We picked up our second 1/2 hog from Meadow Haven Farms on Saturday morning. The first one was amazing and lasted us about 9 months. To the right is a picture of our half. I'd estimate about 100 lbs of take home meat. It's great from the standpoint that you get to chose how your hog is cut up and prepared. We really enjoy getting our meat this way, it let's us try cuts (and offal) that aren't as easy to find in the grocery store and the quality really is top not from MHF. In a half, you can expect plenty of pork chops and bacon, some shoulder steaks, about 10 lbs of ground or sausages, ham, and roasts.We have also been splitting half cows (MHF as well) with friends, so the two compliment each other nicely and the only protein we end up getting from the grocery store is fish. Grass fed beef is great, when cooking you can tell it's less watery and has more of a beefy taste to it than conventional, but the difference is even greater between grocery store pork and what you get from MHF's pastured organic pork. The pastured pork is much more tender with a texture that stays firm yet juicy and has some real flavor to it. Other than needing to cook it at a lower temp, I find it far more forgiving than conventional as well. We did the pork chops this evening. I did mine marinated in a tablespoon of lime juice, tablespoon of rum and a good rub of jerk seasoning. Super tender, loved it, should be another great pig.
