One of most non-traditional sessions I attended today was entitled “Know Your Cuts of Meat.” It was sponsored by local berkshire pork company Eden Farms from State Center, located just a few miles from our farm. Eden Farms provides pork for white table restaurants from Manhattan to the San Francisco Bay and I can say it is the best pork I’ve ever tasted.
The session started with the primal cuts of half a hog shrink-wrapped on a table. Inside the shrink wrap, the pork was somewhat already cut up and reassembled before shrink-wrapping for the presentation.
Here’s a whole pork loin (top along the backbone).
Here’s the slab of bacon from the belly. You might not think an hour and a half would fly by so fast talking about meat cuts, but it did.
As as aside, for any of you who may have read Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, the Iowa farmer featured in the book just happens to be the distinguished-looking gentleman in the sports jacket on the left, so when you read about Michael riding in the combine with George, here’s a visual for you!