The hog
The hog butchering event was quite successful Sunday, with more people waiting in the wings to get into the next one! A fantastic group from all over Los Angeles got to watch Neal Fraser butcher a 120 pound local hog while enjoying some charcuterie from Neal’s Restaurant BLD and cold drinks. The event was held at good friends of Neal’s home near the top of the hill at Coldwater Canyon. Picturesque, even with the pig.
Neal Fraser and the class
After discussing why we thought the event would be a great idea, Neal proceeded to carve up the pig one primal cut at a time. The group discussed what you might use each piece for and it became apparent to me why having a top chef lead the class is probably bettter than having your butcher do it — we got a lot of great tips on how each piece could be cooked exquisitely as Neal moved through the butchering process.
Being local, the price for the pig itself was substantially higher than you might pay for a hog purchased on the commodity market — $5.00 a pound rather than $1.20 a pound. But what we got was incredible. We know the farm where the pig was raised and the farmer who raised it. We know it was fed black beans and waffles to finish its flavor (don’t quote me on this, but apparently these provide the pig with additional lycine and lactic acid.) And we know it was killed and dressed out Friday morning before being brought into town for the event. It doesn’t get any fresher than that, and knowing all of this about the pig made it that much more interesting and special.
A stack of primal cuts
On a side note, what brings the price of local meat down? Seeking out and purchasing locally raised meat products. The more we start asking our butchers and grocers for locally raised meat, the more they will realize the demand for it is out there.
So, to everyone that was able to attend, thank you so much for your interest and we hope you enjoyed the class and the free takeaway pork! If you did anything special with it or you’d like to share how it tasted or provide comments or suggestions about the class, please submit a comment on the site. I’d love to hear it!
