All about natural pork
No, it’s not the political type of pork we are talking about here to day. This is one post that has a couple of video sections that are well worth your time watching and listening to if you have any interest in pork products that are above and beyond organic.
We visited South Texas Heritage Pork Farm in Floresville a few months ago and then returned last week when they hosted a cook-off for chefs mainly out of the greater San Antonio area. Floresville is about 40 something miles out of San Antonio. The pork was provided by Kelley Escobedo and her husband of South Texas Heritage Pork and the chefs prepared some really tasty pork recipes.
We have a short video on the Cook-off event and a much longer (26 minute) video on how they raise hogs at South Texas Heritage Pork Farm. Included is how they humanely raise, treat, and feed their animals, how to render natural lard, and the benefits of incorporating natural lard into some of your baking procedures. They also talk about the different breeds of hogs and how they were bred to produce specific cuts of pork, bacon and hams. This is one of the most in-depth and informative interviews we’ve done here on Real Texas Blog.
One point I took away from all this is that natural lard is nothing like the lard we buy in grocery stores to make our tamales. I could have easily titled this post “everything you wanted to know about natural pork but didn’t know to ask.”
It’s all pretty darn interesting…..
Ramona Werst interviews Kelley Escobedo of South Texas Heritage Pork and answers the myth of: ” Is Natural Lard Bad for You?
Snout-To-Tail Competition
Culinary Student Teams:
The Art Institute – SA
The Culinary Institute of America – SA
San Antonio Foodbank Culinary
Judges:
John Besh – August, Luke
John Russ – Luke SA
Steve McHugh – New Restaurant TBA at Pearl in Fall 2013
David Gilbert – Beyond The Kitchen, New Rest TBA 2013
Bryce Gilmore – Barley Swine
Ernest Servantes – Burnt Bean Co.
Julia Rosenfeld – SA Magazine; Zagat
Jennifer McInnis – SA Express News
Olaf Harmel – The Blue Box
Chris Duel – Talk Now SA
Live Music by The Groove Factory
Beer Vendors:
VIP (Inclusive with VIP Ticket): Ranger Creek , Pedernales Cellars
GA (Cash Bar): Saint Arnold, Guadalupe Brewing Co., Alamo Beer
Food Trucks (tasting samples provided using local vendor products):
DUK Truck -tasting sample – Rancho Ojo de Agua
Say.She.Ate tasting sample – Peeler Farms
Where Y’At tasting sample – Grassland Oasis
Open Division:
One dish, prepared on site, humanely raised, locally sourced.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
tell me more about swine cook off.. where and when thanks
You can follow them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SouthTexasHeritagePork or their website is: http://www.southtexasheritagepork.com
It was a lot of fun…you can also purchase pork in small quantities at the Pearl Brewery Farmers Market, or if you want to order 1/2 hog or whole, directly from them.
The Pork is totally grassfed and has the most amazing flavor!