Revival Meats

When I first began doing research on pig breeds and discovered Mangalitsas, everything I read discussed the importance of their diet as it relates to the final quality of their meat. This fact doesn’t just hold true for Mangalitsas. All pigs, and I could then assume that most livestock across the board benefit from intensively-managed feed rations. What does that really mean though?

On our methods page in the Revival Meats site, we generally discuss how we feed our pigs during the different stages of their lives—the ending stage being the most important. I must say, that after doing tons of research on the subject, the notions weren’t truly driven home to me until our weekend with Austrian couple, Christoph and Isabell Wiesner at Mosefund Farm, in New Jersey. As I’ve discussed before, Christoph and Isabell are the folks mostly responsible for the preservation of the Mangalitsa breed as a whole—as well as its exportation from Austria to countries all over Europe and the United States.

Mangalitsa Rib Loin (Swallow-bellied Mangalitsa)

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Blue Hill Restaurant

Coming off our farm tour with Stone Barns Livestock Manager, Craig Haney, we were introduced to Adam Kaye, Vice President of Culinary Affairs, Chef, and Kitchen Director—quite the title indeed.  Adam took us right into Blue Hill’s amazingly well-equipped kitchen for a tour of the back of house operations.  Blue Hill cooks and stages were buzzing around prepping for dinner with energy that would seemingly make most people’s head spin right off.

Photo by Jen Munkvold

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After stuffing ourselves with fine charcuterie from Daniel Boulud’s new gastro-bistro (DBGB) in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Ryan Pera and I picked up our sweet rental car and headed North, to Tarrytown in Westchester County, for a visit to the Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture (also the home of Blue Hill Restaurant).  We were to meet with Craig Haney, livestock director for the farm.

Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture

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An Introduction

All day long I have done my best to wrap my head around the weekend we just experienced—Justin Basye, Ryan Pera, Chris Shepherd and I.  We went into it not at all knowing what to expect, save for a few one-sentence descriptions about the class that was being presented at Mosefund Farm in Hamburg, New Jersey.

Saturday morning we woke much earlier than any of us wanted, and made the hour’s trip west into rural New Jersey for day one of what Mosefund Farm deemed Pigstock 2010.  For most of the attendees a distinct apprehension about what was to come loomed silently over the cold, bleak morning.  From the moment we pulled into Mosefund’s driveway, we saw the hairy creatures that we would be obsessing over for the next three days.  Within an hour the process began.

Christoph Wiesner

Today I probably committed that one cardinal sin that real New Yorkers would never dream of—I walked too much.  I didn’t really mean to.  I had the best intentions of taking the subway and cabs, but my curiosity got the better of me.  I didn’t want to miss anything.  My hotel is in SoHo, near the Holland Tunnel, about 10 blocks south of NYU.  Not being from here, I guess I assumed nothing was “too far”.  Riiiight.  I definitely walked from 62nd street back to my hotel this evening. The dogs are hurtin’.

The Flatiron Building

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Wednesday afternoon I’m flying to the Big Apple where I will be joined by none other than Houston Chefs Ryan Pera from The Grove, Chris Shepherd from Catalan, and Justin Basye from Stella Sola.  After spending a day or so in Manhattan, the plan is to pack the bags and head north to Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Dan Barber’s restaurant and sustainable farm) to get a tour with his livestock operations manager and cap the evening with what is sure to be a fantastic meal at the restaurant.

Photo by Anita E. Crotty

At Revival Meats, we’re passionate – you might almost say religious – about great-tasting meat. We’re also thoroughly committed to raising our animals in a sustainable manner, using humane and ecologically sound methods.

We’re a Texas-based business, run by, and for, local food-loving folks. We work hard to create complete transparency about how we operate. And we’re not shy with our opinions: We’re proud of the way we raise our meat, and happily tout its benefits for the environment, our customers, our people, and our livestock.

revivalmeats.com