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I got my pork back from the butcher this past Saturday. By the time the day was done I was worn out. We had met with all our customers and then raced home with our own pork. I had borrowed a neighbors trailer to go buy a new boar the day before and had promised to have it back that evening, so while my partner put our hog away in the freezer I took the trailer home. I gave my neighbor a pound of the fresh sausage and reminded him, "if it's good, tell everybody! If it ain't any good, tell me." I hurried back home to feed the mules and turn them out, before running up my hill, in the dark to feed and make sure the sows water tanks were full. Feeding the sows was actually a nice conclusion to the day. Yes, I was feeding in the dark which I normally don't do. I prefer to have all evening chores done before supper so I can relax after eating. But, with the so called "super moon" shining, it was bright enough that I didn't need my head light. I was able to tell the sows apart in the moon light and I patted each one while I poured out the corn. Coming back down the road to the house, I paused long enough to watch a meteor streak across the sky; horizon to horizon it burned bright white then seeming to slow, it became a brilliant red and it's course became more erratic and it entered the atmosphere like a falling leaf and then ultimately winked out. I was too tired to make a wish but I had to smile at the beauty of the night. The meteor, the bright moon, the cool crisp air telling me colder days are coming, the owls hooting from behind the barn and the cows, some shuffling around while others chewed their cuds while they watched me crossing the field. In the rush to get done for the evening, I forgot to lay me out any meat to thaw for breakfast, and the next few days were just about as rushed. So, this morning, I got up, raked the coals up in the wood stove and got my morning fire woke up, set my skillet on to warm while I sliced some sausage and throwed my breakfast together. I didn't have time to make biscuits but I've recently taken up baking my own bread, so in this case I think having toast from home made bread was okay. So far, I'm pleased with my first taste of Red Wattle. We'll know more after some schnitzel or a pork roast but I can't fault the sausage. I'm already looking forward to next years pigs and I know I can do a little better next year!

NoraWI says 2016-11-15 06:17:42 (CST)



Jerry, being busily productive is a wonderful thing. But being able to stop and take in the beauty around us is even better. So many don't listen nor see the sounds and sights of "silence." City friends who come to visit complain about how quiet it is here at night and even in the daytime. But if they listened carefully, they would hear that owl and even the critters moving and eating in the pastures, the scurrying mice rustling the dry blades of grass. And the breeze. It always sounds to me like distant ocean waves that I was so used to as a child. Our country "silence" IS golden.


7 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Billy Foster says 2016-11-15 11:50:45 (CST)



Hey Jerry
That would have been nice to see. I have been shucking corn at the barn recently and finishing well after dark, the big moon has made the walk back to the house enjoyable.
We just picked up and delivered pigs orders last week as well. Had some fresh pork-chops with black pepper in a hot cast iron skillet; just a couple minutes on each side and get-em on a plate. Very delicious.
We raised Large Blacks this year. I like the animal but I worry some of our customers may think they are to fatty. I realized they were a Lard hog and was pretty careful to go easy with the sugars but they lived up to their purpose and put on some good cover. I think next year we will go back to the bacon type pig we have raised in the past, kind of a shame since the Large Blacks live well under our production method.
What kind of cover did those Red Wattles have?
Billy


7 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

JerryHicks says 2016-11-16 05:33:56 (CST)



Billy, that might be the one complaint I have for the Red Wattles. They were a little on the lean side. It sounds like we have the opposite problem that you have. Our customers want fat. We have several that render their own lard or make soap and want as much fat as they can get, and usually I divide it up between them and keep about fifty pound for my own rendering. I fried pork burgers for supper last night and we commented that we had seen beef make more grease in the skillet. Now, the guy who mixed the sausage did add some fat to the sausage and I was glad for that. There was enough grease to make gravy, but honestly, if had had company for breakfast I would have had to stretch the gravy a little. One other thing I am taking into consideration though is that I didn't take these last hogs to as large a size as I normally do. Our new butcher prefers not to handle hogs over 300 pound, and if they do, they skin them rather than scald them. From my experience to really put fat on a hog you have to take him past the 350 pound range. Honestly, it is more practical for me to process at the lower weights, but I try to give my customers what they want. We figure it takes 3 pounds of feed to make a pound of pork, more or less, up to 300 pounds. Once that hog passes 300 to 350, it takes 5 pound of feed per one pound gain from there on. I'm seeing on the gilts that I held back, they are putting on a little fat and I worry that i might be overfeeding them a little. I plan to introduce them to the boar next month as I'm shooting for April pigs. A funny thing about black hogs, I had a customer complain one year when I had black hogs. He showed up here at the farm with all his bacon in a box and wanted his money back. Me and one of my neighbors were standing out at the barn talking when he pulled up. The customer was pretty upset and insisted I take all his bacon back. It turned out the problem was the bacon had come from a black hog and when they had scraped it, you could see little black specks from the hair follicles on the bacon. He said "That bacon's got hair on it, and I don't want it! " My neighbor burst out laughing. He told him, "Young man, if had all the hog hair back I've eaten off of bacon, I could make me a wig!" I did trade out the bacon with the guy, but it is funny the things folks just don't realize about fresh meat.


7 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Billy Foster says 2016-11-16 11:15:54 (CST)



Our Large Blacks dressed out at an average of 250lbs, for me that is perfect, I get charged extra if they are over 300lb. As you say, the customers’ needs really dictate what one should produce, if one wants to sell their product. Most folks around here still believe that lean meat is “better for you” and have a slight aversion to fat. having said that, several of our customers are excellent chefs and they appreciate the value of extra finish on a hog.


Billy


7 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum


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