"At either end of any food chain you find a biological system -- a patch of soil, a human body -- health of one is connected, literally, to the health of the other."
- Michael Pollan
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Nose to Tail Pork Processing Workshop
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Saturday-Monday - October 11-13
MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center
The 2008 workshop is full. We are taking a waitlist of 5;
email education@mofga.org or call 207-568-4142 for more details.
Sustainable agriculture doesn’t end at harvest. Efficient use of every crop component is an important part of sustainable production. This hands-on workshop will demonstrate how you can get the most and the best out of an organic, pasture-raised pig, from slaughter to sausage, using every part but the squeal.
The workshop will cover all the basic techniques of humane slaughter, carcass preparation, breakdown of the major components, and demonstrations of sanitary fresh and preservative processing using the entire animal.
The workshop will be guided by chef Fergus Henderson’s notion that “it would be disingenuous to the animal not to make the most of the whole beast; there is a set of delights, textural and flavorsome, which lie beyond the fillet.” Together with hands-on demonstrations, the workshop will include discussions of hog husbandry, a review of state regulations on meat slaughter and processing, the preparation of recipes for fresh and preserved meat, tastings of various finished products, and the history and tradition of putting up meat for the winter.
On day one we will cover a history of the animal, discuss hog husbandry and feeding, after which we will demonstrate humane slaughter, and the efficient preparation of the carcass for subsequent processing. This section will be led by local farmers John Belding, Eric Rector, and Clayton Carter.
After showing the steps to creating a clean carcass ready to be butchered as soon as it has cooled, there will be a traditional butcher’s picnic, serving several primal parts of the butchered pig to give thanks to the workers and the animal itself.
Day two will take the cooled carcass and break it further into the major cuts: shoulder, loin, bacon, and hams. Each cut will be considered for its properties, and we will demonstrate storage and preparation of all cuts, including methods of salting and smoking the meats. This section will be led by Eric Rector an Clayton Carter.
On day three, we will further process those cuts into fresh and preserved finished products, including sausage (fresh and cured), ham, bacon, pates, and lard processing. Various cures (wet and dry) will be discussed and demonstrated. This section will be led by Eric Rector.
The Nose to Tail Pork Processing Workshop will take place at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity. All equipment for the workshop will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring own knives on days two and three if they would prefer working with those.
Registration fees:
Saturday, October 11 (slaughter) and Sunday, October 12 (butcher): $80 per person
Monday, October 13 (further processing): $50 per person
All Three Days: $110 per person
Fees cover materials, take home documentation, a small breakfast, and a full lunch each day.
Registration:
register online here
or
fill out and send in this registration form (pdf) with payment
or
call MOFGA at 207-568-4142.
Important note: this workshop is extremely popular and fills quickly. We cannot guarantee a spot until payment is received.
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