The Inn at Ship Bay killed one of their pigs that they got from Wooly Pigs earlier this year.
Apparently they finished them on a barley-based ration, and as a result, they have hard, bright white fat.
That's what's neat about an informed, rational chef teaming up with a farmer: the chef knows what he needs (fat that won't go rancid, so he can cure it). It helps if the farmer is a foodie (the sort who is fussy about his lard).
It all reminds me of Austria, where you've got chefs like Bryce Lamb learning how to kill and cut up Mangalitsas, and farmers like Christoph Wiesner, who makes his own cured products, in addition to breeding, fattening and exporting Mangalitsa pigs and pork.
Its nice to think that the special qualities of the Mangalitsa helps to bring chefs and farmers together. I can think of another story along those lines - in Illinois. Those folks will have a dinner on December 16th.
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