Comments on: Pigstock, Traverse City, Michigan

By: Sean Maki

Sean Maki — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:54:39 +0000

Pretty sure he means a front bucket loader

By: Chad

Chad — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:45:18 +0000

Great post. Hope I can attend someday. But as a farm kid I must ask, what the h*ll’s a “tractor lifter”?

By: allen

allen — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 19:51:19 +0000

Heart and lung stew sounds like a recipe worth posting if you can get it.

By: allen

allen — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 19:23:05 +0000

Ruhlman, you are dressed way to nice to be trompin in hog guts. I bet you can wear a white shirt, drink espresso and eat spaghetti. I have to wear black goddamit!
I wish the video were longer. I would love to see the stun gun. All I know is ” No Country For Old Men” scene and would like to see it used properley, also would like to finish Brian’s sentence, while talking about colfat, I remember he said it makes a nice wrap for a terrine of pate.

One last comment;
Isabell has the primary ingredient for a fine cocktail using Cointreu, lime juice and Cpt Morgans rum, served in an iced martini glass with cinnamon sugar on the rim, or a wedge of lime. Not sure what you call it, but I had one in Vegas and it was delicious.
In Alaska we used to mix it with Dr. Pepper and lime, probably more suitable for hog slaughter, though a bit too sweet for me that way.

By: JTH

JTH — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 14:39:59 +0000

This slaughter was only for PigstockTC, but others are handled in the best way possible

By: DiggingDogFarm

DiggingDogFarm — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:02:13 +0000

“He was nervous and I could see it, his own heart pounding, taking deep breaths.”

I’ve dispatched thousands of animals and this is the case every time.
It’s something to be taken very seriously.

“It’s not my pig, so I don’t know how it will respond,” he said. “Sometimes they jump over the fence. Anything can happen.”

So true!!! I have a bunch of stories!

“He doesn’t believe in sticking hooks in legs because it damages the hind shanks.”

I totally agree with that.

As far as the scalding temp goes, 180 degrees is rather high, but maybe that’s a requirement for Mangalitsas.
I’ve dispatched hundreds of hogs and the target temp is always 145-150 degrees….too high a temp causes problems……it can damage the skin and make the hair difficult to remove. Been there, done that!

By: Klobáskové entrée | Natanieri.sk

Klobáskové entrée | Natanieri.sk — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:33:17 +0000

[...] Michael Ruhlman má na túto tému novú knižku. Tento týždeň dokonca tvítoval priamo zo zabíjačky mangalice. No a najviac ma potešil klobáskový Scuk a fakt, že v Prahe sa už dajú zohnať čerstvé [...]

By: ChristineV

ChristineV — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:40:48 +0000

Oh yeah, and I’m taking a sausage-making continuing ed class with Chef Polycn next month at Schoolcraft. I’m so freakin’ excited!

By: ChristineV

ChristineV — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:39:36 +0000

Michael, a hog-related question…I’m making guanciale for the first time using your recipe from Charcuterie. The jowl has been in the cure for a couple of days and is pulling out a large amount of liquid, is it OK to pour this off? I’m wondering if I should maybe make up a half batch of the cure and reapply it. Thanks!

By: Michigan = Italy = Ohio = France | Michael Ruhlman

Michigan = Italy = Ohio = France | Michael Ruhlman — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:41:44 +0000

[...] City, Michigan, where I and my partner in Salumi, Brian Polcyn, were invited to participate in the celebration of the pig. But we also got to sample wines and spirits made from the abundant and fruit that grows in this [...]

By: former butcher

former butcher — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:40:41 +0000

At 180 degrees, I’m more worried about burning MY skin. But whatever works…I assume we’re talking about a “captive bolt” stun gun, with a gun powder charge. Most are pistol grip. some are shaped like a coke bottle. Either way, they can be just as dangerous to the butcher as to the animal.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:20:18 +0000

I don’t know, and it was actually raised by Dan Hiday at Hiday Farm in Burlington, MI. You’d have to contact Marc. But you raise a great point, even if animal is raised with care, the abattoir may be terrible. try to find out from your farmer how their animals are killed.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:08:57 +0000

are you vegetarian?

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:08:13 +0000

thx for all comments. and no, they scald for a few minutes between 170-180 F, doesn’t burn skin or even cook it.

christoph stressed how important the stun was, to hold the bolt with both hands and make sure you are in the right spot, the center of a cross between ear and opposing eye. yes, agony if done wrong, part of why he was nervous.

And we drink one shot BEFORE the kill and none after!

By: Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:50:38 +0000

gross

By: Ruthy

Ruthy — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:32:04 +0000

What a great post. Do the Santuccis butcher all their pigs the way Christophe did, or was this just for Pigstock? And more importantly, do they sell it? I’ll be in Traverse at the end of November and would love to support.

By: Michael Dalke

Michael Dalke — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:25:53 +0000

I enjoyed your post Michael. I also attended a “Pigstock” led by Christoph and Isabell in New Jersey three years ago. It was a marvelous experience which I highly recommend. I still have some Mangalitsa pig left in my freezer from the half I bought there. I plan to use some of it to try out techniques from your new book, “Salumi”.

By: A Cook and A Geiek

A Cook and A Geiek — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 01:04:26 +0000

Always good to see a great examples of how animals should be respected. Thanks for the share Michael.

By: Edwin

Edwin — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:57:19 +0000

Stun the animal, results in less stress. Imagine how great our supermarkets would be if their butchers followed this humane practice. Keep educating Michael, thanks for sharing.

By: former butcher

former butcher — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 21:37:17 +0000

Great post on an important topic, humane slaughter. I knew butchers who would argue endlessly over whether it was more humane to just “stick” the hog, or stun it first. If the time between stunning and sticking was too long, a good part of the carcass could be lost (cosmetically, at least) to what is called “agonal hemorrhage”, blood spots from burst capillaries in the muscles. And if the stunning was improperly done, it could result in horrible torment for the animal. Swine, in particular, are difficult to control in the moments prior to either stunning or sticking. Even seasoned professionals, like your Austrian friend, know that a slight twitch of the animal’s head could have unpleasant consequences.
Having said all that, I must admit that just about all the pork I purchase comes from a more “industrialized” system.
I know that we would have had a very short working day if we passed around the schnaps after each animal was butchered.
And I hope that your 180 degrees F was a misprint in regards to the scalding water. That would burn the skin. We always tried to keep it within 150 to 155. If you had a mechanical dehairer, you could go as low as 145.
Let’s hear more about this “Pigstock” and the pork products involved, please.