If you would like to try the ham with rind http://www.dartagnan.com carries them (as Amy pointed out above) or http://www.potreronuevofarm.com will be offering shares in hogs and you can buy in. But it sounds like the Miller hams you are getting are great too.

Glad the glaze worked and I’m excited to try out your twice smoked recipe!

Your glaze (ha ha) is brilliant – people said they could drink the stuff when I made it the night before. Our hams didn’t have the skins on so we missed the drama of the scored skin and it was kind of a pain to keep basting when there was so much going on in the kitchen otherwise prepping for a crowd.

OH and I totally forgot the onion base but the juices below were still excellent for gravy, all by themselves. And the trimmings/bones made the very best ham stock we’ve perhaps ever made.

But that glaze? Gorgeous. For Easter, I might try having the butcher spiral-slice our next ham, then let the glaze work its way into the slices before heating in the oven.

Beautiful work – really. Thank you, thank you …

Amy, I love D’artanan. We used them all the time at Le Bernardin in NYC for special items (foie gras, black truffle jus, etc) and funny enough they host a treasure hunt around NYC for cooks every year that’s super fun. I am definitely going to check out their selection of hams – they have excellent quality!

Only one change because I forgot to add the orange rind when I was cooking down the syrup, so I just added it at the end and let it sit in the syrup overnight. We ordered our ham from Dartagnan (http://www.dartagnan.com) and it did have a rind on it! We were a little impatient and didn’t let the fat completely render, so we didn’t get the full crackle, but it did crisp up and was soooo delicious! My fiancee has dreams about the glaze and wants to try it on a brisket next. Thank you again for sharing. 🙂

Thanks, Amy! We sell finished pigs “on the hoof”. Basically, we cannot sell by the cut, but rather by the half or whole animal. You customize with the butcher how you want your cuts to arrive, and we do all the delivery. So, you pick up all your pork from the farm at some date in the fall. We will have a limited number of pork shares for the fall of 2013, and we will be accepting deposits in the spring. For more information or to reserve your half pig, please email heritage@potreronuevofarm.org.

Thank you! I think they are a pretty weird combo. We’ll see how it goes. Will do another test batch tonight to nail down the cooking times. My oven is more temperamental than I thought!

If all goes well, I will totally send along some weirdo cookies! Just PM me with your mailing address. No worries about the shipping fees either. It would be my pleasure!

I think your cookies are amazing and if you ever need some one to taste test, I”m happy to pay the shipping fees! Go kick some major booty at the cookie smackdown!

Farmer Suzie! What’s the good word on buying shares of your pigs for next year and how does that work? I know many people participated last year and LOVED it!!!

Indeed! We are hoping to cure a leg of prosciutto with one of our pigs this year, and the possibilities are endless from there. If all goes well, we’ll be able to share it at one of our farm dinners.

No worries! Thank you for the reply! The Cookie Takedown is this Sunday. I have been testing out cookies for the past two weeks, and think that I have finally settled on my cookie. Don’t know if it will win, but I think it’s quite tasty.

I’m just really glad for the learning experience though. I am not the best baker/cookie maker, so I feel like I have learned a lot doing all the testing!

No, not Le Facteur though that was a hearty laugh that I can’t share with most people.

So my magic pig comes from a producer that’s almost at the “organic” certification for his pigs but he’s associated with this one butcher that somehow manages to break down an entire veal calf into exactly 2 foreshanks and some bits of flank. What happened to the rest? No one know.

My Bordelais friend and I have attempted to order a pig but every time we’ve asked about when delivery might happen, the pig either hasn’t grown enough or grew too much or can’t be found. How can you lose a pig? I suspect that butcher who is a bit free and loose with his grasp of anatomy.

Thanks for the cochon555 link. I’ve had Berkshire (which people like to call Kurobota on menus) on my plate and Tamsworth the last time I was in London but I’ve never had the opportunity to work with heritage pork.

I’m sitting here green with envy that you’ve got tasty, tasty access.

Watacetti – Porc magique?!? C’est quoi?!?! Le mail man?!?! LOL! So to answer your question about breed – yes Berkshire Tamworth is a cross between two heritage breeds. Tamworth is smaller with a big belly (and the best bacon!) and Berkshire is said to have flavorful meat all over.

http://www.cochon555.com/HERITAGE_BOOKLET.pdf

I loved your story on Oxtail soup…

Debbie – Thank you! So nice to hear the encouragment!!! Many Thanks!

Anyway, those hams are beautiful and congratulations on a great photo of you and Suzie next to your handiwork. Ham’s not on any immediate menu but I’m going to check if I can get something in a similar form (skin/fat cap on) to try at Easter. I’m with you on calculating additional quantities when it comes to pork; it and shrimp seem to be the two things that people have an elevated capacity for.

Since you have access to all this great pork, have you thought about making salumi?