[shroomgirl]

mutt heirloom mixes from Mo. Pork Co-op are actually breed from several strains....have a longer loin, marbling, some back fat and are a great tasting pig.

They just choose to send 200 pigs to NYC each week instead of marketing to STL..... been fussing with the president for years, they are just so far over their heads in running the processing plant, marketing, selling, raising pigs etc that a high end wholesaler that deals with 3/4 of that made it feasible.

Berkshires straight up are ok, I've had some raised in a field with jersey whey in their feed, as well as others not feed whey....both from farmers I know and visit. Berkshire info from the wholesaler that sponsored the Beard event is supposed to be in the mail.....not sure how well they are raised....

Tammworth's slicable back fat is glorious, simply joyful....lining pate molds with thin slices of white fat is a beautiful thing.

[castironchef]

Originally Posted by castironchef

I'm doing a 5 course meal for the local Boy Scout District Dinner (for adult volunteers) next month and I'll be featuring pork for the main course. I didn't realize that I'd tapped into a trend.

Good to know. (I am a bit curious as to how many "I can't eat that" whines I'll hear before the meal. I'll have both vegetarian and non-pork meat substitutes in the wings.)

Well. I found out.

The "Forces of Mediocrity" struck a couple of weeks before the dinner and, citing fears of "no one will agree to come if there's going to be pork," demanded a new menu. On top of that, they demanded a "kid's menu" option for 1/3 the cost.

Though the dinner chairman and I fought hard, we lost.

I ended up having to switch to boeuf bourguignon. (No one seemed to realize that the dish starts off with rendering bacon! )

In the final bizarreness, I got a call two days in advance (while I was out of town, having done all of the advance purchases) doubling the number of attendees, to 150. I didn't get back into town until the morning of the dinner. Without tremendous luck and an awesome 18 year-old Eagle sous, it would have been a disaster.

[shroomgirl]

there's a reason why we have final count normally 5-14 days out.....and why any changes close too the event have an upcharge. That learning curve was a short one for me.