Something happened to the pig about 300 years ago on farms in the Berkshire region of England near London, something very special. Farmers made magic in those pens and paddocks. The story of the Berkshire is a story of breeding, breed maintenance, and breed improvement over centuries, beginning when the ancestor of today’s Berkshire was reportedly discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s army in winter quarters at Reading, the county seat in the shire of Berks. The Berkshire pig is still by far consistently the most decorated and award-winning pig for taste and flavor (followed by the Duroc). Over centuries, professional taste tests by novices and professionals alike have confirmed that meat quality on the Berkshire is unrivaled.
A whole ham, or even half, for a small group at Easter means endless leftovers. This year, Brooklyn-based Heritage Foods offers a delicious alternative: thick bone-in porterhouse pork chops, 12-to-14 ounces each and enough for two, cured with maple and lightly smoked just like the company’s hams. The heritage pork — Berkshire, antibiotic-free and raised on small farms — yields luscious well-marbled meat. The chops come fully cooked and need only to be seared.
The passing of the torch is an expression symbolizing the carrying on of the Olympic spirit. Since ancient Greek times, passing the torch relates to succession, mentorship, and the continuity of traditions. When a torch is passed, know-how and the philosophy of making and creating are taught by one person to another.
We were saddened to hear of the passing of Doug Metzger, a founding farmer for Heritage Foods. Doug raised heritage turkeys for us starting in 2003, our second year in business. He continued to grow rare birds, along with the Good Shepherd Ranch team and his wife Betty, for the next 15 years. Doug first started raising heritage breed poultry with his Dad in the 1940s. Life Magazine once published an article stating that Doug’s Dad, who lived to be 104, had more living descendants than any living American!
NEW! The healthiest, most flavorful chicken on the market today is now available in parts! Kansas based Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch heritage farmer Frank Reese, who has made it his life’s work to preserve endangered breeds of poultry, has worked for years to maintain stronger lines of chickens. Reese has partnered with his first-ever protégé, Jed Greenberg of Chosen Farms, to raise and process heritage chickens in New Jersey. His flock is the only heritage breed line available online!
Goatober is 13 years old! This is an ominous achievement (but one that we are proud of!). Some relate "unlucky" thirteen to an idea that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table. The goat is no stranger to controversy - goats play a prominent role in European witch imagery. In engravings depicting witch “sabbaths” the devil is often depicted as a goat or a goat-like man.
Little Egg is a community restaurant that aims to contribute meaningfully to the world through food and gathering. They bring people together to share transformative meals and to seed a more sustainable food system. Chef/owner Evan Hanczor was the longtime chef and a partner at Egg in Williamsburg and is now the Chef at Little Egg, a new way to share our love of good food in the morning in a little bit smaller space…a poetic full-circle back to Egg’s early days.
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