where’s the pig January 8, 2008

I know, I know, I have been truant in my correspondence with the masses. Here I am trying to decide what to talk to you about. Do I tell you about the 250 Pound Pig that we had raised, butchered and house cured? Maybe I write about the Political landscape in the upcoming election. How about discussing the merits and meanings of “sustainable and organic”…. No, let’s talk pig!

It was a blast taking a whole animal, disassembling it, curing it, hanging it, watching it dry, slicing it and eating it. It gives one a real respect for food when you have to look an animal in the eye before you process it. It also provides the necessary motivation to make sure you don’t screw it up.

I started with the hams. Wow! what hams! These things were 30 lbs a piece. It took 12 lbs of salt for each and almost 150 lbs of weight to press the liquid out of them.
Curing hams for Serrano ham(Spain) or Prosciutto(Italy) is one of the oldest forms of preservation on the planet and I felt linked to generations of people trying to feed their families in the off season. It is so very “Little House on the Prairie”.

I needed to press them in salt for 30 days, so half way through I changed the salt and checked the meat for the cursory outer drying that takes place. They were already tightening up nicely and getting the proper color. I replaced them under the 150 pounds of brick.

Meanwhile I started on the coppa. Using curing salts, sugar and herbs I cured the pork loin and allowed 16 days for proper curing. I also started making sausage for the restaurant. We made a standard spiced sausage that we serve on our “Shepherd’s Plate”. We made Chorizo in the Spanish style as well as a red wine and pepper flavored Salumi. I am particularly fond of the Chorizo, its smoky sweetness and meaty garlic flavor go so well with the local wines.

I also made some pancetta out of the pork bellies, which we use to wrap our house made pate´. I dig the earthy spice it gives the noble “meatloaf”. The other pork belly was gingerly braised in duck fat and is still curing in said fat as I write this tale.

With all this meat curing and hanging in the walk-ins, I can’t walk ten feet without smelling the romantically pungent odor of salted meat. In this Cook’s humble opinion, there are few smells more appealing than the earthy richness provided by hanging pork in a curing room. If you ever have the chance to do so don’t pass it up. It is an aroma that feeds the soul.