Dry-cured pork products processed in a specified manner (59FR)

A lot of our efforts to reacquaint ourselves with America when we first returned from Pakistan revolved around pigs. So I guess it's no surprise that a weekend trip to familiarize ourselves with pre-America also related to pork. TJ had been wanting to visit Colonial Williamsburg for a while, and I figured that, after seeing his fascination with pork-curing, one specific weekend would be just perfect.

Once a year, Williamsburg holds its "From Hog to Ham" program, in which visitors are educated about how pigs were processed from sty to serving dish during the olden days. A half-dozen Ossabaw Island hogs, the same heritage breed we saw alive and eating at the Claude Moore Colonial Farm in Virginia, were slaughtered, off-site of course due to health regulations. Then their thick bristles were scalded, scrubbed, and singed off before they were laid on the chopping block (left). A group of volunteers took turns with the various steps of breaking down the body: cutting and twisting off the head, slicing out the spine (right), and hacking off the tail and leg knuckles.

Once the hog was broken down into more manageable pieces, it was trimmed into portions better sized for preserving. The back fat was taken off the spine to be melted down as cooking lard, and the loin from the back was extracted and portioned for freezing. Each side of the pig was divided into three sections: the front leg, or the shoulder; the back leg, or the ham; and the torso, the bacon and pork belly (left). All of those side parts were smeared with salt to be packed in barrels with even more salt for curing (right). A task-master was on hand to ensure that the workers thoroughly salted the meat. Perhaps if she had helped us, TJ wouldn't have had to toss his cured ham. Then again, she said that a bit of mold is to be expected, so maybe TJ's leg wasn't the total loss he suspected. 

In case the butchering of a pig wasn't living-off-the-land enough, before we even got to the central part of Williamsburg, where the "From Hog to Ham" program was being held, we found a pair of workers processing a freshly killed deer at the adjacent Great Hopes Plantation (top). Unlike the pork, which will be used in cooking and eating programs throughout the coming year, this venison will not be served to the public because it was killed by a local park warden in the wild. Later on, we actually saw some domestic and live animals. A pair of oxen were groomed before they did their duty plowing a part of the Colonial Nursery (bottom left). Throughout the day, we saw horses carrying visitors on tours of the village grounds (bottom right).

All of the tours pass by the main attraction of the village: the Governor's Palace, which was decorated with greenery for the holiday season (top). With our one-day visit, we didn't have the opportunity to take in every building, but we hit some highlights. On the top of TJ's list was Chowning's Tavern; much to his disappointment, the outdoor beer garden was closed, despite some unseasonably warm weather (bottom left). We also saw the extensive collection of arms, from bayonets to muskets, in the Magazine, one of the village's 88 original structures (bottom right).

 

Across the street from the Magazine you can see the Courthouse, where we participated in one of Williamsburg's many programs, "Order in the Court." In a recreated period trial, I played a villager testifying against a Baptist minister preaching without a permit. Earlier in the day, we watched the talented corps of young men (top left) and women in the Fifes and Drums March. Right after they departed from the Capitol, heading down Duke of Gloucester Street (top right), we headed over to catch a bit of the "Conversation with Patrick Henry." We were planning to stay for only a few minutes, but the actor was so eloquent and engaging that we watched the whole hour-long show (bottom left). In the morning, we had managed to catch only the final minutes of the Williamsburg Farmers Market, near Merchants Square, before the vendors tore down their booths and the crowds cleared from the streets (bottom right).

We also missed out on a stop at the infamous college dive bar Green Leafe Cafe because it closed early for a Christmas beer tasting. So we headed next door to Paul's Deli, where we partook of some Greek fries (covered with feta and oregano) and a sub for a late lunch (left). In fitting with our day, our shared "Delly" sub came with two types of pork -- ham and bacon -- plus roast beef. Our late-night snacks, too, consisted partially of pork. The Ploughman's Lunch platter at DoG Street Pub included some ham, and I'd bet the Black Pudding sausage was made with pig blood (right).