Welcome back Squiggle and Curl

Saturday 18th February 2012

Spring is back in the air, but the morning sun is still hidden.

An early morning trip to the butcher to collect Squiggle and Curl. Half of one of them has stayed to be cured for bacon.
We spent the rest of the morning repacking and filling every available square inch of freezer space with pork chops, rolled legs, shoulders, bellies, sausages, trotters, livers, kidneys, heart and lungs.

It was very interesting to see how much we got. This first adventure is designed to teach us which meat will sell best and how to raise our pigs in future for the best meat. As it was, we seem to have done a very good job. Pretty much just the right amount of fat for good flavour without it taking over the whole carcass. Also, the eventual weight of the pigs was spot on. Beginners luck again!

I suspect that sausages will be our biggest seller. Everybody knows how to cook them, they're quick and they can come straight out of the freezer. But I'm also hoping we can find some regular customers who recognise the virtues of traditionally reared and butchered pork, crackling and all.

So it was that, even as we were packing all the meat, we got our first sale. Not just sausages, but a pack of chops too. Mind you, when I checked the online prices of a certain large supermarket, our prices are broadly in line with what they charge for the bulk standard stuff. Cheaper than the Finest they sell, and I reckon even finer than that too! This first sale is only a small step, but every little helps! I really hope they like our product. At the end of the day, I want the product to sell itself. A small handful of repeat customers would make me a very happy man.

Here's what you get if you order half a pig.

Meanwhile, Sue had better get to like the taste of pork more than she does now. I'm sure she won't even recognise this pork compared to what she's eaten before.

The liver we had this evening was certainly very tasty indeed, probably the freshest I've ever had. It was sumptuous with a big pile of mash (the desirees are still doing well in storage and have proved to be excellent for baking, mashing and chipping).