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Learning how to raise, butcher, and prepare homegrown pork for the best flavor is something every homesteader wants to know. Join me for this podcast with Brandon Sheard, the Farmstead Meatsmith as he shares his best tips for raising pigs.
For them, grass should be 10% (weaner) to 50% (mature boar) of their diet. Pigs consume a variety of grasses, clover, and herbs which gives the pork flavour complexity and depth. The constant exercise of foraging improves the texture of the meat.
Learn to Cook First
The best way to learn how to harvest, process, cut, and cure the animals you raise, is first to learn the final cause, which is to cook them well.
The final cooked product is what will guide every process that comes before it.
This is how Brandon learned to cook as he was selling meat at a farmers market and had to teach the people buying the product how to cook it.
For myself, this was how I was taught to cook our own grass-fed beef. Many people are used to grocery store beef and it has a very different flavor profile than grass-fed grass-finished beef. If its not cooked correctly, it doesnt taste great.
Brandon Sheard, Farmstead Meatsmith
You may have heard of Brandon from the Farmstead Meatsmith. He came into traditional slaughter, butchery and curing after finishing his graduate work in Renaissance English Literature.
After marrying his wife Lauren, he quit his job at WholeFoods in the supplement department and started work on a small, multispecies and pasture-based farm in the Pacific Northwest.
After two years of working on the farm and managing the butcher shop, Brandon left and started Farmstead Meatsmith with his wife and kids.
They are self-taught in the art of traditional animal harvesting. Brandon and Lauren continue to provide the services of livestock processing, online education, and on-farm classes through Farmstead Meatsmith, with a little help from their eight children.
Farmstead Meatsmith prizes the pre-modern traditions of our fathers to enrich the family table and restore husbandry to prosperity.
FARM HACK, How To Make Your Pork Taste Better Before Porocessing
FAQ
What is the best thing to feed my pigs?
What are pigs fed to give them the distinct taste?
What food do pigs like the most?
What is the best grain mix for pigs?
What’s the best diet to feed pigs?
You may be wondering what’s the best diet to feed pigs to ensure high-quality tasting meat. Brandon shares that pigs are so flexible, and it’s sometimes easier to talk about what not to feed them (more on that below). He’s fed his pigs anything from a diet of day-old dumpster bread to an organic, high-quality hog mash.
Can you eat grape pips?
It’s okay to consume grape seeds, on the contrary. The extract present in them can be beneficial for controlling blood pressure, mood and stress.
Do pigs taste good?
Well grown pigs will taste good. You’ll want to feed your pigs free choice feed (they eat whatever feed they want, whenever they want to), as their sole ration or in addition to another or multiple other feed sources like any listed in this article.
What do pigs eat?
Brandon shares that pigs are so flexible, and it’s sometimes easier to talk about what not to feed them (more on that below). He’s fed his pigs anything from a diet of day-old dumpster bread to an organic, high-quality hog mash. You can also feed them leftover whey, which Brandon calls an ancient harmony.