Category: Pigs

Consumers Need To Organize and Prioritize

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Two Goats Milking At Briden Farm

We are often asked about selling milk, dairy, pork, eggs, and other farm products. 

Joel Salatin has a Book entitled “Everything I want to do is Illegal” 

Unfortunately that is true of about everyone brave, or crazy enough to run a homestead, or farm, or homesteading farm, these days! 

Many Homesteaders and Farmers do what they can. Some strictly trying to adhere to obscure, difficult to understand and interpret Government Regulations while others try to fly under the radar. Either way it is very counterproductive. 

Sadly, these would be Providers accomplish little when it comes to influencing Government and They find it difficult to meet consumer demands and sully those needs. So, it’s been on my mind for sometime that we may be putting the cart before the horse! 

What if, instead of a handful of small Homesteads operators and small scale Farmers seeking change, the Consumers acted instead. First of all, the Consumer base is 10 to 100, perhaps even 1000, times larger than the would be providers. So, that means that instead of a small handful of Homesteaders and Small Scale Farmers trying to influence Government, a larger more concerning number of Voters would be more noticeable! Political Power comes in numbers! 

Does this interest You? Brian at Briden Farm would be interested in hearing from You. Call Brian at 902-907-0770 

This Will Have You Licking Your Chops

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Pork Chops and Sautéed Veggies

To make these Chops, we started by adding some of our rendered pork lard, then starting by sautéing diced onions in a hot cast iron frying pan. Then put in our Woodland, pasture raised, Berkshire Pork. Brown on both sides. Then pour on a bit of Bread and Butter pickle juice. Our Bread & Butter Pickles come from Grandma’s Place, 1882 Clementsvale Rd, Bear River, NS B0S 1B0. Then add mushrooms and brown some in the frying pan with the Pork Chops and Onions. Also add some Sour Kraut to the pan and finishing browning the mixture. By the way, our Sour Kraut come from Lequille Country Store, and was locally made.

Now, pour the Frying Pan contents into another pan on a low side burner and cover to keep warm. Then, in the original frying pan, add a little more Lard.

Then we cut up the potatoes and added the slices to the lard and added the follow Watkins Products … Watkins Pepper, Sea Salt, and Rosemary Extract. Continue to fry the potatoes till golden brown and then add the pork chops, onions, mushrooms, and sour kraut on top of the potatoes. Continue to sauté for a few minutes to insure everything is warm before serving. This Will Have You Licking Your Chops! 

Come visit us at Briden Farm, where the Tea is always on, and the Coffee is not far behind! Book Your Farm Tour, call Brian at 902-907-0770 

Rendering Lard at Briden Farm

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Rendered Lard

One of the side products that comes from processing Pork from Pigs is the fat! Using that Pork Fat to make Lard, or Render Lard, as it’s called, is very rewarding! While you may think it’s unhealthy…

Alton Brown, host of the Iron Chef, may disagree!
(Watch the Video on the Food Network

In fact Prevention.com says…   

“While there are a few dissenters in the ranks, most of the experts we spoke with say lard doesn’t deserve its bad rap—and can actually be a healthier fat than other options, especially for some kinds of cooking.”

The Site Hampshire.edu goes deeper into what some of the healthy benefits are…

“Compared to conventionally-raised pork, pasture-raised pork has:

2.4x more omega-3 fats 

60% lower omega-6: omega-3 ratio

1.3x higher poly- unsaturated: saturated fats

8% higher protein

2x more vitamin E “

So, by now you may be asking, but what about Crisco? 
really glad you asked… Read TheConversation.com

Anyway, suffice to say, the Taste alone that comes from Foods, especially Baked Goods, made from Lard, especially Lard rendered from Woodland Pastured Berkshire Pigs like we have here at Briden Farm, is incredible! 

So, let’s take a look at how we make Lard… 

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