Sunday 6th February was the first butchery course for our small holding group and was a great success here is the report by Phil.
We all arrived for 9.30am at Ansell & Sons on Maldon High Street for a demonstration on how to butcher a pig. Our expert tutors were Paul and Derek. Some useful handouts were distributed for us to take home, on the types of cuts that come from a pig with corresponding recipes.
The hanging of the pig was first discussed, this is done for approximately 4 days to allow the meat to settle, making it easier to butcher.
We were then shown how all the different cuts and joints on the pig are broken down, with advice on how to cut using mostly the tip of the knife and following the bone or seam of the meat. By this point most of us had started salivating; a half time interval with bacon or sausage sandwiches would have been most welcome.
On the subject of sausages it was reassuring to find out what isn’t added to sausages at Ansell’s but what is normally added to less reputable sausages in the form of an extruded paste made up of all the crap like the gristle and spinal cord.
Ansell’s have said they will butcher our pigs for at a price of around £35 but please pre-plan and give them plenty of notice, so that they can make a good job of it.
Some other interesting facts I learnt from the day:
- 80% of meat in catering is imported
- Most British meat is being exported at the moment, because of its superior quality and the strength of the Euro
The morning’s demonstration was well worth the price. Even if you don’t have your own pigs it was good to see what you buy and how it fits into a pig. I’m looking forward even more to getting my first weaners and having a go at butchering myself, but probably in front of the TV watching what I have videoed. I will endeavour to get this onto DVD, for the next meeting.
Come and join us for our local sausage tasting event at the Blue Boar.
Ansells Butchers, Buntings of Maldon, Wicks Manor, Burnham and Totham Bangers, Jimmys Farm, Ben Rigby and Giggly Pig.