I bought a pig!

[Littlemama]

Heirloom/heritage breeds are old breeds of animals that are very few in number that were numerous back in the day. the bases for alot of our Modern breeds of today......revitalized aniques if you will.

[shroomgirl]

are the terms interchangable or do they mean different things?

[Littlemama]

Heirloom breeds are breeds that originated from Europe and brought here and were bred here with out changes.

Heritage breeds originated here in the states. usually two heirloom breeds or an heirloom and common breed bred together. the offspring bred to produce disired traits. still these breeds are very few in number....considered classics. for every kind of animal, there are websites that will show those antique breeds. I hope this helps.

[KYHeirloomer]

Shroomgirl, there are no hard and fast definitions, but the terms are generally used interchangeably. They're the animal version of heirloom veggies.

I would check with Ron before touting the Small Farm Conference. He hasn't paid last year's bills, yet, and there's some question as to whether or not it will continue.

[shroomgirl]

wow, too bad.....kind of surprising now that heirloom breeds/seeds are on the cusp of general public knowledge.....after numerous years of hibernation.
Wonder what's going on with Small Farms....grants should be fairly easy to come by with all of the networking happening at the conference.

Jose Garcia has left Mizzou Sustainble Ag, not alot has happened with the CFSSA board in a good long while. The effectiveness of the group has not been capitalized on.....most of us that have been on the board from the beginning do not know what each of the others is up to.....really unfortunate, because there would be alot of overlap.

[KYHeirloomer]

Yeah, well, they've been having a lot of problems over there---health and otherwise---and neither Ron nor Paul have been able to put in the time that the conference (or, for that matter, the magazine) deserves.

Anyway, here is the dry cure I promised you:

1-15 lbs canning or other coarse salt
6 lb brown sugar
8 oz ground black pepper
2 oz cayenne
1 jar (.62 oz) rubbed sage

Combine all ingredients well.

To make bacon, you need a waterproof table with a drain. You can jury-rig using a plywood panel covered with oilcloth or a plastic tarp, and leaned in the direction of drainage.

Put down a good bed of the cure (we're talking several inches). Lay your pork bellies on the cure, and cover with additional cure, rubbing it in well.

At least once a day, turn the bellies, and recover them with the cure, adding more if necessary. Continue doing this until liquid stops running from the pork, which can be anything for one to several weeks.

Hang the bacons to dry, so that a pelicle is formed. Put in the smoker.

If you're not going to smoke them, wrap them in cheesecloth and either newsprint or one of the muslin bags designed for the purpose. Hang in a dry, airy location.

Long about March they will start to drip again. This is normal, and is nown as the second sweat. They'll dry up again, and, after that, can be kept hanging as long as you wish.

[Mannlicher]

now just bite the bullet, and learn to do your own slaughtering and butchering. Its pretty easy, and I find I get a much higher yield when I do my own.

[shroomgirl]

I'll pass on slaughtering and scalding.....but butchering sure is a delight.