When I was a little girl my grandparents lived on a big farm and on Thanksgiving all my Aunts, Uncles and cousins would gather there for a great and exciting event.
Grandpa was the expert and so everyone in the family who had raised a pig transported the pig to the farm and a butchering day took place.
Not much fun for the pigs but it was a wonderful time for all the cousins.
I remember with fondness those Thanksgiving days.
Pork in any shape or form is my favorite meat and is not readily available in our part of Rwanda. It seemed to me if we had pigs I should have pork and the farm manager said he would make it happen. We did not make the butchering a special occasion but the farm boys butchered a pig, cut it up and put it in the freezer. There were no special cuts. No chops, loins, bacon, ham and of course no sausage.
A friend traveling to Kigali found a shop owner that actually sold ham in his shop. He agreed to come out to Urukundo and teach my boys a little about butchering and cutting meat and curing ham. The ham is delicious. I am thrilled but we have a long way to go and a lot to learn. He did what he could in one day and is coming back to work with Cecelia our head cook. I love the ham but pork chops and bacon would be a treat.
The new meat has been introduced at our house and already there are inquiries as to when we will have the meat for sale. That is not in our plans. We will still raise the piglets to sell and occasionally we will add pork to our already varied types of meat. We have these meats available for the children: rabbit, goat, beef, chicken, turkey, fish and now pork. No, we do not raise fish nor do we supply our own beef but the rest does come from our farm. We have meat once a week and on special occasions only. The farm with its vegetable produce, fruit trees, meat, milk and eggs manages to supply quality food for the children. Fortunately I am not the farmer just the driving force.