At the Butchers

I got the phone call. "Hi, I've got your 2 pigs. Are you able to come tomorrow night for butchering them at 6? I'd like you to be here so you get what you want."

"Yes, yes of course." Thinking to myself, AAAAHHHHH! What have I gotten myself into? Breathe girl. You're good. Thankfully I kept it cool on the phone. "Great, I'll see you then." He gave me directions and said I didn't need to bring anything.

Well, life is sure full of experiences and frankly I wouldn't have it any other way. I arranged for a babysitter for the boys and did my best to keep an open mind. Many people once again were telling me I was nuts, that it would be awful and giving me pity.  I instead was keeping a smile on my face and staying calm.

The next day along with regular chores was organizing the freezers. I had no idea how much meat I was about to come home with. Also, I contacted a number of interested customers advising them they would be able to purchase pork from me starting tomorrow. I noted down any particular cuts they wanted.

5:30pm came. I set up the new babysitter who was great. I felt much better knowing the kids were in good hands. Off I went. I became a little anxious as I was sure I was lost at least twice but kept going and suddenly there it was. The farm was amazing. The sun was still up so I was able to see the big farmhouse, numerous huge outbuildings and rolling pasture disappearing in the distance. A lady came out asking if I was there for the meat and pointed me to the white door. As I approached, a nice man came out and introduced himself. We went in and he showed me the shop. Small, very well set up and very clean. His wife joined us and we got started. He opened the cooler door and brought out the first side. A track with a hook on it held the meat. That's what it was, meat. It looked exactly like what anyone would see in any butcher shop. I immediately felt better. Any trepidation went out the window. Instead I was racking my brain trying to remember all the names of the different cuts of pork and what part they come from. I was back into my cooking mindset. 

We had a great time. As usual I'm full of questions which each of them answered with smiles. He did all the major cuts and she made the kabobs. I mainly watched and helped where I could, labeling mostly. They told me they appreciated me being there, that it's nice to have company. I really enjoyed it.

He explained a reason for why I had missed out on being there when the pigs were slaughtered. As it's already a hard thing to do in life and the men didn't know how I'd react, it was easier for them to get it done on their own. I completely respect that and I was thankful he had explained it to me.

We talked about the differences in pig breeds, recipes, snowmobiling, kids, dogs. Towards the end they were starting to quiz me on all the different cuts. There were a lot! It was fun.

He loaded up my trunk, we settled the account, said good-byes and off I went. I had approximately 240lbs of meat!

Driving was a little tenuous. A very heavy fog had descended so I had to slow down to 15km/hr, even stopping sometimes to identify where exactly the road was. The kids were already in bed when I got home a little after 8pm which was awesome. I am very happy with my new babysitter and the boys are too. 

Soon it was time to get to work unloading. I backed the CRV right up to the porch. I could only lift the small box, the big ones I had to empty from there. My cat came out and sat watching me. She was very interested in what was happening as she could smell something yummy. I layered the meat in the freezers with both already frozen items or bags of ice. Everything else went in the fridge or a cooler for the night with ice blocks. It was cold out and by the time I had packed it all away I was frozen and exhausted. What an adventure. I am so proud of myself for doing this!

In the next 48 hours, nearly all the pork was sold. I still have some steaks and roasts available. but I was amazed and happy it went so fast.

We had ribs last night for dinner and they were fantastic! I'll be making a pot roast in the slow cooker this week. Next time I'm keeping more for us.

I'm looking forward to getting new pigs this spring, maybe more then two...