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    Home » Recipes » The Amish Editor

    Going Whole Hog

    Published: Feb 5, 2012 · Updated: Feb 5, 2012 by Kevin Williams | 4 Comments

    Before I met Elizabeth Coblentz, back in 1990, I didn't think much about pork or where it came from.  I probably bought a package of bologna somewhere and never thought a second about it.  Soon after I met Elizabeth, however, I become acquainted with the quaint - and messy - winter Amish tradition known as "butchering day."  The whole family pitches in from the youngest to the oldest in slaughtering a hog, rendering the lard, making sausage, chops, and the like.  By the end of the day an Amish family usually has enough pork chops to last them until the next butchering day and lard to infuse dozens of pie crusts.  I remember the first time Elizabeth wrote about the tradition she did it in such vivid (um..graphic) detail that some newspapers balked at running the column (Except for the Flint Journal in Michigan...they didn't run the weekly column but the food editor...this was back when even medium-sized papers had their own food editors...saw the column somewhere and wanted to run it in his paper so people could read first-hand about butchering day....For years I tried without success to convince the editor to run the column weekly in his paper to no avail).  Anyway, these are two videos I took last year at butchering time but I don't recall ever posting them....This first video is a short one that gives a great view of fresh ground sausage and a close-up of pig brains, which some people eat. So if you are squeamish, please don't watch this one.  The final video is a short look at the lard and other pork goodies.  Take a look here.

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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Barb W.

      February 05, 2012 at 4:15 pm

      Kevin, I believe both videos are the same.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        February 05, 2012 at 4:36 pm

        Sheesh, 50 people viewed the videos before someone spoke up! Thanks Barb for alerting me, the link has been fixed!:)

        Reply
    2. grapenutrn

      February 05, 2012 at 4:37 pm

      I agree with Barb, they are the same videos. I am not to much in favor of consuming the brains. They are too soft or muchy for me. Now liver is a different story. Love it. Beef liver is the best! My mom (84 on Thursday) just cooked her own birthday dinner for our family,fried beef liver and onions with all the fixings.

      Reply
      • grapenut

        February 05, 2012 at 4:43 pm

        Sorry Kevin, you must have been typing the same time as I was. Enjoyed the video. You are right fresh lard makes the best melt-in-your-mouth pie crusts. These videos make me hungry!

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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