Meller - The River Cottage pigs & pork handbook

For all the great cooks I have worked with, learnt from and laughed with

Bloomsbury Publishing

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This electronic edition published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in Great Britain 2015

Text 2015 by Gill Meller, except the preface 2015 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Photography 2015 by Gavin Kingcome, except the following: Animal Photography, Sally Anne Thompson.

The publishers would like to thank the following for their help with photography locations: Bellair Haye Pork (.

Gill Meller has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

For legal purposes the and photography credits constitute an extension of this copyright page.

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for.

ISBN: 978-1-4088-1792-6 (HB)

ISBN: 978-1-4088-9664-8 (eBook)

Project editor: Janet Illsley

Designer: Will Webb

Photographer: Gavin Kingcome

The publishers would also like to thank Sam Carlisle for his assistance.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book, in no circumstances can the publisher or the author accept any legal responsibility or liability for any loss or damage (including damage to property and/or personal injury) arising from any error in or omission from the information contained in this book, or from the failure of the reader to properly and accurately follow any instructions contained in the book. The recipes supplied in the book are for personal use only. No recipe may be used for commercial purposes without the express permission of the author.

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Contents

Gill and I first bonded over the rather battered second-hand stove that dominated the tiny kitchen of the original River Cottage HQ, near Bridport in West Dorset. Things were fairly hand-to-mouth in those days I recall a lot of weather and a lot of mud, and not infrequent power cuts and fridge failures (a motivating factor, perhaps, in the rapid development of our meat-curing skills).

But I also remember a huge amount of fun and some really spectacular feasts, all based, of course, on fantastic seasonal produce from the land around us. The learning curve was steep, but it led us inexorably to the River Cottage organic smallholding and cookery school that thrives today at Park Farm, near Axminster, where Gill is now our Group Head Chef. And Id be lost without him.

Gill has cooked beside me, for me, and sometimes in competition with me, countless times over the last decade. His creativity, curiosity and sheer verve have infiltrated my own cooking and my thinking about food so that I barely know where his kitchen ends and mine begins. Coupled with that originality is a rock-solid ability and true mastery of his craft. Hes a good butcher and a fine baker, as well as a great chef. He knows how to hone smart ideas into dependable recipes you can cook at home. In short, hes as good a friend as you could hope for in a kitchen.

But this book, of course, goes beyond the kitchen. And this reflects another of Gills qualities, namely that hes just as likely to be seen in a pair of muddy wellies as in his chefs whites. The garden, farm and field are as important to him as the kitchen not because he doesnt love to cook above all else, but precisely because he does. Everyone who works at River Cottage understands the significance of the origin of ingredients and that you cant really be a good cook if you dont know what youre cooking with. But Gill has a commitment to sustainable, ethical sourcing and a passion for provenance thats second to none, myself included.

When it comes to pigs, we know that sourcing and provenance could not be more important the quality of the animals life defines the quality of its meat and Gill is the ideal person to demonstrate the River Cottage ethos and enthusiasm for these wonderful animals and their fantastic meat. Gill walks our porky talk.

Pigs have always been at the heart of River Cottage. I bought a pair of Gloucester Old Spots when I first moved to Dorset, and Ive kept pigs ever since. At River Cottage HQ, we now raise up to twenty each year Old Spots, Saddlebacks and Oxford Sandy and Blacks are our favourite breeds. Our Pig in a Day courses, where guests learn how to butcher a whole pig and then cook amazing things with the various cuts, were among the first we launched and remain incredibly popular.

This is partly because a lot of people really love pork. And of course, many of us like pigs too; they are appealing, gregarious, intelligent animals, easy to look after and very handy when it comes to recycling garden scraps. But I think more and more people are also recognising something a little less savoury about pigs: they are the best (or rather, sadly, the worst) example of what has gone wrong in our relationship with meat. And the growing enthusiasm for small-scale outdoor pig rearing is an encouraging vote for how it could be put right.

Less than a century ago, pigs were domestic livestock in the true sense kept by small-scale farmers and some of the poorest households respected and well-cared-for in anticipation of the meaty cuts, offal and charcuterie they would yield. Now, however, pigs have become the unfortunate standard-bearers for all that is shameful in our meat industry. Abused, manipulated, confined and medicated, factory-farmed pigs are among the most wretched creatures on the planet. And the meat we derive from them all that cheap bacon and bland sausage is miserable too.

But pig lovers all over the land are demonstrating that we can reject this modern model of inhumane farming and release ourselves from the clutches of the industrial food giants. You may want to make the full commitment of keeping pigs, but even if you dont, you need only be a savvy shopper and a thrifty cook to find, prepare and enjoy great pork the way it should be enjoyed, with a clear conscience. This book tells you all you need to know to set out on either of those paths.

Its been a fiercely held tenet of mine for many years that the closer we can get to the source of our food, and the more involved we can be in its preparation, the better. Being informed about what you buy and in control of what you feed to your family and friends is empowering and leads to a richer, healthier, more fulfilling daily life. Books like this one, and experts like Gill, are crucial in the quest for that greater understanding. Whether you want to go the whole hog (as it were) and buy your own pigs, or you simply want to eat better bacon (and you will not eat better, I promise you, than bacon youve cured yourself), Gills knowledgeable, detailed and often drily witty words open the door.