Everything but the squeal

When I was a little girl my grandfather was a farmer.  Farming in the fifties was way different from how it is today.  Grandad's was a mixed farm - there were cattle, sheep. pigs and chickens and he grew wheat, barley and roots. 

A couple of pigs were kept for domestic consumption and when the time came for pig killing my Mother would go to help.  She wasn't involved in the killing but the butchery and preparation of the meat was more than Grandad and Grandma could manage alone.

There is a saying in Lincolnshire that you can eat every part of the pig except the squeal.  Obviously the main muscle meat would be salted as ham or bacon but there would still be little bits of meat and the offal to be used.  Sausages were made using not just meat (and dry breadcrumbs) but the intestines which became the sausage skins.  The fat which surrounded the organs would be rendered into lard.  Bones would be cooked to extract the jelly which would be combined with more tatty bits of meat to make brawn.  Haslet, pork pie, scraps would all be made before the pig was gone.

When a household killed its pig it was the tradition to send meat to one's neighbours - they might be killing their animal next month and then they would return the favour.  Usually it was "ducks" or pigs fry which would be sent.  Duck, or savoury duck is the Lincolnshire name for faggots, a mixture of various minced pig meats and offal, well spiced, shaped into balls and cooked in a rich gravy.  Pigs fry was small pieces of the various parts of the pig (including some which butchers aren't allowed to sell these days!) flavoured with pepper and sage and again cooked in a rich gravy.  It would be sent out on a plate or dish which would be returned unwashed - washing could wash the luck away!

I made pigs fry yesterday.  These days butchers can sell only pork, liver and kidney for fry so that's what I used.  Not s good as Mother used to make but still pretty good!