Yesterday we popped over for a quick visit to Bovey Belle, she has a really interesting home full of lots of interesting things and she kindly gave me this to take home.
Its a beautiful big heavy stoneware pot, I haven't decided what to store in yet but will.
We have one of our grandsons here at the moment, he has been doing some helping out.
Friday it was time for the first of the pigs to be slaughtered.
Martin brought the pig over to a side barn were she would stay overnight in a pen.
Next morning Martin did the deed using a captive bolt stun gun and bleeding, grandson chose not to be involved in that part which was fine with us, I don't believe in pushing people to participate in things they don't feel comfortable with.
My job was providing lots of boiling water
Pigs have a lot of hair and this has to be removed, pour on boiling water and then scrape is the method we used
Grandson got involved in this part
The dogs were also on hand to help
After it was de-haired, the carcass was gutted and left to hang for a couple of days
The ears were cleaned up for the dogs
Grandson scrubbed them cut in to strips and then roasted them in the oven.
The next stage is were all the work starts, all the packing and preparing of the meat, bacon's and sausages to be done.
I know this post is not to everyone's liking but it is our way of life, we raise our animals providing them with food shelter and giving them a good quality of life, the slaughter is quick and done very quietly so no stressed out animals, we do respect our livestock.
I will do a post on the butchering next.
It was lovely to see you all yesterday. I'm glad my pot has gone to a good home. I had Too Many, and this one needed the right new owner. I used to keep bags of bread flour in it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your grandson is keen to help with the preparation of the pig for butchering and all I can say is that your pig had a good life and a death in familiar surroundings. I look forward to hear about bacon making next! (Amongst other things . . .)
He has learned an important life lesson were meat comes from and how it gets there
DeleteI can understand your grandson not wanting to see Martin start the process, another good post Dawn, you document your lifestyle well, no rose tint glasses, just your country ways. I do enjoy each of your post, it brings back memories of my childhood in rural Somerset.
ReplyDeleteGS has enjoyed the rest of the process, I wouldnt push anyone to see the whole process although it is a very calm quiet process
DeleteLove the pot from BB! Love the pictures of the pig process and look forward to the next stage. Great that Sol and Tess both get a treat and good on your grandson for being on hand, too. Fab post as Marlene said, you say it as it is, always.
ReplyDeletewell this is our choice of lifestyle and we enjoy it
DeleteWe used to raise pigs for the table, along with rabbits and poultry. The best bit for us was having the pigs tail chopped into bits and cooked on skewers. This was done over the fire used to boil the water in a huge cast iron pot for scalding the carcass.
ReplyDeletetail was done for he dogs as well
DeleteI do admire you for being able to process your own meats. It isn't something I could do and I hold my hands up to that-x-
ReplyDeletewe didnt know when we went into this lifestyle if it was something we could do but now dont have any issues with it.
DeleteGood on your grandson for helping after the dispatch....are you using the blood for puddings? x
ReplyDeletewe didnt keep the blood this time round but will collect it next time
DeleteI'm veggie. I can't say for sure I'd be able to raise my own meat but I'd feel a lot better about eating something I knew had had a good life. I've started keeping chickens for the same reason, I know exactly the life my chickens have in a way I can't know from eggs I've bought from a supermarket, whether or not they are labelled free range.
ReplyDeleteIf for any reason we couldnt raise our own I wouldnt go back to eating supermarket meat, I would rather buy direct from some-one who raises them.
DeleteI did a lamb this weekend, on my own it was hard work though, I felt knackard afterwards! Still should be some nice meals this week from it! liver for tea was out of this world fresh! and kidneys on toast for me tomorrow lunch time!
ReplyDeleteFair play to doing it yourself, it's not an easy job but one I think is the kindest way to do it. No transportation, no stress. Meat to be consumed buy the people that raised it. What could be better?
Martin makes sure he has plenty of free time as it is time consuming
DeleteWe've only recently butchered our first roosters. It was a very interesting journey. We've eaten one, the other frozen for the future. I'm not sure I could actively kill a bigger animal, but I would like to be involved in the cutting up etc. I admire you guys so much!
ReplyDeleteMartin loves doing the butchering
DeleteOh, you scraped it! Good for you. We skinned our first pigs and later wished we hadn't. Have to agree about allowing people to participate at whatever level they're comfortable.
ReplyDeletewe looked at various methods and thought we would try this one.
DeleteI didn't know that smallholders could kill their own animals. We use to always pay for the cattle, sheep and pigs to be killed and butchered at the local butchers abbatoir. This made it very expensive: 200 Euros for a cow..
ReplyDeleteFor your own use you can
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