So you’ve bought the book, the cultures, the pink salt, the expensive free-range, organic, provenanced meats, and now you are contemplating the brine injectors, smoke house, wine-fridge curing chamber and all the other gizmos, equipment, toys and goodies your new found love of meat suggests to you. You’ve invested in all the paraphernalia, but haven’t [...]

Back in December, during Duckfest, the seed had been planted….”Why not come to Gascony and study, if you have some time?” I pushed the thought off, thinking of where I could possibly come up with the money, how the chores would get done—in short, how could I possibly escape my everyday reality and take advantage [...]

I have been raising pigs for a long time. I have raised many breed, on many feeds, in several different ways. When I started with pigs it was the typical backyard raise two, sell one to pay for the one you keep. We did it in a movable pen, which was shifted around a few [...]

On my recent visit to the Chapolard’s Charcuterie Farm in Gascony I learned about and made these fantastic little Ham-ettes. You can get an idea of how to do it from this video, but you should also consider coming to Claddagh Farms, meeting Dominique, and trying for yourself! Technorati Tags: charcuterie, ham, pork, meat, pigs, [...]

I live in rural Maine. It is beautiful here, and as we drove around the countryside of Gascony, I was often reminded of the rolling hills and forests around my own home. Granted, my home is covered in layers of snow and ice and the winter Gascon landscape had the greens and browns of spring-emerging [...]

It always amazes me how a few simple things when put together create a much greater whole. Such was my final lunch in Gascony. More than an ordinary lunch, rather a taste, of the Lot-et-Garonne where I had been staying. The meal was also a reflection of everything I had been doing during my stay, [...]

While out in the wilds of Gascony going from A to B we encountered a sign. A sign from the fields which lead us to something better than we could have ever guessed by driving down a dirt track past ramshackle cow barns. What we first was was amazing in itself….a mobile wine processing and [...]

While checking out the market in Agen, I was impressed with the selection of produce, both conventional and organic. What struck me more was the seasonality of everything. The newer produce of the season–things like Poineaux a’ Vinaignettes (small baby leeks) raddichio, pissenlit (dandelion) and aliettes (small, fresh garlic shoots) were all just beginning to [...]

My time in Gascony as flown by. There has been so much to do and see. We have been to various markets almost every day, either to shop for something to cook or to see and learn. What amazes me is the size and scale of these “small” open markets. They are held in various [...]

Here is a little view into the world of the Chapolard’s Gascon Farm where they make raise pigs & make charcuterie from them. You can find out more about booking for a class with Dominique Chapolard, Kate Hill and Myself, here. Technorati Tags: gascony, france, farming, farm, agriculture, pork, pigs, butchery, butcher, food, meat, charcuterie, [...]