Generally speaking , when you elevate a stock animal , you want to elevate as much meat as a reasonable amount of feed can make . In the case of fuzz , that item is typically reach just after seven months , at around 300 pounds , when the animal ’s conversion pace drops dramatically and it takes a lot more provender to put on a pound . I ’ve heard old timers refer to this optimal weight as “ top hog , ” a fantastic term that I now use whenever potential .
Feed conversion ratescan be as fascinating as they are thwarting when you ’ve reserve a date at the processor for a slovenly person that ’s just not growing tight enough . But what I ’d like to talk about here is not how pigs put on weight , but rather what that weightiness is — meat and fat . Meat is muscle , and it ’s what you fill your freezers with for future meals — your chops , steaks , roast and so on .
Fat , in turn , is not kernel . On a skimpy pig , it rim and is marble throughout slice , provide smack and moisture for the meat . But a fatty grunter take in at top hog weightiness will be unsatisfying when you pick up the cuts from the processor — there wo n’t be as many , for starters , and your cuts are likely to be on the smaller side .
For this reason , market farmers tend to shy out from hogs that exchange feed into high rates of avoirdupois , rather preferring strain such as Berkshire Hills of Yorkshires over lard pig .
But fat ’s not spoiled — not really . Yes , suffer plenteous bundle of gastrocolic omentum blubber ( more on that in a bit ) can signify less meat for the tabular array , but if you ’re not fertilise a large family or selling cuts at the market , it ’s a perfectly practicable option to bring up a few Large Blacks or Guinea hogs . You ’ll get more fat than other farmers , sure , but that ’s not a bad matter if you know what to do with it .
When you pick up your gist from the mainframe , you ’ll probably receive packages label “ embryonic membrane avoirdupois , ” which is the fat tissue paper surrounding a pig ’s internal harmonium . Vacuum packed , it looks like a expectant tube of frozen slime , but thaw and unwrap it , and you get a lacy - looking membrane that some , descriptively , call either foliage fatty tissue or rich netting .
Though not the most pop item at the farmers marketplace , I used to deal greater omentum fat to the head chef at one of central Kentucky ’s prime minister farm - to - table restaurants on an almost - weekly basis . She explained that it was not bad for wrapping Pisces the Fishes before poke fun — as the fat melts , it keeps the fish moist , protect against that all - too - coarse dry - out stopping . What ’s more , many European recipes call for embryonic membrane adipose tissue to wrapper sausage , such as the Frenchcrépinetteand the Swissatriau .
Some processors might offer up a bucket of rendered lard ( pictured above ) at pickup , too , and it ’s wise to smile and accept the stuff and nonsense . I know many of us have been conditioned since elementary school to look at lard in an unpleasant illumination , but recent years have image rendered fat make a comeback in kitchen across the U.S. you’re able to use lard anywhere you ’d apply processed oils such as vegetable oil or margarine , and it ’s a great fill-in for that big tub of greasy shortening ( it ’s extra good in a pie freshness ) . Trying to cut back on fat in your diet ? Lard is perfect for make luscious , crude - scented soap for the sink return and the bathtub ; slather on with a badger - hair skirmish , it makes a top - nick shaving goop , too .
But if your processor does n’t collect rendered lard for customers , you’re able to make your own at home — in fact , falsify a pan of Baron Verulam is essentially rendering belly fertile . ( You keep bacon fat , correct ? You should . ) gastrocolic omentum fat makes the most achromatic - tasting lard , and the rendering summons is reasonably round-eyed . First , dice the frozen fat into smallish cubes , then flip it all into a slow cooker set to moo ( pull up stakes the eyelid off to allow wet to escape ) . After a few hours , you may deform the melted liquidity through three level of cheesecloth ( there will be some lump in there — toss them in a electrocute goat god to make cracklings ) . salt away in a glass container , the liquid cool down to a creamy lard that will keep for many months to come .
