The Local Food Report: heritage pigs

This is Wilbur:

He's not the best-looking pig. He is an unusual pig, though. He's a Large Black, an old heritage breed. They were popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, but these days, there aren't many around. Why? In short, because there isn't as much land around as there used to be, and these pigs eat grass. You can tell that from their coloring—dark, coarse hair and dark skin protect them from burning.

I met Wilbur in Barnstable, at Tim Friary's. He runs Cape Cod Organic Farm, and this year, he started raising pigs. He's got two kinds—both heritage breeds. The others are Berkshires. The Large Blacks are listed on the American Livestock Breeds Conservation Priority List as "critical," meaning there are less than 200 registered each year in the U.S. The Berkshires aren't listed in our country, but they are in England. It's estimated that there are less than 2,000 pigs of either breed globally.

It hasn't always been this way. Before the era of cheap feed, pasture breeds like Large Blacks and Berkshires were easier for farmers. They ate pasture, which was free, and rooted around in the woods, which helped them clear land. They could easily survive the winter outside, even with piglets. They're fairly docile as hogs go and known for their good mothering abilities. And most importantly, they have tasty meat. Tim describes it as a bit pinker than most pork, with better marbling.

This is the first year Tim's raising either of these breeds. He has a Berkshire sow named Delilah who had six piglets, two Large Black sows, Wilbur, and two litters of Large Black piglets. He's got 22 pigs so far, and eventually, he's hoping to get up into the hundreds. This year's piglets won't be ready for slaughter until this spring. I'm already looking forward to the meat.

The Local Food Report: on pig

I drew you all a picture. Don't laugh—I'm not much of an artist—but for today's purposes, I think it will do. I want to talk about pork, and all the different cuts of meat that come from the various limbs and layers and parts of a pig—and in order to do that, we're going to need a visual. So here it is: my rendition of the cuts of a pig:

I got the idea for this from Aidan Davin, a hog farmer from Rutland who sells his meat at the Provincetown Farmers Market. He has a big poster in front of his stand with a diagram of cuts on it, and almost everyone stops to wonder, ask questions, stare. I was there doing interviews for my radio show, and so when he caught me staring, we talked through the sections and the cuts that come from each one. So here you go—the primal cuts of a pig, and the fabricated, or retail, cuts that come from each one:

1. The Jowl

The jowl is the loose, lower, drooping part of a pig's cheeks. The animal has no bones in this area, and the flesh—which has a fair amount of fat—is generally cured and made into jowl bacon.

2. The Shoulder

The shoulder is generally broken down into two cuts: the shoulder butt, which contains the shoulder blade bone, and the picnic shoulder, which contains the shoulder (arm) bone and shank bone. The shoulder butt is also called the Boston Butt and can either be cooked as a roast, cured to make smoked daisy butt—similar to ham—or further broken down into butt steaks, ground pork, or sausage.

3. Fat Back

Fat back is a layer of fat about an inch thick that lines the animal's back. If the skin is left on, it can be fried into cracklings or pork rind. Without the skin, it is often rendered into lard for cooking, or made into salt pork.

4. The Loin

The loin contains the upper portions of the rib bones, the backbone, and the hip bone. It is the source of all sorts of familiar cuts, including Canadian bacon, country style ribs, boneless loin, loin and rib chops, baby back ribs, pork tenderloin, and crown roast.

5. The Ribs

Beneath the loin is the home of the spare ribs. This cut comes from the lower portion of the ribs, and also contains the breastbone.

6. The Belly

Arguably the most delicious part of the big, the belly is a fairly fatty area free of bones. It is either cut into slabs and left uncured—pork belly—or cut into strips, cured, and smoked to make bacon.

7. The Ham

The ham comprises the thigh and rump area of the pig. It contains the leg bone and the hind shank bone, and is generally cured and smoked to make what we think of as ham, although it can also be cooked fresh.

8. The Hock

The hock is the cut right above the hoof, between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot. Also known as a pork knuckle, it doesn't have enough meat to be served on it's own. Instead, it's generally throw into soups or braising pots to lend flavor to vegetables.

So, there you have it. The cuts of a pig. If you want to hear my conversation with Aidan, click on over to the podcast—he goes into a bit more depth, and I think it will be worth your while. Otherwise, have a wonderful weekend, filled, I hope—if you're into that kind of thing—with plenty of bacon. I'll see you Monday, everyone.