Carnitas: Before and After

A couple of weeks ago we were in school, there was a peaceful quiet in the classroom and everyone was diligently working. All of a sudden a panicked squeal began to crescendo from our neighbor Angelita's yard. I ran outside to look over the fence and saw there were a few men pulling Angelita's pig from its pen. I'd seen them do this a couple months ago when the vet came to visit and perform some work on him. I figured it was just another checkup or something. When the screaming escalated and started sounding more panicked, however, we knew that someone was planning on pork chops for dinner.

Beau couldn't stand the noise - he added to the clamor with some long, anguished howls for his fellow beast

I went out and looked again - the pig was tied to a post in the yard and they had it on its side. The men were holding machetes. Between Beau and I, we watched it all.

Beau! Cover your eyes! You're going to have nightmares!

At first it didn't click in my head why Angelita was standing there at the ready holding a bucket. When they slit the throat of the pig though, she put the bucket under the flow to catch all the blood. 

Mexicans make something called moronga - it looks like chorizo, but is pure blood. 

The funny part was a bunch of our Sunday school kids were there standing around watching this spectacle. The next day, one of the girls came over to say hi after church. I was eager to talk to her; I was looking forward to getting the juicy details, the inside scoop on what it was like seeing that up close and personal. 

Imagine me, impressed and excited.

Me: So, Daniela...you guys killed a pig yesterday! 

Daniela: *Shrug* yep. 

Me: What'd you think of that?

Daniela: .... *shrug*
........

It was obvious she was NOT impressed. Just another day on the farm!

If you zoom in on this picture you can see the pig tied to the post.

This turned out to be the most distracting day of school we've ever had. Obviously after the pig died it quit screaming, but man oh man. He carried on for a long time.
After killing it and draining its blood, they proceeded to shave the pig. Nothing is wasted!!! The blood is used for moronga, with the skin they make chicharron (pork rinds) or fatty skin tacos, the head is considered a delicacy and used in different things like pozole or carnitas. People are fanatics of sesos (brain) - in taquitos, molotes, even sesadillas (yes, like a quesadilla but with brains instead of cheese). Anyone ever heard of pickled pig's feet? Yeah, it's a real thing.

This is moronga. Looks like sausage. Of course we don't eat this because we do not eat blood.

The pork man I talked to said every part of the pig is used except for the bones, tail, and eyeballs, but that this is a guarded secret among common folk. Isn't that disgusting? I mean, I'm not huge fan of pork because...hello.... Pigs EAT the tumors off of each other...and do other similarly disgusting things. But this revelation just goes to show that when you eat carnitas, you just don't know what body part you're chewing on.

Have a nice day! :D

~Bethany~