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!!

Countryside Cookery Basics - Shopping

In my first Countryside Cookery Basic post I am going to give you some top tips and ideas for buying your groceries:-

Use Click & Collect - I absolutely love the supermarkets click & collect service.  It is free and saves so much time especially if you have young children (or even older children) who love to add items to your shopping trolley when you're not looking!
This is an online service and you log onto your favourite supermarket - I use Asda but the same principles apply to the other supermarkets.  The lower end supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl do not offer this service.
Once logged on select the items you wish to buy - this is a great budget tool as at the of your shop you can see what you have spent.  If you have gone over budget go back through your trolley and maybe remove any non essential items.
Select the time slot which is convenient for you to collect.
Simply turn up at your chosen supermarket between the times arrange and collect your shopping.

A great tool if shopping on a budget and a great time saver - no more walking up and down every aisle being tempted to buy items you don't need!

Your first shop will take more time as you will have to find all the items you like, however, you can then save this as a shopping list to use another time.  I have a few lists saved such as a small mid week shop, large weekly shop and children s party shop for all the foods I like to buy when hosting a children s party.  You can also go into previous orders and simply add this to your trolley and then add or remove items as required.

Buying meat - the cheaper cuts of meat are just as tasty as the more expensive cuts.  Here are a couple of examples:-
Chicken thighs are far cheaper than chicken breasts and even tastier.
Pork belly is a cheaper cut but if cooked slowly is absolutely gorgeous.
Beef stewing steak if cooked slowly for a long period of time can be beautifully tender.
Beef brisket makes a really good roast joint but must be cooked slowly - a great alternative to an expensive cut of beef.

Always check the price per KG and if possible substitute your meat if an alternative is on special offer.  Could you use turkey instead of chicken?  Could you use a different cut of meat?
Sometimes it is cheaper to buy larger packs - if you intend freezing some do not freeze large packs of meat - you will never use it!  Freeze in sandwich bags in portion sizes suitable for your family.

TOP TIP Remember to label the sandwich bags with the contents and date frozen.

Ask your butcher what special offers they have and what are the cheaper cuts of meat - they can also offer you cooking advice!

If you can ask your butcher if you can buy half a lamb or half a pig - this is a really cost effective way to buy meat but you must have the freezer space to store it.  Ensure you freeze in portions suitable for your family.  Ask your butcher the source of the meat - it should be local and reared outside.  If not buying from a butcher check the labels - good sources of meat are:-
Pasture/ Grass fed
Free range
Outdoor bred/ reared.

I rear my own pigs and this is just some of the meat and sausages I get.

Sausages

Pork chops & Belly Joints

Pork Leg joints & ribs

Although this meat maybe more expensive than the intensively reared factory produced meat why not buy less but of a higher quality.

Do not be tempted to buy ready marinated meats, stuffed roasting joints or bread crumbed chicken etc - this is an expensive way to buy meat and it is so much better to marinate the meat yourself or stuff your own roasting joint or make your own bread crumb coating.
Generally this ready to cook meat also contains more sugars, salts & preservatives.

Why not try some offal - this is generally cheaper than a cut of meat.  There are loads of ways of cooking offal - maybe add kidneys to a stew, have some liver & onions or how about make your own faggots.

During the winter months it is game season so ask your butcher if you can get pheasant, partridge, rabbit etc.  Some local farm shops will also stock this at reasonable prices.  if you can contact a local shooting syndicate they may be prepared to put you in touch with a game keeper who can supply you with some birds.

Buying Fruit & Vegetables.
Buy Fruit & Vegetables which are in season and british where possible.
Fruit & vegetables which are in season and local are more reasonably priced and taste so much better. If fruit (especially soft fruit such as raspberries & strawberries) is imported from other countries it is generally not ripe when picked and then ripened on its journey making it fairly tasteless when it arrive on the supermarket shelves!
I love the fact I eat strawberries during June & July and will then wait until next year to have them again - I really look forward to it.
A really good way of buying fruit & vegetables is a veg box scheme from a local farm.  This means you can locally produced seasonal vegetables delivered to your door.  Many of these schemes also include recipe cards with ideas for using the vegetables.
Check out my blog post on wonky & ugly vegetables for some inspiration.  http://countrysidecookery.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/wonky-and-ugly-vegetables.html

Try to eat a good variety of fruit and vegetables.  Different coloured fruits & vegetables will contain more vitamins and nutrients and will also look more exciting on your plate.  Your plate of food will not look very excited if the colours are bland.

TOP TIP - at the end of the week do not throw away any unused wilting vegetables - these can be frozen, made into soup or used in a stock.

KEEP CHECKING MY BLOG FOR MORE INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS.