One Vanilla Bean Wins

A while back I made an offer to Charcutepalooza participants - basically, if someone would make a post about their Charcutepalooza Mangalitsa products, I'd pick the best and give them some good stuff. As I wrote, "I'll judge based on the skill used to craft the product and the photos you take of it."

One Vanilla Bean has won. Here's her winning post.

She wins a ham, made from our pigs, by Johnston County Hams.

Sold!

I've just executed an agreement to sell my pigs and brands and other intellectual properties to Mosefund, one of my oldest and best customers.

I'm almost out of the luxury pig and pork business - but I've still got meat to sell.

If you want to buy Mangalitsa, please call me at 253-508-3604. That includes lard, cured shoulders, raw meat, etc.

If you want live pigs - breeding stock or feeder pigs - I suggest you call Michael from Mosefund at 201-289-0210.

Part of my agreement with Mosefund includes a noncompete clause. I spent most of yesterday and the day before calling former live pig customers, explaining that for at least one year, I wouldn't be able to consult with them.

I've enjoyed helping all my customers and potential customers these last few years. Besides consulting with them, in cases where I couldn't serve consumers, or I felt a customer could serve them much better, I typically recommended the Mangalitsa products of others to the consumer, figuring it would be better for me in the long run. However, due to the noncompete, that stops right now.

Quick Hams

Mangalitsa ham on foodista.com

These guys in London did their hams the fast way. If you follow this link, there's more info. Mangalitsa hams produced that way taste incredible, but take very little time to produce. There's less risk of spoilage.

Nevertheless, some people fetishize bone-in hams, unaware that unless you've got your process down, there's a lot of things that can go wrong.

Here's a recipe for quick hams from The Herbfarm's Chris Weber on foodista.com

On the topic of hams, I should mention that here you can buy bone-in Mangalitsa hams, from Johnston County Hams.

Big News

Selling

Heath Putnam Farms is in the process of selling its pigs and brands to Mosefund.

There'll be more news about this in the future.


Victory Lap

I'm currently planning a trip to the Wiesner's in Austria. I'll get to learn (finally) how to cut up the pigs. I've cut up a bunch (along these lines), but I've never felt really good at it. By going when they'll be killing a bunch of pigs, I ought to get plenty of practice.

I've wanted to visit the Wiesner's farm for years, but running the business has prevented it. I think I view their farm the way Tolkein portrayed Lothlorien: a place of preservation that is "out of time". Right now, it is my idea of a perfect refuge.

After I come back, before I start my next thing, I'm thinking of doing a quick tour around the USA to visit customers (many of whom I've never met in person). Hopefully I'll be able to show them something.