Pork is (soon to be) back on the menu!

I am pleased to announce to our myriad of readers that, following the great success of my first ever lot of pork last week (see previous blogpost), I am getting more pigs!

Raising my own pigs has for sometime been a dream of mine, which I made into a reality last August, albeit in micro form (size of herd, not size of pig). Last week I stocked the pork in the shop, and so far all response has been extremely positive. The sausages were succulent, the loins not too fatty, and the bellies exploded with flavour. Rare-breed pork is often much fattier than commercially-bred pork which have been bred to be much leaner. I was worried my joints would be far too fatty, but in the end I was really pleased with the end result. I like to think that their incredibly varied diet contributed greatly to the quality of the flavour.

And so I have decided that throughout the year ahead I shall up my game, and have a real bash and making a little Gold Hill pork business. We have 6 new young weaners arriving on the farm on Wednesday. They are from the same sow and boar as the last lot (OSB Saddleback cross) so I hope to retain that fantastic flavour.

In my last blogpost I mentioned various things I'd like to improve in my next attempt. Well, I can confidently say the pigs will have more space this time. There will be more of them, so hopefully more fun socialising together. I intend to see them more often too. Unfortunately I have decided not to feed them organic pig feed as it is quite a lot more expensive than the conventional pig feed I can buy really locally from the farm in Manston. But I do see the conversion to organic up ahead on my pig-business-ladder.

I hope this is received as good news to you all. Of course, some of you don't eat meat at all, which is a decision I really respect. But I am settled on the decision of omnivorousness, and intend to raise these pigs as respectfully and generously as I can. I also hope to stock the shop with lovely pork in a variety of forms throughout the summer and autumn, so do keep your taste-buds peeled (if that's a phrase...).

Thanks for reading, and see you soon.