weaners

I took Polly and her sister to the abattoir on Monday morning. They
went without any fuss and were handled carefully and respectfully by
the staff, who deal exclusively with smallholders and rare breeds.
They had a couple of apples each to see them on their way.

I picked up the carcasses this morning and brought them back to the
Primrose for butchery. As with their brothers, the meat is beautiful,
firm and rosy pink, with just the right amount of pure white fat on
the back. I did feel a twinge of regret as I submerged Polly's head in
a bucket of brine, but only for a moment when I called to mind the
succulent "fromage de tête" she was going to provide.

Then I took the hams I had made from the earlier batch out of their
brines - two from their beer and molasses and two from the dry salt
cure - the "wet" ones will be smoked and cooked soon, but the "dry"
ones were wrapped in muslin and will be left to hang for a minimum of
8 months before eating. I'm counting the days.

I went out to the piggery in the afternoon to see the three "weaners"
that were delivered earlier. When I looked in the pen I couldn't see
them, and thought maybe I'd got the day wrong. Then I saw a tiny snout
appear from behind the ark, twitching and sniffing the air. All three
were huddled up hiding but they soon came out to say hello. They're
about the size of a Jack Russell and it's amazing to think that Polly
and her siblings were that size only 6 months ago...