What you can do with a half pig share

Last week we used up the final bit of the pig share we got last year and now I can post the entry I've been wanting to do for a while now. Below you will find photos of many meals we produced with the meat from the half pig we got. The share came from a nearby farm, New Roots Farm in Newmarket, NH. Unfortunately for us, they are no longer doing shares so that they can have more meat to go around at farmer's markets, so we're looking into other options right now so we can try to do something like this again!

These won't be in any particular order, and I know I didn't get photos of every single thing we did.  Recipes, when used, can probably be found online.

Here goes!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  Crust made with home rendered lard!

I'm calling this Ham Corn Soup.  Used ham from our share, and probably some stock from bones.

Pork Liver Pâté en Brioche.  Fry up some ground pork, some ground up pork liver, let it set, and bake it in brioche dough.  I think there was over a pound of added fat in this recipe--one of Julia Child's of course.  The taste was superb, though I made sure to only enjoy one tiny piece per day, since this is by far the most fattening thing we've made.

BBQ Ham Sandwich.  Actually just a bit of ham steak with spicy BBQ sauce I made on sourdough.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches.  One of several batches of pulled pork we made from the roasts.

Wacky Leftover Ham Burrito.

Chili con PIG MEAT.  I suspect this is where I lost the tenderloin, ridiculous as it sounds.

Pork chops, straight up.

Bacon.  Definitely the best I've ever had!  We tried not to fly through our supply of it...

Ham Steaks.  I don't know what happens with other hams, but this was a totally different and better experience than any ham I've come across previously.

Pork Potstickers.  Our favorite way to use the ground pork.

Potsickers again.  I think we probably made them 3 or 4 different times with our wonderful ground pork.

"Italian Style" Pork Chops.  Basically breaded and seasoned, fried, then baked.

BBQ RIBS!  Slowly cooked in the dutch oven with apples and BBQ sauce.

Pieds de Cochon.  OK, fine, pig's feet.  They're that fried pile of stuff at the top right.  Great experience, and actually tasted great.  Click here to see more photos of the process (warning, may freak you out).

BBQ Ribs again.  This time I must have run out of sauce.  Also got some squash I think on there, with quinoa and broccoli.

Pulled Pork on Sourdough again!  My favorite meal (that I make, that is) is this plus green mac and cheese.

Corn Chowder.  With ham, of course.

Pork Rib Gumbo

Pumpkin Pie.  Crust made with lard.  And, while I'm gloating, I used an actual pumpkin that I cooked and strained and a recipe that did not require canned milk in any form.  You CAN make a great pumkin pie without evaporated (or condensed) milk!  Recipe came from a Yankee New England cook book that I love for local recipes.

Country Ham!  Simmered it in Dr. Pepper per a suggestion from Alton Brown's show/book/don't remember.  Kinda came out dry, actually.  But the ham is so tasty I can't really complain.

Potstickers again!  This time in homemade ravioli.

Pork Ham Soup.  That's what I'm calling it.  Basically just threw together soup after making a stock from the soup bones we got in our share, which also yielded about 2 cups of great pork. Threw in some cheap despicable ham, corn, potatoes.... who knows what else.  Thanks to the super stock made from the bones, this soup tasted way better than you might think from its appearance.

I guess that's it!  Thank you, pig.  We used as much of you as we possibly could to honor your gift.

BRIAN PIGGED OUT.