EAT The Whole Pig: Locally Raised Tamworth

It's no secret I am a carnivore, but I like to think I have a good mixture of recipes here on the blog and I try to cater to all palates and diets. Heck, I even tried way back going vegan for 12 days. That being said, I want to give fair warning that today's post is about a live pig that I purchased, the trip I took to see the kill and the chance I had to talk directly with the butcher. There may be a few images that some may find disturbing, but I did want to document the trip. I have tried to keep it tasteful but there is no way around the end result. I will say that the animals on this farm live a life above and beyond anything you will purchase in your local box store, and with that said, they are raised ultimately for the table. Beyond that, this post is really keeping true to what my blog is all about — eating locally, well and about sourcing food from local farmers and purveyors.

To that point, I introduce Josiah Lockhart from Lockhart Family Farm, located 40 minutes north of Richmond in Woodford (right outside Ladysmith), Virginia. He raises heritage breed pigs, turkeys, chickens, and New Zealand rabbits.

Image by Hunter Hopcroft

I met Josiah and his family over the summer through the Richmond Food Co-op where we attended a farm workshop dinner. That is where I learned how much care this family takes raising animals that live the absolute best life they can have before going to market. Even down to the bees — Josiah raises them for the pollination help on the farm, not for honey. When you raise bees for honey, it's all about taking the honey and requiring the bees to produce more which can be a bit stressful to the bee. If he ends up getting a couple of jars during the season that he and his family can use then that is just icing on the cake in his book.

As we walk with his young son, Alexander, we discuss the orchard that has recently been planted and how he is looking forward to bringing many local fruits to market in the coming years.

Image by Hunter Hopcroft

Josiah raises pure Tamworth pigs (which is what I purchased), Tamworths mixed with Ossabow, and he even has the american version of the Mangalitsa a mulefoot pig. These are rare breed pigs and the mulefoot is said to have less than 150 documented purebred hogs in existence — Josiah hopes to help change that. As the nights were starting to get cooler, Josiah had built some hay bale structures that the pigs could burrow in at night to keep warm.

These pigs are raised in the forest where they can root and forage all day long. Moving them on a regular basis allows for clearing and replanting for the next line of pigs to come through.

Image by Hunter Hopcroft

This was not my first time visiting a farm for the kill. My Hungarian grandmother would once a year go to the farm for the kill and the old saying of "using everything but the squeal" certainly was true with her. My dad and I had the opportunity to go with her on one of these trips back when I was a teenager. In Europe when it is time to have the kill, it is a communal affair where all of the neighboring farms get together and help. I am not quite sure, looking back, how my grandmother did everything she did in her small little kitchen in Henrico county.

Josiah had a local mobile butchering company come on site to the farm where the pigs had been raised as not to cause them any additional stress in transporting them. I stand and watch in amazement at how swift these guys are. They literally killed, gutted and skinned 3 - 230 pound hogs in about an hour and half. If you are at the farm for the kill you can take the head, offal (liver, kidney, and heart), jowls and the trotters (feet). I left with everything but the kidney (and skin).

*** somewhat graphic images beyond this picture ***

Images above by Hunter Hopcroft

And after those two shots, here is a beautiful picture of a possible future farmer, Alexander!

Image by Hunter Hopcroft

Luckily, after just being at Beast Feast 2013, I was able to snag some time before going to the farm with Tanya (owner of Belmont Butchery) to discuss pork cuts. She was a wealth of knowledge walking me through the cuts that I would want and how to discuss that with the butcher like a pro! Here is a picture of the rough notes I took away to type up for the butcher.

I had been so intrigued from my first farm visit this summer over our discussion of bees that Josiah was kind enough to offer to help me build a top bar hive of my own during this visit. So, we headed out to the store for a lumber run!

Image by Hunter Hopcroft

In under about an hour we had built this top-bar hive for my garage in the fan. I will document this process in a separate post — more to come!

In addition to hives, Josiah also offers these Chicken Tractors to help you get started raising your own chickens! Unfortunately, this is not an option for me and my small bricked-in back patio, but with the recent updates to laws surrounding keeping chickens in the city, they are a great option.

Image by Hunter Hopcroft

To finish out the pig, what does one get from half of a hog (I ended up splitting the full pig with one of my friends)? Outside of what I brought back the day of the kill, let's just say you might need to invest in a second freezer if you do not already have one!

I am looking forward to sharing everything I do with this pig — from rendering the leaf lard, to curing and smoking my own bacon, and cooking up some tasty locally raised pig!

More from this series: EAT The Whole Pig

As always,

E.A.T. local E.A.T. well