Disclaimer: The Above Pig was not harmed in the making of this post. However, he probably found his way to pork chops shortly after his picture was taken, last year, when we visited Glasbern Farm in PA. So why is his smug mug here on the blog? Because I don’t have a picture of the piggy that we will soon be picking up from the butcher. But that’s just as well, right?
If you’re truly interested, Mike had an encounter with said pigs prior to them becoming bacon and pork chops, so he could share with you. Personally? I don’t like to get real close and personal with my food. But I’m going to have to get over that, when we start raising our assorted flock. And now that we’ve started buying in bulk, I’ve really started to see the appeal (even more so than before) of raising your own animals. It’s not just the control over your food, or the humaneness…it’s probably nice on the budget too (given that assorted livestock related disasters don’t happen)!
We were at the store the other day, and I was grabbing some ground beef, some ground pork and then I saw lamb chops (a personal weakness) and grabbed two ittybitty chops. They ALMOST made it into the hand cart, before I saw the price. Eep! $6 a chop? And we’re talking dainty chops, way smaller than my hand. I’m all for paying higher prices for quality meat, but we’ll have lentils before we pay that. So that night, raising sheep was on my mind. As well as ducks (another weakness, yum). And goat (so good, have you ever had cabrito?).
But for now, we’re still buying local, not butchering our own. Soon we’ll be picking up a “banana box” of pork products and Saturday, my parents are in town and we’re going to hit the farmer’s market (will it be happening with Floyd Fest, I wonder?), grab our CSA goodies and head to Weathertop Farm to pick up our pre-order of 6 freshly butchered chickens. Perhaps Sunday we’ll wander farther afield for some Highland beef and LIVE chickens!?
Ohhh yeah, the chest freezer that just arrived is gonna come in real handy! ::rubbing hands together with delight::
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That pig looks good from here….
Seriously! Come on down for some pork chops and bacon!
In one weekend you guys filled a freezer with more high end yummy meats than a Manhattan chef’s personal larder! Pork, beef, chicken,shrimp and fish! There will no doubt be a ton of yummy dinners pictured in the future months!!