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CTMike · October 2015

A friend at work has a small hobby farm, and is expecting a litter of Berkshire's any day now. One of them is mine and I am really looking forward to the day it is in my freezer, and eventually my belly. I've never had any Berkshire or Kurobota from SRF, hopefully it will be as good as all the hype.

mahenryak · October 2015

Yes, it should be as good as advertised. Congratulations.

Tinyfish · October 2015

Here I thought you might keep it as a pet...lol

CTMike · October 2015

So I don't know yet which one of these little Berk's will be in my freezer come April, but one of them will be, just born this morning.

CTMike · February 2016

Talked my friend when I saw him at work today. He told me the Berk is at about 90#, and should be 200# on the hoof come slaughter time at the end of April. He also told me he is selling it to me for $4/lb hanging weight. Can't beat the price, it's good to have friends like him.

Wolfpack · February 2016

Did you name him bacon or pork chop?

you will love the meat- nice score.

Thatgrimguy · February 2016

Very nice! I'm jealous. Your freezer will be full of the best pork there is IMO.

NPHuskerFL · February 2016

You'll be astonished on the difference. Nice score indeed.

Ozzie_Isaac · February 2016

They look yummy. Kind of like pig poppers.

CTMike · June 2016

So my little Berk Bacon factory shown above now looks like this:

Supposed to go to slaughter next week, $4/lb includes slaughtering/butchering. Plan is to have the butcher cure/smoke half of the bacon, and I'm going to do the other half.

I could use some suggestions on the cut list, first time buying a whole animal in over 20 years. Also looking for some recipes for bacon cure/smoke.

Thanks.

gmac · June 2016

The recipe in Charcuterie works well for me. Look for Rhulman and Polcyn online.

What did you mean for cuts? I always get a pig and I ask for chops a good inch thick, butts and shoulders for smoking, belly and ribs. I don't get them to cure the hams because I make a lot of sausages and I use the trimmings and ham for sausage but you can have them make ham too. Then ask them to cut ham and roasts to a size that works for your family. I do 3 lb roasts. They usually have a standard cut list and you can just specify thickness.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · June 2016

great price for a berkie. I use Charcuterie from Ruhlman as well for recipes to cure most of my nasty pig bits. jut pulled a big berkie belly out of the cure this morning. drying in the fridgge as we speak.

Focker · June 2016

$4/lb after processing is a good price. You would probably average around 5 if you had to pay for a locker to process.

Nose to tail, it is all good brother.
Search the net. Cuts, preferred methods for each. Lard, leaf lard, fatback for grinding, cracklins, jowl, etc etc. Braising hocks fresh, or curing then using in beans or collards is an example. My dad and his best bud(hog farmer), would drink Buds and put down a jar of pickled pig's feet.

Just wanted to highlight the fact that you don't have to cure it all with a salt heavy cure like Ruhlman's, and that some cuts may be better fresh. I'd much rather use a shoulder for a kick a$$ batch of sausages, than a bbq smoked whole shoulder or buckboard bacon. Let it shine.

Better advice/options are out there other than Ruhlman and Polcyn IMO, when going nose to tail....from folks that have been doing it much longer.

Darby_Crenshaw · June 2016

i would ask them to leave things as large as possible. no need for them to chop your loin into chops for example. get the whole thing, bone in. then you can hunk off a rib roast, some chops, etc.

and don't have them grind the stuff that everyone else grinds. you'll find shoulder and belly often get ground up. you can choose to grind them later, but if they grind them under the assumption you don't want those "cheaper cuts" left whole, you'll be S.O.L. for pork butt and shoulder and bacon (for example)

ask for the caul fat, the back fat, the liver, kidneys, the head (or the cheeks at least). god forbid you only get the cuts that show up in a supermarket case. it has happened. heard too many stories of serious foodies getting rooked, because the guy doing the breaking down just assumes you are like every other consumer, and you get half inch boneless chops, and 100 pounds of ground meat.

if you have no desire to use the back fat for sausages, or the caul fat for pastry or pate, you might have some foodie freinds that DO want it, and it'll be gold.

you can't just substitute pork fat for back fat or caul fat in many recipes.

i think you should ask for the hams left green too. you can cure them yourself, better

i swear, if i had a big enough kitchen, i think i'd ask for the hog to have the head taken off and the carcass split. and let me work out the rest. i'm not a butcher at ALL, but i'd almost rather do it myself than risk disappointment

good luck. great price for a great breed.

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