Trevor Barclay owns Moss-brook Farm, a local farm specialising in pork produce. Trevor supplies both our retail stores with his bacon. Below is an overview of how his pork is produced.
Nestled at the foot of the picturesque Slieve Gallion mountain at the edge of the Sperrins in Co. Londonderry, Trevor only sells pork produce from his prize-winning herd of pedigree Landrace pigs that have been born and bred here.
Trevor desribes how "the animals are reared traditionally, in non-intensive conditions, on a straw-based system, which allows the full flavour of the meat to develop. No in-feed antibotics are used as a matter of course, and the small herd is fed by hand , in family groups, using a G.M. free diet from the local mill. No tail-docking or teeth-clipping is undertaken as we try to give our pigs as stress-free a life as possible, I personally take the pigs to slaughter at a local abbatoir, so that our pigs are in transit for a very short time, ensuring that they are killed quickly and humanely-all resulting in wholesome and flavour-some pork products".
When Trevor fetches the carcass back to the farm the next day, the careful process of dissecting the carcass begins. The shoulder of fresh pork is either cured for Boiling Bacon or boned-out and minced and spices are then added to his special recipes to create their succulent low-fat sausage in natural casings. "Our sausages contain no colours, stabilizers, antioxidants, artificial flavour enhancers, E numbers or MSG. A real meaty treat for all the family"!
Trevor then takes the middle of the carcass and, using a craft almost forgotten in this age of convenience and fast food, Dry-Cures it by hand to produce some of the crispiest bacon around. Eating it can be one of the best starts to the day (along with some freshly-ground coffee!). A real taste sensation with no white spots or water spitting at you from the pan or grill.
This just leaves the pork legs. They are traditionally cured on the bone by hand using a mild Home-cure. The method Trevor uses means you can present a moist Gammon, with just the right covering of fat, to grace any meal, be it Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch or Tea.
