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The Irish Ham wars

24567…10

Comments

  • #32
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 13,712 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Rows Grower wrote: »
    There are loads of approved abbatoirs for the slaughter of pigs all over the country. There's probably 5 alone within an hours drive from my house.
    Are you sure they're not processors?

    A processor just handles the meat, eg packaging

    As far as I knew there were only five. There are probably small, family abbatoirs doing a tiny amount of work. But the ones I'm thinking of would kill thousands per day.


  • #33
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Muahahaha wrote: »
    I dont think Ive ever seen any food product advertised so widely and consistently on tv/radio as you do ham. Between Bradys Family ham, Dennys Deli style Crumbled Ham, Shaws Hand Carved ham, Carrolls Traditional Ham, O'Heliheys Cooked SLiced Ham, it goes on and on. Rarely a day goes by you dont hear an advertisement for ham but you rarely hear much for chicken, pork, beef, lamb etc.

    I cant even remember the last time I bought any kind of sliced ham. Maybe I'm missing something here, is the rest of the nation completely obsessed with ham or something? The amount of advertising certainly seems to suggest so.

    Just saw that the company behind Carrolls Ham in Tullamore sold in 2015 for €40m. Is ham some kind of black gold for the Irish? And ultimately who comes out top in the Irish Ham wars?

    We tear a few pigs free range each year and have them butchered and cured.

    Now that’s ham, the other commercial shed reared stuff is a pale comparison to it.


  • #34
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 13,702 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    There are now more pigs than people in Spain. Do Irish pigs ever actually get to go outside?


  • #35
    zoe 3619
    Registered Users Posts: 624 ✭✭✭zoe 3619


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    Same here, I saw some piglets playing with each other a few years ago, they're just like puppies. Haven't eaten pork in a few years, I get sad even thinking about their existences :(
    I've never seen free range pork in Ireland mind.

    Had a pet pig a while ago.Lovely intelligent animal with a wicked sense of humour.
    Sheep and cows you see grazing in the fields,but for all the pork that is eaten,when was the last time you saw a herd of pigs frollicking in the sun.


  • #36
    freshpopcorn
    Registered Users Posts: 30,150 ✭✭✭✭freshpopcorn


    _Brian wrote: »
    We tear a few pigs free range each year and have them butchered and cured.

    Now that’s ham, the other commercial shed reared stuff is a pale comparison to it.

    That's exactly it.
    Nothing you really buy processed is that nice.


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  • #37
    Rows Grower
    Registered Users Posts: 7,793 ✭✭✭Rows Grower


    A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »
    Are you sure they're not processors?

    A processor just handles the meat, eg packaging

    As far as I knew there were only five. There are probably small, family abbatoirs doing a tiny amount of work. But the ones I'm thinking of would kill thousands per day.

    I'd have to check the list I got when I got a herd number for pigs to be 100% sure but I'm not going to do that.

    There is no probably about it though.

    "Very soon we are going to Mars. You wouldn't have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it."

    Donald Trump, March 13th 2018.



  • #38
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 7,499 ✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    I'd rather eat a kebab off an elephants foot than eat that muck


  • #39
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    There are now more pigs than people in Spain. Do Irish pigs ever actually get to go outside?

    In your shopping bag :(


  • #40
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 13,702 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    Good article here on raising pigs in woodlands
    https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/i-sent-the-first-of-my-four-pigs-to-the-abattoir-now-i-feel-a-pang-of-guilt-1.3119507


  • #41
    Rows Grower
    Registered Users Posts: 7,793 ✭✭✭Rows Grower


    _Brian wrote: »
    We tear a few pigs free range each year and have them butchered and cured.

    Now that’s ham, the other commercial shed reared stuff is a pale comparison to it.

    I can vouch for this speaking from experience. Same with the rashers and sausages, no comparison whatsoever.

    What a joy to cook rashers without any of that white scum on top of them as they get hot. That's the chemicals that preserve.

    "Very soon we are going to Mars. You wouldn't have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it."

    Donald Trump, March 13th 2018.



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  • #42
    kneemos
    Registered Users Posts: 20,407 ✭✭✭✭kneemos


    zoe 3619 wrote: »
    Had a pet pig a while ago.Lovely intelligent animal with a wicked sense of humour.
    Sheep and cows you see grazing in the fields,but for all the pork that is eaten,when was the last time you saw a herd of pigs frollicking in the sun.


    Cows are factory reared also except for a few places like Ireland and the UK.


  • #43
    zapitastas
    Closed Accounts Posts: 498 ✭✭zapitastas


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    Same here, I saw some piglets playing with each other a few years ago, they're just like puppies. Haven't eaten pork in a few years, I get sad even thinking about their existences :(
    I've never seen free range pork in Ireland mind.

    There is a butcher in enniskillen that has an island on the erne that is populated only by his pigs. They end up in his butchers shop but at least they had a good quality of life before that


  • #44
    dxhound2005
    Registered Users Posts: 20,453 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    If you can believe Bradys, their ham does not seem to be the sweepings of the floor. And according to the ingredients it takes 115 g of pork to make 100 g of ham.

    https://www.bradyfamily.ie/our-range/carvery/#1538476218297-73e02970-4f89

    Cooked and hand glazed in a traditional way with over 40 years’ experience, from one single pork muscle. Made From Cured Irish Pork.

    Our 3 day curing method allows the ham to slowly mature, giving it a more delicate and distinctive flavour. We then steam cook the ham slowly before expertly finishing each ham by hand. So you are always left with the highest quality traditional Irish ham.


  • #45
    Rows Grower
    Registered Users Posts: 7,793 ✭✭✭Rows Grower


    zoe 3619 wrote: »
    Had a pet pig a while ago.Lovely intelligent animal with a wicked sense of humour.
    Sheep and cows you see grazing in the fields,but for all the pork that is eaten,when was the last time you saw a herd of pigs frollicking in the sun.

    We've had two miniature pet pigs over the years, one of them broke our hearts constantly wrecking any gardening efforts so we gave it to a farmer friend of ours for rooting around a rough field and the other one though it was a terrier.

    It slept with in a kennel with a terrier, ate and played with it, and just did everything the terrier did only about 30-60 seconds behind the pace.

    They had the exact same coloring as well, all black with a white patch on the neck/chest.

    "Very soon we are going to Mars. You wouldn't have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it."

    Donald Trump, March 13th 2018.



  • #46
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 13,712 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Rows Grower wrote: »
    I'd have to check the list I got when I got a herd number for pigs to be 100% sure but I'm not going to do that.

    There is no probably about it though.
    The problem isn't with some butcher who has a licence to slaughter a few pigs a year, that's great.

    But the bulk of the work, all of the slaughtering by the big farmers is done by only a few abbatoirs. The company my relative occasionally works in slaughters thousands in a day.

    It takes a lot to shock a vet with twenty-odd years experience of doing slaughterhouse inspections. As a farmer, yoy must know vets who do this work, have a word with them.

    It's also quite ironic, but not very relevant, that the only vet that ever lays a hand on these pigs is the one that *might* inspect their carcass. There are a tiny number of pig vets in the country, and they deal with whole herds, they don't treat individual pigs. That means bacterial infections and parasites can be rampant before they're detected. It's all quite concerning from a public health viewpoint.

    Obviously that doesn't apply to someone who is just keeping a few pigs, but they're the extreme minority.


  • #47
    jbt123
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭jbt123


    OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »
    No it all isnt. Like everything there's ****e and there's good stuff. And there's also stuff in between, whatever you're trying to peddle.

    Nothing like a bit ham with some bread.. I'm sure you'll agree Mr. Brennan.


  • #48
    OldMrBrennan83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,658 ✭✭✭✭OldMrBrennan83


    jbt123 wrote: »
    Nothing like a bit ham with some bread.. I'm sure you'll agree Mr. Brennan.

    Pat the Baker white sliced pan. Can't be beat.


  • #49
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Waiting on sausage making equipment to arrive here and then we can make sausages ourselves.
    I’ll be like a feckin kid at Christmas 🎄


  • #50
    The Rape of Lucretia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,440 ✭✭✭The Rape of Lucretia


    Muahahaha wrote: »
    I dont think Ive ever seen any food product advertised so widely and consistently on tv/radio as you do ham. Between Bradys Family ham, Dennys Deli style Crumbled Ham, Shaws Hand Carved ham, Carrolls Traditional Ham, O'Heliheys Cooked SLiced Ham, it goes on and on.

    The way business seems to be these days for mass market products, I wouldnt be surprise if they actually all come from one global company called 'United Aliments Consortium' or the like, that they all come out of one factory, and the names were devised in a marketing board room in Tennessee.

    Overall, its a sign of a declining market I would say, an effort to counter the fact that its now widely known that processed meets are bad for you, and you shouldnt be touching them with a barge pole, no matter how well acted the 'local, friendly, know-to-the-town-for-generations' smiling man in an apron in an ad is.


  • #51
    fussyonion
    Registered Users Posts: 7,818 ✭✭✭fussyonion


    Muahahaha wrote: »
    I know some people dont like fat running through it but wouldnt that be a sign that it was sliced off a single piece of the pig like the leg rather than being some kind of factory pressed reformed ham made from all the innards and entrails?

    I take your point but I gag eating fat


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  • #52
    Rows Grower
    Registered Users Posts: 7,793 ✭✭✭Rows Grower


    A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »
    The problem isn't with some butcher who has a licence to slaughter a few pigs a year, that's great.

    But the bulk of the work, all of the slaughtering by the big farmers is done by only a few abbatoirs. The company my relative occasionally works in slaughters thousands in a day.

    It takes a lot to shock a vet with twenty-odd years experience of doing slaughterhouse inspections. As a farmer, yoy must know vets who do this work, have a word with them.

    It's also quite ironic, but not very relevant, that the only vet that ever lays a hand on these pigs is the one that *might* inspect their carcass. There are a tiny number of pig vets in the country, and they deal with whole herds, they don't treat individual pigs. That means bacterial infections and parasites can be rampant before they're detected. It's all quite concerning from a public health viewpoint.

    Obviously that doesn't apply to someone who is just keeping a few pigs, but they're the extreme minority.

    No one gets a licence to slaughter a few pigs a year, you are either licenced to slaughter pigs or you are not.

    It's also not true what you are stating about veterinary inspections.

    "Very soon we are going to Mars. You wouldn't have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it."

    Donald Trump, March 13th 2018.



  • #53
    dxhound2005
    Registered Users Posts: 20,453 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »
    The way business seems to be these days for mass market products, I wouldnt be surprise if they actually all come from one global company called 'United Aliments Consortium' or the like, that they all come out of one factory, and the names were devised in a marketing board room in Tennessee.

    Overall, its a sign of a declining market I would say, an effort to counter the fact that its now widely known that processed meets are bad for you, and you shouldnt be touching them with a barge pole, no matter how well acted the 'local, friendly, know-to-the-town-for-generations' smiling man in an apron in an ad is.

    I'll take my chances with a ham sandwich and a breakfast fryup. In the knowledge that despite their dangers our population is living far longer than ever before.


  • #54
    The Rape of Lucretia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,440 ✭✭✭The Rape of Lucretia


    dxhound2005 wrote: »
    I'll take my chances with a ham sandwich and a breakfast fryup. In the knowledge that despite their dangers our population is living far longer than ever before.

    Dicing with death though, and the chances are against you. But makes you feel more alive doesnt it ? To each their own.


  • #55
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users Posts: 19,609 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »
    The way business seems to be these days for mass market products, I wouldnt be surprise if they actually all come from one global company called 'United Aliments Consortium' or the like, that they all come out of one factory, and the names were devised in a marketing board room in Tennessee.

    aw yeah it seems to be the way of the world. Very few producers but lots of products coming from them all marketed under a different brand. iirc the vast majority of TVs for the EU market are manufactured by just two factories in Turkey and then badged with whatever the brand wants. Some TVs will be double the price of others but largely have the same parts inside them.
    Overall, its a sign of a declining market I would say, an effort to counter the fact that its now widely known that processed meets are bad for you, and you shouldnt be touching them with a barge pole, no matter how well acted the 'local, friendly, know-to-the-town-for-generations' smiling man in an apron in an ad is.

    Food marketing always makes me go :rolleyes: It always seems to involve some lad with a beard dressed in an apron and a flat cap on his head. Then they go on about 'from our family to yours', pass me the sick bucket


  • #56
    whisky_galore
    Registered Users Posts: 15,720 ✭✭✭✭whisky_galore


    The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »
    Dicing with death though, and the chances are against you. But makes you feel more alive doesnt it ? To each their own.

    You have no guilty pleasures, no?
    No booze or a sneaky puff?


  • #57
    dxhound2005
    Registered Users Posts: 20,453 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »
    Dicing with death though, and the chances are against you. But makes you feel more alive doesnt it ? To each their own.

    Tell me a few of things you eat and I will tell you how poisonous they are.


  • #58
    freshpopcorn
    Registered Users Posts: 30,150 ✭✭✭✭freshpopcorn


    dxhound2005 wrote: »
    I'll take my chances with a ham sandwich and a breakfast fryup. In the knowledge that despite their dangers our population is living far longer than ever before.

    I'd take a breakfast fry up any day over a Happy Pear breakfast!


  • #59
    OldMrBrennan83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,658 ✭✭✭✭OldMrBrennan83


    freshpopcorn wrote: »
    I'd take a breakfast fry up any day over a Happy Pear breakfast!

    Someone needs to feed the Happy Pear to the pigs for breakfast.


  • #60
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,468 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    dxhound2005 wrote: »
    I'll take my chances with a ham sandwich and a breakfast fryup. In the knowledge that despite their dangers our population is living far longer than ever before.

    Yep.
    Heavily processed foods should be kept to a minimum but everythingi in moderation.


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  • #61
    gozunda
    Registered Users Posts: 18,996 ✭✭✭✭gozunda


    _Brian wrote: »
    In your shopping bag :(

    There is small but growing number of free range/ organic pig farmers. My local butcher has a decent selection of free range (outdoor reared) pork cuts and bacon.

    I've aslo reared my own - and the taste and quality is second to none tbh.

    Like most processed foods you get what you pay for.

    There is decent sliced ham available in many shops tbh. Just don't buy the cheap ****e and always check origin and ingredients.


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