Nostalgic Christmas pork made healthy... in a pandemic

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December 11, 2020

Growing up, I would go to my Grandma’s house for Christmas. It was basically the same menu every year. I remember the sound and feeling of cracking walnuts at the table, the spice of her mashed turnips on my tongue, and the smell of the brown sugar glazed spiraled ham baking in the oven.

Oh that spiraled Christmas ham!

You probably know what I’m talking about. It’s cut like a slinky on a bone. It’s pricked with cloves and doused in a sweet orange brown sugar sauce. I have to admit I’m a bit of a sweet tooth and would look forward to that ham every year.

But... as I got older and became more aware of the healing powers of food, I began to think twice about that ham.

It was a conventional ham, and you know what that means. The pig was vaccinated and given hormones and routine antibiotics. It lived in confined pens with no access to the outdoors. It was fed GMO corn and soy. It was injected with tenderizing and stabilizing and flavoring who-knows-what when processed. And that’s not even getting into the glaze!

I am so lucky to have access to Miller’s Bio Farm, where pigs are raised naturally, with the health of the pigs and customers in mind.

Miller’s pigs live in the woods, where they naturally would so their delicate skin is protected from the harsh sun. They root for grubs and eat thousands of acorns each year. They are fed lots of skim milk and their regular soy-free and organic feed, which is mostly oats but also contains non-GMO corn, fish and crab meal, pea meal, and organic minerals.

Miller’s pigs aren’t given anything synthetic - no vaccines, no hormones, no antibiotics, no GMOs, etc. And, they aren’t exposed to anything unnatural when processed - no fillers, no dyes, no artificial preservatives, no tenderizers, etc. Whew!

Now here’s the next problem - the pandemic! This means smaller gatherings and maybe even cooking Christmas dinner yourself.

This is what’s happening with me. Instead of my Grandma hosting, now I’m in charge of cooking Christmas dinner for my family. Gotta figure out that ham!

Miller’s doesn’t offer a huge spiraled ham, and that’s ok. There are still lots of options for hams and other pork products. Maybe I’ll make a big smoked ham slice and have leftovers. Or maybe I’ll think smaller and go with a ham steak or pork chops.

Here are some yummy farm recipes for inspiration:

Are you cooking for the holidays? What are you making? I’d love to know!