Blog

Tamworth Cured Bacon in the House

We are pleased to announce that we have added La Quercia's Tamworth Cured Bacon to the Federal Larder.

La Quercia produces only the finest products from heritage pigs. This may be the only bacon we know that can be eated raw. YES, RAW!

Order it as part of your charcuterie platter. Lay it on a slice of toast and top it with a bit of truffle powder and house made jam. So Good!...You'll go straight to heaven.

DETAILS : Tamworth Country Cured Bacon

FLAVOR PROFILE : Sweet, smoky, meaty, genuine, straightfoward. Great aftertaste

BREEDING : Minimum 50% Tamworth till late 2011, then minimum 75% Tamworth. Berkshire / Lancaster / Duroc mix on other side

SPECIAL QUALITIES : Tamworth "threatened" breed, GAP Level 3 (pasture assisted), antibiotic free, vegetarian fed, family farm raised.  Dry cured.  Excetionally low cooking loss. Eat with or without cooking.

GROWERS : Russ Kremer, Glenn Backes, Mike Buscher, Bob Street in Osage County, Missouri

NAME OF CUT : Belly

INGREDIENTS : Pork, Sea Salt, Bay Leaf, Rosemary, Black and White Pepper

USER RECOMMENDATIONS : Bacon that can stand the spotlight. Cook less and at lower heat. Use as other bacon or eat "sashimi" style without cooking.

CHEESE PAIRING : Anything melted

BEVERAGE PAIRING : Young red wine, Stout beer, Richly flavored white wine

About the Tamworth:

Regarded by many as the aristocrat of the pig world this magnificently long legged ginger pig with wonderful large pricked up ears will always command attention. Around 1800 it was said to be much smaller with shorter legs and ears that were far less prominent. As far as colour was concerned it was described as "spotted red and brown.

The Tamworth is one of the great ‘dual purpose’ pigs producing stunningly good pork as well as equally tremendous bacon. In the mid 1990’s the Tamworth came top in a taste test carried out by Bristol University using both commercial and rare breed pigs in a scientifically controlled experiment. It was later suggested that further investigation should take place to establish just what it was that gave the Tamworth meat such a distinctive taste putting it way above all the other breeds.

Although sometimes referred to as ‘boisterous’ this should not be interpreted as being ‘nasty’ or difficult to handle. It is a big pig that is full of life and who could ever expect the ‘aristocrat’ of the pig world to be anything other than full of life. A loving, talkative pig that is really a gentle giant.