“It took four strong men, experts at this sort of thing, to restrain the pig, then drag and wrestle him up onto his side and onto a heavy wooden horse cart. It was not easy. With the weight of the two men pinning him down and another holding his hind legs, the main man with the knife, gripped him by the head, leaned over and plunged the knife all the way into the beasts thorax, just above the heart.
“I’ll remember the atmosphere of business as usual that hung over the whole process as the pigs chest rose and fell, his blood draining noisily into a metal pail. A woman cook came running for the blood, hurrying into the kitchen with it after it stopped draining freely. More women walked briskly to and from the kitchen with other receptacles. Food was being prepared. And I’ll never forget the look of pride on Jose’s face, as if he were saying, this is where it all starts. Now you know. This is where food comes from.”
Taken from Anthony Bourdain’s description of the annual pig slaughter in a Portuguese village this seemed like the perfect place to start when talking about butchery.
While for some this description might seem gruesome and slightly disturbing what must be remembered and celebrated is that with correct skill, care and attention (and a willing palate) every succulent and delicious morsel from the animal can be used – especially in the case of the versatile pig.
In the Portuguese farming community, as with other similar localities, the process of nurturing, fattening, killing and ultimately eating the animal is actioned with a dedication of almost religious proportions. Every inch of the animal is respected and used.
The animals belly is split and the heart, lungs, tripe, intestines, liver and kidneys removed from the cavity. The body is then portioned up: the flare fat removed; the fillet taken from inside the loin; the legs put aside for cured hams and prosciutto; the head removed for the cheeks and for brawn; the neck-end split into the neck and shoulder; the belly for roasting; and the hind quarters for ham. It is the embodiment of using everything but the Oink – a sentiment that is qualified in Nose to Tail Eating, Fergus Henderson’s cult celebration of all things meaty.
Butchering meat is not for the feint hearted – or so you might think – however, this week The Guardian’s Word of Mouth blog launched the first video in its four-part Italian pig butchery masterclass and the viewing is anything but horrific. Good butchering, as the video shows, allows for nothing to be wasted and pays the necessary respect to the animal that has met its fateful end.
The trend for home butchery is on the up and offers not only a great way to educate yourself about a particular animal but really makes you appreciate where your food has come from and be at one with each delicious mouthful.
Butchery training can take anything from one week to a number of years. A number of places in the UK however offer short-term courses lasting anywhere from an evening to 3-4 days and costing anything from £150-800. My hot-tips are below:
- The Ginger Pig (London)
- Andrew Sharp (London)
- Empire Farm (Somerset)
- River Cottage (Dorset)
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