CONNOISSEUR:The best-tasting pork comes from rare-breed pigs who have had a great outdoorsy life
HAY IS HARD to beat as a smell of summer; all sweet, pastoral delight. There is something rather old-fashioned about it, which is why I was in search of some decent pork to cook with the handful I had been given. Ham and hay is a combination of some surprise. Who would have thought to do it in the first place? But the result is all of summer in a dish.
Finding pork of good quality is a mammoth task. Pork that melts in the mouth, has a sweet herbal flavour, that is succulent and generous. For meat like that it is not just pork that is required, but meat from a decent breed and an animal that has not been locked up in a shed all its life.
Gloucestershire Old Spot gets top billing for its name alone, but consider the likes of Middle White, Large Black, Oxford Sandy, Tamworth, British Saddleback and Large White. Some of these have extra long floppy ears, some have blotchy colouring, but all deliver oodles of flavour. What is more they are jolly animals, happiest when they are rooting around outside. This is a far cry from their intensively reared cousins who don't do much rooting stuck inside those low-slung sheds you see round the country.
Proper pork is a truly great meat and when a group of eager rare-breed hopefuls visited Tullywood Farm at Keadue, near Boyle in Co Roscommon, recently they couldn't get over just how good their lunch was. Owners Joseph and Julie Delaney had cooked them up a porky feast which included not just sausages and bacon but roast pork, which was simply like nothing else anyone could remember having tasted in years.
There is a wonderful synergy between those interested in seeing more rare breed pigs and those of us who want to eat tasty pork. As Julie is quick to point out, the breeding and eating go hand in hand. "We want more people to keep these pigs but they need to end up on somebody's table in order to make the whole exercise viable." Lucky us. You can pick up Tamworth bacon from Tullywood for less than the price of Tesco Finest bacon. That is a lot of pedigree for your euro and there is some urgency. There are thought to be fewer than 280 genuine pedigree Tamworths, when it comes to Saddlebacks the numbers are still low at around 500. And while Gloucestershire Old Spots hover round the 1,000 mark these aren't exactly mass-market figures.
What makes these rare breeds produce such enjoyable meat is precisely the reason that over recent years they have been eschewed in favour of faster-growing breeds. Time. Slower to grow and a love of the outdoors makes them unsuitable for intensive rearing and with this comes a maturity and depth to the flavour of the meat and a positive fat distribution which helps with both flavour and succulence. Pigs, after all, are meant to be fat. The whole concept of lean pork seems such a contradiction.
The UK are somewhat ahead of us when it comes to rare-breed pork but there are some farms in Northern Ireland Most of them produce pork, bacon and sausages and sell either through their own shops or at local markets. For potential customers living farther afield it is best to ring and enquire. Particularly for larger orders, something can usually be arranged.
For anyone interested in cooking their pork with hay you are looking for a big bundle of hay and leg of green gammon (unsmoked hind leg with the bone still in). Place in a large saucepan with water and a dozen juniper berries, black peppercorns cloves and bay leaves. Cook at the gentlest simmer for four hours or until tender and serve with mash and parsley sauce.
www.tullywoodfarm.com www.macneanfarm.com www.forthillfarm.co.uk