Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of Michael Ruhlman. I'm currently reading his "Elements of Cooking" book and enjoying every minute of it.
But I view with great skepticism his most recent post about buying and "breaking down" a 180-plus pound, hand-raised, humanely slaughtered Berkshire pig.
(That's porky above in a photo taken by Ruhlman's wife Donna. Gotta love that death grin.)
Oh, I don't doubt Ruhlman did this. In fact, he has other photos that prove all the hacking and sawing he went through - and is still doing. I just can't buy his pondering: "How reasonable is it to ask more people to eat this way?"
Ruhlman, not very reasonable. Most people have full-time jobs (if they're lucky in this shaky economy), little spare time or cash and no earthly idea how to even begin "breaking down" a whole pig.
Please, most people can't properly carve a turkey or whack a whole chicken into eight pieces, let alone a dead, obese squealer. (And, really, when it comes to hacking up something that weighs nearly 200 pounds, doesn't it feel like we're creeping into "Sopranos" or "Goodfellas" territory?)
I'm a professional food writer and have willingly taken on tasks and gone on adventures that the average Joe home cook would never, ever, dream of doing. But sawing through bones with a bandsaw and leaving a salted pig's head on my kitchen counter is even too much for me.
To his credit, Ruhlman posted an update that said "space, time and knowledge" are roadblocks indeed when it comes "breaking down" a hog.
No worries. I'll keep reading Ruhlman, even if I can't embrace this post whole hog.
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