From
its beginnings in pre-conquest Quebec, when pigs from
Europe were first introduced to Canada, to the present
day, when “put pork on your fork” rivals
“Je me souviens” as a national imperative,
the Canadian pig industry has basically been a struggle
between recalcitrant nature and hungry men and women.
The photograph of pigs that accompanies Piggy
in Country Breezes from Breezy Brae and the
cross section of a pig in Adelaide Hollingsworth’s
Columbia Cook Book (Chicago: Columbia Publishing,
1892), 269 give an idea of how Mrs. Buchanan saw the
subject of her poem.
| Buchanan's
pigs (L-R): Isabella; Duncan; Chuck; Archie; and
Binky. The naming of pigs and animals intended to
be eaten was a major point of contention among Southern
Ontario barnyard theorists around the turn of the
century. The League of Canadian Pig Poets, of which
Buchanan was a charter member, advocated naming
pigs in order that, as the League's 1919 press release
states, "slaughter be tempered with the Adamic
virtue of naming what's going in your mouth." |
- Leg,
used for smoked hams, roasts, etc.
- Hind-loin,
for roasts, chops, baked dishes, and other delights.
- Fore-loin,
for roasts, baked dishes, and chops.
- Spare-rib,
used for roasts, chops, etc.
- Shoulder,
used for smoked shoulder, corned pork, and smoked
bacon.
- Brisket
and flank, for pickling in salt, and smoked
bacon.
The
cheek is usually used for pickling in salt, also
the shank or shin. The feet are usually used for
souse and jelly. The tail may be boiled or roasted
as well. The skin may be deep-fried, although
we suggest taht the hair be removed first. The
pizzle is generally considered to be too tough
for good eating; however, once dried and cured,
its unusual corkscrew shape makes it a fascinating,
if somewhat vulgar, conversation piece, with the
added virtue that its pronounced length has a
humbling effect on male pigs of the two-legged
variety. |
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