Making Burgers...

To accompany or sausages this summer we are starting to create our own range of Pork burgers. They will follow the same flavours as our sausages which are currently: Sweet Chilli and Pork and Leek...

All our burgers are hand made using the Finest Rare Breed pork from our own farm.

 We will be developing new flavours so keep checking in to see what is available...

Visitors...

Over the course of our farming year we accomodate many visitors from other schools and educational institutions. Some visitors are regulars such as those from Macintyre Homes, others spend just a morning with us. We were lucky enough to have some of Parkfield Middle School's students visit us and help out with all the jobs we have to do, caring for our animals.

They fed and cleaned out lots of pigs, fed the sheep and lambs as well as helping to feed the chickens. They were extremely helpful and well behaved and we hope they visit us again...

Charity work...

We're going to raise some money for a small charity that is working hard in Kenya. 'Small Steps Forward' support ten orphans who lack any other form of support providing the fee's for their education, a small fund for food and clothing and more importantly materials to allow them to stand on their own two feet and move forward in life. From rain water harvesting to, crops and livestock. Small Steps are making a difference. We are hoping to raise £390 to buy four beehives to be kept as a small cooperative amongst the orphans. They will harvest the honey and use the funds for their education or general everyday needs such as food and clothing, small steps is also working to provide tools and training allowing the orphans to manufacture their own hives in the future.

In order to start the ball rolling we will be selling hot pork baps and apple sauce at the farm on Friday 30th March. Baps will cost £2 and all profits will go to supporting the project

Baylham Farm

Our Year 11 Environmental and Land Based Science (ELBS) students recently visited Baylham House Farm in Suffolk. Baylham House Farm consists of about fifty acres adjacent to the house and a considerable amount of extra grazing that is available to them is scattered round the local area. Not all the land around the house is open to the public as there are woods and wilderness areas which provide food and shelter for wild life. The animal paddocks are interwoven with a network of paths which enable visitors to meet all the animals, walk along the shady riverbank path or a stretch beside the lake.

The livestock they keep at Baylham House Farm mostly belong to breeds that were once common but are now under threat because of the current commercial pressures to produce cheap food. They also keep Highland cattle and Herdwick sheep which are not classified as rare but they keep them just because they like them.

Richard Storer has allowed groups of our students to visit the farm for many years now and it not only provides them with an opportunity to gain practical experience of their coursework but also a very valuable insight into the role of rare breeds which in todays society of quick, cheap food and welfare concerns is very important. A huge Thank You to Richard and his Team.

You can find out more at:

http://www.baylham-house-farm.co.uk

Sausages...

We have 2 new sausage flavours and they are delicious according to our panel of expert tasters...

We have Sweet Chilli as well as Pork and Leek, priced at £3.50 per pack

Large Black Weaners for Sale...

We have Pedigree Large Black Weaners for Sale. Birth Registered with the BPA...

Born and raised on our School Farm they are very friendly, calm and delightful pigs, not to mention the rarest pigs in Britain!

How to build a cold smoker...

A cold smoker is used to flavour and preserve meats, fish and cheese. The products aren't cooked in the smoking process but instead gain flavour from the wood chips being used to generate smoke...

You will need:

1 x Small Garden incinerator
1 x Angle grinder with cutting blade
1 x 3m Length of Flexible Aluminium Duct (We have used 100mm diameter)
1 x Wardrobe (one equipped with a draw at the bottom will make life easier)
1 x Jigsaw
1 x Drill Equipped with a 10mm wood bit and a 24mm wood bit
1 x Tape measure
1 x Mitre

The first step is to create a fire chamber for the fuel.

1. You need to create a fire chamber. The hose that joins the fire chamber to the smoke box needs to have the same diameter as the exhast exit of your fire chamber so don't order your duct until your fire chamber is complete. For your fire Camber you can use all sorts of devices from garden incinerators to old fridges and even old and very empty Calor gas cannisters. You can also buy ready made smoke generators. If you use a gas canister ensure that all the gas has been removed by filling it with water and allowing the gas to dissolve before being emptied.

Fire chamber made from old calor canister

2. Your fire chamber needs a small entry for air, and an exit for smoke. It is an advantage if you can cover or close off the air hole in order to generate the smoke.

The smoke house design is very straightforward just remember that it needs to be built so that it is higher than the top of the fire chamber as warm air rises. this is importnat as you will need to build a stand for your wardrobe and the bigger you fire chamber the taller your stand.

3. Remove the draw from the bottom of the wardrobe and the back of the wardrobe to provide access. It may also be useful to remove the doors Remove the draw front from the rest of the draw and screw it back into the front of the wardrobe. The draw should look as if it can be opened.

The view from the back showing the draw front in place and smoke holes above

4. Manufacture a new base to the wardrobe and attach it to the bottom of the wardrobe  using batons. This will mean that once the back is inplace, the base should become a sealed unit.

5. If at this point you know the diameter of your aluminium pipe then cut an access into one side of the newly created chamber so smoke can enter.

6. At the top of the newly created chamber using the 10mm drill bit, drill a series of holes in a grid fashion. this will allow the smoke to percolate from the bottom smoke chamber into the main body of the wardrobe where your meat and fish will hang.

The grid of holes will aloow the smoke to percolate through the smoke house

7. At the top of the wardrobe, at either side use the 24mm drill bit to drill three holes to allow the smoke to exit from the wardrobe.

Exit holes

8. Use bathroom sealant to fill any gaps around the bottom smoke chamber so it is relatively air tight.

9. Rehang the doors and replace the back of the wardrobe.

10. Link your fire chamber to your wardrobe (Smoke house) with the aluminium pipe. Allow the pipe to dip slightly in the middle as it will collect condensation

The finished smoker. At the bottom right of the wardrobe you can see the entry point for the cold smoke. The wardrobe is lifetd on a plinth the smoker would usually sit on the floor at the side linked with the aluminium ducting.