Keith and Tina's Build: Prime Porkie Workie

Last summer, we agreed to have a half share in a pig, with our Dutch friends Joop and Cathelijne.

The pigs had a free range life for 6 months, and we were able to contribute to their diet, with some surplus apples and courgettes from the garden.

In February, the gig was up for the pigs, and it was time for the pot. Joop hired a butcher from the abattoir at Confolens. Farmers in France are allowed to slaughter 2 animals a year, for there own consumption, provided it is performed by a qualified slaughter-man.

The butcher arrived a bit early, so by the time we got there, the sow had already been killed. The male pig, by this time, had an idea what was coming and put up a bit of a struggle, as the butcher and Joop tried to tie his back leg to a tractor, so that he could be hung and so that the blood can be collected for black pudding. It took a few attempts, and a lot of squealing but finally he was tied on, and could be dispatched with a bolt to the head.

That was a bit unpleasant, as was the drawing out of the intestines, but if you eat meat, then I suppose you should be aware of the consequences.

The carcases were left hanging overnight, to drain, and it was back the next day for the butchery.

The butcher was very quick. So fast in fact that he finished our half and moved on to the next half before we had even noticed, making it a bit tricky to sort out who's pork was which.

In the afternoon he chopped all the mince for pate, rillettes and for sausages. We then mixed up spices for a few different flavours, french style, as Cathelijne had done the year before, and some Spanish, Italian and Cumberland recipes, from a book on sausages that i had been given as a present a few years ago.

Day 3 was spent mixing the pate and rillettes. The pate is cooked in jars in a big vat, overnight, while the rillettes are cooked on a stove, jarred up and then boiled for a while more, to sterilize and seal the jars.

I think we ended up with over 30 jars in all, of different flavours. We have tried some out on friends and visitors, with very good reviews.

Finally, it was time for the ham. Joop and Cathelijne had made one last year, and it was delicious, so we thought that we would give it a try as well.

First, you rub a mixture of eaux de vie and spices on the outside of the ham. Next, you soak some cloth in the same mixture, and wrap in around the bone endings. to protect them. Now cover the ham in salt, and keep it in a box for 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the weight of the ham.

Finally, remove the ham from the salt, and hang the ham in a ham sack, in a room with a constant cool temperature for about six months.