The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: powispigs on August 29, 2010, 04:53:18 pm
-
We have a two and a half year saddleback gilt who needs to go on her final journey...opinion differs in whether she will give good bacon at this age? What do people think??
-
try and see.
-
I am going to but as people buy the bacon we normally produce I just wondered if this was going to be any good
-
don't they produce fancy hams and sausages from older pigs. it may be worth a try. tou may just have found an extra income source.
-
Yep, they will have those too but just wondered of anyone had got any decent bacon from a pig if this age?
-
Once you've tried it, do let us know, please, I was wondering that myself.
Thanks,
Eve :wave:
-
There is no reason at all for such a gilt to make excellent bacon and sausages. She is probably carrying more fat than you'd want but you can always ask the butcher to trim it to an acceptable level. Throughout history is has been normal to produce bacon etc from such large pigs.
-
Thanks, I feel a bit more confident know. Will let you know how it turns out :wave:
-
Yes she will be fine, perhaps a little more back fat. Lovely ....
-
;)the extra fat on bacon is the best bit imo.
i saw on another site cant remember which one someone that had a 4 year old sow made into sausages & bacon and loved it.
-
that's great to hear, thank you :pig:
-
I sent off a two year old sow, a few weeks ago. I used her loins for bacon and the rest for sausages.
The loins did have over two inches of back fat which we trimmed, but it made the most fantastic dry cure bacon and everyone who has tried the sausages prefers them to the ones made from 6-7 month old porkers. :pig:
-
She will be delicious, and maybe not too fatty either!
-
Our local organic pork farm sends sows off at up to 6 years old, they have them turned into ham, bacon, sausages, mince, pate and potted meats. (Sells like mad here). They dont use them as joints or chops.
-
hello
We recently killed a four year old saddleback boar the bacon off him was beautiful lovely dark colour the joints are a bit tough and require long cooking, we also got 75 kilos of mince so its coming out our ears now at this stage, the butcher said they had never killed a boar at that age in his 30 years of working their and found it strange that we were going to eat him.
-
" found it strange that we were going to eat him."
They probably thought he would have boar taint. Please post to say he didnt. :)
-
The butcher said he was strong smelling when getting cut up, but no taste of him at all infact i would say it has been the tastiest bacon we had.and the mince is more like beef. we have a six year old sow who is gonna head the same way soon.
-
I have just booked my saddleback gilt in and then called the butcher to ask him to cure the bacon and do a ham joint for us as well, I was told not to be too hopeful as the hormones would probably prevent the cure being taken?? They were very helpful but I think they are expecting the worst! I have just eaten bacon from a three year old sow and although it doesnt look good and is fatty the taste is fab so fingers crossed :pig:
-
Here in France its normal for older sows to go on to become sausages, belly bacon, salami etc. My friend used a very old sow for bacon and gammon last year, havent actually tried it myself but heard it was fine. If you are using the joints as fresh meat they do take a lot of long slow cooking.
-
An update.. bacon back today and it is fantastic, butcher made streaky and short back and it wasn't too fatty. We also had gammon some of which we had some for tea, so tender and tasty! So relieved! :pig:
-
No boar taint?
75kg of mince - that's many hundreds of burgers and sausages, even more than we could eat, and we're mad about the stuff! ;D
Enjoy!
Eve :wave: