What do I get with a half hog?

I am so grateful you are interested in where your food comes from!

I am so impressed that you are taking a stand for sustainable food and happily raised animals!

As icing on the cake I want to remind you that our animals never receive:

• artificial growth hormones

• any corn or soy in their feed

• any vaccinations

• routine antibiotics (occasionally to save a life we might use them as a last resort after homeopathic supplements and essential oils and then sell that meat in a different place or fully disclose it).

As a valued friend and farm supporter we want you to know how to save money by buying in bulk. I want you to feel like all your questions are answered and you have a good grasp on what it means to buy a half or whole hog.

After you read all the way through and you feel like a half is still too much you can always find a friend or family member to split a it with.

>>>  Make your reservation here  <<<

For reference a half hog will usually last a family of two for about a year if you also eat chicken, beef and lamb.

When you buy a half or whole hog with enough lead time you can customize what cuts you want.

Take a look at this pie chart for how much of each cut you would get with standard cutting and wrapping:

As you can see from this the ham, loin and shoulders make up 75% of all the meat you get. So if you usually like to grab 1 pound packages of sausage for quick weeknight meals you might want to grind some of the shoulder roasts or hams into sausages.

Or if you are a bacon loving family you could turn the loin into Canadian Bacon in addition to the belly bacon, since belly bacon alone is only about 10% of your meat.

Here are more ways you can customize:

Belly Bacon

• can be smoked and cured

• can be kept as fresh side and you can do your own smoking and curing

• can be sliced like bacon or diced

• can be flavored regular, peppered or sage (sugar free)

Ground (Sausages)

• can pick any two per half hog

• can be kept as unseasoned

• can be made into Breakfast Sausage ground or links

• can be made into Bratwursts links

• can be made into Italian Sausage ground or links

• can be made into Andouille links

• this is a pretty small portion so if you find yourself reaching for 1 pound packages that quickly defrost often, I would suggest grinding some of your shoulder or ham roasts.

Picnic (Lower Shoulder Roast)

• can be ground and added to the sausages portion

• can be kept as roasts and slow cooked for pulled pork

Butt (Upper Shoulder Roasts)

• can be ground and added to the sausage portion

• can be kept as roasts just like the picnic

• can be sliced and cured as Cottage Bacon

• can be cut into country style ribs

Photo Credit Amazingribs.com

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Loin

• can be kept whole as a loin roast

• can be smoked and cured made into Canadian bacon

• can be made into boneless or bone in pork chops

• can be made into smoked pork chops

• if you choose bone-in pork chops, baby back ribs are not an option because they use the bone. If you want baby back ribs choose boneless pork chops.

Ham

• can be smoked and cured to make ham roasts, any size, bone in or boneless

• can be smoked, cured and sliced to make ham steaks

• can be left uncured for roasts

• can be ground and added to the sausages

Spareribs

• can be kept or deboned and ground

• can have the rib tips cut off to make St. Louis Ribs

Ham Hocks

• can be smoked and cured for soups

• can be kept fresh

• can be deboned and ground into sausages

Bones and Edible Organs

• optional for broth making, loading up on your iron or raw dog food

• includes options of heart, kidney, tongue, liver, ears

So many options for getting the cuts of meat you'll use most find the highest value in!

No more getting stuck with huge hams in your freezer that you never find the time to cook!
You can honor the animal by utilizing every cut and customizing it, PLUS save money by buying in bulk!

Click here to reserve your pork with a deposit.

Please reach out if you have any questions! I'm here to help you make the best decision for what works for your family!

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Other Helpful Articles:

13 Things That Make Our Pork Different

Top 10 FAQ’s about Buying Half a Hog

3 Types of Weights: Live, Hanging and Packaged

Life is better together...

I know you have many options when it’s time to buy food.

Walmart and Safeway have delivery options so you don’t have to leave your house to grocery shop.

The world is at your fingertips on Amazon Prime, practically anything you could think of is available delivered to your doorstep in 2 days.

Our lives are increasingly more busy, we can squeeze in more and more into each day because the simple things can be taken care of with a few clicks of our smartphones.

But with all these conveniences I feel we are drifting apart as a community. I see how we are slipping into more seclusion and deeper isolation. We are giving up our human need for community in exchange to be more busy.

One of the most fulfilling times in my day is when I get to connect with you, our farm customers, face to face.

We get to engage in meaningful conversation, we have common ground of wanting to eat well and be responsible stewards of the land.

We get to swap recipes and share life’s wisdom.

Many of you share the entrepreneurial spirit that I do and we chat about what having your own business is like.

I love seeing you because it affirms that what we are doing is meaningful work.

No we don’t ship our products, we want to see you face to face.

No we don’t have a self serve stand or farm store employees, we want to hug your neck.

No we don’t have you pick up your meat from the butcher, we want you to see the place that grew your food.

We want to look into your eyes with joy and thank you for supporting the movement of eating local.

It feeds my soul and reminds me of my crucial need for human connection, friendship and sharing life.

We are unlike other generations or cultures where families stay living close to each, or even share a home with grandparents. We need to be careful not to isolate, but to stay social and engaged.

I love hearing how our foods are improving your son’s health so that he can come off his diabetes medication. I love hearing how our egg yolks are your babies first food. I love hearing how you are using our grass fed beef bones to make broth to heal from a bone marrow donation you just went through for your brother.

I truly believe life is better when you are able to come out to our farm. We need to visit face to face. I need to hear your story. I need to share life with you. It deepens our core need for human connection. It’s a beautiful thing.

Please visit the farm often, come to our classes and come work beside us on October 19th for our Fall Farm Work Day & Harvest Feast 9am-1pm.

Paleo Friendly Braised Lamb Shanks

When you are looking for a hearty nourishing meal that is packed with flavor and can be thrown in the Instapot or croc pot before heading out the door this is a great choice! Your food can be tasty, nutritious and meet all your diet choices, plus knowing your farmer and having a personal touchpoint for where your food comes from can put your mind at ease.

Ingredients:

• 1 Package (2) Nourished With Nature lamb shanks

• 1 medium onion coarsely chopped

• 3-4 medium carrots cut into 1-2” pieces

• 1-2 stalks celery cut into 1” pieces

• 1 cup white wine or chicken broth

• 3-4 cloves whole or crushed garlic

• 2-3 Tbsp Nourished With Nature forest raised pork lard

• 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

How to Make It:

Thaw and thoroughly dry shanks with a paper towel. Add lard to a dutch oven and heat until just before smoking (370 degrees). Salt and pepper shanks to taste, then brown in hot lard until all sides have a dark brown color. Remove from heat and add white wine to deglaze dutch oven. Then add remaining ingredients on top. Cover dutch oven with lid and braise in 300 degree oven 3 hours or until meat easily slides off bone. Reserve juices to serve with mashed potatoes and green salad. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

Bleu Cheese Lamb Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground Nourished With Nature lamb

• 2-3 oz organic Bleu cheese

• 2 tsp minced garlic

• 2 tsp minced fresh mint

• 2 tsp organic Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp chopped rosemary 

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• salt & pepper to taste

• Spinach for serving on buns

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Form patties and place on high heat grill. Allow patties to grill to medium rare. (Try not to overcook as Bleu cheese will run out of burger if over cooked).

Yields 4  ¼ lb burgers.

Serve with Tzaziki Sauce on a hamburger bun.

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Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup organic plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

• 1/3 cup (1 medium cucumber) peeled, seeds removed, drained, then chopped finely

• 4 tsp lemon juice

• 1 Tbsp minced fresh dill

• 1-2 cloves finely minced garlic

• 1-2 tsp salt for draining cucumber

How to Make It:

Place large chunks of cucumber in a colander and generously salt. Let drain 30 minutes. Dry thoroughly with paper towel, then mince.

Combine all ingredients and serve on top of your Bleu Cheese Lamb Burgers!

Single Pan Greek Lamb Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 2T  Nourished With Nature pork lard (super healthy fat and leaves no taste of pork or bacon)

• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped (2 1/2 cups)

• 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into ½” cubes

• 3 cloves crushed garlic

• 1 lb ground Nourished With Nature lamb

• 1 cup Basmati rice, uncooked

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 16 oz homemade Chicken Broth (super easy, ask for the recipe if you don’t already make your own)

• 2 medium tomatoes diced (yellow or red work great)

• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

• 2T fresh mint, chopped

• 3T fresh lemon juice

• 3/4 tsp salt

How to Make It:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat sauté squash, onion, garlic and lamb for 5 minutes, stirring to crumble lamb.

2. Add cinnamon and rice, sauté another 2 minutes.

3. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil.

4. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

5. Remove from heat, stir in chopped tomato, 3 Tbsp parsley, mint, lemon juice and salt.

6. Cover and let stand 5 minutes, sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp parsley.

Serve with a steamed veggie, greek salad or fruit salad and enjoy only having to clean up one pan!

*You could easily make this a paleo dish by leaving out the rice and stuffing the meat mixture into tomatoes or bell peppers and bake in the oven at 350 deg until the veggies are tender.