Think I know how r foster felt on his visit to gloucester!!

Feel like dr foster down on the smallholding - waiting to fall in a puddle up to my middle.

Well as the storms batter our  country - never thought i would be sat wanting a frost to harden the ground!!

Market today someone up there was looking out for me it started to pour down as I packed up. I drove home and picked up chicken feed from Cornwall farmers just down the road an it stopped raining.

Ducks however didnt want to go to bed this evening and ended up chasing them round the pen.

Market tomorrow looks like its cancelled - Holsworthy market is basically pop up gazebos - with 65mph winds for cast I think it wont be happening!!

So pork deliveries for me tomorrow instead and experimenting with rosemary infused oil

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.