The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Hairy Hogs on February 25, 2011, 06:43:12 pm
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Being new to bacon production, and seeing as for most of my life I have been fed 'crap' bacon like most.........I was more than a little keen to witness the bacon from the curers shack this morning. Our two Large Blacks had been loved for 10 or so months, but I thought their fat looked about right?
I was showed the amazing amount of meat by the curer, and he commented that he thought it was a little fat on the back, but should be good!
It looked very fat to me, not the least bit like my Danish Tesco crap!?
Rushed home, threw some in a pan, and was quickly wooed by the smell, that filled the kitchen, no shrinkage to speak of, no swimming bacon, just MMMMMMMMMM.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/jasonbirdman/IMG_1484.jpg)
When cooked, or should I say suitably crispy, in the roles it went...........my mate and i munched away, I being amazed at the flavour!
I sorted all the boxes, and loaded it all into its 'new fridge' ready for sale, still uncertain of its re-sale qualites.
The picture now show the bacon quality we got
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/jasonbirdman/IMG_8486.jpg)
Loads of bacon, gammon, etc................. NOW.....................Please let me know what you think of the pedigree Large Black bacon...........'Visually'?
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/jasonbirdman/IMG_8489.jpg)
I do want someone more experienced than me to let me have it..............REASON.............A local 'serious gentleman', and ex pig farmer, race horse breeder, cow man, seriously old school respected man who I really wanted to impress with my 2 kilos of finest smoked 'back'..............called me and said he couldnt possibly eat it, far too fat, but liked the look of the middle!
I respect his opinion, and need to know what experiences others may have had regarding pure rare breed bacon. Would the Saddleback be leaner, or the Oxford Sandy & Black? I haver to get this right, the farmers markets we have agreed to support deserve the best I can produce.
Please, any advice or critisism will be greatfully received.
It tasted bloody good though!
Regards
Jason
www.hairyhogs.co.uk (http://www.hairyhogs.co.uk)
P.S.
In total we got 120 kilos of saleable meat, 65 kilos being bacon. I recon theyre live weight would have been nearing 110 kilos.
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Chin up. Fat = flavour, but then I look like a stick with the wood shaved off (so don't worry about calories). Your produce looks yum! :pig:
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I think it looks lovely!! and the flavour is the ultimate decider :)
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i just got back saddlebacks last week from butcher although she was 14 months old she had the same amount of fat as yours, we killed two last november whom a friend of mine raised he keeps our boars for fattening, i thought they were thin when going to slaughter but the carcass was much better hardly any fat at all, im sure more of the experienced pig keepers will know better but its crucial the last few months of feeding i always over feed and put too much fat on mine too its hard to get it right, ive crossed my saddleback gilt now with duroc which we have kept before and i found to be one of the best carcasses ive had with a great eye in the loin, im at the point were im not pushed on keeping my pigs pure bred. its hard to sell that kind of bacon i agree. i sold mine cheaper than normal as people here will not pay premium for fat regardless of taste(which is amazing)
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A good way to see if they are fat are to feel your pigs, you should be able to just feel the ribs (not sticking out), but if you have to press hard to feel any bones then they have a lot of fat. One newbie i know pressed that hard the pig had to bend its back and then the owner said i think he feels ok as he eventually found a rib. Again feel the hams and the backbone. If you cant feel the spine by lightly pressing their too fat, as this is ususally the last place they put fat down on. This can be the problem if you just go on weight.
Personally i'd say its too fat the meat, If you were my friend I'd buy some off you to taste the bacon, but i probably wouldnt be willing to buy it off a stranger.
It seems the 1lb per month method works well on the traditional breeds, and you add a 1lb each month until you reach 6lb then you keep it at that even if you keep them on for a year. Pigs lay down muscle up until around 45-50kg after this they will lay down fat, obvoisly not purely fat some fat will turn into muscle. In traditional breeds this weight can be around the 4-6month old mark, so upping their feed till 6months makes sense and then restricting it from then means you wont have too much fat. Now obviously if your were to feed lots of bread then best to reduce nuts, but fruit and veg would be fine to add without reducing unless you fed loads of avocados, but realistically that unlikey.
Anyway this is just my point of view going of experience, plus some facts from Animal Nutrion and I think the carol harris book traditional pig keeping (that has the 1lb a month thing in)
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Looks sooo tasty, serious bacon sarnie cravings now!!! Sure maybe theres more fat on the back than most people would like, and I know from experience its pretty hard persuading people otherwise. You stil got a nice amount of meat on the back bacon though and the middle looks amazing I'm very jealous ;)
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Interesting comments, thanks Pel. My other half and youngest 'foodie' son, just got back from a day out, and they loved it when they had some for supper! ;D
Jas.
www.hairyhogs.co.uk (http://www.hairyhogs.co.uk)
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if they are that fussy trim some fat off and sell it as rind off.
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looks bloody wonderful to me!!! love fatty bacon grilled till its really crisp mmmmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it some nice poached eggs to go with it mmmmm and who wants tesco bacon anyway just hope mine is half as good as yours when i eventually get some!!
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I can seriously smell that bacon cooking just by looking at your photo! Yum! :yum:
My saddlebacks had that much fat on them after six and a half months - tasted gorgeous though, so as others have said, taste should be the most important factor. i then had Berkshires who I had for six months (bit early for baconers) but just as delicious. They hadn't developed that extra bt of meat along the fatty side, so I just cut the fat off when we are dieing (which is sometimes, not always!)
Bacn I have bought at farmers markets has always been on the fat side, whichis seen as unwanted by most purchasers, but then they have just beenused to having pretty awful pork, produced in ulk.
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With the fat, you can dip bread in it. Dan loves that. So do the wild birds.
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It looks absolutely perfect. He has probably been buying some over priced fancy labelled supermarket stuff. Education, education, education, fat on bacon is magnificent. Perhaps he is watching his weight or his colestrol!
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It looks absolutely perfect. He has probably been buying some over priced fancy labelled supermarket stuff. Education, education, education, fat on bacon is magnificent. Perhaps he is watching his weight or his colestrol!
If you dont eat sufficient cholesterol, your liver makes it in abundance instead.
Looks excellent to me too; I'm a great fan of fat ;D
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mmmm
i want to try some!!!
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You think there is alot of fat on that,.....
You should see some of the pig meat over here, its all fat, they love it, they cut the fat like making bacon and then smoke it, serve it up and eat like we would eat crisps....eeeek I canna stand the looks of it.
???
oh I am getting some real bad withdrawals here.....my tongue is sticking out with the looks of that bacon, I not had any for 5 yrs.
canna wait till my finishes curing, ok its only a small tester but hey its enough for a couple of breakfasts lol
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Hey everyone, thanks for all the encouragement..................It does taste awesome, and i guess thats the crux of it!
I think next time I will try them at 8 months rather than 10 - 11, and next time Saddleback or OSB.
Its for sale at risk of sounding like a salesman type plonker ;)
Thanks again all who gave me a nod on the look of it. :farmer:
Regards
Jason
www.hairyhogs.co.uk (http://www.hairyhogs.co.uk)
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When I was a lad I used to have to help my uncle every weekend on his farm. I'd turn up about 6.30am and start hand milking 8 cows and around 9am we would get breakfast. This was always 'home cured bacon' which hung from a hook on the ceiling, cut off the lump and fried. It used to be more fat than meat and I didn't like it that much and push it around the plate a bit.
One morning my uncle said 'Get that fat down thee neck boy, it'll stop thee arse fraying round the edges'. ::)
I never forgot that morning and still cannot stand eating fat bacon.
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My Grandma used to have bacon like that and it was glorious. I have pigs but no transport to get them to slaughter and I am craving good bacon now.
Grandma used to say a good layer of fat on your bones kept the winter chills out and made it better for the leaner times.
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Hairy Hogs, that bacon is nice don't let people who either don't know or have forgotten what real bacon is like, put you off. As for doing markets etc if you do samples you'll have no trouble selling it.
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have a pan sizzling away in a corner, the smell alone should guarantee you sell out!!!
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Its not hard to get fat on a pig, its hard to keep the fat content at what your customers will buy at.
When I worked with the National trust, they had one batch of pigs that was about the same fat depth as yours HH and none of it sold (or at least not enough to make a dent), now say if it was half that or slightly over it would have sold. Not saying that the meat wont taste good, as it really will do, but lets be honest everyone are you really going to eat all the fat on every rasher of bacon out of the whole pack?? I love fat and think its great to cook with, have it the next day etc but there is a limit. HH have a go selling it, if you can sell it and get majority of positive comments do exactly the same next time, if not tweak it.
If your just eating it yourself, then who cares if you have too much fat.. in my eyes too much fat means you've probably wasted a perhaps a couple of hundred quid, but if its just a hobby whos counting (i would).
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For those who dont like as much fat, trim the fat and sell/eat as rindless.
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I too had large blacks and due to inexperience let them get too fat but their meat was wonderful, hope to do better this time when I get new pigs. :pig:
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the fat on a nice bit of fried bacon is just as good as the meat.
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Stop stop stop.....lol you are making me wish the days away till my small tester piece is ready.... it could be finished now I suppose, its only 2 hands full in size, (told you it was only a tester ) mmmmmm bacon, the smell of cooking bacon mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
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Like everyone else, i think it looks fine.
Rosemary, when I was little I used to fight with my grandad about getting to dip bread in the bacon fat ;)
On the size/fat thing, one butcher told us that when your pigs get to the stage that you could balance a tea-tray on their back, they were ready to go?
I guess it comes with experience.
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The bacon from our cornish blacks looked exactly the same. Probably more fat than most would like but only because they're used to supermarket bacon. Our friend can't get enough of ours and we sell it to them for such a good price that if they think there's too much fat they jut stick another rasher in! ;D
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I think generally once people taste the "real" bacon, they cant get enough of it, and certainly would not want the Danish type bacon available in supermarkets.
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I think generally once people taste the "real" bacon, they cant get enough of it, and certainly would not want the Danish type bacon available in supermarkets.
I havent bought the danish stuff for the past 6-7 years, always buy british, and if possible off friends (but mine have only done pork this last year). It seems that if someone posts bacon that is fatter than the shops (which I think defnetely doesnt have enough fat on) and someone says its fat (not just on here IRL too) they are assumed to just like/buy shop bought bacon. I know plenty of people that don't want to buy supermarket but they can't afford to buy from farm shops or smallholders. I know we are in the pig forum, but I only have lamb as an example, if i go direct to a farmer (small scale) I can get it for market value, but if i look on some websites and forums it costs the earth (about double the price) and is rather fatty in general (that is very generalised). (sorry If i have offended any smallholders, not try to lump you all in one basket). Have you sold any yet HH?
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Hey Pel, I appreciate your frank sentiments entirely, in fact I'm often in the doghouse for upsetting people myself, but..........regarding price chap............my bacon, fat or no fat is £14 a kilo, and its selling mighty fast! The truth is anyone giving their produce away is a total fool who doesnt value their own hard work and effort! When im falling around in mud for 6 months of a year, and paying nigh on 300 a ton for feed............making 20 on killing a pig just isnt fair to me or the animal!
These breeds are worth premium, their taste alone is amazing! I do appreciate your comments about the fat, BUT has anyone ever seen the Gloucester old Spot bacon in Harrods??? Its just like ours, so suddenly I dont feel like a flop anymore ;D ;D ;D ;D
Best regards
Jas.
www.hairyhogs.co.uk (http://www.hairyhogs.co.uk)
Pel, by the way, we fancy half a dozen rare breed sheep for the table............what do you reccomend sir?
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im sure there was bacon like that in booths supermarket. think of some continental hams they have loads of fat. i wonder if you coul render any spare bacon fat for roast potatoes. i surpose it would be very salty. shetlands give nice joints for the smaller family and are cheap.
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Thats really good Hairy hogs, glad you can sell it. I think I just live in a poor part of wales and the farmers are always being said to have tight pockets (cardi folk). Sheltands are good, and very nice to handle too, seem popular with my clients. I'm a Mrs rather than a sir :) Though the lamb I buy to eat are Badger face, moutain raised on the Llyn. I didnt mean to offend your bacon as I'm sure it does taste great.
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The bacon looks fantastic, but I can see why you might get some negative comments. It's difficult to change the way people think about fat, bearing in mind that, for the past 50 years or so, commercial pork/bacon production has been all about lean meat.
I've just started curing my own bacon (had it cured by "professionals" and it was either too salty or horrendously expensive - and never quite right) and I'm over the moon with the results.
Interestingly, I sent off an Oxford Sandy & Black gilt aged 8 months at the same time as a Tamworth boar aged 5 months - the OSB destined for bacon and the Tamworth for pork. The OSB meat came back incredibly lean (well, say 1cm to 1.5cm of back fat) compared to the Tamworth! The OSB has made some incredible bacon - even the belly could have passed for back bacon!
Very impressed with the fact that you can run OSBs on for so long without them laying down too much fat (first time I've tried them) and would recommend to anyone thinking of rearing for bacon. Saying that, the abattoir wasn't too happy with the amount of de-hairing they had to do!
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Hi Liz
I have to say the bacon is lovely and this thread has sparked some good ole fashioned debate, but we, like you are rather keen on running Oxfords for bacon now, and Saddlebacks rather than large blacks. We had some of our Oxfords 'wasted' on pork last November, and I must say the fat contenet was as you say minimal. Flavour was amazing however.
Thnaks Pel for clarifying the 'sir' bit ;)
regards
Jason
www.hairyhogs.co.uk (http://www.hairyhogs.co.uk)