Make your own bacon at home

Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook What's new online "Let's make some bacon! Let us know if you need some great belly to start with. Vivek will tell you how, right here. Yum." Make your own bacon at home Let's be honest. We know bacon does, indeed, make everything better. Put a little bacon grease in the pan before frying up some eggs. Fold in some crispy bacon when you make cornbread.... View the complete article at http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201210170210/LIFE02/310170051

Nashville Scene: Recommended article from Karen Overton

Thanks for the blog post. We are so excited to be included in the Nashville Scene Bites!


"Go Whole Hog (or Cow) with Wedge Oak Farm"
http://www.nashvillescene.com/bites/archives/2012/10/01/go-whole-hog-or-cow-with-wedge-oak-farm

The fence is HoT!

2012 Wilson County Fair Pictures

The Wilson Post and the Wilson County Fair

On Wednesday, August 17 the latest edition of The Wilson Post rolled hot off the presses.  Inside is a wonderful article about Wedge Oak Farm, including people, pigs and chickens.

these-not-so-little-piggies-go-to-market

Don't forget that Gator, the Mangalitsa that resides at the barn as guard pig over baby chicks will be at the Wilson County Fair  and it starts tonight!

WOF entries include:
Ned Overton- 2 homemade cobblers  ( Pie Division)
Brian Ferrell- 2 works of art (Fine Art Division)
Karen and Anne Overton- 2 herbal botanicals and 3  flower arrangements (Cut Flower division)

Cobblers for the Fair

Pastured Broilers

Gator as piglet

Thuursday at Wedge Oak Farm

Thank You to Chef Jason Evans

Wedge Oak Farm is pleased to say Thank You to Chef Jason Evans of The Inn at Evins Mill for the kind words and appreciation of our products. We know it takes great skill in the kitchen to make the delicious magic that you are dishing nightly and for special events at The Inn at Evins Mill.

Untitled, Sepia on paper, 5x7" Brian Ferrell

 Everyone reading this would be wise to run over to Smithville, Tennessee see the beautiful grounds, including Carmac waterfall with wooded trails and especially eat at the restaurant! Delish! Tell your friends too. It is always nice to share information.

Here is the link to their blog and cheers to fine dining:

Farm To Table

The Inn At Evins Mill 

Untitled, Sepia on paper, 5x7" Brian Ferrell

End of June

End of June

Ingrid- still pregnant.

Hope you all are bearing the desert style weather of Middle Tennessee. What is better than talking about the weather? The farmers around here have plenty to say and can quote minimal rain gauge figures since March of this Spring. The dry heat has turned every other person I meet into a wasp, I mean the stinging kind.

We have been super busy at WOF. I have had chicks coming into the brooder like crazy as we try to keep up with the demand. Everyone loves some chicken...hot, grilled, smoked or baked.  The birds, at least the young ones thrive in hot weather. The broilers old enough to be out on pasture have had their nets and huts backed into every tree line and shaded area around the farm that is safe from predation. The owls and hawks are a problem in the tree lines, but at least the broilers are not in direct sun.

The Groundhog= Whistle Pig: It has officially moved into the brooder barn...and is still eluding us. Still eating broiler starter and loving it! The Have a Heart trap is not working.

Our laying hens are beginning to slow their summer laying habits as they utilize all of their daily energy to keep cool. As the girls/ layers  benefit from cool breezy spots rather than the dry savannahs and wide open pastures. We also must remind you that eggs are fragile. We had some carelessness during collection last week.

Some beautiful eggs!

Bruno our Mangalitsa boar took a terrible spill two weeks ago and is recovering from a pinched radial nerve. Today actually marks the second full week of shoulder care. We treated him homepathically and are still giving physical therepy 2-3 times daily. It is a ton of work and he bellows with deep gutteral sounds like the roar of an alligator. He just likes to complain a bit due to frustration and it probably hurts. Imagine 500 pounds on a bum join

The Pregos, or the mammas on Mangalitsa hill are moving and shaking. They were getting extra special care at the spot we called "The Oasis". It is further up the hill and has become the pampering place for mamas and baby pigs. Double mud holes and over flowing cabbage, cantaloupes and bananas. Really the food and water quantities are no different from daily care but us taking it up into the 3 acre area is a bit much on a twice daily basis. So now we are trying to convince them to come back down the hill to the regular meeting locale.


Last night, like most nights we ate some of Wedge Oak Farm's deliciousness. The pork chops cooked on an open fire Sunday were too good to be true. Brian seasoned them and sha-bam! They were super fine! super good!

All of this and much more is happening at Wedge Oak Farm.

Thanks for checking in.
Karen

Mangalitsa (MAHN-ga-leet-za) or "Hog with a lot of lard"

In the Summer of 2011, Wedge Oak Farm traveled to Iowa to buy several Mangalitsas. We returned to Tennessee with wooly pigs that would flourish in Tennessee to make the most deep and intensely flavored pork found in the United States. This hardy, robust and slow growing pig was close to extinction in it's homeland of Hungary. Today, through conservation efforts, the breed has been revived and is also residing in the US and UK.

Two Pregnant Sows: Prussia (nose up) and Ingrid (nose down)

The prized meat of the Mangalitsa is known to have large amounts of fat throughout the muscle and also surrounding the deep and rich red colored meat. With this slow type of development and growth, it takes almost two times as long for the Mangalitsa to reach the same processing size as any of the other heritage or conventional hogs raised in the US.  The slow growth and fat content makes for some of the highest regarded pork in the world... two times the flavor!

At Wedge Oak Farm, we are pleased to start making this pork available locally. See our on line markets (Stones River Market, Fresh Harvest Market, LLC), check with your favorite Nashville restaurants and food trucks, or make an appointment to come by the farm 615-547-3434.

 Currently we have loin chops, shoulder steaks, roasts, boneless hams, belly, tenderloins, leaf lard, jowl, heads, fatback and unseasoned ground pork available for you. Email us for more information wedgeoak@gmail.com or call Karen at 615-766-3773.


To read what some of the critics say about this pork, check out these links:

The Next 'It' Pig—New York Times

Mangalitsa Pork—Iron Chef America Ingredients—Food Network

 Wedge Oak Farm Mangalitsas, May 2012

      

Mangalitsa Piglets

Whistle pig at brooder in barn. Loving the chick's feed!

Updated—video playback fixed!

An April Visit

Last Wednesday we had  the opportunity to share a day at Wedge Oak Farm with two guests, Chef Brandon Frohne and photographer Ron Manville. We spent time with the chickens (broilers and layers), saw all of the pigs, and rode 4-wheelers around our wedge of Wilson County.
Chef Brandon prepared some super devlish eggs and cobblers to be photographed by Ron Manville. When the shoot was complete, we enjoyed the beautiful, sweet and savory items at the picnic table behind the old shop.
After feeding the pigs and turning the garden for spring, Brian Ferrell  joined us and Anne arrived from WOF deliveries. Both got there in time to enjoy the delicacies that the hens did not eat while our backs were turned. Tricky chickens...

 

Check out Chef Brandon Frohne's blog for more details of our day and to discover what he finds noeworthy about food and farms.

Nashville Urban Gardeners

Peonies

From the yard...

Wedge Oak Farm is busy this Spring!

These Mangalitsas enjoy their perch above the tree tops.

Check Anne and Karen out in the Local Table

Little Poland Chinas are the newest addition to our passel of pigs.

Gator, our guardian of the brooder, loves to follow the 4 wheeler on morning work. He trails behind with his ears flapping and tail wagging as he greets the other farm residents daily. At night he sleeps by the little chicks and keeps the hungry at bay.

We processed our first batch of pastured broilers for the season this week! Call 615-547-4222 or email if you might like a few for your fridge or freezer. wedgeoak@gmail.com

Little Bruno

This Mangalitsa loves his new creekside view of Wilson county!
This little boar is being raised for the purpose of creating little Brunos and Brunas. Right now he is relaxing and enjoying visits from the wild turkeys and the springtime singing frogs.

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar + Molasses Drizzle

We started this process 21 days ago. The recipe called for apple peels, cores and water. Alva and I peeled and cored a bag of apples. We shared the apple with chickens, pigs and the 2 ducks.
I have tried to remember to stir the concoction every day but know I missed a few along the way. In this old farm house the temperature range has likely varied more than the 65-70 degree range suggested. But after just 21 days this bowl has the whole kitchen smelling like vinegar! Success!
This apple cider vinegar will be mixed equal parts with black strap molasses and drizzled on every animal's food it the course of several days. All of our livestock loves the mix. All the benefits of vinegar with the delicious minerals and nutrients of the black strap molasses.
Sounds tempting, no?

Chicks in the Brooder-Tweet, Tweet

These chicks are 5 days old in this picture and they survived the 12-16 degree nights of the past weekend. When the weather is super cold we utilize an Ohio style brooder it really cuts the cold out. Add a cardboard "skirt" around the entire thing and the chicks can decide where they want to be. It is just like the summertime under the brooder and more like spring out and about. Everybody loves options!