So,What Is Walnut Grove Pork?

"Why can't I eat pork from the store without getting sick, but I have no problems when I eat yours?"....And...

​"Your Walnut Grove Pork has amazing flavor, like I haven't tasted before.  What makes it so different?"

I get these 2 questions frequently, so I'm going to take a little time to talk about our pork again and explain some things that make it so different.  

We've recently made some important changes and there's a couple of key reasons why we did this with our pork and it's going to affect when you can reserve it in bulk each year.  I'll explain shortly, but first, I want to answer those questions I mentioned above...

We had pretty much written it off!

Seth and I didn't touch pork for about 10 years before we started raising it, because everything we tried made us so sick afterward.  We had pretty much written it off.

But, we began getting more and more requests that we add pork to our offerings, so we started doing our research.  We found so many things we could do differently and learned how those changes would affect, not only the flavor, but could also change the nutrient profile and digestibility on a huge level.

It was exciting to see how different we felt after eating the pork we raised this way.  No more issues and of course, we're spoiled now and can never go back!  ;D

Here are 3 of the many things we learned & applied:

• 1. Raising hogs can actually have a pleasant smell -and this benefits you. By rotating our hogs through paddocks, much like cattle and sheep, they actually move away from parasites they shed and they keep moving to clean paddocks that have had time to rest and rejuvenate.   Not only does this keep them healthy, but it also keeps things smelling nice.  We end up with a much healthier and fresher meat with vitamin D stored in their fats because they are continually in the outdoors.  
• 2. Pork & Chicken have A LOT in common - While cattle and sheep are herbivores (to put it simply they do best and get the most nutrients from a plant based diet), Pigs are omnivores (meaning they have a different digestive system similar to ours and they need a more diverse diet to meet their needs.

Their diet is very similar to meat chickens and they are not only similar in the  way they eat, but their meat is similar in color and texture and can be interchanged in many of the same recipes.  But hands down, walnut grove pork has the corner market on flavor.

• 3. You can COMPLETELY change the flavor and digestibility simply by giving a hog what it needs.  ​Here are the main things we feed our hogs and why:

~ Lacto-fermented grains: by inoculating all of our barley & pea screenings and soaking them with beneficial bacteria derived from organic fruits and pasture-fed raw milk, we increase the digestibility  and nutrient value of the grains and improve the gut bacteria in our hogs.  

~ Raw, grass fed milk, variety of leaves, grasses, herbs and branches:  These foods give them a variety of nutrients and produce quality in their meats through a more diverse nutrient profile.  Some of the branches, selected herbs and leaves are also naturally anti - parasitic as well and promote digestion.

~  Sea Salt & Kelp:  These mineral supplements are essential for their health and helps to improve tenderness.

~ We finish our hogs with Black & English walnuts grown right here on the ranch:  This is hugely important for the flavor of our pork.  For the last few months before processing our pork, they are finished on delicious organic fall fruits like apples, peaches and plums, as well as Black and English Walnuts.  The omega fats in these nuts are so nutritious for them and create healthier fats in our end product.  

Fresh Ham Roast

Some important changes that will affect future reservations of our WALNUT GROVE PORK:

Over the past years raising our pork, we have noticed that consistently our Walnut Grove Pork surpasses the flavor of our pork finished ANY other time of year.  With this in mind, we want to provide you with the BEST product we can and have decided that each year we will focus on producing our Fall Walnut Grove Pork ONLY.

Finishing hogs on Fall Fruits and Walnuts has produced, by far our most flavorful product and we look forward to continuing to provide that for you.  So, After this fall, our next opportunity to get half and whole pork bundles, as well as ground pork and sausage bundles will be fall 2022.  (We may have some ground pork and sausage bundles available in early December 2021, if you'd like to be on a waiting list for extras)

Please note that each year, (unless otherwise stated) we will open reservations & take  deposits up until May 15th, so we can get an idea of how many to raise. and schedule with our USDA Processors.

If you have questions, or would like to make a reservation, please go to this reservation page, or contact me for help and info!

Thank you so much!

​~Raini :)

Pork Belly Sandwich On Home Made Bread