Charcuterie

For some people creating something brings a great sense of peace and fulfillment.  Slowly expanding the farm over time is that way for us, especially when B can create something in its entirety that we have grown or raised on our own.

Last year was our first foray into charcuterie.  Charcuterie, originally a form of meat preservation

prior to refrigeration, is the process of preserving meats (primarily pork) to develop rich flavors. We got ourselves a pork belly and made our first pancetta.  We loved it and B has spent endless hours researching and learning how to expand this into more and more.

Doing things the natural way, letting the curing and fermenting processes evolve as they were meant to has become a focus for us.  Last week, using a slightly different recipe, we began another pancetta using a Berkshire Pork belly (This pork is the bomb, and the breed that we are looking to raise).  

As each year we expand, this year we are also curing three duck breast pancettas, homestead raised. The meat was absolutely beautiful after its initial sodium curing and after seasoning and rolling in cheese cloth it is now hanging in a temperature controlled area, soon to be incorporated into our holiday meals and beyond.

I would not be surprised if our natural food preservation techniques become an important expansion of our little smallholding as time goes on.

Hello Mother

This year has been the year of ferments and cures.  We fermented pickles, squash, dilly beans, mead, wine, and now we are vinegar making.  After several weeks of feeding, B now has an established and happy vinegar mother.  Our goal is to utilize our wild grape wine, and age it into something similar to a balsamic vinegar.  The flavor of the starter is already both sweet and rich.  We may even get a small oak barrel to age it in.

I love that B is fearless and willing to try anything.  Foremost he is an information junkie, and researches thoroughly to find the best ways to tackle new adventures.  An important thing when homesteading, is trial and error.  I have to say the process is a lot of fun!

I think the vinegar might just be a great accompaniment to our home-cured meat project.  After a few days of using it, our pancetta turned out delightful.  It has a sweet, salty and peppery taste on its own, then becomes quite salty when cooked.  It is perfect for soup or pasta bases.  We are in the process of getting a whole pig for the freezer from a local farm.  B plans on expanding our charcuterie, a term he has grown quite fond of saying, into other areas; coppa, prosciutto etc :)  The more we find that we can do, and what we will utilize will aid us in decisions as to what animal expansions we may do in future.  I think that the most surprising thing that we have found out is really how easy so many of these things are.  Similar to cooking, creating anything from scratch is not necessarily hard to do, it merely takes time and patience.  A great lesson; good things come to those who wait.