Topic: That Time of the Year Again

[pathfinder]

I almost hate to admit it but having grown up in a family with four sisters (I'm the middle child, only son) and a mother who was not only a green thumb vegetable gardener but a from scratch cook, which is why I like to cook. Fact is sometimes way out here in the Gulf of Mexico, working as a high pressure drilling mud engineer on this oil platform, I sometimes unwind from the 28-12 hour day work shifts in the galley (that's kitchen to you landlubbers) with the food prep staff.

But when I'm ashore, at home, during my 14 day turn-around (days off), I give the wife a break or share duties with her in the kitchen for our clan ... which brings me to the crust of this thread.

This time of the year, as summer is fading into Fall and winter is around the corner, there's always a host of things needing attention in the near self-sufficient lifestyle this family has chosen to follow. One of those chores is, hog butchering time. Rather than dwell on the blood and guts of that task, let me say since Sept 11, 2001, every hog raised for consumption has a Muslim name -- call that condenscending but damm, pork just seems to taste better when its attached to some de-facto islamoterrorists.

Sometime during my next onshore leave, late October into November -- our resident porkers -- Mahmod Amadinejad 'n Muhomad al-Zwarii will begin their ritual passing into our freezers, sausage stuffers, and smokehouse to supply us with our pork, bacon and lard needs until next year.

During the slaughtering phase, there is one recipe worth sharing with my fellow 4season chatters -- Downhome Cracklins . For this you will need:

1 quart hog lard (or water)
10-pounds pork fat with skin (cut into 1-inch wide strips)
salt, to taste

Heat the hog lard saved from the last time you rendered pork in a large, heavy pot.  If you don’t got any hog lard, use water.  Add pork fat strips, stirring often to prevent them from sticking to each other or the pot.  When they start to crack (hence the term “cracklin’s”) and float in oil as they turn brown, remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  While still hot, add salt to taste.  These are best served fresh but can be kept longer if stored for a short period of time in tightly sealed containers.
   
Hog lard is grease left over from making cracklin’s.  Pour it into jars after it cools and save for cooking and for the next time pork skins are made.

~~Note: two hogs make for a lot of cracklins, which is why we section the processing makings into 2 or 3 batches, kept in the freezer, for later batches. Around here pork skins (cracklins) don't last long which is why this time of the year is something worth looking forward to.

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,12455.msg136171.html#msg136171

[pathfinder]

Having already used the muslim names of 14 islamofasciasts and terror fundamentalists from Osama bin Laden, Saddam Huessin plus the more recent (soon to be butchered) additions, Mahmod Amadinejad 'n Muhomad al-Zwarii, and 10 others, I chose currently don't recall, we will be looking for names of our next two piglets that will be added to our homestead in late February or early March.

If you can think of a name for our soon to arrivals, please feel free to provide it here! It would be greatly appreciated.

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,12455.msg136173.html#msg136173

[Right Conspiracy]

I almost hate to admit it but having grown up in a family with four sisters (I'm the middle child, only son) and a mother who was not only a green thumb vegetable gardener but a from scratch cook, which is why I like to cook. Fact is sometimes way out here in the Gulf of Mexico, working as a high pressure drilling mud engineer on this oil platform, I sometimes unwind from the 28-12 hour day work shifts in the galley (that's kitchen to you landlubbers) with the food prep staff.

But when I'm ashore, at home, during my 14 day turn-around (days off), I give the wife a break or share duties with her in the kitchen for our clan ... which brings me to the crust of this thread.

This time of the year, as summer is fading into Fall and winter is around the corner, there's always a host of things needing attention in the near self-sufficient lifestyle this family has chosen to follow. One of those chores is, hog butchering time. Rather than dwell on the blood and guts of that task, let me say since Sept 11, 2001, every hog raised for consumption has a Muslim name -- call that condenscending but damm, pork just seems to taste better when its attached to some de-facto islamoterrorists.

Sometime during my next onshore leave, late October into November -- our resident porkers -- Mahmod Amadinejad 'n Muhomad al-Zwarii will begin their ritual passing into our freezers, sausage stuffers, and smokehouse to supply us with our pork, bacon and lard needs until next year.

During the slaughtering phase, there is one recipe worth sharing with my fellow 4season chatters -- Downhome Cracklins . For this you will need:

1 quart hog lard (or water)
10-pounds pork fat with skin (cut into 1-inch wide strips)
salt, to taste

Heat the hog lard saved from the last time you rendered pork in a large, heavy pot.  If you don’t got any hog lard, use water.  Add pork fat strips, stirring often to prevent them from sticking to each other or the pot.  When they start to crack (hence the term “cracklin’s”) and float in oil as they turn brown, remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  While still hot, add salt to taste.  These are best served fresh but can be kept longer if stored for a short period of time in tightly sealed containers.
   
Hog lard is grease left over from making cracklin’s.  Pour it into jars after it cools and save for cooking and for the next time pork skins are made.

~~Note: two hogs make for a lot of cracklins, which is why we section the processing makings into 2 or 3 batches, kept in the freezer, for later batches. Around here pork skins (cracklins) don't last long which is why this time of the year is something worth looking forward to.

In a coupleof months it will be "Hog killing" weather here. I have always said that we should feed the people in Gitmo a pork based diet.


Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,12455.msg136177.html#msg136177

[pathfinder]

I have always said that we should feed the people in Gitmo a pork based diet.

My cousin who worked as a maintenance supervisor for TDCJ (Tx prison system) for many years said that converts to the muslim faith - did so not b/c it was a change in faith as much as a way to cost the prison system money having to meet special needs of the incarcerated population - received different meals when pork was the primary menu item. What is ironic is tho the special food items were never pork products, they were always (without exception) cooked in pork lard, and even funnier the muslim converts were aware of the pork-based cooking lard fact.

So in your synopsis, R.C, I say if they can't be served a pork-based diet, then what they receive ought to cooked in pork lard.

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,12455.msg136244.html#msg136244

[TheVinylVillager]

In a coupleof months it will be "Hog killing" weather here. I have always said that we should feed the people in Gitmo a pork based diet.

Yeah...give em one more reason to rise against us.
Im thankful that even the stupidest of our politicians is at least three times as diplomatic as you are.

Linkback: http://4seasonschat.com/index.php/topic,12455.msg136245.html#msg136245

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