Just as it used to be in France, in Slovakia the annual Pig Killing and preparation of by-products is a family affair. Everyone mucks-in.
Here is No 1 son, Kimbo, preparing meat for sausages, pâté, etc, at the family home of his wife Suzie.
I haven't studied the photo too closely, but I'm impressed with his chef's whites, and his delicate touch with the 'poking knife'.
I remember well doing much the same in France when our neighbours killed their Pig. It was a day of 'celebration' (not for the Pig), and by the end of the day everything would have been either bottled, salted, frozen, made into sausages, and/or eaten at the big evening banquet. There would have been enough preserved meat for the whole year.
These days (in France) farmers no longer have a domestic Pig, and I have a feeling that Pig Killing on the farm is no longer allowed either. I also suspect that housewives have mostly forgotten the art of home charcuterie. However, I'm pleased to see that the tradition continues in Slovakia.
I wonder if he'll bring back some home-made Pâté?
Suzie doesn't sound like a Slovakian name. Kimbo sounds Nigerian. That's not a room for vegetarians.
ReplyDeleteIn France the whole event was very 'joyous'. There were children and dogs everywhere, neighbouring farmers making jokes and throwing inedible bits at the women. I'm sure you can imagine the scene. It would have been awful had it been a sombre event.
DeleteI thank you Neil. Non of your elucidation would have occurred to me. What point are you trying to make?
DeleteNo point. Just passing thoughts.
DeleteI have a Slovak cookery book and coincidentally it has been on my counter top in the kitchen as I have been referring to it again. They have some wonderful food and a lot of it reminds me of my mother's cooking. It is interesting and good to see that the tradition of the pig killing continues.
ReplyDeleteSuzie is a very good and adventurous cook. They live very well out there!
DeleteCro, when I was a child in Lincolnshire almost everyone had a pig killing once a yea - you chose the date depending upon the weather - good, sharp, cold weather not mild and damp.
ReplyDeleteIt was always a very important date in the calendar. My neighbours taught me how to salt hams, make bacon, and bottle paté, and I've always been very grateful to them.
DeleteI am not a vegetarian but meat eating would rest far easier on my conscience if the animal could be slaughtered on the farm and spared the traumatic lorry and abattoir experience
ReplyDeleteExactly as is done here, and was done in France by my neighbours. It makes all the difference.
DeleteSmall farms raising animals and processing them for food are rare or nearly non-existent. The family affair you picture shows real devotion to a lost practice. Will the next generation continue the practice? Often they do not.
ReplyDeleteIn parts of Slovakia, I imagine this will continue. In most European countries it has all but finished.
DeleteWhen we lived in Crete our neighbours always had a pig and the slaughter was always a big day. I kept well away.
ReplyDeleteI doubt if they're allowed to do that anymore though in a small village no-one is going to stop them.
It's such a shame. I don't wish to sound like a Pig-killer, but this was such a big part of bucolic life. Big factories win again.
DeleteMy mother grew up on a farm, her parents would host the pig day
ReplyDeleteI've never kept Pigs myself, but both my close neighbours (in France) did. It was a major event of the year when their time came.
DeleteJust a couple weeks ago, we witnessed the same activity in the house of our Amish friends. All the children stayed home from school. Two cows and a pig. Ham and bacon and summer sausage smoked. Most of it canned. Some went to the icehouse. It was quite a production. The two dogs could barely greet us. They had a very large pile of bones they were working through.
ReplyDeleteTwo cows as well; that must have been quite a day. I imagine there were lots of people to help, the Amish are well known for their co-operative way of living.
DeleteI remember reading a book many years ago now, where the family had a pig day with all the processing and sausage making etc. I've never seen it in real life. Anyone here in Australia that has an animal to be butchered takes it to the local butcher and picks up the packs of meat the next day or the day after.
ReplyDelete