Delicious UK - (07)July 2020

SUPPORTING PRODUCERS HAS

NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT

Inthefirstofa newserieschampioningtheUK’sbestfarmersandartisanfood

producers,wehighlighthowa naturalapproachtorearingpigsgivesoutstanding

resultsatLincolnshire’sRedhillFarm,winnersofnumerousaccolades mostrecently

a coveted Golden Fork for their outstanding pork at last year’s Great Taste Awards

92 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD

FAULKS. MAIN TEXT:

PATRICK

MCGUIGAN. ADDITIONAL WORDS: KAREN BARNES

T

herearen’tmanypartsof

RedhillFarm’spigsthat

haven’twonanawardat

somepointovertheyears.The

Lincolnshireproducer’sfree-range

porkis a serialGreatTasteAward

winner,pickingupstarsfor

everythingfromloinandbelly

tohamhockandsausages.

Butit wasa differentcutthatwas

crownedwitha 3-staraward

(thehighestrating)aswellasa

GoldenFork(forthebestproduct

initsregion).Pork shoulder is

sometimes

overlookedasa

musclefitonlyfor

sausagesbecause

it needsattention

tonurtureit to

tenderness,butget

a goodpieceof

meat,cookit right

andit canbethe

staroftheshowin

a roastdinneror

produceperfectpulledpork.

“Goodchefsgetit – theywantto

usethewholepigandunderstand

thatgoodporkhasa goodmarbling

offat,”saysJaneTomlinson,who

runsthefarmandtwofarmshops

withherhusbandTerry.“Ilovethe

factthata pure,naturalproductlike

ourmeatcanwinawards.It shows

whatwedoonthefarmmakesa big

difference.Wedothingsproperly.”

Setupin1991,Redhillis tiny

compared to most pig farms. It has

just 60 Duroc-cross-Landracesows,

housedininsulatedhutsandable

toroamfreelyinlargepaddocks

wheretheycanrootabout in the

light,sandysoil.

Theherdis antibioticfree–

somethingthat’sremarkablyrare

intheUK– andthepigsarefed

oncerealsgrownonthefarm.

Butevenwiththatlevelofcontrol,

pinpointingonereasonwhy

Redhill’sporktastessogreatis

impossible,saysTomlinson.“It’s

a combinationoflotsofdifferent

things.It’sTerry’s

knowledge,the

breed,thefeed

andthefactwe

leavethemalone

tolivefreely.”

Anotherfactor

is that,ratherthan

sendtheanimals

toslaughterhouses

faraway,the

Tomlinsonstake

theirpigstoa localfacilityontheir

owntrailer,whichmeansthe

animalsdon’tbecomestressed.The

meatis alsohungforseveraldays

toimproveitstextureandflavour.

“Mostofthecheapsupermarket

stuffis slaughtered,cutand

packagedinoneday,thenit willbe

ontheshelfthenext,”saysJane.

WithRedhillFarmmeat you can

tastethedifference.

Formoreinformationand to order,

visit redhillfarm.com

Thequalityof

theporkisdueto

Terry’sknowledge,

thebreed,thefeed

andthefactthatwe

leavethepigsaloneto

livefreely.Wedo

things properly

ASTAR

PARTNERSHIP

delicious.is themedia

partnerforTheGreatTaste

Awards.Todiscovermoreabout

them,whatthey’reaboutand

howthey’rejudged,visit

deliciousmagazine.

co.uk