Here at Grace Note Farm, we believe that animals deserve to have a happy life, even if they are destined for your freezer at the end of that happy life. Unlike commercially raised pigs that are raised indoors in tight confinement, the pigs we raise at Grace Note Farm roam in large fenced pastures and get rotated onto fresh ground every few weeks. They eat, nap, romp, play, and socialize as their natures direct them, outdoors in the fresh air when they want, or lying about indoors on a pile of hay if they prefer that. They also eat a varied diet of plants and animals as they forage on the land (pigs are omnivores), supplemented with free-choice organic grain. This is good for the animals and good for our land as well.
If you’ve been asking yourself “Where can I get organic pastured meat in Massachusetts?”, look no further. Our batch of Tamworth pigs will be available for sale in early winter. We raise Tamworths because they are good foragers, which allows them to obtain a portion of their food from the pasture (and therefore raising them creates less dependence on trucked-in grain). We also chose to raise heritage animals like the Tamworth hog because it helps maintain genetic diversity among food animals. Tamworths are also prized by chefs and restaurants because they are mighty tasty. But you don’t have to take my word for it: see this testimonial to the Tamworth on Chow Hound. It is reported on the web that Bristol University carried out taste tests using both commercial and rare breed pigs in a scientifically controlled experiment, and the Tamworth was judged as having the best tasting meat.
We are currently taking orders for 1/2 or whole pigs, priced at $6.00/lb hanging weight*. There is an excellent and detailed writeup on the Sugar Mountain Farm website that shows how much meat is in a half a pig . The meat will be frozen and available for pickup on the farm the first week of January, 2010. We can also get the ham and bacon smoked for an additional $3.00/lb.
If you would like to reserve a 1/2 or whole pig, please email or call us to make payment arrangements. We will require a $200 deposit to hold your order. Order soon, as we expect to sell out.
Subject to availability, you may order individual cuts. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list for individual cuts such as chops or roasts, please email us. (Updated Jan 23, 2010 – call or email us to purchase individual cuts. No waitlist necessary)
*Hanging weight is the slaughter weight of the pig ‘on the hook’, before it is butchered into individual cuts. Expect to loose 10 – 20 lbs of weight per half pig between the hanging weight and finished cuts.
[...] friends, come satisfy your craving for local, organic and humanely raised meat. We are bringing our Tamworth porkTamworth pigs December 2009 (including smoked cuts) and other Grace Note Farm products to Cambridge [...]
[...] or just get some freshly smoked, awesomely tasty organic nitrite-free bacon. The pork is from Tamworth pigs, prized among chefs for their flavor and meat to fat ratio. The cured/smoked cuts were processed at [...]
[...] or just get some freshly smoked, awesomely tasty organic nitrite-free bacon. The pork is from Tamworth pigs, prized among chefs for their flavor and meat to fat ratio. The cured/smoked cuts were processed at [...]
This stuff is amazing and it is — I mean this — the best pork we have ever had. And I think this is really a testament to the scale of what you guys are doing, and the quality of life you provide for your animals. To put it in context: We are *very* particular about where our meat is sourced, eating only from small, local farms with husbandry practices we feel confident in. Which is to say, we’ve sampled some very fine meats from Massachusetts and Vermont. We bought a package of bacon and some ribs last week. The bacon was so tasty, it was almost a shame to do anything other than fry it up and eat it in its simple and smokey perfection. And the ribs were the exquisite base of a red sauce.
High praise indeed. Thanks so much Kristi! We’re really glad you enjoyed the pork, and also happy to have customers like you who care so much about how the pigs were treated while they were with us.