Pigs feet also taste - Whole animals recycle - A matter of respect

Bonn. Appropriate husbandry, stress-free slaughter, organic feed from the farm - more and more consumers attach importance to this. So it is only logical not only to pick out the noble parts at the meat counter, but also to eat everything that the pork or beef has to offer. A rethink is also required on the part of the butcher's trade. What farmers have produced with great care should be processed with just as much care. Only respect for the animal dictates that.

Although whole animal utilization has its origins in traditional house slaughter, it is not only interesting for farm butchers. Even for butcher shops without their own slaughter, who buy their pork in halves or their beef in quarters, Hermann Jakob, head of the master school for butchers in Kulmbach and a skilled butcher, makes sense to use whole animals. “Ultimately, the whole animal can be found in the counter”, said Jakob during a practical seminar for the butcher's trade as part of the Federal Program for Organic Farming and Other Forms of Sustainable Agriculture (BÖLN).

The general rule is: With refined meat parts and tasty sausage specialties, the added value for customers can be significantly improved. This applies even more to cuts that are rarely or not at all in demand: offal, flavors, blood and pieces of meat with a high proportion of connective tissue such as the head, knuckle of pork or feet. The appropriately seasoned products made from them can also convince those customers who actually don't care much for brawn, black pudding, lard or liver sacks. It is true that the processing of parts with a high percentage of cartilage and rind is relatively time-consuming. A lot of manual work is required when releasing and chopping pork knuckles, pork feet or tails.

It also takes some effort to carefully remove the bristles from your feet. In return, the extremely low raw material costs compensate for the additional effort. Butchers can orientate themselves on traditional processing methods and products. According to Jakob, there is also a need for a willingness to experiment and craftsmanship.

Source: Nina Weiler, http: www.aid.de

Further information:

https://www.oekolandbau.de/verarbeiter/herstellungspraxis/weiterbildung/seminare-fleischerhandwerk/