All in the name of market research and quality control you understand.................

Well today I went to ford Mill Farm and really enjoyed learning and  making sausages. Unfortunately I had to take a sausage home for testing.

Here are the pictures of the sausage making 

Mince ready for seasoning the Old Traditional way

Reminced

 Ready lets getting making sausages 

The Sausage Maker

Inside the sausage maker

Me having a go making sausages - first time every - The maet Comes out a bit quick!

Twisting the Sausages to hang so that all those flavours mingle

Apple and Scrummpy mix

Garlic and herbs mix

Anyone for sausages??

This box is for curing and smoking! multiple cuts in there ready n two weeks!!

Excellent day and I brought some Sausage meat home - this evening I will be experimenting with sweet chilli Sausage rolls, my sausage I brought home and scot eggs - eggs from my ladies if I have any and herb from my herb collection and sausage-meat from my ladies. Now you cant get anymore home grown then that!!

Tomorrow I collect all the meat minus the bacon and hams that are curing!!

If only chickens wore wellies

Its rather soggy again today. Too soggy for chickens feet - ducks they just love it. After market i moved two chicken coups and one duck house to a drier part of the field  and an electric fence in the rain. No escapee poultry either i impressed myself.  So the gang are now happy again and i can go and cook my ladies pork loin steaks!  Yum cant wait!

The feelers are out for next part of operation smallholding - orphan lambs - i would have to bottle feed them of course but cheeper then buying ewes. I feel though these would be ones i use as breeding ewes as not sure if i am ready to slaughter an animal I bottle feed but who knows.

All going on down on the smallholding

Next stage of operation chicken - Yesterday I got a cockerel - He lets say has taken over as Chicken Boss. He ignores the male duck which is good. He is a lovely chappy and put in a ring of 18 ladies hes in his element!!. he had a girlfriend at his former digs so she had to come too she doesnt seem to mind him having 19 other ladies!. Bringing the tally of chickens to 21- think time to get meat aswell as eggs from the chickens. I am after a name for mr cockerel as he is staying and not for the pot.

As well as Chicken empire expanding today was the day I helped with butchering my pigs. There is a lot of meat. I Photographed a few cuts that we did today. I learnt how to do a butchers knott. I also tasted my monster chops all 360g an hour after it had been cut all I can say is devine. I didnt believe pork could taste so good!! Dearer I know then the supermarket but fresher and tastier in my opinion. The bit I like is that both the abbotir man and butcher said the meat is perfect and I got the right ration of meat to fat. Excellent news. Just look at the meat pics then I will tell you the process. 

If you dont want to know about  the process from field to your door log out the blog now.

The Pigs where taken to a local Abattoir - Lobbs - which is a family run business who seemed to care about the animals. The deed was done and I collected 6 half pigs and transported them t a local farm with 5 star hygiene rating - Ford Hill Farm who butchered my pigs. I helped and learned about the butchery process along the way.I am helping with Sausage making on Thursday I cant wait! Then Friday collect the meat and sell whilst respecting the meat and keeping at correct temp and environment to maintain its freshness.

OFFAL

Two entries for the diary today had to be done in honour of the pigs to mark the first taste of their meat. It was Fried pig's liver with sage - recipe courtesy of Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall.

I had decided many years ago that I hated liver unless its pate. Not wanting to waste any part of the pig I decided to give it a go. What can I say - Yum Yum.

Thank you Pig Wigs - I appreciate you and your meat is fab I am so glad you had a happy life. If that taste was a sign of whats to come I am so looking forward to the rest ladies.

Stage 3 of operation pig

Today was stage three of operation Pig - Collecting the pigs from the Abattoir.

I drove to the abattoir a little nervous. I got there to half to watch them be cut in half. The abattoir man said I had done a good job re fat to meat ratio which is good. Loaded the pigs up and I then drove over to Mill Ford Farm where they will hang till Monday then cut for their lovely meat.

Julie kindly went through the cuts I could have. The flavours of sausages I can have and helped me start to consider selling them. They have a lovely 5 star food rated gaff so I am pleased the pigs are there as they will be well looked after. I have also discovered they have a shipping process that I can take advantage so I can sell the meat not just locally but to the whole of the UK.

The offal is now in my fridge - time to look at dishes for Liver and Heart. Cats refused the lungs so a neighbours dog got them. Sorry all the other neighbours that werent in when I popped round as you missed out.

Next week they will be butchered and processed and ready for market. so if you have been following this blog and want to sample the pork please do watch out on my web site for the pork becoming up for sale next week. http://www.ktskitchen.co.uk/

Bye Bye Pigs

Loading the pigs to the trailer and driving the pigs over to the abattoir was fairly stress free for the ladies. They went straight into the back of the trailer. They got to the abattoir and where put in a pen next to the boys. So I guess they will have other things on their minds.

It feels a very strange feeling. On to the next part of operation pig - make sure all the meat gets eaten - No waste. I have asked for the offal and watched the River Cottage online pig course.

A sad day but happy that the ladies had a happy life.

Pigs

Its the night before the pig deed. This post is in their honour. The reason I am here is to know where my meat and food comes from and ensure the animals have had the best life they can. Its sad but I will miss them but also looking forward to the lovely meat they will produce. I am also looking forward to the learning process of all the different cuts. If you are following me and in Cornwall/Devon and want some lovely meat from Pigs that have a great life do get in touch. I watched river cottage today their butchering and preparing a pig. I plan to do salami and  Prosciutto along with all the usual favourites. 

Pork Futures

The time has come to say goodbye to my pigs. Its all been arranged for monday. I have a local farmer helping me take the pigs for the deed. I have also found a lovely place that will butcher and vac pack and let me get involved and observe parts of the process so I will be able to learn the whole process. I have been putting off the arrangements for the obvious reasons of the emotional stress. Its all been arranged now though. The hard part is deciding what cuts I want and the farm i have chosen will help me do that too. I will feel sad to see them go I have enjoyed their company apart from the escaping that is!! Equally mixed emotion of I will know exactly where my pork has come from and know that the ladies had a lovely life.

Escape from Colditz on the small holding - one to me pigs!!

My pigs know if they kick mud at the electric netting it shorts the fence and after a couple of days of doing it the battery runs out. Then they can  just walk over the electric netting  fence into the big field.  They have created a nice hole in the fence near the bee hive which is their escape route out of the big field into the neighbourhood. They only escape when they can at feeding time if I am late and the battery is flat. Still its too many times!!

Well I found a water butt. The hole in the fence that the pigs created to escape from the big field has been blocked by a water butt - of course I filled it with water!! with a metal pole between butt and fence post. They couldn't move it today or escape and got multiple shocks from the chicken netting so they gave up!!  One to me!!!

The other hole they use to get back in the field has been blocked by an old chicken coop should keep them in the field whilst they plan their next escape!!

Its like escape form colditz!

Pencuke Pigs

Pigs - well they are sociable. Think they know more about neighbours then I do!! One way to get to know the neighbours I guess! I think I may owe a few joints of pig. On a serious note - They are obviously at that time. I need to get on with planning the deed. I have enjoyed them most of the time, been embarrassed at times, and frustrated at times. However glad i kept them and knowing where my meat came from brill.

Pigs Futures

Its that time I have to organise the pigs slaughter. I have afat month to arrange their fate. As i reflect they have had a fab life! Next challenge is selling the meat. Knowing where your meat comes from give us a shout and you can have fresh pork or pork related products.

A New year time to get on with next years plants

Well today I managed to dodge the rubbish weather and storm twice on animal checks and feeding and only got wet once. That was a miracle in itself as every time I came in heavens opened - its normal the other way round so I thank the weather gods!!

Pigs well they are behavingish - They have worked out they can short a battery in two days - as long as i change the battery I seem to be keeping them within the smallholding!!

Chickens and Ducks well hoping for a dry morning or afternoon so I can muck them out in the dry. Tomorrow will be bad enough as first tax return needs submitting!!

Whey hey though I have a new line in KT's Kitchen goodies - I have been drying herbs over the aga and my costings mean I can under cut the supermarkets for herbs and they will be freshly dried so tastier.  Mostly I have them growing in the garden. One or two I may have to buy in to dry until some of my plants mature but I can still undercut the supermarkets. I already undercut on my dried fruit and nut mixes!!

I will be starting to sell these on my market stall as I get more I will be selling them online if you buy in bulk will still be cheaper then the supermarket. Fresh Herbs will be cut to order to keep their freshness.

Today was another good day Started off sowing the first seeds of the year - Herbs obviously, tomatoes and leeks. A move forward to self sufficiency in vegetables. So this year a move towards self sufficency in fruit, meat and Veg brilliant started !!

Now time to make chutney and marmalade!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

storms on and off - keeping animals warm and safe is the main aim. Tomorrow um should be market but with major incident from police and environment agency and thought of driving through 4 serious flood zones to get there maybe stay at home. Its pretty wild outside my house a the moment, very wet and very windy. At least we have power.