Our pasture-raised pork is truly naturally raised without soy for the East Texas (Longview, Tyler, Marshall, Jefferson) and North Louisiana (Shreveport, Bossier) areas. Our pastured pork is clean and wholesome, and is delicious grilled and served with just salt and pepper, or cooked in more complex dishes. You will enjoy cooking pastured pork!
Pork can be savory (like BBQ) or sweet (chops with apple glaze; ham with honey mustard). It can be a combo (sweet and sour pork). In general, pork roasts and chops should be cooked to medium rare to preserve their juiciness. Pork should be enjoyed with the fat, which is a great source of vitamin D when the pigs are raised on pasture.
Here are some descriptions of the cuts we offer to give you ideas on how to use a very nutritious and easy-to-cook meat.
Bacon
This cut is a muscle with lots of fat layers between strands of lean, which means it is very flavorful and full of Vitamin D. “Fresh” bacon is uncured, meaning no salt, sugar, spices, or nitrates have been added, and it is not smoked. It is technically known as sliced Pork Belly.
You can home-cure bacon by soaking it in a salt and sugar water solution for a few days in the refrigerator. We like to add cloves, Liquid Smoke, and other seasonings to ours. Then toss it onto a skillet and cook like regular ol’ bacon! We also occasionally offer pork belly for those who want to try curing and smoking their own bacon.
Pork Loin Roast
This small roast is shaped like a piece of very thick toast (about 1.5-2″ thick) and has a layer of fat across the top. When roasted, the fat cooks into a buttery, juicy layer that makes this roast one of the most enjoyable porky experiences you will ever have!
Pork Chops
Everyone is familiar with this bone-in classic pork cut, but if you have never tried pasture-raised pork, you may think pork chops are dry and chewy. Not the case with our pork. Grill them, broil them, bake them, but keep them a little pink in the middle to have exquisitely juicy chops. We offer 3 types:
Pork Loin Chops
This chop is the cream-of-the-crop, containing both the rib and a piece of the tenderloin, making it the pork equivalent to a beef t-bone.
Pork Rib Chops
This chop is the pork chop standard in America, containing a rib bone and a nice round section of fine muscle fibers. Great grilled, baked, or braised!
Pork End Chop
This chop is similar to a rib chop, but may have slightly more connective tissue. It is the pork equivalent to a beef sirloin steak.
Pork Steak
This cut is actually usually a slice through a roast, but it can be cooked in much the same way as pork chops. It won’t be quite as tender and may have a bit more inter-muscular fat, but pork steaks are still great for things like a quick dinner on the grill or homemade kabobs.
Ham
As mentioned, pork is very versatile, and that is true of the hams as well. Most people are only familiar with cured ham in the form of spiral ham for holidays, lunch meat, or country-style ham steaks. We do not offer that, primarily because it is difficult to find a processor that can recreate the flavor and texture of conventional ham without the additives. We can offer fresh hams that you can smoke and cure at home, but these must be requested ahead. Fresh, uncured ham tends to be difficult to keep tender and moist, as it is a very well-used cut in pasture-raised pigs who get lots of exercise. We opt to turn most of it into sausage.
Ham Steak
This cut is actually a bone-in slice of a fresh ham that is nice for a quick meal or for adding to scalloped potatoes, soups, or macaroni and cheese. We often rolls ours around a homemade stuffing, bake it, and slice it into attractive pieces for serving a delicious and inexpensive meal. It will require a long-cooking to tenderize, and benefits from home-curing to add the smoky, sweet flavor customary to ham.
Pork Breakfast Sausage
Our bulk pork sausage is one of our most popular products! It is not too lean, but not greasy either, and has just enough spice. It is raw and requires browning before serving. Our sausages are MSG- and Nitrate-free. We also offer link sausage that are MSG- and Nitrate-free. The links are “dinner” size and are not smoked. They are excellent grilled, sauteed, or in soups, gumbo, or with beans.
Pork Ribs
We actually offer two types of pork ribs. Back ribs are slightly less meaty and are from the loin section when the bone is trimmed off the chops for preparing a Pork Loin Roast. Spare ribs are long and thin and have more meat per slab. Either can be smoked or grilled and are positively delicious!
Pork Shoulder Roast
You have not experienced Pastured Pork until you have tried a pork roast! They can have as little as some salt for seasoning and are still delicious! We recommend slow cooking for this cut, which can be used for pulled pork or pot roast.
