Should you raise MANGALITSA Hogs? (Processing some FATTY pigs) | VLOG
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Learn all about Mangalitsa pigs and whether or not you should raise them on the BLOG: rootsandrefuge...
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Hey ya'll, I'm Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you'll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart - to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we've learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you're here.
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My grandmother used to save the pork fat like it was the best stuff. Bacon fat was like gold. Everyone in the family spent years to try to learn how her fried chicken was so good when she only seasoned it with salt and pepper.
About 10 years ago I added extra bacon fat to my fried chicken and my mother cried because that was the ingredient that gave grandma’s chicken the flavor.
My grandmother raised us on pancakes cooked in bacon fat. Soooooooo good
My grandmother used to watch me after school, and she would occasionally make me skillet toast fried in bacon grease. What a treat! And she would make fried apple pies and fry them in bacon grease for the holidays. Sooooo good!!!
The only way to make your mother cry♥️
It was. My mom said she had been trying for her whole adult life to learn how to make that fried chicken. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I can also make the pie crust like she did by hand without measuring. That was my proudest moment in the kitchen.
Hey Jess! I feel like a proud viewer from how you choose to eat meal responsibility! I just found your channel last year in April. I started watching because I was starting a garden. I have been a vegetarian for 6 years now (I’m 20). I stopped eating meat because of the reality of how they live in the industry. Hearing you say how you raise your own meat to do it responsibly makes me so happy. It also makes me proud to support your channel!! Love you guys so much!!
Perfect reply!
The industry is horrible and for those of us who have a hard time with both the ethics of that and the option of doing a vegan life, seeing people like Jess demonstrate that it can be done right is invaluable!
People don't watch you because you teach, they watch you because you bring fun to gardening, cooking or whatever you do. The learning is incidental to all you do. You and your family are fun, heartwarming and a loving family. I am an experienced gardener I don't watch to learn something although sometimes I do. I watch to get your take on things, how you are with your plants, tomatoes of course, your animals, your farm and your family. You are enjoyable no matter what you are doing.
Thx for doing a episode like this. Homesteading is so much more than just gardening. So I appreciate the extra content Thx again!
Ben is such a helper. He is never afraid to get in there and learn and help.
Just an FYI. Salt creates a hypertonic environment causing the water to come out of the bacteria. That kills it. It's actually really cool to see. Look up videos of cells in different saline solutions. Science is fun! (I maybe one of the few to believe that though) Love your channel and God bless!!
You Tube is blocking me from replying to Paul Hanson the commentor below you for this video. Could you please let him know they won't let me "meet" him through You Tube and I have tried on Facebook but there are thousands of "Paul Hanson"s so I can't find him. I didn't know they would do this to me. I was hoping to help him make a cookbook of old farm recipes and they are blocking me. I'm 60 years old and it sounds like he is an older gentleman too. I love old cooking recipes. Please help me. Thanks.
He's not directly below me in my feed. It's in a different order for me. I'm sorry. I couldn't find him.
I actually have to know how things work to the minutia. Including the how’s of food preparation and plant growth. So I love this info!
Can I say that I love the way that you are so honest and won’t try to teach something you don’t know (when in truth you probably have more knowledge than some that are trying to teach) I just wanted to say thank you for being you and so refreshing. ♥️🥰♥️
Like you say in Wilder Still.. having these animals and loving them, honoring their lives, providing sunshine light and love.. this is the balance to the sadness of losing them. Thank you as always ❤️😊 🐖
Like Justin Rhodes says, they have just one bad day.
I raise pure Mangalitsas and also crossed them with the American Guinea Hog this year. We are taking the 2 crosses to the butcher tomorrow or Tuesday, and I am excited to see how they turned out. On a side note...Mangalitsa fat has more Omega 3's than any fish, including salmon, and since my husband doesn't like fish, I love that we have that amazing melt in your mouth, nutritious fat!
I know! When did fat become a bad thing? We need good fat for our brains and our children need it too!
@@StoneKathryn, To be honest, it became bad for you around the time 'crisco' came on the scene. Hmmm. Kinda like butter became bad when margarine was being developed. Hmmmm. Things that make ya go hmmm. Wow, what a coincidence. Not.
@@maggievw1166 I totally agree. And doctors became poor doctors when Rockefeller took the medical schools over to push his new "medicines" from petroleum. Too many generations of doctors trained this way has removed the true medicines from use.
I am now wondering how it is that these particular pigs have a higher omega 3 content...my science brain wants to know. Outside of special diets for these animals, what in particular would make this happen? (scratching head wondering...)
@@StoneKathryn I don't think Jess intends for people to think that fat is a bad thing. I think she meant that the amount of meat and the size of a mangalitsa isn't enough for her large family. she loves Mangas, and the fat that they provide. I was only adding that Manga fat is a great source of Omega 3.
I know how you feel.. I just a few days ago took my 2 pigs to the slaughter house..its hard not to get attached but they had a very happy life..and I want to know where my meat comes from. Have a great day and God bless
Lard pigs are good. My dad always use to butcher a pig with a steer as the lard is then used in the sausage and hamburger.
I love that you’re sharing all this with us. ❤️ I also love that your kids are being shown how to safely do so many things. A large majority of parents I know teach their children to fear danger, not to know how to handle dangerous things or situations. From what I have seen over the years, you both are great parents! 🌻👩🏻🌾🌱
For those asking how do I do that, Contact hand hewn via the link in the description. That is what Jess did to learn.
There are others who can teach this, but these guys are some of the best at it. They understand the what and the why.
I learned a lot of this from elders, but many didn't understand the science. These guys do. Learning the why from those who know makes it easier to take the instructions from elders from around the world who just know what worked for them there and adapt to the conditions you are in now.
Because I understand the why behind ferments, compost, building things et al, I can adapt to the conditions I am and create the conditions these elders had wherever they learned.
Currently fermenting a bunch of close out peppers from the store, gathering dandelion buds for capers, thumbing mushrooms so they will populate, and starting seedlings while trying to find a permanent home.
I've been a plant based eater for a few years now, and although I don't partake in eating meat, I appreciate the fact that you raise your own in an ethical manner. You guys work hard, it means something to you, and that makes a big difference.
Thanks for your sensitivity in dealing with this topic. I myself am a vegan, and while I wish that most people would give up eating meat, I do think that if you want to eat it, you should take responsibility for giving that animal a good life and do the butchering yourself. Thanks for being you and being sensitive!
We raise our own animals but we do take our pigs to a local meat locker to be butchered. We raise two pigs at a time and we have two pig pens 32' x 48' that we move them into over their time here so they have fresh forage. We feed them too of course as well as throw weeds and garden rejects their way as well as food scaps. We haven't moved to butchering ourselves because we have no way to smoke the meat and we love our bacon, hams, and smoked hocks etc. We feel like we are taking responsibility for our pigs we raise too. Maybe in the future we will butcher them ourselves. We don't own a gun so I don't know how we'd kill them either.
Meat is exceptionally nutritious & there r agendas out there to make people sick & weak, just be aware. It's funny how mostly women fall for the vegan lifestyle but are the most anemic. Fat is also good for you like K2 & other fat soluble vitamins. Soy is not that great good for you & there r tons of soy in many different products we eat.
@@willowdreams1786 I beg to differ, but this isn’t the place for that. I’m 51 and have been vegan for 7 years. I’ve never been stronger or healthier. I work out every single day. I don’t have a farm myself so I would be buying meat from the store. I refuse to contribute to animal suffering when I don’t need to.
I love your honesty. 'I do not know how to do this so I am learning' is a great way to live your life. Hand Hewn Farms are probably the best teachers you could find. And I love your clear explanations of what you are doing and how the different breeds of pigs grow.
I appreciate that you are taking the time to learn the art before jumping into "how to" videos. So many you tubers are trying to show content just to show it even if it is their first time and it makes it difficult to determine what is correct and why . It's what gives you tube instructors a bad rep. We need more good teachers because some of this stuff is just easier to understand and not as scary when watching someone do it.
Isn't it shocking when you click on a how-to video and the person reveals that they are doing something for the very first time? Scary stuff!!
When I was a kid, my grandparents raised one pig each year. They would process when it got cold weather. They had a large wooden box full of salt that they would cure the meat in. Would go to the salt box to get a slab of bacon, etc.
Thank you for posting again this week. I was desperately in need of some R&R! Love y’all!!!!
Very interesting! I learned a lot. I don't eat meat, but appreciate that for those who do; it is so important to respect and truly care about the animals you raise for food. So much better than commercial raising and processing of animals. Thank you for sharing.
I do hope when you rendered out the fat and pressed it you made some "töpörtyű" which you can use to make like savory scones. I grew up doing our own lard in Hungary where the Mangalica's come from. Absolutely love the flavour. Fantastic job you did on those lovely porkies🐷🐖😊🤩 Wondering if you going to make liverwurths from the pigs liver?
The best way to have liver is liverwurst!
I found this so interesting and really appreciate learning something useful about the different breeds of pigs. Seeing what you get from the Mangalitsa on the table, really was a picture worth a thousand words. Thanks for this super informative video!
*A BLESSED WEEK TO ALL 🕊️🌟*
I was very pleased with our Old Spot/Kunekune litters. They grow a lot faster & larger than the kunes and added a great layer of lard to the leaner Old Spot. And yes... little Kune boars CAN breed the big girls. Where there's a will, there's a way 🤣
I have been vegi for over a decade now, I had a brief lapse last year where I decided to give meat another try, partly inspired by your wonderful display of ethical meat raising, and partly because I found a lovely local meat grower. The problem I found is that I just can't shake the guilt of taking a life for food when there is so much else I can eat. I always say that if it was life or death I'd happily eat it, but I guess I don't feel that I *need* to consume meat right now. That's not to say that circumstances won't change though, which is why I will always keep an open mind to things. I am so thankful for the learning platform that you offer here. I feel it gives me the opportunity to learn without being entirely overwhelmed by something that makes me a little uncomfortable. Thank you as always for sharing. And hats off to Ben, he is a remarkable young man!
Ravers. There has been proof that plants communicate with each other and do feel a plant pain. So if you aren't eating meat because of killing something, you failed. We all need to kill something to nourish our bodies whether animal or plant. And just because we can't communicate with something does not mean we should diminish it's value. I am always for proper care of animals and their death for our use should be quick. I sign every petition that comes my way to end factory farms where animals are over crowded and never see the light of day or have room just to be an animal. We can still enjoy meat and fight for their proper care. I just can't see me as the vegetarian.
@@juneramirez8580 yes I have read some of these studies, it's absolutely fascinating. I guess at the end of the day it all just boils down to what we each are comfortable with. I could never see myself being an omnivore now (unless circumstances forced my hand), but interestingly I shared your view for many years. I have a lot of respect for people who raise their own meat, it's just not for me. I kind of wanted it to be, I was so excited when I found meat I could literally see in the fields and it gets butchered on site and everything ... But something in me just says 'no, that's not for you'
@@TheMessyGarden I totally understand your view point! If I myself had to do the killing I probably would become a vegetarian! I totally love lobster but I could never pick one out from one of those tanks and have someone kill it for me to eat. I have a number of pets and the hardest thing for me is trying to decide when it's best for the animal to be put down. I am going through that now. But as far as food goes I can only go a number of days eating veggies before I get the need for meat. I don't like beans and I only eat certain veggies so my health would suffer. And I am not particularly a good chef. Farmers like Jess and her family by the way they care for their animals, make it easier for me to continue living. I even know a blogger that thanks her plants for providing her nourishment! I also talk to my plants and tell them how beautiful they are. It's appreciation for life no matter how small. It is nice chatting with you. Hope we can both enjoy today!
I respect your position on this and I am happy that you have found that line for yourself and can still respect others.😊
I would like to add though, do some research on your vegetable/plant growers as well.
I've learned some disturbing things recently about the lengths some growers will go to in order to protect and harvest their produce in order to get it to market.
@@diannamc367 I have delved into that quite a lot over the years, and have been thoroughly disturbed by the common practices used in our food growing and distribution industry. I grew up knowing several large scale farmers too and some of the things I learnt from them were just shocking. I know enough to know that in an ideal world the majority, if not all of my food should be coming from my own garden. That goal is a long way off sadly but I grow what I can for now and try to be mindful of what I am purchasing.
I have a local whole animal butchery owned by a chef in my city (SLC, UT). They make so many varieties of salami, prosciutto, pate, capicola along with all sorts of delicious brined, marinated and spiced meats that they have available at the time. I've never had such amazing meat. It is truly a luxury. Now I've gotten a raise, I'm all into the charcuterie life. 🤑
When I was a young girl, my Grandma made the most delicious molasses and oatmeal cookies. Her secret was that she always greased her cookie sheets with bacon grease. I remember making lots of trips to the cookie jar.
It’s too bad for me that I don’t eat pork , but it’s fascinating to learn about. I applaud your go and learn it attitude towards everything. You really are inspiring so many people to do more than they think they can. I am slowly learning about herbalism and always looking at the “weeds”everywhere I go and see now familiar herbs. So much to learn and then pass on . Blessings to you all 🪴🌻🙏🏻🪴
I appreciate the way you approach this content, and as a "Garden Viewer" who is both curious but also squeamish, you've done a wonderful job making this information accessible without being too hard to watch. Excellent as always.
As it's a Hungarian breed, it's well-known and popular here in Hu, and you can find mangalica (original spelling) products at every farmers' market, and yet here I am learning about it from you :)) Thank you for the info
So fascinating! I am a Cheese Specialist and I deal with a lot of fancy cured meats. I love seeing a rough draft of what happens for it to get to the stage to eat. Thank you for sharing! Good quality meat rocks😍
I hope you don’t mind me asking.
Have you watched venison for dinner.
It’s a channel I came across & really enjoy.
She makes a lot of cheese 👍
Every word Jess speaks feels like it's outta my own mouth! You're so eloquent and easy on the ears ;) Keep educating the masses.
We are a hunting family , 90% of our red meat is game the majority is Moose, deer we get made into sausage/pepperoni and keep the back straps . I grew up in a farm and our kids learned at a very thing age where their food comes from and helped in the processing of it starting with the meat chickens and turkeys I raised .
🙋🏼♀️🕊. I hope I am speaking for not just myself….🤷♀️. But I would not ever be doing , most ..of the things you are doing 🤷♀️.. But I really enjoy going along on your Journey, with you and your family. 🦋You are a treasure 🦋. And bring joy. So when you don’t have something to teach .that’s fine. Sitting in the greenhouse, spilling your heart ❤️ out for your love ! Of what ever you are doing is fine. We love you .blessings 🤗. Nana Pelle 🕊🕊🕊
I grew up on a farm from 1954 to 1974 when I joined the U.S. Navy. Our smallish farm in Maine supported our family of ten. We raised, usually, three Landrace pigs each year. I would highly recommend this breed as they are a longer pi with lots of good bacon.
Wow what a jam-packed episode or should I say lard-packed lol. Very interesting info on the types of pigs and their fat content, I did not know that. YOu are moving forward at break-neck speed and what a pleasure to follow along
A farm boy with good knife skills. Ben is amazing!
What an awesome life Ben has had…He will have a great live for this new land and way of life. Kudos to Jess for allowing the
knife. I have only daughters, too overprotective this mama:)
@@chloewhite6619 I love what she said when they got his dirt bike. Paraphrasing but it was something akin to "Soon they will be grown up and trying dangerous things so I would rather teach them how to do dangerous things safely than not know how to be careful". I love it :)
Thank you for explaining the differences in breeds. We're not ready to raise our own meat yet, but when we are, we'll have the knowledge to choose the right breeds for our needs.
You're such great teachers. You're always sharing what you learn and make sure people understand ALL sides of homesteading. I love how involved Ben was with the meat.
Thanks for this content! My first love is gardening, well and chickens :) I am also very interested in the whole homestead story, thanks for sharing this!!! Also don't mind the haters! I am a vegatarian .. and I LOVE IT most when people who love to eat meat, do it on their own farm, like you! RESPECT! Thanks again for sharing this!!
I grew up on a farm in eastern NC. My daddy butchered hogs and helped his friends at “hog killings” in the late fall and early winter. The cold helped them have enough time to process the meat. Both my grandmothers had smokehouses where the meat would be hung to cure. Lard was the shortening in biscuits and other pastries. It was used for frying. There used to be aluminum containers with a strainer that was used to hold bacon grease. Hot grease from cooking bacon in the cast iron skillet could be poured into the bacon grease can. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time when I hear you talking about your farming practices because that’s how I grew up. At the same time, so much has been learned about how to farm better and more scientifically, for lack of a better term.
I still save the bacon fat. The cans the Pirouette cookies from Pepperidge Farms are great for saving bacon grease. I let the grease cool before I put the lid on or it will make a vaccuum and make it hard to take the lid off. They have never leaked.
Lord if I had a dollar for every critter Ive butchered over the last 30+ years. I dont do a lot of salt curing. The cure messes with my gut so I do what I call the old standard, I smoke the majority of my meats. I do all my own butchering and processing. A very valuable skill set that everyone should know how to do. If you raise your own animals, butcher and garden, you will survive! Im very thankful I know how to do these things and do them fairly well. Not bragging just stating the facts. Fantastic video as always. Keep them coming and GOD BLESS!!!
Great learning experience. Love seeing everything that goes into being a homesteader!
I love seeing all the new projects the new farm is allowing you to do. Blessings
Even though I won't be raising hogs- (cuz small urban garden space and my age as a single woman), I love learning how its done. Letting people who are not raising meat for whatever reason, know how their food is raised, processed, at least at the healthiest level, is really good content. Thank you for educating the world. Things are changing.
After I watched y’all’s last video with Hand Hewn, I watched every video I could find of them on CZcams. I love how they teach!
They did a class at the Hollars not so long ago.
Hoping you see this. God had me pray for you, your family and farm this today. Keep your eyes to the sky today. April 5th. Bad weather may be heading your way. Be safe and God Bless. Will continue prays for you and yours.
Having raised pigs most my life am so happy you figured this out! However old spots are still not the leanest of pigs! A Landrace or Yorkshire sow crossed with a colored boar for example Hampshire or Duroc boar would suit me any day! Keep on farming!!!!🤔😉
Great content - I love learning even if I will never have my own pigs. So much new info to take in. Thank you Jess! And tell Miah thanks for tasting that first bit of Manga product with an open mind - that must have been one wonderful bite of meat.
When i was growing up Daddy always raised yorkshire big long lean white hog not alot of fat we had more meat than fat and we sugar cured it .It was wonderful
I have a HUGE favour to ask, when you process your first gen of you managXold spot cross, could you make a video showing the fat cap/ the specs of the how the meat came out?
Our ancestors hundreds of years ago made rillette. They would pack it in small jars and top with a clarified butter/ghee. Homemade potted meat, but good. Excellent way to store the meat and makes an excellent lunch cracker and cheese accompaniment. My Amish in-laws make beef rillette, and boy, is it tasty.
Thank you for all of your content!! Love watching your homesteading journey!
Had to pause a second just to say thank you! This is where we want to be asap which could be a while yet, so much to learn and do in preparation still.
I appreciate the meat content. All of the animal husbandry, choices, harvest, processing, and using.
I'm a soap maker, and I use lard as one of my ingredients. All I see is tons of soap in that piggie!!!! love it.
Edit: I'm going to make a note about this breed for when my husband and I start our own homestead. I'm excited for all that lard!
I do agree with you that having a second type of pig for meat would be best.
Sounds like a really exciting direction for your farm! I just looked up "Mangalitsa Old Spot Cross" and found an article that said - "dubbed the “Kobe beef of pork” .... tremendous flavor."
That ré ette reminds me of Creton my mother used to make when I was younger. Creton is a pork spread. My parents where from Quebec and that was a treat. We loved it!
Thank you for calling it butchering! It feels more honest than talking about ”harvesting” pigs. It’s not like they’ll grow more meat after you’re done harvesting for the day 😅
No need to apologize for butchering animals. This is a homestead that eats meat. People need to understand that when they tune in to these homesteaders CZcamsrs that they are meat eaters. These animals are not pets, they are for consumption.
I learned a lot when they show the process of butchering animals.
Absolutely agree! I really hate how some non meat eaters are so pushy and judgmental. Like they are better that us because they don’t eat meat…… So annoying.
@@wenbb2009 Very true. I don’t tell them what to eat, but don’t tell me what to eat.
Totally agree.
I love Hand Hewn Farms and so enjoyed the conversation of the last time they were on in the Arkansas snow storm😂
Wow, what great information! I really like this vlog-it's great to see a bit of the process (Love seeing Ben handle that cool knife 🔪 ) and hear about your experience with the Mangalitsas and how you'll breed them with the Old Spots. Thank you so much! 💗
We have Kunekune and LOVE THEM so far. We have not butchered yet, what we have now is our breeding stock.
Thanks for the overview of your pig journey. I've dabbled with various forms of processing and preserving meat. I've raised kunekune, AGH, bluebutts and Berkshire/red waddle cross. The bluebutts got HUGE really fast. The kunekune and AGH like you said take longer to grow out and have way more fat. I think the Berkshire cross was a good in the middle kind of hog but they too get huge. For me cause I process my own and do not have the facilities to handle big pigs by myself I'm currently raising kunekune/old spot mix. I hope they retain plenty of that lard trait since I have to rely on the pigs for most of my fat needs. Good video! I've never tried that vacuum cure technique and think I'll give it a try on my next one, I bet it's way less messy than curing wrapped in cloth.😊
You're a tough lady. I see the emotion you started to show, and I just think you're strong. It is the right thing but it can be hard when you're an animal lover. God bless
You probably have a good bit of beautiful lard. Wonderful for cooking! My grandmother always made her pie crusts with lard.Blessings!
Really great content, thank you for sharing this with us! I was considering getting Mangalitsas, now i know what i would get myself into. Thanks. Greetings from Germany.
The old spot mangalitsa cross pork sounds so delicious. Excited for your future meals!
Love your videos, I wish I had known more about all this when I was younger. God bless
Me too!!!
We have raised Kune Kune for a couple of years and just processed our first. the fat cap was crazy amazing. We also just obtained a set of old spots! not sure if ya'll are using registered or not, ours are not but we do love the heritage breeds.
We raised Berkshire/Tamworth mixed pigs last year and have a 1 inch fat cap on the chops and the roasts are beautifully marbled!
That is insane fun. Here in GA, there a plantation with a cold smoker shed. Where the family would smoke meat back in the 1800s. I think its fantastic and great how old this practice is.
Such great advice. And better yet great to see that you are sharing what your learning as you learn. It shows everyone that you can always learn and we all have to start somewhere xx
Love all your insight always. Thank you for your knowledge and taking us along with you!
Blessings to all!
I love food science videos! I find meat curing absolutely fascinating! I ended up following a youtuber from China because her family does all their own pig processing. They also do a bunch of preserving in some very interesting old school ways. It's like seeing the beginning of the food science and what you are doing is updated food science with extra tools. Thank you for sharing your experiences and I look forward to what you do next.
That is awesome.
Can you share the name of the CZcamsr so I can add it to my (ever growing 😅) list?
So - I thought this video was fascinating. My handle is garden junkie - and yes, I started viewing your channel for gardening tip/tricks. But I've stayed for a variety of the other elements you offer. My goal is not to be a homesteader ... howeeeever, I can take what you present and modify to my own needs/goals which are - to be self sufficient in my own way. Isn't that the beauty of all of this? I love the garden focus when it comes - true. But in tandem, I do buy ethically sourced meats and here in the midwest, often buy quarters and halves of locally raised meat from folks just like you. I would love to hear more, as you are ready to share, on uses, curing, preserving, etc. It provides me options and variation in what I may buy and how to preserve for my future use. So, Brava! Also, love the backwards ballcap. Cuz you can pull it off and I can't. :) Thank you!
I love your idea of marrying the two breeds of pigs!! Can't wait to find out how it turns out! YES, I will be following along as long as you are sharing your life journey with us!
Indeed you are creating something so very very special. Truly learn something new everyday! Thank you for sharing. 💗
I think you would have been pleasantly surprised with the bacon. We’ve had some (mangalitsa) belly’s with massive fat but they still crisp up!
Agree. My mule foot hog (heritage, lard pig) looks like that. And it’s amazing. And surprisingly sweet.
Jess, your information and presentation is so well done. Homesteaders are blessed to have your honesty and perspective are invaluable to those who are learning the process
This is so fascinating. Thank you for the constant free education 💗
What gorgeous pork!!! Looks like the sort of pork you find in Italy and other European countries!!our over the counter pork is too thin! They have no flavour and most are grain fed! Happy Roots and Refuge mangelitpsas! They have a jolly life with only one bad day!
You are just an incredible source of information. I bless you and your family
I have old spots and I absolutely love them!! They are so sweet!!! We are breeding for fall farrow
Really good information. Thank you Jess.❤️🙏🌻
This is our 1st year with pigs my husband did so much research trying to decide what breed of pigs to get. We settled on mulefoot. They have a lot of great qualities. Fingers crossed ☺️
Thank you for answering some questions I didn't know I had!🐖
Thank you for sharing this! I love learning all of the different parts, we aren’t any where near a farm yet, just starting our urban homestead but this gives me hope for the future.
I really appreciate you highlighting and giving information on such a nonconventional breed, and the variety of homestead content:)) cheers!
Fantastic advice! Thanks for sharing. I just did my first hog a few months ago; a Yorkshire/Berkshire/Hampshire mix. Excellent bacon and cuts of meat and decent amount of lard for rendering. I’ve always wanted to try the mangalitsa but the slow growth put me off. I didn’t realize how different the cuts of meat are from other types so this information is very helpful.
We also love this cross for freezer meat and have used it for years.
We also crossed a Manga with a Berk/Herford pig. They are woodland pigs so very multi purpose animals!!😊
If you sign up for abundance plus there is a lot to learn about on this topic💚
Envious of all that lard!!! You’re going to be making some fine eats with that.
Great information! The guys were at the Okie Homestead Expo in Oklahoma.
Oh this is gonna be awesome!
My friend raised Mangalitsa pigs for at least 4 years. She just got out of the pig business because her woods weren't providing for them anymore. They were getting out too. She loved them and she bred them and sold many piglets. So thank you for explaining how and why you salt cure it! We like Berkshires. We raised two guilts and they were amazing. We have raised several types of pigs, Yorkshires two times, Poland China/Duroc Cross, and then the Berkshires. We like the Berkshires so much that we want to keep raising them. I have never seen Old Spot pigs around here in Minnesota. I didn't know about them. We got our first pig breed, the Yorkshires because they were pretty easy to find. We went to a small farm animal sale and they had Yorkshires for sale. It'll be fun to follow your adventure with your pigs.
It’s so hard to find tallow. I use it everyday. So glad your pantry will be full. Oh how wonderful to have pancetta!!!
The process of raising an animal to slaughter is emotional. Even though we give them the best life we can it is still never easy to take a life. It never should be easy💜
I'm a vegan and animal rights activist but all of my family are cattle farmers. I really agree with well-expressed sentiment that if you are going to eat meat (I will hold my tongue here), it is a hundred thousand times more ethical to do so if you've taken care of animal well for the time that he or she was alive.
I don't think you could learn from anybody better I saw the original vlogs were Doug and Andy got snowed in in Arkansas I also watched them recently at the Okie homesteaders convention they sound like they're so well versed and what they do that if there's something you want to learn from them you just have to keep trying to learn from them and get it down pat I think you're doing good. I really wouldn't want a lot of the specialty foods that you seem to enjoy because I would not know how to use them but I'm glad you're growing the magus so you have them and can learn and grow with them because that is one of your focuses. Glad you got some regular hogs everything can't be the specialty items you need just some plain good old stuff it can taste good but it doesn't all need to be the specialty items yes you're right.