I have stopped eating pork

[leigh]

I have stopped eating pork because the meat always has an ever-so-faint flavor of stockyard, that is to say manure, almost indiscernable but present nonetheless. There are a couple of sources of homegrown pork not too far from here but it's almost impossible for me to get to them so I'm sticking to cheese and homegrown eggs, with the occasional dish of beef. sigh

 

[Lifter]

Consider trying ham, or brined/cured cuts...

If you taste any "stockyard" in that, you will know its "in your head", as opposed "in the meat"...

 

[Andy M.]

Leigh:

What do you think makes the pork smell like that and what would be different about the local stuff?? It would be a shame to give up such a versatile and flavorful meat.

 

[leigh]

Lifter: Guess I didn't make myself very clear - I'm talking about fresh pork. I can't eat ham because of all the salt. Though if I ever get my mitts on a decent hunk of pork shoulder, I'll have a go at curing it.

Andy: It isn't a smell, it's a very faint aftertaste, and I think is caused by the pigs being crowded into "finishing" pens which are hosed down only periodically throughout the day; thus the pigs have to wallow in their own excrement part of the time. The home-grown pigs I'm talking about are either free range or are kept in pens which are big enough to give everybody in them room to roam, eat, socialize, etc. without having to wade through dung to do so. The minute I find the right kind of pork, my freezer is going to be a whole lot more crowded than it is right now.

Thanks for asking.

 

[buckytom]

pigs have been a' wallowin' in their own excrement way before modern farming practices, so maybe there's something else wrong with your meat supplier leigh. maybe the way in which they are slaughtered, and the meat is processed.

 

[Lifter]

HMMMM!

Interesting, Leigh!

I live in Canada, so its a different country and different "governance" on standards for "kill and process" plants...

Naturally, there's "no way" that "manure" is being present in the same places as "hanging meat", and, of course, the "surface exposure" of meat is quite limited, compared with the meat muscle mass...(ie if you dug out a "cube" or "scoop" from within a loin or ham or shoulder, its plainly impossible for this to have been in contact with any form of anilmal excrement!) ("inside slices of pork roast, for instance!)

So if you can "rationalise" to that point, "wash" the "outside pieces" of your pork thoroughly before freezing and you are past the point of your objection....

You might also consider that the USA has no "quota" system...whoever produces the most, the cheapest, "wins", down there, so there's no "proof" that the pork you buy at your local A+P or Wynn Dixie or whatever is coming from the neighbourhood "stinky" plant...

The North American "appetite" for pork "ribs" is almost limitless, and yet the Danes consider this part of the pork carcass to be "inedible" (dunno why, but lets encourage them!) and therefor, the Chef that gave me a few classes advised that a "lot" of what we got was "frozen Danish ribs"...notice any "aftertaste" there? (of course, you cannot...the ribs are beneath the skin, as are the chops, loin roasts etc)

If you did, again, its in your "head"...or there'd be a simply MASSIVE die-off of people from e-coli bacteria in place and process...

Have you considered this, or "re-locating" your residence to get around this "problem"?

Lifter

 

[Raine]

I find it hard to believe that any smell or taste could/would penetrate thru the skin into the meat. If this were so, wouldn't poultry and beef have the same problem, as they are lept in the smae kinds of pens.

Having lived in the country and having neighbors who raised livestock, from what I remember their pigs wallered in their own stuff most of the time.

 

[leigh]

HMMMM!


Naturally, there's "no way" that "manure" is being present in the same places as "hanging meat", and, of course, the "surface exposure" of meat is quite limited, compared with the meat muscle mass...(ie if you dug out a "cube" or "scoop" from within a loin or ham or shoulder, its plainly impossible for this to have been in contact with any form of anilmal excrement!) ("inside slices of pork roast, for instance!)

So if you can "rationalise" to that point, "wash" the "outside pieces" of your pork thoroughly before freezing and you are past the point of your objection....

You might also consider that the USA has no "quota" system...whoever produces the most, the cheapest, "wins", down there, so there's no "proof" that the pork you buy at your local A+P or Wynn Dixie or whatever is coming from the neighbourhood "stinky" plant...

The North American "appetite" for pork "ribs" is almost limitless, and yet the Danes consider this part of the pork carcass to be "inedible" (dunno why, but lets encourage them!) and therefor, the Chef that gave me a few classes advised that a "lot" of what we got was "frozen Danish ribs"...notice any "aftertaste" there? (of course, you cannot...the ribs are beneath the skin, as are the chops, loin roasts etc)

If you did, again, its in your "head"...or there'd be a simply MASSIVE die-off of people from e-coli bacteria in place and process...

Have you considered this, or "re-locating" your residence to get around this "problem"?

Lifter

Of course there's no manure present during the butchering and hanging! That is not what I am talking about at all. Noxious--and beneficial--substances can be and are absorbed through the skin and then transported throughout the body--as witness the many medications for us humans in the form of skin patches. (The most well known of these is of course the nicotine patch, but there are many others.) I am NOT talking about bacterial contamination, whether e. coli or any of the any other dozens of bacteria, but the FLAVOR that is left behind by the manure that is absorbed through the animal's skin and processed by its body. Ever try mixing up a cake in a bowl that's been rubbed with a garlic clove? Same difference.

btw, I really don't appreciate your condescending attitude. I'm perfectly willing to agree to disagree, but I am NOT willing to be told that my perceptions are "all in my head"!

 

[leigh]

I find it hard to believe that any smell or taste could/would penetrate thru the skin into the meat. If this were so, wouldn't poultry and beef have the same problem, as they are lept in the smae kinds of pens.

Having lived in the country and having neighbors who raised livestock, from what I remember their pigs wallered in their own stuff most of the time.

It is hard to believe, Rainee, but it's true, cross my heart. Whatever is absorbed through the skin is circulated throughout the body and processed by the body, doesn't matter where that body happens to be on the food chain . . . this can be a very good thing at times; for example, medication patches.

Poultry and beef wouldn't have the same problem because chickens and cattle don't roll around on the ground--if they ever did, somebody had better get them out of there right quick, because something is drastically wrong!

We raised pigs, but they always had enough room that their wallows and their latrines were in separate areas of the pen. We also had chickens and goats until my youngest brother outgrew his cows' milk allergy; then we swapped the goats for a dairy herd of Ayrshires, still kept pigs and chickens and a couple of horses, and one memorable summer my dad and I raised 50 ducks. There was a plague of miller moths that year and those ducks thought they'd died and gone to heaven when we'd dump another dishpanful of millers into their pond. For a long time my dad also had a donkey that he got a lot of fun out of.

Anyway, I haven't given up altogether on pork: I'm still hunting and tasting . . .

 

[buckytom]

i'm gonna have to give this a test, leigh. well, once my nose clears up. i eat a lot of pork, but it is usually served spiced or in a sauce that might hide what you are talking about. what cuts of pork and how do you prepare it that you experience the bad taste?

 

[marmalady]

Leigh, perhaps you're one of those 'super-tasters' who is really sensitive to tastes and smells - maybe you should look for a taste testing job!

 

[In the Kitchen]

Usually when something I bought on sale has a distinct flavor to it. I have avoided buying too much pork on sale since. Being around pigs which was a definite education for you, you can detect when something isn't right. My cousin lived on farm and had pigs till one grabbed the back of his leg. Was really pretty tramatic. You never know about animals. Not easy to be farmer no matter what way you look at it. Only grateful when we visited we really ate the way one is supposed to eat. He used no hormones in anything and feed was same he got that our grandfather used. Stuck to basics. Oh, every morning they ate bacon and eggs from their stock. The milk didn't taste like store but like cream. They lived to be up in their 90's and still had their minds. Hard work and right food. Life!

 

[leigh]

i'm gonna have to give this a test, leigh. well, once my nose clears up. i eat a lot of pork, but it is usually served spiced or in a sauce that might hide what you are talking about. what cuts of pork and how do you prepare it that you experience the bad taste?

Chops, steaks, roasts, all cooked plain - chops and steaks simply laid in an ungreased cast iron frying pan and browned on both sides, slowly enough that the meat is cooked through by the time the second side is browned, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Roasts baked plain in a 325F oven, seasoned with s&p. Bear in mind that what I'm talking about is not an actual flavor, but rather a very faint "off" aftertaste.

BTW, your observation on spices/sauce is spot on: the original purpose of spices was to preserve the meat as far as possible and to cover any remaining bad flavor. No wonder spices were so valuable! I even found out a while back that the men who loaded/unloaded pepper shipments were made to wear clothing without pockets to prevent their filching even one peppercorn.

 

[leigh]

Leigh, perhaps you're one of those 'super-tasters' who is really sensitive to tastes and smells - maybe you should look for a taste testing job!

Wow, I never thought about that! It would take some heavy research to find that kind of job here in the middle of Nowhere that Thinks It's THE Where, but what an intriguing idea!!

 

[leigh]

Usually when something I bought on sale has a distinct flavor to it. I have avoided buying too much pork on sale since. Being around pigs which was a definite education for you, you can detect when something isn't right. My cousin lived on farm and had pigs till one grabbed the back of his leg. Was really pretty tramatic. You never know about animals. Not easy to be farmer no matter what way you look at it. Only grateful when we visited we really ate the way one is supposed to eat. He used no hormones in anything and feed was same he got that our grandfather used. Stuck to basics. Oh, every morning they ate bacon and eggs from their stock. The milk didn't taste like store but like cream. They lived to be up in their 90's and still had their minds. Hard work and right food. Life!

OWW, your poor cousin! Right you are about farmers not having it easy. But there's just something about it . . . and you're right, what you describe is the way everybody should eat--would that we could all be that fortunate! Not that we couldn't come a whole lot closer if we all put our minds to it. Once you've learned what the real stuff tastes like, "store" anything seems a pretty pale substitute.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Once you've learned what the real stuff tastes like, "store" anything seems a pretty pale substitute.
leigh: I have noticed with something like ground beef there isn't the 'smell' I remembered when my mother used to make it. We even ate the stuff raw sometimes. Wouldn't catch me doing that now! When frying it, there isn't any beef smell. Sometimes I go to Whole Foods for meat and they still have the smell and flavor. But who can afford to buy the stuff regularly? I can't get out of the store for less than $100. As long as I feel we are trying to stay healthy we have to pay for it instead of giving it to the doctor. People have their values really mixed up. They tell me they cut back on the food in order to get Christmas gifts. Whenever I say something about it,they say I don't know what Christmas is about. Times I think President Bush has the cattle is for eating the best. My cousin is working for the government now. He said pays better. Supposedly wants to run for some office. Never know what changes we make in life. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I have to step in on behalf of Lifter. he was only trying to be helpful. I too have been accused of being condecending, when I was really trying to be helpful. I even had a knife pressed to a very sensitive part of my body because I tried to be helpful just one too many times to a man with low self-esteem. But that's another story.

The point I'm making is that though his written tone may have appeared arrogant to you, I know Lifter and what he's about. He's knows much, but not everything. His suggestions were born from what he knows, without much knowledge of you. He had no way of knowing about your experience with hogs, and possible super-sensitivity to flavors. And I know he wasn't trying to be a know-it-all, just as I wasn't when I tried helping the guy sharpen the knife. It just came accross that way.

I type this to you because flames start all to easily on these types of boards, and the freindships and goodwill can quickly turn into flames and anger. And I do know about those things. I've seen it happen on what were great boards that no longer exist because of the confrontations and on-line fights.

I ask this favor of you. To keep this forum open to all, should you have a grievance with a poster, please air it with him/her through the private message feature.

Thank you.

Goodweed of the North

 

[Bangbang]

I have stopped eating pork because the meat always has an ever-so-faint flavor of stockyard, that is to say manure, almost indiscernable but present nonetheless. There are a couple of sources of homegrown pork not too far from here but it's almost impossible for me to get to them so I'm sticking to cheese and homegrown eggs, with the occasional dish of beef. sigh

Note to SELF. Stay out of Kansas.

 

[Brooksy]

Wow,
Leigh many people will not eat pork, I haven't got a problem with that. Many years ago a fellow said exactly the same thing to me - that the meat (pork) taste like sh*t! I told him that he was an idiot & not to be so silly. Gee do I owe him an apology.

Bangbang: Stay out of Kansas - poor Dorothy.

The first lesson I was taught about pigs was - NEVER EVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A PIG! Lived in the country all my life (less 10 years). Watched 'em kill & munch on a chook one day.

 

[wasabi]

What's a chook?