Pig Picking Time with a Clear Creek Farm Pig

As you know, we had a great time a Grits and Groceries last month as being the featured pork and beef dish during their Farm to Fork Dinner.  Heidi, the owner, gave our name to Morgan who contacted us about a pig for Memorial Day for his pig picking. 

 After many hours of me trying to catch a pig and looking like a fool-much like the first time that I went to pick up a pig, David went out to the pasture and caught a pig and loaded it up.  

We made the arrangements with the processor and Morgan.  Memorial Day came and went and we hadn't heard from Morgan. I was starting to get a little nervous that something went wrong.  David heard form Morgan on June 1st and said, "I would like to thank you for providing us with a wonderful hog and great experience for our first South Carolina pig pic kin / hog roast". 

Morgan sent us a great description of the preparation and roasting of the hog below: (if you don't like to see whole carcasses then I would recommend to stop at this point, but he did a wonderful job)

He stuffed the cavity with local collards, Vidilia onions, and home made bacon 

before sewing it up with butchers twine. 

it cooked over hardwood charcoal, oak and pear woods for a little over 7.5 hours before 

 being done to perfection

" I would say the flavor was the best I have had ever roasted and comparable to kuroboto for a fraction the price. We will surely be doing business with you again. "-Morgan. 

Thanks Morgan for some great pictures and feedback.  

Farm to Fork Supper

We had the pleasure of being asked by Heidi and Joe Trull from Grits and Groceries to provide the beef and pork portion of the meal for their monthly supper club.  We were truly honored. If you haven't been to this cute little restaurant at Saylors Crossroads, then be sure to stop by for some great food.  

David and Sarah Katherine in front of their big chicken

They asked for primal cuts which are whole loins and grilling roasts.  We process everything into individual cuts so this meant that we had to take a cow and a pig to the processor.  Thank goodness for Northwest Meats!  This is where we have all of our cows and pigs processed.  Glen Jones and his staff are great to work with and were able to slide us into the schedule to get Heidi and Joe exactly what they were needing. Thank you Glenn for fitting us in so quickly.

 The meat was delivered and the menu was set.  Everything on the menu was prepared from local farms. The beef was masterfully prepared and served as French Grilled Beef and the pork was slow cooked with herbs and spices and turned into a pork pate and served as Pork Rilletes.  Everyone we spoke to commented on how great the beef and pork were!  It really made us proud to see so many people enjoying our products.

 The evening was perfect and we got to speak to people from all over the upstate.  It was amazing to see so many people who were interested in sustainable agriculture and products raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones.  We made a lot of new friends and look forward to working with the fine folks at Grits and Groceries in the future!

Calving Season

When cattle get out and you get a phone call in the middle of the night that you have several cows in the road-- it's aggravating. When it's snowing and you are on a tractor riding down the road with images of "Dumb and Dumber" with snot frozen to their face to feed hay-- it's miserable.  I am so glad I don't live up North!

But, in the Spring when you ride out to check cows and you see a calf that wasn't there the day before nursing on its mother it makes it all worth those horrible days.

  This is one of the best times of the year...calving season. This is when all of the planning and management comes into play and you get to enjoy seeing calves being born. All of the cows are on Spring pasture and are rotated every week. After pregnancy checking we know we should have about 65 calves being born this Spring so we check them daily in case any of the mothers have some problems.  I love what we do!

The winner is . . . . .

Our goal here at Clear Creek Farm is to support agriculture in the area. We do this by producing a healthy product for the local community and also supporting local groups.

One group that is near and dear to our hearts is our local 4-H.  Jenny Mountford, the local 4-H organizer,  puts in a lot of time and effort to make sure that our kids have the opportunities to be educated in agriculture. She has done a wonderful job in the past couple of years and we cannot wait for Sarah Katherine to be old enough to be involved in some 4-H projects.

One of these projects is the pig show, so we decided as a farm that we would sponsor a Carhartt Jacket for the Grand Show Champion.  This is the title that goes to the best boy or girl in all of the age groups that showed her pig the best.  I can tell you after watching them, I would be horrible.  I would have had the pig that was knocking everyone over and would go the opposite way that I would want it to.  As the judge stated, showing a pig is "organized chaos".

The young lady who won, did a fabulous job, and to her we will award her with an embroidered Carhartt Jacket from Clear Creek Farm.   Congratulations and thank you again to Jenny for all your hard work!

What a way to spend Spring Break!

When people think of spring break they think of beaches, mountains, lakes, pools, or a theme park. My husband thinks of working--in the way of processing chickens! I am such a lucky girl let me tell you.  To give him credit, it is about the only time that the two of us are off of work where we can work together to get things done.   So, our plan was to knock out the processing of the chickens on Monday and then enjoy the rest of the week--that didn't happen at all!  

Because we are having to store so much meat, we decided to build a room around a walk in freezer where we could process everything and keep it in one place.  Well, needless to say, the freezer nor the room was up and running by Monday. Thank goodness because I forgot to order a very important part of our processing--the bag clips!  I was saved by the freezer not working!  Maybe we would be able to start on Tuesday-- Not so much!  This is what I did on Tuesday while we were waiting for a part on our freezer to come in:

Me drilling through to put plumbing together.

So Wednesday finally rolled around and we were ready to start.  

The killing cones were in place and the "whizbang chicken plucker" was ready to go. It was just David and I to do every step.  We were able to process and bag the first 100 chickens on Wednesday--it only took us 8 1/2 hours.  It seemed like FOREVER!.  

Then Thursday came and so did the help-our neighbors stopped by to help us catch and clean chickens, while my father in law helped process and bag.  Thank goodness for them because we were able to do a little over 100 chickens in 4 hours!  

So now we have plenty of whole chickens for sale. Please email us to let us know if you would like some. We will also be selling them at the local farmers markets. Can't wait to see you there!

Pickling Eggs

I thought that I would use something that we had plenty of so I could try and try again until it was perfect---so I used EGGS since we have SO many of them. 

The first part is the most boring part-boiling eggs! If you have never boiled an egg then here is a quick tip: Bring the eggs to a boil. When there is a rolling boil, shut off the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes.  Oh, also, don't use freshly laid eggs. It is best to use eggs that are about 5-6 days old.  After they have sat for 10 minutes, remove them from the hot water and place them in cold water.  I will usually put mine in the fridge after this point and then peel them the next day. 

So back to the pickling. Go ahead and sterilize the jars and lids (don't use the Windex-it was on the counter when I took the picture). I used the really big jars because I had so many eggs--have I mentioned that we have LOTS of eggs!

Your eggs should look like this. 

I then used a really simple recipe for pickling: 1 cup of water, 2 cups of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of pickling spice, and a tablespoon of minced garlic w/ a bay leaf added in. Bring that to a boil. (this does about 4 dozen eggs-so I doubled it)

After you pack your eggs in the jars, you should pour the vinegar mixture to the top of the jar and seal it. Don't they look beautiful! (Not sure how they taste yet!)

At this point, you can go ahead and "can" them by placing them in a large pot of boiling water to can them or you can put them in the fridge if you don't take the canning route.  After about 5-7 days, they are ready to taste!  I hope you enjoy!

Moving Day!

So these cute little babies arrived to the farm a couple of weeks ago, three to be exact. Aren't they adorable. They are definitely the cutest at this stage. Even Sarah Katherine couldn't stop picking them up.

So after two to three times a day feedings, filling up waterers, and also adding shavings every couple of days to their bedding, it was time for them to be moved outside.  With all of the spring-like weather we were having, it was perfect timing. 

So this past Sunday, we finished up the new design for the chicken tractor and decided to split the 200 baby chicks between the old style that we had last year and the new hoop design that we built this year. 

The one on the left is the old design and the one on the right is the new and improved version. It is much easier to get in and out of. Plus, it is much easier to move across the pasture everyday so the chickens can get plenty of grass and insects.

Before moving them into their new home, we had to put together some feeders. Shaggy decided that she would help me out and make sure that everything met her standards. 

The chicks were the loaded up and moved to their new home. Can't you see how happy they are enjoying some sunshine!

And here the moving day has ended happily with some fresh grass to feed on and some sunshine to  enjoy!

This house is going to the chickens!

Sarah Katherine and I decided to do some landscaping a couple of weeks ago when we had that beautiful weather.  We opened all the windows to freshen up the house and we headed outside. It was a vicious cycle of us laying down the mulch and then the chickens scratching it all out into the yard.  By the time we finished putting down all of the mulch, it looked like a tornado had come through.  I have learned that nothing will stay in the same place when you have chickens, dogs and a little piglet running around the yard.

After a frustrating morning of spreading mulch, we came inside for a snack and some milk.  I handed Sarah Katherine some milk and crackers for her to take in the playroom to watch cartoons while I washed eggs.  She came running back into the kitchen and said, "There's is a chicken in my chair! It's eating my crackers! Get it out mommy".  I thought that she was playing because she is a 2 year old that has a WILD imagination.  As I walk into the playroom, this is what I see:

Sarah Katherine's imagination wasn't running wild but the chicken was inside my house!

Sarah Katherine had lost the fight and abandoned all snacks!

Shortly after me screaming at the chicken, she went right back outside the window that she came in through.  I guess that I will have to put the screen back on that window!  There is never a dull moment here on the farm!

Have you ever heard of a "Pigken"

It is a long story, but needless to say the mother and veterinarian in me took over and I bottle raised two of the piglets from Hamlet's first litter.  Sarah Katherine took the liberty of naming them "Shaggy and Scooby". (She watches a lot of classic cartoons with her daddy)

Well, Shaggy doesn't know that she is a pig!  She follows us around where ever we go on the farm. If we are gone, then she takes right up with the chickens. Most mornings you would find her asleep on our front door step with the dog and occasionally a rooster, but now she eats with the chickens, drinks with the chickens, and sleeps with the chickens.

Here she is drinking out of their waterer and belly up to the chicken feeder with the rest of the chickens.  Yesterday, I found her asleep in the middle of about 5 chickens!

 At night, she climbs right up into the "egg mobile" and sleeps with the chickens.  I will be really amazed if she starts laying eggs!

Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs

We had battled hawks that were eating our chickens.  Then, the "blizzard of 2011" slowed our egg production down to a couple of eggs a day.....we now have 13 dozen eggs every 6 days!  These are some working girls!

We wash the eggs daily and package them into recycled containers. If you would like some eggs then Click Here 

It is so great to go out to our eggmobile and see the nesting boxes full of eggs!  I do feel like Bubba Gump since we are having scrambled eggs, omelettes, eggs benedict, eggs over easy, eggs sunny side up...you get the point.  A reminder that we are still taking recipes for our Best Egg Recipe Contest that ends this month.  We will post our favorites on our blog and our Grand Champion Recipe will

Organic advocates ask USDA to make egg farmers give hens time in pasture, not just enclosures

A lot of leeway is given to the definition of free-range and pastured poultry.  One interpretation is that if a bird has access to the outdoors they can be labeled as free-range, or pastured.  Even though the outdoors may be a fenced enclosure on concrete.  Here is a link to the article:

Organic advocates ask USDA to make egg farmers give hens more time in pastures.

This is still better than this.

But still not as good as this.

This is why it is so important to research and know where your food comes from.  I used to feel good about purchasing chicken that was free-range only to find our later that they were raised in the same commercial chicken houses with a concrete yard to wander into.

All of our chickens are raised outdoors and go into coops at night.   Our chickens have the option to go anywhere they want to and express their true chickeness.  Don't really know if that's a word, but it should be.  They return to their coop at night and we close the door to protect them from predators.  The next morning we go back out and let them out.  Do they look happier?  Yes.  For most chickens this is as good as it gets...unless you're a mascot.

Chateau Elan, a great place to pick up a bottle of wine and....CHICKENS!

It was time to expand our chicken flock, and we found a great deal on craigslist for organic egg laying chickens.  The Spring is coming and we really want to hit a lot of the Farmer's Markets in the area so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of eggs for them and our CSA members.  The problem was that the eggs were in Moreland, Georgia.  No, I had never heard of it either but I soon found out it was on the other side of Atlanta.  We were able to get in touch with the guys and found out that they also manage a horse farm.  They said for $25 dollars they would meet us halfway.

So, Danielle loaded up the truck and headed down towards Atlanta to meet the guys at Chateau Elan.
That is where halfway was--not your typical place to see agriculture purchases take place.   Please, if you have never heard of it look it up on the internet.

That is one clean chicken!

We finally found our chicken processing pictures!  It was one of the things we were the least enthused about doing with our pastured poultry operation.  We did not know what to expect and we used this past Fall to perform our test run before we built our area to process.  Both of us work off of the farm so we know we will never be processing thousands of birds like Polyface or Nature's Harmony Farm, but we still want to process birds in a humane way and be as efficient as possible.  Experience is the best teacher so here we went!

The birds were taken off feed 12 hours before we began processing to allow the digestive tracts to clear and make evisceration easier.  The birds are placed head first in cones where the head extends below the bottom of the cone.  A sharp knife is used to cut the jugular vein without cutting the esophagus or the windpipe.   This allows the bird to bleed out.  If done properly the bird does not thrash about and seems to just go to sleep.

We had cutting boards, folding tables and had a large pot of water over a burner to scald the birds.  Sounds like a pretty fancy operation doesn't it!  The water has to be around 140 degrees to get a good scald.  This allows the plucker to remove all of the feathers, including the small pin feathers.

The birds were then placed in the scald pot for 30-40 seconds and placed into the plucker.  We built a Whizbang poultry plucker from plans that were purchased off the internet.  We searched for used equipment, but were unable to find something in our price range so we decided to build our own.  A featherplate in the bottom of the plucker spins the birds and rubber "fingers" remove the feathers from the birds.  It looks WILD, but it really works well.  If anyone is interested we have rented the plucker to folks that are close.  Just e-mail us for more information.

Here I am taking one of the birds out of the plucker and taking it to the evisceration table.  We will save you all from pictures of the evisceration process!!!  I will share one bloody, gory picture with you...

OUCH!  Processing chickens is full of perils!  The knife slipped and sliced my finger so I spent the rest of the time processing with a rubber glove on.

David killed the birds, scalded and plucked them and I did the evisceration.  After the birds are eviscerated they were placed in a cooler full of ice water to allow the remainder of the blood to evacuate the carcass.

It was a slow and tedious process, but as we did more birds we both got more adept at it.  Outdoor processing has some difficulties and helped us to make a lot of decisions on how to improve the process.
The end result were beautiful, pasture raised broilers for our family and CSA members.  After we finished, the birds were placed in doubled ziploc bags and placed in one of our upright freezers.

We learned a LOT during this afternoon.  The need for more killing cones and a larger scalding pot is going to be a necessity.  Also, we decided that working on concrete would be a lot easier since the area where we processed got pretty muddy by the time we were finished.  We have visited several other farms who processed on open ground at first and they all had improved their facilities to include a concrete pad.  It didn't take us long to see why they did!  We also learned that we REALLY need more freezer space and a better way to package birds!  We found a company that sells poultry bags that shrink around the carcass in quantities for small producers.  We plan on using these in the future.  They are from Cornerstone Farm Ventures and they stated that birds are kept in the freezer for a year and a half with little to no freezer burn.  This adds cost, but considering how much much work and money is involved in producing them it only seems right to protect them as well as we can.  We think our customers will appreciate it.

So, we did our "test run" to see what we needed to do to make a system that worked well for us.  We really felt that spending the money on a processing facility needed to be done after we learned for ourselves what we needed for our farm.  Our plan is to break ground on our open air processing barn this Spring.  We are really excited about this step and look forward to keeping everyone updated with our progress!