Since the late seventies, when I first watched Le Cochon, a film by Jean Eustache, I've wanted to get my hands on a pig and use every single part. But the killing has always put me off; I'm just not sure I could do it.
Here's my chance to butcher a whole pig without having to be in on the slaughter; a day on a farm with a group of passionate young butchers. This is their description of the event.
The Whole Hog Workshop will be a full day event on August 24th with the Berkshire Food Guild's butcher, Jake Levin, charcutier, Jazu Stine, and chef, Jamie Paxton. The day will begin with a tour of our host farm, Cricket Creek Farm, and a discussion of pasture-based farming and sustainable animal husbandry. The morning will be spent learning how to breakdown a pig sourced from Climbing Tree Farm, which feeds its pigs whey from Cricket Creek Farm's cheese-making facility. The hands-on butchery workshop will include information on where the various cuts come from, their characteristics, and the best approaches for cooking and curing each cut.
After a pork-filled lunch, the workshop will focus on curing lessons and demonstrations. The participants will take the pig they broke down in the morning and put each cut under cure to create popular cured products, including bacon, sausage, proscuitto, coppa and more. We will go over the various curing techniques including dry curing, smoking, and making sausages, salamis, and terrines. After a charcuterie tasting, the workshop will conclude with everyone settling down around a table overlooking the farm to feast on a pork-centric meal and absorb the day’s learning over some local craft beers.
The Whole Hog Workshop will be held on Saturday, August 24th, 2013 at Cricket Creek Farm, Williamstown, MA. The Workshop will begin at 10:30 am. Tickets are $350 per person, including beverages, lunch, and dinner. They can also be reached via their Facebook page facebook.com/BerkshireFoodGuild