Category: Pastured pigs

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Stuffed pork tenderloin

5 slices bacon chopped

2 apples peeled and finely diced

1 shallot finely diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp dry rosemary

¼ cup pecans, chopped

2 pork tenderloins

Salt and pepper

Dijon mustard

Preheat over to 325. Cook bacon and drain all but 1 tbsp of fat. Add apples and shallots and cook for 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add rosemary and pecans and season to taste.

Butterfly tenderloins by using a sharp knife to ‘unroll’ muscle into a sort of rectangle. Place tenderloins side by side with an overlap. Season pork with salt and pepper and top with the filling. Roll up the tenderloin and secure roast with kitchen twine. Rub all over with mustard and place in roasting pan, bake until internal temperature is 155F, approximately an hour and 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes or a cold potato salad and your favorite vegetables.

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Baked sausages and apples

-1 package sausages

-2 apples cubed (honeycrisp)

-1.5 lb fingerling potatoes

– 3 carrots peeled and cut into wedges

– 1 red onion, in wedges

– 2 tbsp fresh sage chopped

– 2 tbsp honey

-3 tbsp olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine apples, potatoes, carrots, onions, and sage in a bowl. Drizzle honey and oil over, season with salt and pepper and mix.

Spread out in a roasting pan or cookie sheet. Place sausages amidst veggies. Bake for 45 minutes (until sausage internal temp is 160F and carrots and potatoes are tender. 

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Vietnamese inspired caramel pork

– 100gr brown sugar

– 1tbsp water

– 2 lb pork shoulder in pieces or 2 lb pork belly in cubes

– 1.5 cups coconut milk

– 1 shallot sliced thinly

– 2 garlic cloves minced

– 1.5 tbsp fish sauce

– ¼ tsp white pepper

-sliced red chilli

-cilantro chopped

Place sugar and water in a large pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is melted and bubbling then add all the rest of the ingredients except for the chilli and cilantro. Stir and adjust heat to simmer energetically. Simmer for 90 minutes uncovered. Stir a few times while cooking. When liquid has reduced and pork is tender, fat will separate- stir and pork will brown and caramelise in fat. Once liquid is stuck on pork pieces, it is ready! Serve with rice and garnish with red chili slices and cilantro.

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Stuffed cabbage rolls

– 1 green or Savoy cabbage

– 1 lb ground beef

– 1 lb ground pork

– 2 teaspoons salt

– 3 teaspoons pepper

– 2 small onions, chopped

– 2 cups white rice, rinsed

– 1 cup milk

– 3 cloves garlic, chopped

– 2 eggs, beaten

Sauce

– olive oil

– 1 onion, finely chopped

– 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

– 1 large can of good tomatoes

– 5 Italian tomatoes, diced

– 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

– 2 teaspoons Worcestershire

– 1 tablespoon brown sugar

– Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut out the heart of the cabbage and plunge it into boiling water for 5 minutes. Take out and carefully remove the leaves, leave to cool and cut off the center rib for easy rolling.

Mix meat, salt, pepper, onions, rice, milk, garlic and eggs together.

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté onion for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the garlic. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, cider vinegar, sugar, and Worcestershire. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Place about 4 tablespoons of the meat mixture on a cabbage leaf. Roll into a cigar shape and tie or secure with a toothpick. Repeat.

Place a thin layer of tomato sauce in an ovenproof dish. Place the cigars side by side in the dish and cover with the remaining sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 90 minutes.

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Berkshire or crossbred pork rack roast

  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or rosemary
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Salt and pepper
  • New potatoes halved and coated with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper

Whisk Dijon and herbs together and add salt and pepper. Rub the rack with the mix and let rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Preheat oven to 425F. You can sear the rack before placing in oven, but I didn’t and it was great nonetheless! Place rack in roasting pan and add your new potatoes. Roast pork for 1.5 hours or until internal temp reads 145F. Remove and cover with foil to rest for 20 minutes. Slice between bones and serve with a side of green beans or buttered cabbage! Beautiful!

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Bitterballen, a tasty Dutch snack

–          500 gr Leftover roast meat, shredded (chicken, pork, beef, lamb)

–          1.5 cup braising liquid, fat removed, from your roasts, alternatively make some broth with meat bones of your choice, onion, garlic, carrots, small piece of star anis, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper.

–          40 gr butter

–          40 gr flour

–          ¼ tsp allspice

–          Half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped

–          Salt and pepper

–          Panko

–          4 eggs, beaten

–          200 gr flour

–          Your favorite mustard for dipping

Shred your leftover meat and cut up finely (you can use a food processor to pulse the meat a bit to avoid getting big chunks in your mix. Melt butter in pan, add flour and whisk, cooking over low heat until a blonde roux is made, 3-4 minutes. Add braising liquid little by little whisking to avoid getting lumps. Once all liquid is mixed add meat, allspice, parsley and pepper. Cook gently until it thickens, 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Let cool on a cookie tray for 10 minutes then cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least two hours until completely cooled. Roll mixture into balls a bit smaller than a ping pong ball. Dredge balls in flour, then dip in beaten egg and finally panko breadcrumbs. Once breaded you can freeze on a tray and transfer to ziplocs to avoid them sticking together. Fry at 350F for 5 minutes or until golden colored and hot in middle. Enjoy with a good strong mustard and a beer or a gin (bitter).

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Fig and proscuitto salad

– fresh figs/ 3 per plate

– ferme d’orée prosciutto (1 package for two plates)

–  buffalo mozzarella 1/2 ball for two

– fresh basil leaves

-juice of half a lemon

-1 tbsp honey

-freshly ground pepper

-fleur de sel

Criss cross the figs but not quite to the bottom. Use your fingers and thumbs to squeeze them so they bloom. Place prosciutto slices and pieces of mozzarella around the figs, drizzle with mixed honey and lemon juice, salt and pepper and add basil leaves to garnish.

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Carbonara

  • 350gr spaghetti
  • 200g guanciale (or pancetta)
  • 4 eggs
  • 100gr pecorino romano cheese, grated
  • Ground black pepper

Boil the water for the pasta. Cut guanciale in small pieces and cook in skillet for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Level of cooking is per your taste, more you cook it the more crispy it will become. No need to use oil. Set aside. Prepare the pecorino ‘cream’- in a bowl mix whole eggs and cheese and add freshly ground black pepper. Set aside. Add salt to boiling water and cook pasta al dente. Using a spaghetti spoon, drain the pasta (keep the cooking liquid!) and place spaghetti in the skillet with guanciale over high heat. When sizzling, turn off heat to avoid overcooking and scrambling the eggs ! Quickly add cheese and egg mixture to the hot pasta and stir. Consistency should be creamy- if too runny, add pecorino, if too sticky and dense, add 1-2 tbsp cooking water. Serve pasta and top with pepper and pecorino.

Bon appetit!

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Salade chèvre lardons (goat cheese and lardons)

  • 1 package lardons
  • 2 apples, cubed
  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers, cubed
  • 4 radishes, sliced
  • 1 head of lettuce
  • Goat cheese, in pieces
  • ¼ cup pecans, chopped
  • Tartare sauce
    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • ¼ cup shallot, diced
    • ¼ cup small pickles, chopped
    • ¼ cup capers, chopped
    • 2 tbsp wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp dill, chopped

Cook lardons in a frying pan, reserve. Make a salad with the vegetables and top with cooked lardons, goat cheese, pecans and tartare sauce.

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Choosing your pork. Crossbred, Berkshire or Mangalica ?

The otherworldly Mangalica (or Mangalitsa) pig is a fascinating creature and a fantastic eat for those who only want the very best. Fatty and marbled, the meat has a brilliant hint of nuts. Truly the best pork in the world.

The Mangalica pig looks awkward and ancient at the same time, with its woolly coat. It never really adapted to living indoors and looks and behaves more like its wild boar ancestors than like the crossbred pigs they use in commercial farms. It is a charming pig with a friendly disposition.

Berks and Mangas eating pumpkins

Its unique qualities come at a price. Mangalica pigs are rare gems that grow incredibly slowly, and they are much less prolific than garden variety pigs. Rumour has it that their fat is incredibly healthy. It is different for sure.

Berkshires

The Berkshire pig is our all-time favorite. It is a perfect compromise between the Mangalica and crossbred pigs. Tastes great, marbles beautifully, with lower pH and short muscle fibers. While not a commercial breed at all, Berkshires are a little less rare and more prolific than Mangalicas. They grow a little faster and dress out quite a lot better than Mangalicas. They are only a little bit more expensive than crossbred pigs, but the taste is already so much better.

Crossbred pige with Duroc influence

Crossbred pigs (Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire) are bred to perform. And perform they do. They perform as well when raised outside under good circumstances. And they are ubiquitous as they are meant for big commercial farms. Raising them outside, without feeding them industrial by-products does help the quality along a little bit. The meat is lean and there is little marbling. But leanness has advantages too. Most people prefer their bacon a little meatier…

There are other heritage breeds, and we tried some – like Large Black, Large White, Hampshire, Duroc, and Tamworth – in the past. We learnt that we do not want to raise heritage pigs that do not improve meat quality. Unfortunately, tiny genetic pools, haphazard crossbreeding and – let us face it – amateurish farmers, do not do many favors to heritage pigs in general.

Tamworth pigs in the woods

Of course, there are many heritage breeds that we have never tried – but like to try. If you are breeding purebred Hereford, Meishan, or Mulefoot pigs, let us know!

But, let us face it. All we can really think of while writing these lines, is the truly amazing and delicate taste of Mangalica pork.

Berkshire chops