Makin' Bacon

OK, get your mind out of the gutter.  To keep with the bacon theme and give a little insight to the process, I thought I would post about... Makin' Bacon.

WARNING:

 This post contains graphic images and descriptions.  Please do not view if you are weak.
Also, bacon can become habit forming...
eat at your own risk.

Ham, Hot Dog,  and Bacon

A while back, someone gave us 3 potbelly pigs.  We had the perfect place for them to grow and later become a meal.  Izzy affectionately named them Ham, Hot Dog, and Bacon.  Everyone warns you not to let your kids name your farm animals, especially if they are to be eaten.  However, we felt it appropriate to name them after the food they will become to help lessen the blow when the time comes.  It sorta worked.  Izzy didn't want t to take part in the slaughter but she has taken part in eating.  

As of this post, we have processed 2 of the mud diggers and have enjoyed every bit of them.  The first one, we cooked whole on a large smoker.  We then pulled all the meat off the bones, packaged, and froze for serving later.  The 2nd pig, we decided to quarter and cook the pieces separately.  Focusing on learning the process to cure the bacon.  I cannot wait to eat this!!!

The process is simple and goes like this (see pics below):

1. kill (i'll spare you these pictures- just know that the pig does have to die first)
1. lesson learned... a 22 placed correctly will do the job, a 9mm is too powerful and can ruin the meat behind the head.
2. hang
1. hang by the back feet after slicing throat to bleed out pig
3. wash
1. you want to wash the dirt, mud, hair, blood off really good.  repeat when necessary at any step
4. skin
1. remove skin but leave as much fat as possible.  this fat will be trimmed later, saved, and rendered to make lard
5. quarter
1. save your cuts of meat for future cookouts- the bacon is under the belly
6. trim fat
1. render for lard- we now have gallons of it.
7. cure/ grind/ or freeze
1. bacon, sausage, ribs, butts...
8. slice/ cut
9. cook and enjoy

needs a bath

the guts... some people eat this... not me

pig with no skin or head...
gets another bath

time to remove the skin

skinned out and ready to quarter

nothing left but the Hams

a table full of pork.  ribs, bacon, loins, butts, and hams

trimmed up and in the cooler

through the sausage grinder

on the stove... that is good sausage

Why is it called a Boston Butt, isn't that the shoulder?

In pre-revolutionary New England and into the American Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston butt". In the UK it is known as "pork hand and spring", or simply "pork hand". (Wikipedia)

so, what are you doing these days?

about a year ago, rachel and i sold most of what we had, i quit my job (i say i retired), picked up the kids and moved to talladega, al.(rachels hometown).  to many, it seemed sudden and unexpected.  in fact, it was well planned, executed almost to perfection and we have not regretted a single thing.

rewind: summer 2011- 

"Well yeah. I was just sitting here, eating my muffin, 

drinking my coffee, when I had what alcoholics 

refer to as a moment of clarity." -Jules Winnfield

just like the previous years, we joined my mom in the annual vacation to the beach.  7 days in a incredible house right on a less congested area just south of new smyrna beach, fl.  sounds great until i realize that every day, i am constantly on the phone with work, joining conference calls, chasing emails, and NOT enjoying my kids as they are loving the beach.  at some point that week, rachel and i took a walk down the beach to have a moment of clarity.  we decided a change needed to happen...a major change.

rachel always wanted to live back home in talladega.  so that was the only place up for discussion.  there is not much for me to do in dega as far as work goes so we decided that she would work and i would stay at home.  we worked out a budget that allowed for this and found it to be attainable.  (i have found that living with no tv in the house is not as hard as i thought)


things were put into motion and started to happen faster than expected.  rachel quickly landed a great job at the hellen keller school, the kids got in great schools, we sold the house, i quit my job and went hiking for a month.






we are now live very close to her family and help out on her dad's farm with the horses, cows, goats, hogs, chickens, ducks, guineas  and large garden.  in the growing season, i sell produce at the local farmers market.

don't get me wrong, i loved my old job but it was time for me to move on.  i do a small amount of consulting for technology group in augusta, ga but i have sooo much less stress now.

so, if you try to call me and i don't answer, it is likely that i am either our hunting, hiking, on the tractor, or taking a nap... leave a message, i might even call you back the same day.

did you know that bacon has been around since the chinese started preserving pig bellies with salt in the 1500s?

you want it how?

"yes ma'am, i would like the combo breakfast, eggs scrambled and bacon limp."
"limp?"
"yes, i like to taste my bacon"
well, that got the usual stares and eyes cut from the others at the table and the waitress.  it was ok, i was used to that.  i still don't understand why most people like their bacon burnt.

it was Christmas eve at the local huddle house.  we joined long time family friends, the taylors and the knights, for their traditional after service meal at huddle house.  don't laugh. it was great!  besides, there isn't much to choose from in this small town.  the food was good, the service was good, and we didn't have to wash any dishes.  we stayed late enough that the kids were tired and went straight to bed when we got home... in time for santa to show up.

we had a great time talking with the adults and somehow managed to put all the kids at a table by themselves (poor waitress).  the knights were down from minnesota visiting so we heard lots of stories from them and how different it is "up there".  we shared stories from the farm, my hikes, trucks, guns, hunting, jobs, and other manly things.

later that night, lee knight suggested that i start a blog about "all stuff manly".  I'm not much of a writer, but i do feel i have some interesting stories to tell.  so i told him i would think about it as long as he promised to be a guest writer as well.  so here it is... the blog... thanks lee for the push and the name idea... that credit goes to you..."limp bacon".

short stories are my goal. i promise not to bore you with long pointless drama.  it will be light-hearted, often funny, and a great description of the life i am choosing to lead and how i got here.  oh yeah, i will make it just like my bacon... as manly as possible... so you can taste it.

nathan