Pastured Pork

In this Newsletter:

2010 PASA Conference Highlights
Pastured Pork Info
Citrus Braised Ribs Recipe
All Natural Beef Jerky!

Hello Friends, local food supporters, and CSA Members,

This year’s Conference for the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture posted another record crowd.  It seems like every year, more farmers and more people are choosing to farm and eat in more sustainable ways.  How does one make a sustainable food choice?  Well, to quote part of the mission, “PASA's consistent and driving vision has been to transform agriculture and food systems in Pennsylvania and beyond in a way that makes our farmers more viable, improves the land and restores the health and wellbeing of all our citizens.”  At North Mountain Pastures, we are committed to raising the best product for our customers’ well-being while healing the land and, hopefully, our local economy.   And you, as local eaters, have committed to being a part of that change.

A highlight of the conference for me was having the pleasure of listening to Kim Seeley’s opening address to the conference.  Kim is an energetic and inspiring speaker, and in his address, spoke to the poor state of the majority of our food system, his background as a conventional farmer, and his transition to sustainable dairying and a hope for the future.  If you have a spare moment, please take the time to check out Kim’s speech from this year’s conference.  You have to click play under the headline.  The audio is 21 minutes long.

Many of you have already received this month’s delivery which, for some of you, has included the new addition of pastured pork.  Our heritage-breed Tamworth pigs are raised on pasture and supplemented with grain.  As those of you who already have your meat may have noticed, pork is not the other white meat!  The meat from a pastured pig is darker in color, and, if allowed to grow to maturity, complete with fat marbling throughout.  All of our pigs are allowed to grow for about nine months to develop a good covering of fat.

Good fat comes from grass!  Recent research has shown that raising pigs with permanent access to pasture increases the level of omega-3 fatty acids, bringing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 to a more heart-healthy level.  Pasture-raised pork has also been shown to have higher levels of heart-healthy conjugated linoleic acid and vitamin E.  Not to mention the fact that watching them instinctively dig and root through weeds and grass is really entertaining! So to highlight the good stuff, here is a dish I cooked the other night using ribs, which some of you have already received in your shares.

Braised Pork Ribs with Citrus and Tomatoes
Ingredients
Pork Ribs, 2-3 lbs
1 large onion, sliced
Butter or Lard
Juice of one grapefruit or one orange or two lemons/limes
One quart water or pork stock (or any broth)
One pint whole canned tomatoes
Good sea salt
Herbs and spices – I used whole peppercorns (10), whole cloves (5), bay leaves (3), and garlic (3 cloves)

In a heavy, wide pot, start to brown the onions in the butter or lard.  Move them to the edges, and brown the ribs.  Make sure the ribs are completely dry before placing in the pan or they will steam and not brown (pat them with a towel or paper towel).  To brown the ribs, lay them in the pan on either side on high heat for about one minute.
Remove the browned ribs from the pan and deglaze the pan (to get the nice brown bits into the stock) with the citrus juice.  Rub the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon if you need to.  Keep the heat on; return the ribs to the pot and pour in the stock or water.  Cover and place in your oven at 275F.  Keep it at a slow simmer for 2-4 hours.  The longer you simmer, the more the meat will fall off the bone.  I like 3 hours.
When the pork is done, pull it from the pot and cover with a lid or foil.  Pour in the tomatoes, and turn up the heat to reduce the sauce by one half.  In the last 10 minutes, add the herbs and spices (and honey or maple syrup if you like some sweetness), and salt to taste.
Serve with mashed turnips or potatoes and some kale or other greens for a finger-licking good time!

In addition to our other ‘fancy’ cured meats with names like Guanciale, Bresaola, and Sopressata, we have started making beef jerky as well!  Feel good about eating a snack that’s delicious, pasture-raised and additive-free, available at our next delivery.

That’s all for now.  See you at the next delivery!

Brooks, Anna and Matt