Come make sausages with us!

Join us on Saturday, February 25th from 12 PM until 4 PM.

We’ll start the afternoon by tasting several different types of sausages, warming up our palates as we discuss why we love sausage - history, cultures, flavor profiles. From there, we’ll move on to a discussion on the different types of casings available to us (ever wondered why a hot Italian sausage is so much bigger than a breakfast link?) We’ll do some butchering and grinding, selecting the best cuts for sausage making, while diving into what to look for when trimming out for the grinder. All that’s left then is to mix and make the links—and for that, you’ll have to come to class…

Tickets include tasting, demo, workshop, and take home kit.

Please email appliedanatomist@gmail.com to RSVP.

Join me Saturday, January 28th, from 12 PM until 4 PM, for an in depth look at breaking down a hindquarter from our beloved 5 year old Jersey Steer, Bruce Springsteen, for use on our homestead over the coming seasons.

We’ll start the afternoon with a tasting of several cuts from the hindquarter and talk about each and how they eat (the chew factor, beefiness/meatiness, fat marbling vs caps). From there, we’ll head into the studio to butcher our own hindquarter, finding out where each bite comes from on the animal and why it “eats” the way it does.

We cared immensely for this creature. While in our care, he only ate grass (and fresh grass at that) and drank beautiful spring water. We brushed him and played with him—we truly loved him. As his time came near to the end, we assembled a team of heartfelt farmers and butchers to aid in the harvest. A beautiful success, due in large part to community, December 28th was Bruce’s Beautiful Last Day—spent listening to his favorite music and soaking in his last bits of sunshine.

While his carcass has been hanging, getting ready to be butchered, we’ve all grieved each in own ways. For me, that meant prepping the shop and my tools. I wanted to have a space that made me feel good for the task ahead. With sharp knives, a somber spirit, and a thick sense of gratitude, I began to cut. I’ve butchered the forequarters and one of the hindquarters. I held his ribs in my hands, pulling Ribeyes and Denver Steaks, and turned the architecture that supported the life of our cow into that which will support life for us. For an anatomist such as myself, this is catharsis.

There’s one more piece left to butcher—one more hindquarter. I’m ready to share this process with y’all. Please come see where this beautiful beast spent his days and learn a thing or two about anatomy with me. This afternoon we’ll spend together is almost guaranteed to have laughter, probably some tears (knowing me), and a lot of knowledge sharing. I (and Bruce Springsteen) would be elated to see you there.

Over the course of the afternoon, we'll butcher a whole bone in ham (around 12-15 lbs!) and get it ready for the holidays. We'll practice deboning, skinning, and scoring. Whether you're familiar with these knife skills or not, we'll get them "honed up" before the end of the session. During butchery. we'll discuss the history of the American Christmas Ham, why this piece of the hog makes such a perfect roast, and other possibilities of muscles/muscles groups that are also suitable for such a treatment.

From there, we'll delve into the techniques of brining. To brine or not to brine? Pink salt or no pink salt? What is a nitrate and why might it be bad for me? Is it even possible to over brine? We'll work through these questions and more as we prepare a few different ham brines to highlight a variety of possible flavor profiles and then set our freshly butchered hams on brine.

Finally, we'll get to cooking techniques. As we pull two hams, one from the smoker and one from the oven, we'll compare and contrast the techniques and discuss the benefits and flaws of each. We'll cover cook times and temperatures, glazes and rubs, and common cooking mistakes.

Each participant will receive a brine kit before departing which includes all the materials you would need to brine your own ham at home in time for Christmas!

Join us at Huffman Hill Farms in Connelly Springs, North Carolina for the second part of this hoof to freezer series!

In this day long, hands-on whole animal butchery workshop, you get to see your familiar cuts in the whole picture. Ever wondered what part of the pig bacon comes from or why the pork butt isn’t actually the butt of the pig? I’ll be there to demo a full breakdown on one side of pork and then hand the second one over to y’all for some down and dirty experience while I guide you and answer all your questions.

Each class is runs from 10 AM until 2 PM and costs $125, but $200 if you book both in the series together.

Please email huffmanhillfarms@gmail.com to RSVP.

A slaughter workshop! Y’all asked for it!

We’ll be slaughtering, skinning, and eviscerating a one and a half year old female Red Wattle Hog. Come learn about compassionate dispatch and effective slaughter, sharpen your knife skills, and see the whole process, from hoof to cooler.

At Huffman Hill Farms in Connelly Springs, NC, this workshop is the first in a series of two with this animal. Join us as we take this critter from pig to pork—the transformation is palpable, come see for yourself.

Each class is runs from 10 AM until 2 PM and costs $125, but $200 if you book both in the series together.

Please email huffmanhillfarms@gmail.com to RSVP.

Pork Breakdown here on the homestead!

Join us at Wonderland Hollow in Fine’s Creek for a Pork Butchery Workshop on Sunday, May 15th from 10 AM until 2 PM. We’ll discuss knife care and skills, ergonomics of manual labor, different cuts of pork and their cultural origins, and raising your own animals for meat.

In this hands-on break down, you’ll get to answer all the porky questions you’ve ever wondered. Where does bacon come from? Why is the pork butt not the butt of the pig? How do we incorporate what some may call an abundance of lard into a modern lifestyle? We’ll chat about it all and more around the butcher block as we transform this pig into pork.

Tickets are $50 per person and include light refreshments. Please email appliedanatomist@gmail.com to RSVP.

i AM excited to be a part of the restructured and reimagined Chow Chow: An Asheville Culinary Event Series in 2021, supporting The Grass is Greener event on July 24. These immersive, meaningful, and educational events celebrate and enrich the unique foodways of Southern Appalachia, while fostering dialogue about issues that impact our community including racial justice, climate change, and food justice.

This event will feature a cocktail hour and five course meal, with paired beverages (wine, beer, and spirits) for your enjoyment. 

This unique and immersive pasture-to-table event features an unforgettable five-course meal with paired beverages, live-fire cooking and a whole animal butchery demonstration. Gather with us at Forestry Camp, a 2-acre venue with a fascinating history that dates back to the 1930s and the New Deal, and enjoy tasty cocktails while deepening your understanding of the benefits of pasture-raised meats and dairy.

Whole animal butchery demonstration by Andrew Magazine, applied anatomist — butcher by trade, dancer by training, and homesteader by permacultural necessity. Author and activist Meredith Leigh and Rhyne Cureton, AKA “Pork” Rhyne, pork evangelist and international swine educator, will lead a fascinating discussion of the benefits of locally grown, pasture-raised meat and dairy.

The ChEfs are collaborating on a delicious menu, including such options as grilled oysters, house aged prosciutto, a grilled watermelon, green tomato, cucumber gazpacho, live-fire grilled grass fed pork and beef, and a southern grilled peach cobbler with buttermilk ice cream. (all menu items subject to change)

Featured Chefs/Restaurants: 

• Lynn Wells - Thyme Well Spent

• Michele Bailey - Smoky Park Supper Club

• Mike Achberger - Forestry Camp

for tickets : The Grass is Greener | Asheville, NC's Official Travel Site (exploreasheville.com)