Matthew McCarry - Beyond Bacon: Paleo Recipes That Respect the Whole Hog

First Published in 2013 by Victory Belt Publishing

Copyright 2013 Stacy Toth and Matthew McCarry

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 13: 978-1-936608-19-5

This book is for educational purposes. The publisher and authors of this cookbook are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any adverse effects arising directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided in this book.

RRD 01-13

This book is dedicated to Rina and Arthur Toth. It is filled with their wisdom.

Stacys love of entertaining and her joy in sharing homemade food with others comes from her Italian grandmother Rina, who helped to raise her. Rina enjoyed nothing more than collecting and testing recipes and cookware. Much of the beautiful antique kitchenware featured in this book was hers. Sadly, Rina passed before we became authors, but she would have been overjoyed to know that she is a part of this cookbook.

Rinas husband Art was a man who brought a sense of tradition to his family; his Hungarian roots make paprika our familys favorite spice. Raised during the Great Depression, he taught his family to appreciate and respect everything we are fortunate enough to have in our lives. He loved organ meats; even at 95 years old, he was begging his family to find him blood sausage and head cheese. He inspired and taste-tested many of the recipes in this book before he passed, and for that we are grateful.

Our hearts and home are filled with the love of those who are still with us, as well as the memories of those who aren't, reminding us daily of the importance of human connection.

To our large family and those friends who have become like family to us, we cannot thank you enough. To each of you who are endlessly thoughtful, supportive and helpful, we are sincerely grateful and hope this book serves as a token of our appreciation.

Im a full time farmer in the pastured livestock business. As you can imagine, many of our customers are what I call recovering vegetarians. The most common gateway to conversion occurs at the smell of bacon. We call it the segue for folks struggling to maintain the human abnormality known as vegetarianism.

On our farm, we love vegetarians because when they find out about the health and ecological benefits of pastured livestock, they go through a binge period to make up for lost time. As a farmer direct marketing our pastured pork to individuals and restaurants, Im keenly aware that a pig is more than bacon. Many people dont realize that. In our fast food simple menu culture, few people think about the parts not posted on the #1, #2 options.

As farmers, though, we desperately need to sell the whole pig, from snout to tail, or we develop a mind-numbing and economically devastating inventory problem. On a hog carcass of 200 pounds, only about 25 pounds is belly muscle, commonly known as bacon. That means 175 pounds of non-bacon, or as Stacy and Matt suggest in this fantastic bookbeyond bacon.

Perhaps the most valuable act that any eater can do to facilitate successful local food systems and vibrant pasture-based farms is to eat slightly blemished vegetables and fruit and to eat all the parts of the animal. Todays techno-sophistication offers the illusion that a simplified diet is acceptable. While ecologists preach diversity for healthy environments, too many Americans deny their own digestive flora and fauna the dietary diversity for optimum health.

Whenever I give a presentation about ecological integrity and local food systems, people ask: What can I do? This question has its ancillary issues regarding price, feeding the world, and culinary ignorance. All of these issues solve themselves when the answer to What can I do? is the simple admonition: Do It Yourself (DIY). That common acronym, known far and wide, enjoys enough support in car maintenance, house maintenance, education, and psychiatry (know thyself) to keep countless talk shows, magazines, and blogs in business.

How about DIY food preparation, processing, and packaging? This brilliant book brings the DIY mantra to pork. In a day of profound culinary fear and ignorance, this book offers a DIY map for all who aspire to participate in the integrity food movement but are too afraid to start. The art and skill of healthy eating can be regained by marrying the ecologically sound farm to the delightful tastes and textures of delectable dining.

Lest she be slighted in this foreword, Aimee Buxtons food photographs excited my salivary glands. Indeed, I could hardly keep the photos dry.

One final thought: Stacy and Matts healing journey began with a farm visit. Our farm, like all credible farms, does not have No Trespassing signs hanging at the farm entrance. We have an open door policyfull disclosure, open source. Call it what you will, but Beyond Bacon includes beyond pre-packaged, prepared, processed foods. It includes beyond typical vacation packages and entertainment venues. It includes visceral connections with food, starting at the farm. Come by anytime.

In that same spirit, Stacy and Matt open their kitchen, and share their expertise and journey. With this beautiful and straightforward manual, anyone can participate in the healing that is delightfully Beyond Bacon.

Joel Salatin
Polyface Farm

Joel Salatin is the third generation farmer behind the renowned Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. The sustainable, natural farming practices he has implemented on his own farm have become the gold standard in the grass-fed, polyculture farming movement. Today, in addition to running his own business, he speaks around the world and has authored eight books on how he believes everyone should grow good, healthful food.

Some three years back, we noticed that our family was pretty miserable. Like a lot of people, we didnt exercise, ate packaged and processed foods, and cooked with our microwave. We were a mess and so were our two sons.

On top of that, our family suffered from numerous health problems. While none were immediately life-threatening, they certainly led to a diminished quality of life and were likely signs of a diminished life span. Finian, our youngest, had recurring skin issuesred rashes on his face and eczema on his body. Our oldest, Cole, had asthma and ADHD symptoms. Matt had serious seasonal and pet allergies, depression, and ADHD. Stacy had an immune issue that elevated her white blood cell count. She suffered from depression, fatigue, and joint pain as well. We even had sleep disorders, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and chronic heartburn. On top of everything else, the entire family was obese.