Going Whole (or 1/8) Hog
Happy new year! Did you go whole hog over the holidays?
I've been meaning to post for a while about buying 1/8th of a pig last fall. Last November, we divvied up half a pig from Bledsoe Farms in Yolo County with three other families and ended up with about 27 pounds of pork! My husband and I love pork--especially the flavor-packed, antibiotic-free pork from Mr. Bledsoe. I profiled Bledsoe Pork in Edible Sacramento a couple of years ago, and we've been buying their meat ever since at the Davis and Sacramento farmer's markets (he doesn't sell through stores). So when a friend mentioned an interest in buying in bulk to save money, we jumped at the chance.
John Bledsoe and his son Dan raise their Duroc pigs along with lambs and beef cattle now. Soon, they'll also add turkeys to the mix (Mr. Bledsoe expects them to be ready by next Thanksgiving). Their meat is always full of flavor and drug-free, so it's doubly worth looking them up at the market. And in case you're not sure how to cook something, they freely give out kitchen advice as well!
So we got our knives sharpened in anticipation of a large hunk of meat that we'd have to break down. Four households were going to split this half pig, so everyone brought a big cooler and came to our house on a Sunday morning. Paul (of Sac Epicureans) went to the farmer's market under the freeway on 6th St. and loaded up two big coolers for us. It turned out that Mr. Bledsoe had all of the meat butchered and packaged for us, including:
- 4 lbs. sausage
- 16 lbs. ribs
- 18 lbs. ham
- 18 lbs. chops
- 16 lbs. loin
- 16 lbs. shoulder
- 16 lbs. bacon
We cooked up some sausage for that day's brunch, and since then we've been porking out practically every other day. I've made beans with ham, seared pork loin with apples and caramelized onions, pork chops with fig chutney, and lots of ham sandwiches, frittatas, and wraps. Tonight will be a stir-fry of loin with red peppers and snap peas. If we don't eat meat every day (which we usually don't), and mix it up with some poultry and fish every once in a while, the pork should last us a good four or five months (of course, it's frozen until then). That's pretty good for about $100 of investment. We have high-quality meat and will save some time and money on shopping. Hopefully we won't start oinking, though.
Mr. Bledsoe is currently charging about $4/pound. You can also talk to him about buying lamb or beef in bulk. That's his picture at the top, so look for him or Dan at the Saturday Davis farmer's market or the Sunday Sacramento market, or call them at 530-668-1347.
Comments
Bledsoe lamb is incredible
Posted by: Anonymous | January 6, 2009 7:01 PM
Local meats and fish are great finds at the Farmer's Markets, especially in the winter when the fruit is limited to oranges and mandarins. Here in Placer County I have been buying beef, pork and lamb from Coffee Pot Ranch and fish from Little Fish Co. I want to try lamb from Flying Mule Farm, too. Not cheap, but excellent quality. Splitting a whole animal is a good way to get better value. I just don't let guests from the Depression era know what I paid.
Posted by: sus | January 9, 2009 8:36 AM