Today the farrier is coming to trim hooves. Cyrus the mule still isn't ready to have his feet trimmed. I've gotten behind on his training as I've not built a round pen for him yet. Soon. Soon. Soon...
What have I been doing? LOTS of batches of "mozzarella" and ricotta for the freezer. Ten baby Leghorns (not my favorite chicken, but flighty enough to evade predators) to raise. A new baby buckling (GORGEOUS! but a buckling). "Exotic" sausage from my barrow - garam masala in the meat! Wonderful for sausage "sticks" on the grill. A "new" car (some repair required, but still). How about you?
Ok. Here we go!
What have I been doing? LOTS of batches of "mozzarella" and ricotta for the freezer. Ten baby Leghorns (not my favorite chicken, but flighty enough to evade predators) to raise. A new baby buckling (GORGEOUS! but a buckling). "Exotic" sausage from my barrow - garam masala in the meat! Wonderful for sausage "sticks" on the grill. A "new" car (some repair required, but still). How about you?
Ok. Here we go!
New buckling at Day One of his external life. This buckling is what I'm breeding Nubians towards. LONG, correct ears with a flip at the bottom, Roman nose, LONG legs, deep body and LOADS of color! I really wanted a doeling, as this buckling is probably going to be wethered (castrated) and will end up in the freezer. But isn't he a dandy! Momma (Rachel Rae the black Nubian doe) hasn't got a good udder. No capacity, small teats. So she's difficult to milk and there isn't much milk. She's huge and deep-bodied so I may try again as I adored her spotted momma. Anyway. This little guy is wonderful. And born on my birthday! I think, with a nod to friends that have numbered sheep, his name is 55.
The exotic sausage after being grilled. This was sausage from the barrow I butchered the other day. This sausage has sage, rosemary, onion, garlic, cumin, garam masala (an Indian mixture of spices) and homegrown jalapeno peppers. Wonderful on the grill. The greens are Lacinto kale (dinosaur kale/Tuscany cabbage) and Mizuna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuna) with a daub of Dijon mustard. Very nice, but I added too much fat this time to the sausage and will need to adjust it. Yes, it cooks out, but it's a little too much. Normally I don't have ENOUGH fat in the meat. I'm still experimenting. Wonderful flavor with the garam masala and wonderful on the newspaper grill!
The two-year old barrow on the back of the tractor with my newly-purchased Carry All. The round of wood is holding the pallet up off the ground as the hydraulics slowly let the attachment sink to the ground. This barrow is 33" to the base of the tape measure which makes it around 40" long or so. He was a pretty big guy!!! I had to field dress him as he was a bit too large to hang off my lightweight barn support. He's an Asian Heirloom Hog. So not a commercial-style hog. Bred, born and raised on my property. These style of hogs have a layer of fat under the skin covering the meat. Since they tend to be hirsute (hairy), I always skin them. Then I can take the fat off and cook it down for lard and cracklins for me and the dogs.
And after, hanging from the barn support. Nice hams (for the Feast of the Hunter's Moon), well muscled. Notice the heavy bits of fat yet. I trim more off after cutting into primal cuts. I save the tongue and the jowls (for bacon or grind) and the deep sides will be cured for bacon. Home-cured bacon is different from store bought (of course) but wonderful. I use Canadian steak seasoning for just about everything and the bacon cure is no exception. 2-1 salt to sugar rub with Canadian steak seasoning for flavor. Three days+ in the chest fridge in freezer bags turning it over daily. Then the now partially cured side is taken out of the bags, the cure washed off and smoked over a smudgy fire. I have recently used hickory smoke (either liquid or dry) rubbed on the side. Bake or smoke to 145degrees F or so and then either freeze or refrigerate and use. Wonderful. You must fry slower than store-bought as it tends to burn rather quickly. I've found that the bacon tends to be too salty UNTIL it's frozen and thawed. The salt seems to be better balanced when thawed.
Having some trouble editing this morning... It's now 5am and I think I'll go to bed for an hour or two...
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