Two weeks ago I set out for the Hudson River Valley’s Kingston, N.Y., to participate in the third day of a Butchery 101 Workshop at Fleisher’s Grass-Fed & Organic Meats.  Jessica Applestone, co-owner of Fleisher’s, had generously invited me to attend, so I could find out how to slaughter and butcher a pig from the best in the business… her husband Joshua.  He has earned what Primal Cuts author Marissa Guggiana describes as “a rabbinical role among their growing community of (high-end butcher) peers.” I’d refer to him as a rock star, considering his reputation (I first heard of him in Maine). Heck, Julie Powell of “Julie & Julia” fame wrote a book based on her apprenticeship at Fleisher’s.

As part of my preparation for attending the workshop I attended an informal gathering at Giant’s Belly Farm in Greene, Maine where they broke down a hog (I was unable to attend the first day when they slaughtered the pig).  I also read Guggiana’s Primal Cuts: Cooking with America’s Best Butchers, Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game by John J. Mettler Jr., and The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat by Joshua and Jessica Applestone and Alexandra Zissu. At the last minute I also spoke with my friend Margaret (rock star mama/goat farmer/writer) about witnessing the death of an animal and whether she thought I could do it (I tend to be overly sensitive with animals). She did and that confidence sealed the deal.

By the time I joined the group in Kingston on Sunday, they had learned knife skills, how to steel a knife (honing the edge, not to be confused with sharpening), how to clean tools and work surfaces, wrapping/Cryovacing (think vacuum-packing), observed the breaking down of a lamb and pig, broken down a pork shoulder, Joshua had demoed sausage and bacon making, and discussed Offal.  I didn’t end up meeting Joshua (next time!), but he’d mentored with a master butcher by the name of Hans Sebald, who was described in god-like terms to me, and that was who I was told would be doing the slaughtering and butchering that day.

We piled into cars and traveled out to Meadow View Farm in New Paltz, NY. Along the way we passed orchards and farms. Now we were talking…Hudson River farmland..this was where I wanted to be! We chatted about food, the class, how Meghan..a Fleisher’s apprentice/our guide for the day had come to be with us, and the return of old-fashioned butcher shops. As we approached the road for the farm the seriousness of what we were doing, the purpose of the day, began to sink in for me. I was excited and at peace. *For those who don’t know, I have not eaten pork or beef since I was a small child. For a few years I was a vegetarian. I was in the Hudson River Valley, because I feel obligated to learn about all things connected to eating locally and sustainably as an eater and a writer.

Shortly after arriving, Ryan, the brother of the farmer who had raised the pig, asked myself and a few of my classmates if we had ever seen a pig killed. “No” we answered somewhat in unison, and he responded that 60 years ago we all would have. That set the tone for the day.

Then I met Hans Sebald.

Hans apprenticed for a farmer/butcher in Germany from 15 – 18 years of age, then at some point in the 60s moved to New York, where he worked for a butcher (or small slaughterhouse) in Queens, and  eventually made his way into a 20-year teaching stint at the Culinary Institute of America. Now he teaches (almost) monthly butchery workshops for Fleisher’s. At around 70, Hans is a true craftsman, he earned the title master butcher.   Hans is part of a generation that can teach from life experience, but because people like Hans are older it’s really important we catch the knowledge now to bring it back.

While we were waiting for the water in the tank to reach 145, Hans gave a brief lecture. He engaged us by asking how many butcher shops we know of in our neighborhood, watch makers, cobblers, or tailors. A few of the folks who were probably a decade or so older than me raised their hands. All I could think was yeah, I live in Maine and there are a few tailors I’d trust in this country, and one cobbler in Maine who pretty much ruined my handmade Italian leather boots. Think about it, do you know any of these craftsmen?

Then, in as not a judgmental way as possible, Hans took us down the path of feedlots and factory processing. As part of his job with the CIA he’d been to the biggest meat processors: #1 Tyson Foods (they do an estimated 5400 cattle/day), #2 Cargill, #3 Smithfield, and #4 ConAgra. He said one slaughterhouse he visited did 18,000 pigs a day. At one he hadn’t been to he heard they did 22,000 a day. Those might be bigger than normal days, but I’ll leave you to get a cup of coffee and let those numbers sink in.

Regarding processed foods, Hans said it was scary if you asked him.  Damn right, I don’t care how many health inspectors you have on the floor – that’s not right, safe, humane, or anything remotely healthy sounding.

School lunches, Hans touched on those too (he’s a dad as well).. “I could talk all day long about what should, and shouldn’t be done,” he said. He added these days it’s all about convenience, and who suffers? Kids. Once they are hooked on certain prospect (junk/fast/highly processed foods), it’s hard to get them away from it.

Yes, he went there (conversation wise)…”McDonald’s Angus Burger – what is it? Ask no one knows, you’re given an 800 number no one answers,” Hans said. “Could be anything.”

Without in any way sounding condescending, Hans said it’s up to the people…we have the power to ask, to make change…and we don’t. Not as a population. We are so far removed from the source of our food, most of us don’t even know to ask those questions!

The water was ready, time to begin.*There is a lot of preparation and equipment/tools required for pig slaughtering, and it is definitely a two person job (in this case Ryan assisted Hans).

The pig was in a trailer so it would be calm, and thus easier to handle. We were permitted to sneak a peak so I did when one of the women at the farm, who could tell I was curious, motioned me forward. I love pigs..they have to be about the cutest darn livestock…and at times remind me of myself..yes when I’m hungry I might take out a fence or barn door. Back on track….I leaned over quietly so as not to wake the pig, and there he (she?) was sleeping all cute and sweet with no idea what was going to happen. I thought this is right, this pig has had a great life (foraging, yummy scraps, fresh air) and now he’s being honored by having the best in the business attend to him personally. Everything had been thought out. No one, least of all Hans, wanted this animal to suffer.

Hans said (without any judgement) we could walk away, that we should if we could not handle it. No one did. Me personally, I was going to stand there and take whatever came my way…I was there to do this…fully committed..and to me being there in the moment of death was the best/only way I could honor that pig. He reminded us this animal was raised for food. Somehow him saying that made me more comfortable, and sounded perfectly sensible.

Hans entered the trailer, closed the door, and shot the pig in the head with a .22 single-shot stunning it. The sound got me more than anything I saw that day. I’ll never forget it, and I’d do it again. Ignoring death doesn’t make it go away, or make it more pleasant. For Hans part, he was so calm, so completely focused on that pig and making sure he took its life as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Once the pig was stunned, it was dragged out of the trailer where Hans slit the throat (because of the angle I didn’t actually see this part) and bled out. Then the pig was dragged to a tub where Hans and Ryan poured boiling water (temp 145) over it. Hans used a thick rope, wrapped around the pig’s body, to keep it moving and help take the hair off.  Using a bell scraper he and Ryan got most of the hair off (think Gillette shave), and using a hook removed the pig’s hoofs and dewclaws. When 90% of the hair was off, Hans noted things were proceeding well.

What I realized then, was that for all the pigs I’ve seen on farms, it was only when the hair was removed that I connected this naked pinkish skinned animal to what is served at restaurants. Farm pig. Restaurant pig. Disconnect.

Using the farmer’s John Deere tractor, the pig was raised the to eye-level view. The remainder of hair was scraped off with knives (think barbershop), and the carcass was rinsed again (Hans was very attentive to the constant cleanliness of the pig and it’s environment). Hans then cut the tongue out so he could get to the intestines, which were oddly beautiful when he pulled them out.

As Hans removed each organ, he placed it on a folding table, then he went through the anatomy.   Hans was part butcher, veterinarian, and biologist. He spoke with us about muscle development – softer vs. tougher areas = the more muscular areas are tougher so how/where you cut them makes all the difference.

He removed the head, and using a meat saw split the backbone from the tail to the neck.

Hans and Ryan working the pig in the field took over an hour, but in a slaughterhouse…15 minutes! Try to (not) imagine processing lines 200 feet long with animals being broken down in sections, and a conveyor belt for trimmings, bones…

Never, not ever, no matter how hungry..would I ever eat anything from a factory/industrial slaughterhouse. Me personally, I can say I’m fairly certain I’d rather starve. Man I tell you I was angry, so angry at Tyson, Cargill… and on the other end so full of respect for Hans, Joshua, and people like them.

We departed the farm, took an hour for lunch, and headed back to the shop for step-by-step instructions with Hans on where to cut, how to trim, remove skin, and debone. Note *we did not butcher the pig from the field. It was hung to air dry for somewhere from a day to a week. At Fleisher’s Meghan said they hang the halves in the cooler unwrapped for a week. She said (and this is also in their book in the Pork section) this concentrates the flavor and allows the muscle fibers to soften, break down a little, making them easier to cut and the meat tenderer.

Using butcher paper and a Sharpie as his Power Point Presentation (love that), Hans worked to connect what we had seen earlier in the day with what would end up in the butcher shop, and for most (all) of us our refrigerators. He reminded us there is “no life without death.”

Hans recommended purchasing a copy of the North American Meat Association’s book whether a professional or home cook. It’s $79, so yes a little pricier than most books on your kitchen shelf, but in the long run, could be well worth it considering the extent of meat and poultry identification information (cuts…).

Pork Primals (division of pig carcass): Ham, Picnic, Loin, Butt.

• Ham – Options for preparing include roast, sausages, prosciutto, smoked or air dried, boneless.
• The Picnic is, as I understand it, the lower part of the shoulder. It is a lean cut and can be sold boned, rolled, and tied for roast. It can also be cured and smoked as a picnic ham.
• Loin – Options for preparing include roast (top sirloin), Canadian style bacon, baby back ribs…
• Butt – Pulled pork, sausages, ground (least on a return for a butcher), pork steaks, and you can even grind the bones for dog food

Each cut Hans made was strong and graceful. The way he handled the pig (alive), the carcass, and the cuts was so incredibly graceful.

I left with my head full knowing I have a long road of education ahead, and feeling a sense almost of urgency that I – we – need to be present with people such as Hans so we may learn and preserve arts that are becoming extinct along with etiquette, types of vegetable seeds, certain foods, animals, and vegetation.  We must work to use our bodies to do physical work, to learn skills, and to connect with the sources of our food. Being lazy with our bodies and/or minds isn’t going to help anyone other than the medical insurance companies who like to rake up those rates on an annual basis. We, dear readers, are being led to the slaughter..and our end will be nowhere near as humane as the one the pig had with Hans.

End notes:

Federal law prohibits the sale of pork, beef, and lamb not slaughtered at facilities under federal or state inspection. Therefore, most classes like this with the slaughter component, will do a pig vs. a cow = less money is lost (pig = less meat than a cow = less money). It’s legal to give the food to family and friends.

Two books I did not include in the primary part of this post, but should be noted as excellent resources for learning more about meat and cooking with it, are Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meatby Deborah Krasner (I’ll be digging into my copy later this week) and the Culinary Institute of America’s Kitchen Pro Series: Guide to Meat Identification, Fabrication and Utilization. I saw the latter during my visit to the CIA in Hyde Park (that post is coming), but it was so overpriced I didn’t purchase it (Sam, Don if you are reading this I’ll be coming to you to see about getting a copy new or preferably used.) From what I could tell it’s pretty thorough, no doubt likely because of persons like Hans.

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