Kinfolk Butcher Block Party - Pig Butchery Edition

This past Sunday I had the enormous pleasure of attending one of the Butcher Block Party events put on by Kinfolk Magazine as a part of their series of themed workshops held all over the world.  Through the months of June and July, workshops taught attendees the art of butchery and the methods that go into taking a fish, lamb, or pig, for instance, and breaking it into ready-to-cook cuts of meat. It also just so happened that they chose the small city of Charlottesville, VA (about a 2.5 hour drive away from me) as the location for a pig butchery demonstration, and I naturally had a hard time resisting the temptation to buy a ticket for such a unique event. I eventually did, of course.

I arrived at Blenheim Vineyards, the location of the event, to find a spectacular view, beautiful blue skies, and a friendly and warm welcome from the hosts of the event, Hill and Holler, Beyond the Flavor (an amazing and beautiful Charlottesville-based food blog), and James Lum and Matt Greene, the gentlemen behind JM Stock Provisions (a soon-to-be butcher shop in Charlottesville) and our butchery instructors for the day. So, I settled in with a glass of rosé and prepared for what turned out to be one of the most informative and in-depth lessons in food I’ve ever received. And to top it all off, the day did not end at the lesson itself. After the butchery demonstration, we headed outside to grill up the just-cut meat and some sausages made earlier that day with the other half of the same pig we cut up, and to enjoy a platter of James and Matt’s prosciutto, pate, and rillettes with fresh baguette.

Now, I’m not going to go into too extreme of detail about specific cuts of meat and word-by-word accounts of the lesson. You will actually see that on Beyond the Flavor's blog fairly soon. I’d rather just let the pictures do the talking. But I will give you just a few insights as to what I took away from the whole day.

The most important lesson is the sheer importance of buying meat that is local, free-range, and humanely raised and slaughtered. A gentleman from the local farm, Timbercreek Farm, where our pig grew up was there to talk to us about their practices for raising pigs and the things that make their pork so superior to commercially produced pork. Basically what it comes down to is that when pigs are happy and foraging for their food instead of penned up and living on a constant diet of corn and other grains, their meat is going to be sweeter, more flavorful, and healthier for you. Perhaps all of this is common knowledge at this point but occasional reminders are always nice and I can attest to the fact that the meat that we ate was delicious beyond words.

Also, the class really served as an aha! moment for me. Back in my restaurant-serving days, we were expected to be familiar with different cuts of meat but no matter how many times I looked at diagrams of pigs and cows, mapping out the different cuts of meat, it never clicked. Now it does. Seeing the step-by-step process and observing as the enormous half-pig turned into chops, bacon, hams, and ribs, I could finally piece together the puzzle.

All of this information also came along with tips on seasoning, cooking methods, and how to turn a less commonly used part of the pig into a succulent meal. Throw in the lovely conversations I had with the butchers themselves and other attendees about our passions for food, cooking, and local sourcing, the excellent meal, of course, and the overall pleasant backdrop of the winery, and I’d say it was quite the way to spend an afternoon!