endless.  I also cook up a gammon joint, thinly slice it, freeze it and there I have good quality ham for sandwiches etc.  Again not the supermarket style ham with lots of added water.
• Belly joints - I love a good pork belly joint.  Whilst this is quite fatty if cooked slowly and on a low heat for several hours this is absolutely gorgeous.
• Pork Ribs - great for a BBQ

Sausages

Pork Leg Joints & ribs

Pork Chops

 For me one of the most satisfying parts of the pig is the head - once I have made my pigs head terrine I really do feel that I've made a gorgeous snack or meal out of something which would normally be thrown away.  Pigs cheeks have also become very popular is restaurants.

pigs head and trotters

Cooked pigs head

My 8 year old pulling meat from the head!

Meat from the head and trotters

Completed pigs head terrine.

Keep watching my blog for more ideas and recipes.

Please comment if you have any questions!!

Homemade Pizza & Garlic Pizza

Garlic Pizza

 HOMEMADE PIZZA & GARLIC PIZZA

Hooray, it's Friday!  Tonight we had fun making home made pizzas.  These are a great way to involve kids in cooking and best of all everyone can add their own favourite toppings. These are so much better than frozen or shop bought pizzas as they have no preservatives and they taste absolutely great. Its also a great way to get kids to eat vegetables and use up any odd bits of ham, mushrooms and cheese etc.

TOP TIP:-  I would really recommend you invest in a pizza stone to bake the pizzas on. It helps to create that authentic stone baked texture and cooks the base from underneath so no soggy bits in the middle. Remember to place the stone in a cold oven then heat the oven - this will prevent the stone from cracking.  Make sure the stone is well heated before cooking the pizza on it.

I make my pizza dough in the bread maker but you could buy ready made bases or make a dough using bread flour, yeast, salt and water.

Whilst the dough is being prepared in the bread maker prepare your toppings.  Here are some ideas:-

Chopped peppers & onions.

Sliced ham, chorizo, cooked chicken, tuna, prawns (any meat or fish should be cooked first)

Sliced mushrooms.

Sweetcorn, pineapple.

Grated cheese.

For the tomato sauce:-

• 1 can tomatoes.
• Herbs of your choice.

Place the can of tomatoes in a saucepan and add herbs of your choice: oregano, basil & sage are all great with tomatoes.  If you fancy add a splash of Worcestershire sauce or chilli sauce. For a smooth texture whisk with a hand held blender.  Heat and allow to simmer on a medium heat for about 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced. Stir the sauce every few minutes to prevent it sticking to the pan.

For the garlic butter:-

• 20g - 50g butter at room temperature (depending on the size if your pizza).
• 1-2 cloves garlic.

Crush the garlic cloves with a garlic crusher (or finely chop).
Add to the butter and mix well.
Any left over garlic butter can be stored in the fridge for use another time.

Build your pizza:-

Roll out your pizza dough.
Spread the tomato sauce over the base.
Add toppings.
Bake in oven (on pre heated pizza stone) for 10 - 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is lightly browned.

For the garlic pizza simply roll out the pizza dough and spread the garlic butter evenly as if buttering a slice of bread.
Bake as above.

Before baking

These pizzas may not be perfectly round but they are delicious!

Enjoy!

Welcome!

Hi, welcome to Countryside Cookery - a blog written by a busy working mum with a passion for cooking healthy tasty food, using locally sourced ingredients and minimal waste.

i.HiI will be sharing some of my favourite recipes, tips and ideas to make feeding your family easier  I bulk cook my meals and freeze them in family sized portions so that on busy days I can still feed my family a good healthy meal just by reheating! I love the idea of using locally sourced ingredients and turning them into delicious healthy recipes. I also have a pet hate of food waste and have a passion for turning left over food into healthy tasty meals. I grow lots of my own vegetables which is a great way to get the kids interested in vegetables which are so good for you.

Where possible I always buy meat from local farm shops or even direct from farmers. I rear my own pigs and I use every part of the pig in my cooking.  If you are lucky enough to be able to obtain a farm reared whole pig (or half a pig) always ask for the offal and head.  These can make some fantastic meals.  The best thing about rearing your own meat is that you know where it has come from and that there are no additives.

Although buying a pig or lamb from a local farmer may seem expensive at the time, if you calculate the amount of meat and meals you can make from this it really is cost effective. Also bear in mind this will be good quality meat and will not have been “fast reared” for supermarket needs.  Ask if you can have it butchered to suit your family so the joints are the right size for your needs, place in the freezer and use as you need it.  If this cannot be done cut the joints down to size yourself before placing in the freezer or use the leftovers for another meal.

My husband is a member of a local shooting synidcate so during the game season I have plenty of pheasants, pigeons and partridges many of which are frozen to keep me going all year round.  During the game season ask your local farmers or butchers if they can get you game.  If you can buy direct from a game keeper they can be very reasonably priced.

In my blog I will be giving you lots of ideas on how to make the most out of your food.