Making brawn

 

The pigs went to slaughter a couple of weeks ago. We then had five pig heads to use. We made one into brawn,

Dolly back from the vet

 

Just back from the vet where Dolly had the cast removed from her leg. She is well and walking properly. (Above photos before the cast was removed, below afterwards.)

The pork arrives

 Pigs were back from the abattoir last week. Here are a few pics of what is now in the freezer.

Making brawn

 

As I write this post, I have on the cooker a large pan containing a pig's head and vegetables for a stock. I'm making brawn - a useful way to ensure none of the meat on a pig's head (and there is a great deal of meat!) is wasted.

Rendering fat

 

We found a large bag of unprocessed pig fat in one of our freezers last week. We urgently needed the freezer space to accommodate the pig and offal that had just come back from the abattoir so the fat was removed from the freezer. I'm rendering it this morning.

Cherry and gooseberry ketchup

 

I made cherry and gooseberry ketchup recently. It is a by-product of a jelly I made so making the ketchup was a useful way to reduce waste (it is made from a fruit puree extracted from the cherry and gooseberry pulp).

Fruit purees can be extracted from other pulps. In one of my freezers I have some plum puree from last year which I'm going to make into ketchup as well.

Featured!

My self-sufficiency blog is featured on the website of Waltons, a supplier of garden sheds and buildings. They have a page about the 8 best self-sufficiency sites. Seems as though I am in good company! You can see the other 7 sites (and my own!) on this link.