by Nick Benninger | July 2024
This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef …. roast beef?? I know this is just a nursery rhyme, but we should be really concerned about why any pig is eating roast beef – not ideal food for a pig, and no wonder it didn’t get to market! (By the way, if your first thought as a kid hearing this playful albeit wildly misleading rhyme was that the pig was headed for a nice afternoon at one of Waterloo Region’s amazing farmers markets to shop and taste the local goods, well you were wrong.)
Now back to that roast beef eating pig. Snide remarks and odd nursery rhymes aside, feed is extremely important to any animal’s life, ours included, and when it comes to raising livestock in humane and organic ways, feed inputs are paramount.
A Visit to 3Gen Organics
Today I was lucky enough to stop in on some friends that really get that. In fact, they are leading the way. 3Gen Organics participates in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Living Lab-Ontario project working in step with other farmers and scientists. Providing real time, in-the-field research and results working towards common goals, and contributing to a better planet. 3Gen Organics, run by three generations of the Israel family, raise pigs organically and grow the feed for those pigs in Waterloo Region’s beautiful village of Wallenstein.
While I may get a little lost when Brett Israel describes the research project, I begin to understand when I see the animals and the results of all the work. And you don’t need a PhD to understand the gobsmackingly good taste of their pork! Brett and his family made the switch to organic farming in 2015, using cutting edge methods to organically grow feed, and raise hogs paying attention to the soil health in ways I’ve never seen before. Really friggen rad, really friggen good pork.
So on this beautiful afternoon, as I cruise through the countryside passing conventional farms, I can’t help but consider the example the Israel family is setting, seeing higher yields and better product all through less intervention. I wonder with optimism when other farmers will follow suit. Let’s hope they do, because what Brett and his family are doing is better for the planet, our health, and the plate!
Farm to Fork Goodness
3Gen Organics has a wonderful farm store on the property, and brings in products from several other local producers making the trip to their farm well worth the drive. Plus you are sure to meet someone from the family who will be more than happy to chat. You might even meet Grandpa Carl Israel, who’s got an endless supply of great stories – the man’s a gem!
I had the privilege of Carl showing me how to drive his combine as part of a Farm to Fork episode we taped for Bell Fibe TV1 (a series hosted by yours truly.) He held court telling stories the entire time we were together and I’m so happy he did.
Best part of the visit, other than hitting the Wallenstein general store for a summer hat, was loading up on some of the best pork in the region. The freezers at 3Gen are always full of great products, and they also do custom, fresh meat cuts with some lead time so call ahead for your special needs!
My money was well spent on pork chops today, and they are destined for the bbq with some lovely local sweet potatoes, garden greens, and preserves from last year’s market haul, corn relish and curried apple ketchup!
If that description doesn’t make it clear why shopping local and supporting our neighbouring farmers is a worthwhile endeavour, then come a little closer so I can hit you with a pork chop….. err I mean feed you!
Check out the recipe below for some inspiration for a delicious summer meal and tag me @farmtofablechef with pictures!
Chef Nick’s Pork Chop Recipe
Ingredients
Pork
Pork Chops
Salt
Water
Olive Oil
Curried Apple Ketchup
4 cups chopped Apples
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Curry Powder
1 cup diced Onions
3 cloves Garlic chopped
1 tablespoon chopped Ginger
Salt
3 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
½ cup Honey
Corn Relish
12 Corn on the Cob
2 large Onions diced
12 cloves Garlic chopped
6 Jalapeno whole
1 cup Cilantro chopped
2 teaspoon cumin
1 cups Honey
4 cups Apple Cider VInegar
Salt
Sides
Sweet Potatoes
Bitter Greens
Instructions
Ok so this is a significantly more complicated recipe than I will usually provide in this space, I want to provide recipes people will be keen to try, not shy away from. However, this was a culmination of work I did last fall, when apples and corn were plentiful, so tonight I simply had to pull a couple jars from the shelf making dinner easy, and impressive. So I urge you to break this into a few days’ work, apple ketchup on its own is a snap, the corn relish, a little more work but not hard, and when you have these on hand so much is possible from elevated quick cheese boards to gourmet hot dogs!
Curried Apple Ketchup
In a heavy bottomed saucepan set to medium high, sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, olive oil and curry powder, cook gently, stirring often for 10 minutes or until the onions are softened and begin to brown.
- Add the honey and continue to cook, caramelizing the honey and adding and important depth of flavour, at this point season with salt to taste, I suggest one tablespoon.
- Once the honey has caramelized, almost drying up completely, app the apples and cider vinegar and turn the heat down to a simmer, allowing to gently cook for one hour partially covered with a lid making sure it doesn’t dry out, if it does simply add some water. Apples shouldn’t be fully submerged in liquid, but partially.
- Once finished, remove from heat and blend. Taste it and if it needs more salt add some now, then place into jars and refrigerate. This will last for months in the fridge.
Corn Relish
Let’s start with the corn, half will be kept raw, and half will be lightly grilled on high heat resulting in some nicely charred kernels. Once that is done, cut all the corn off the cob, resulting in what should be roughly 12 cups of kernels. Set this aside.
- Next the jalapeno: if you like it hot, leave all the seeds. If you don’t carefully remove them. Do so by cutting the peppers in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Next, quickly grill the jalapenos on high heat, once again achieving some char and some smokey flavour. Cool, chop and set aside.
- Now assemble all the ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes, check for seasoning and add salt if needed.
- Divide into jars: once cooled this can be stored in the fridge for months, or process in canning jars for storage in your root cellar and keep even longer.
Sides
For the sweet potatoes just clean them really well, leaving the skin on, and set on the top shelf of a bbq set to high. They will take around 45 minutes to cook though, turn them a couple times to ensure they are evenly cooked. I like to leave the skin on, slice them into ¾” coins, and season each slice with a tiny bit of salt and serve.
- I like a few pops of fresh green here, so from the salad garden came some bitter mustard greens, simply washed and served. No dressing required, the fatty chops and the duo of sauces provide enough.
Pork Chops
I do a quick salt brine hare to help enhance the chops and ensure they stay juicy. Combine 1 tablespoon of salt with 3 cups of cold water and cover the chops. You may need to make more of this mix to cover the chops, but that ratio gets the salt balance right so double or triple as needed. Let the chops hang out in this brine for a few hours in the fridge.
- Drain the brine and dry the chops on paper towels. Once dry, coat with olive oil and set aside.
- On a bbq grill set to high, grill the chops, 2-3 minutes per side, turning from time to time. This wont take long if they are nice and thin, and the brining process speeds up the cooking a bit. So focus on a hard sear, giving lots of great flavour, and don’t over cook them.
That’s it! I plated mine up nice and fancy with some dots and stacks, but family style might work best, allowing everyone to pile on the garnishes as they see fit! Enjoy!
