Hog Harvest with Skookum Farmstead and Farmstead Meatsmith!

Holy hog harvests! Folks all around are working together to bring in the hog harvest. I know of butchering days near and far - including an incredible hog butchering class presented by none other than Farmstead Meatsmith at Skookum Farmstead.

You might remember our pal J. from our interview when he was working on raising and butchering creepy meats. He did a great job with that project and I was thrilled to hear about his hog butcher day. Even better, I was extremely excited to hear that they had Farmstead Meatsmith come out and hold a class at his place! What could be better than that?

Everyone knows Farmstead Meatsmith, right? The guys with the outstanding video of how to break down a side of pork? They also have some new videos that you just have to see, but my favorite will always be Episode 1 on this page.

So how lucky was J. to have the Meatsmith guys come out and have a class to show him how to hog harvest on the homestead? I have to admit I was a little jealous.... but then I saw this great video showing some of their day. Then I felt like I was part of the fun.

When I asked J what he learned (aside from the technical 'how to's') he said what I might have guessed.... that working with other folks on a project like this is just fantastic. There is no way to describe the deep satisfaction and sense of community when you get together with other people and find out what you can do.

While I think that J and his family are superspecial... the fact is they are just regular people. Regular, everyday people can butcher at home. All you really need is confidence and a couple of strong people and you can make your own meat right there in your yard.

Of course, it helps if the Meatsmith guys come out and hold a class - and you can find out more about their classes here - but really you can do this.

I'd also like to tell you about a terrific project that J is working on over on his blog. It's called Harvest Letters and it will be a collection of thoughts, essays, or poems about what it means to bring in the harvest - including from the garden, making your own meat, or foraging. I really think this is a wonderful project. Regular people need to know that making your food isn't some far away idea. You can contribute to Harvest Letters and read the submission requirements here. It's going to be a great way to share knowledge and encourage other people.

J, I can't tell you how proud I am of you! What an accomplishment!   And special thanks to Farmstead Meatsmith for letting me use the video on this post....and for understanding that I'm just a huge fan and not a crazy interweb stalker.

Happy Monday everyone!