Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[Denim Deb]

They're 2 different things. They have some similarities, but they're not exactly the same. I've had scrapple B4. Some of it is good, some of it not as good.

 

[Wannabefree]

I thought maybe they were interchangeable terms. Ya know how Coke is called soda in one area and pop in another region...and down here a lot of folks just still call it "Coke" regardless of the flavor

 

[frustratedearthmother]

From what I understand - scrapple has cornmeal in it and hogshead cheese is just mostly meat scraps and flavorings. I got a 'list of things to get' from the cook and it starts with pimentos (for color) bell pepper, onions, garlic, parsley, vinegar, and cayenne pepper (if we like it spicy).
I'll let ya'll know how it turns out. I really WANT to like it, lol. And I really, really don't want to insult this guy if I don't like it!

Kind of looks like this is turning into an 'event'! More folks are turning up than I thought - so I'm gonna start the day with a big ol' breakfast for everyone. Then.. a killin' we will go....

I hope I don't cry...

 

[Wannabefree]

You won't cry! It's really not as bad as I thought it'd be. It's a little off putting when they cut them to bleed them out, but other than that, I actually enjoyed the slaughter process with ours, and knowing where each cut of meat comes from and what it looks like attached...etc. etc.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

In a morbid kind of way I AM looking forward to it. Same reason as you mentioned, WBF, I wanna know what each cut looks like when it's still attached to the pig. I'm especially looking forward to that pork belly - cuz I'm gonna make me some bacon!!! I can't wait to get that process underway.

 

[Wannabefree]

Oh and it is a beautiful thing sis! You'll be amazed at how the bacon looks before and after, and how DELICIOUS it is!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

OMG - what a day. The pigs are resting in ice chests as I type. Neighbor dispatched the first one with a perfect shot and he fell in his tracks. We were absolutely AMAZED when we weighed him. The last month or so they grew almost in front of our eyes. We bought these little guys in mid-September at 6 weeks of age. That meant that they were born first part of August. They were a little over 7 months old when they left this world at 325 lbs! WOW - I was truly amazed. The first one we butchered was the biggest but only by about 10 lbs or so. It still amazes me that they were so HUGE!

The second pig was somewhat of a nightmare... and he was my favorite. While I was in the house working on the first hog head the 'guys' went to harvest the second pig. The idiots gave the gun to my high school student and let him shoot him. I am absolutely furious over this - he took FOUR shots to kill him. I'm upset, sad, pi$$ed, angry... and yet I couldn't yell at the kid.

I spent months taking the best care of these pigs that I could and even though they were always destined for the freezer, I feel like I let 'em down. I promised 'em a good ending... and one of 'em didn't get it...

 

[Wannabefree]

:/ Dang the guys and their stupid hairbrained ideas sometimes... Sorry about your piggy. At least it's over now, and you have all that fresh pork as a consolation prize! Enjoy it sis, and hopefully the lugnuts learned not to let a boy do a mans job next time. It would have been different if the kid had any experience... That would have made me mad too. Anyway, nice size on those two! Should be some primo pork chops!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Yea.... After everyone left I had my private fit of anger and then my spell of sadness and now I'm over it. He had 7 months of piggy bliss to offset the 5 minutes of crapola. And... we put ribs on the pit this morning, from the first pig - OMG! They are absolutely PRIMO!

I cooked up the liver and the heart for the dogs. I just can't cultivate a taste for it myself and my stoopid dogs won't eat it raw, lol. What's up with that???

The cajun guy who did the hogs head was a big help. First of all, I think this hogshead cheese stuff is gonna be delicious. The procedure was kinda gross. He skinned the head, removed the brain, ears and scared me to death with the eye balls, lol. His head wouldn't fit in my pressure cooker so we had to do some plastic surgery and remove the tip of his nose - ewwwww. He added two onions, bell pepper, garlic, parsley, and lots and lots of dry seasonings along with a bit over a cup of cider vinegar and then we locked the lid down and let 'er rip.

Cajun guy left before it was done, so I had to kinda wing the rest of it on my own. When it was cooled down I opened the cooker and started trying to pull stuff out and of course it fell apart.... But, the aroma.. my oh my! I picked through it pretty good cuz some of the 'stuff' just didn't look like what I wanted to eat. And, don't tell anybody, but I took the tongue out...just couldn't eat it. I even tried... I got it close to my mouth and backed out. Anyway, then I added some pimento peppers for color and took a hand mixer to it. I poured it into a 9 x 13, covered it with foil and refrigerated it. He says to cut it into bars and eat it with crackers and a little hot sauce.... I really think it's gonna be delicious! I'll let ya'll know tomorrow.

Hubster had horrible leg cramps last night. We hardly got any sleep at all. He drank milk, coconut water, took magnesium and calcium pills and ate Vit C like it was going out of style. Nothing helped for very long. He even went and got into the hot tub in the middle of the night.

I'm kicked back with a glass of wine right now and I fully intend to get my soak on in the hot tub tonight. Sposed to rain tomorrow so maybe, just maybe I can rest!

 

[Wannabefree]

You almost tongued a piggy. I wouldn't have been able to even entertain the thought as long as it still looked like a pig tongue Ew! I am a countrified backwoods farm girl, but I couldn't do THAT for as long as there was other less non appetizing meat ANYWHERE in the vicinity I'd try a taste of pole cat first honestly

Enjoy the ribs!!!!!!!!