Meat Processor

We had a baby shower/party thingy yesterday (about that later).

One of the food options we had for the party was a roast pig from Forestas.

We ordered a 50lb. pig, and got an extra 10lbs for free. I'm not really sure if that's 60lbs. after all the cooking or what. That's just the number I got to go with.

Today I "processed" what was left after the party.

I don't really consider myself a carnivore (i.e. overly excited about all things meat), but I do consider myself a little less evolved. I had my hands all over this carcass in search of all the meat I could scrounge. It's food. I wasn't letting that get away.

In the end I filled thirteen 1lb. freezer bags with meat.

Yes. I individually weighed each one.

With all the meat scavenged, I proceeded to cut off as much of the skin as I could for later.

What was left (bones, brains, fat, and hooves) weighed 16.5lbs. Not too bad. I guess the pork was a hit at the party.

Now the skin.

Jen calls them Chicherones. I call them Pork Rinds. Basically it's fried pork skin.

We found a recipe on the internet that said bake them at 475°F for ten minutes.

Eh. Didn't quite work like we expected.

After a few Pints of Prima Pils

and some trial and error, I think we figured it out.

1. Clean off as much of the fat and meat from the back of the skin as you can. Technically you can leave it on for meatier flavor, but it's harder to cook for us novices.
2. Cut the skin into sandwich bread size pieces.
3. Place on baking sheet and salt the hell out of them.
4. Bake at 475°F for 10min.
   

Voila!

So tasty!

- b