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25/03/2008, 12:20 vervialle Joined on 30/04/2005 Nr Eymoutiers/Essex Posts 269 A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! Not very french I suppose, but with the abundance of cooked beans in Jars to be had in France, I think it makes a nice tasty meal.I happen to live in Essex near a very old traditional farm, that rears a few animals and grows organic vegetables,for those of us chosen few, we scribble a name in an old exercise book in the farm shop and when your name comes to the top of the list,you are offered  1/4 of a cow. half a pig or half a lamb.When the phonecall comes it is like winning the lottery as the meat is wonderful, the animals are cared for like pets, all have names and you can taste the happiness in the meat.Well I got my phonecall 4 weeks ago and I now have a large amount of gloucester old spot,a breed of pig with a wonderful flavour.The recipe is for belly of pork.Place the slices in a casserole dish or slow cooker and cook for about 4hours slowly, with an onnion  chopped carrot and salt and pepper, when tender remove from the stock and cook in a hot oven on a rack, this will turn them crispy and get rid of any excess fat. Meanwhile reduce the stock  by continuous boiling to about one pint and add your beans, canneloni, haricots any will do, whilst they are cooking, mix 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar with three tablespoons of olive oil,and a hanful of fresh basil or pesto if you have not got the basil, cook in a pan until a nice thick sauce develops.When the slices of belly pork are crispy, serve on top of your beans with the basil salsa or sauce drizzled all over them.I have noticed in France Belly pork is much more expensive than in England, which leads me to believe the french do not consider it to be a cheap cut.I still cannot bring myself to do anything with the trotters, I think it stems from my childhood of seing my grandmother disecting them along with  a pigs head and big bowlfuls of brawn.UGH.    Report

25/03/2008, 12:47 J.R's gone native Joined on 16/07/2006 Picardie, Sussex Posts 1,695 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! Paragraphs please    Report

25/03/2008, 13:09 Higgy Joined on 02/03/2007 Bedlington/Salon la Tour. Correze Posts 64 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! I saw that one of the large UK Supermarkets had been selling I think it was sausage with the Label Gloucester Old Spot therby giving it a bit of clout.  It had been crossed with other piggies and was not a genuine Old Spot.  When challenged they said it is mentioned on the rear of the packaging. CHEATS I say.     Report

25/03/2008, 18:38 vervialle Joined on 30/04/2005 Nr Eymoutiers/Essex Posts 269 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! It really is lovely tasting pork, I have never seen them in France, will check it out  next time I am down.Perhaps the old breeds are comming back.    Report

25/03/2008, 19:11 TefkaC Joined on 12/09/2006 86 Posts 45 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! Hello You can get GOS's in france (Pigs in france website), I am still trying to convince my misses that we need 2, even if I did manage it, the killing would be another thing!     Report

25/03/2008, 19:13 Tony F Dordogne Joined on 10/04/2005 Small village in the Dordogne, near St Cyprien Posts 1,409 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! And there is an excellent organic pig farm in Campagne (24) owned by Brits who rear GoS and Saddlebacks and sell the meat, sausages, gammon and bacon. Tony F Dordogne (24) Huguenot Trails    Report

26/03/2008, 6:31 Lisleoise Joined on 15/12/2005 Périgord Vert (NW Dordogne) Posts 860 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! Tony, Do you have any contact details for them please?    Report

26/03/2008, 6:55 Tony F Dordogne Joined on 10/04/2005 Small village in the Dordogne, near St Cyprien Posts 1,409 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! Send me a pm and I'll reply with their details. Tony F Dordogne (24) Huguenot Trails    Report

26/03/2008, 7:57 Lisleoise Joined on 15/12/2005 Périgord Vert (NW Dordogne) Posts 860 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! have sent you a PM.    Report

18/04/2008, 17:41 petra Joined on 18/04/2008 Posts 19 Re: A Pigs Tale and a spot of gloucester old spot and two trotters free to a good home!! I mentioned earlier we used to run a farm and we too reared our pigs like pets really. My kid's adored them and played with them, gave them names! Then come the day they had to go to slaughter.... We had Gloucester old spot, Welsh whites and Tamworth's. After a few years, we had a mixed herd of Gloucester, Tamworth and Welsh....the meat won True Taste awards twice, and we were on the map for a bit. Then hubby got bored with it and we came here, for an adventure and warmer summers. *sigh* I miss having hens too, I thought I'd have found a free-range egg farm hereabouts. I think the reason the meat tasted so good was because they were treated so well and were never stressed...except when they arrived at the slaughter house. But we made sure they didn't have to wait. Off the trailer and straight to their deaths! Blimey! Sounds rather melodramatic eh? Sorry!!    Report

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