On Thursday, Nov 10th, 2016 we toured the Hertiage Pig farming operation at Spannocchia. The tour was led by Sara Silvestri who is the Educational Director at the farm and organizes the internship program.
The Cinta Senese is a Heritage breed of pigs from the Sienna region of Italy. The white stripe that runs around it’s black hide makes it a distinctive looking animal. It is more akin to a wild boar than your standard pink farm pig.
In the early 1970’s the breed was endangered with only about 700 left in the region. There are now about 7000 of these pigs in existence in the region and about 150 of those are at Spannocchia. Small herds of 10 -12 pigs are raised in very large enclosures that include open pasture and areas of forest. That way, besides the table scraps and grains the farmers provide, the pigs can eat acorns, walnuts, grasses and anything else they can forage in the forest.
Our girls really enjoyed seeing the new piglets. After the piglets are weaned from their mother at around 3 months old, they are moved to their own area to grow as a herd.
Pigs are raised for about 2 years and grow to be about 400 pounds in that period of time. Spannocchia chooses a handful of sows of exceptional Cinta Senese breed composition to become part of their breeding program. They also keep one primary breeding male for a period of a couple years before swapping out with a new breeding male from an external farm to maintain genetic diversity. All the others are kept in a “semi-wild” enclosure to enjoy healthy activity, healthy nutrition, and plenty of foraging for at least two years.
During our time at Spannocchia, we also found that various herds of pigs occasionally escaped their enclosures to enjoy a truly “free range” time around the farm. Heavy rains had cause erosion, bending down fence lines. The happy pigs had taken themselves for wanders around the farm, but always willingly returned to their enclosures before nightfall, trusting the delicious meal they would find from the night’s kitchen scraps.
After two years, the pigs are taken by their caretaker with effort being given to making the transition as low stress as possible to a local off-site slaughter house. The next morning, the butchered pork is brought back to a “transformation” room where the sides of meat are butchered into the various products. While we couldn’t see the transformation room, we did go into the curing room where Prosciuttos are hung during their two year process of becoming Proscuitto.
We then went into the kitchen to taste several types of meat that Spannocchia produces.
Lardo is the pure top back fat of the pig.
Spannocchia seasons the Lardo with rosemary and salt and thin slice it to put on bread. Or they have a whipped version of Lardo that is mixed with rosemary and is great for grilling. This was historically a “peasants breakfast” because of its high fat and caloric content. Sara was careful to point out that this is different than “lard” (or “strutto”) that you might use in baking. That comes from fat further down in the pig and is not as high quality. This Lardo, by contrast, was DELICIOUS! Melting on the tongue with a balance of rosemary and saltiness with the creaminess of the fat.
Pancetta is from the belly of the pig.
Also known as rigatino, pancetta has a high fat content with striations of meat. It is not smoked, and can actually be eaten raw or used in cooking. It is simply seasoned with salt and black pepper.
Prosciutto is from the two hind quarters of the pigs.
These portions of meat are covered in salt for two weeks to draw out moisture and blood. The salt is changed out regularly to make sure all the moisture is gone and no insects get into the meat. After two weeks a “paste” is used to cover the Prosciutto and this seals the meat. From there it is hung in a cool environment for 2 or more years and is sold for 350 euro’s or more depending on the weight.
Capocollo – is prepared from the neck meats and fat.
It has a much stronger flavor and is seasoned with salt, pepper, foraged wild fennel and juniper.
Salsiccia or Salami is from a variety of parts within the body of the pig.
It is finely chopped, seasoned with Spannocchia red wine and piped into natural casings before curing. Each sausage is cured for three or more months.
Soppressata or “head cheese” is made from the cheek and other parts of the pigs head.
This is not a cured product, just refrigerated. Strong spices such as anise, cinnamon, and citrus peel help to flavor this product.
For more information about farm tours or the internship program contact Sara Silvestri: farmprogram@spannocchia.org
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