Hands-on Hogs

Today marked our first official workshop.
We welcomed Tim Weatherup,
owner and operator of The Night Kitchen Pizza Shop, in downtown Peterborough.

The goal of this workshop is to offer a hands-on demonstration of home hog processing.
While this bounty is for our family only, we are still able to share the knowledge and experience with others who may raise their own hogs one day.

Tim is a long-time restaurateur who has a deep passion for unique and quality foods.
The path of a foodie like Tim leads invariably to the question of where food comes from.
In the current agricultural systems, the questioning fosters a desire to take more control over the food that we eat.
It is one thing to read about how meat goes from hoof to table, yet quite another to see it done first hand.
This isn't how the factories do it, but it is how it would be done by a family able to raise meat at home.
There are many reasons for choosing to process animals at home instead of government approved facilities.
Commonly, many people feel an obligation to take responsibility for eating meat.
And that means coming to grips with those parts of the process that are uncomfortable to witness.

Aside from moral reconciliations, providing home grown meat for the family is far more satisfying than simply buying it at the supermarket.
The culmination of the work involved results in pride and adds value that cannot be measured by dollars.


And though the pork would have to wait,
there are many other sumptuous treats from the Autumn harvest.
We even had doughnuts to reward us for hard work on a cold day.
 

Tim makes great meals for his family and customers.
Now he would also like to spend time growing more of his own food.
Gardens are familiar to most people but meat production has become increasingly mysterious.
Tim came to us for a real-life look at slaughtering a hog at home.
Not only did he leave with a new perspective on home-grown pork,
but he left empowered with knowledge of how to take responsibility for the meat he eats.

Thanks for spending the day with us Tim!