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Heritage Serendipity

July 13, 2015 / Bruce Steele / Uncategorized

— Republished from Edible Santa Barbara 2015 Summer Edition —

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The Mangalitsa pig is a special breed known for its thick fat, but is also identified easily by its unique curly and wooly coat. Photo by Rosminah Brown.

 

Heritage Serendipity

Winfield Farm is run by Bruce and Diane Steele. Bruce had a longtime dream to have a pig that would help consume surplus produce on his farm. What ended up happening was an explosion of pigs that’s resetting the course of the farm’s operations and helping bring a heritage breed back into popularity that was once on a path of dying out.

Bruce started out as an urchin diver and fisherman, and in 2003 became a land farmer in Buellton on Highway 246 about three miles west of Highway 101. Winfield Farm is most easily spotted by his pale blue fishing boat parked at the base of the driveway. The farm had been in land production for 10 years before Bruce’s dream of having a pig first became a reality.

The Steeles specialize in just one heritage breed, the Mangalitsa, also called a Wooly Pig, and also known as a Lard Hog. The Mangalitsa stock hails from 19th century Eastern Europe. The Mangalitsa has exceptional fat and was the prize pork of Austro-Hungarian nobility at the turn of the century. Once you see how much fat is on its body, it’s a wonder this tenacious breed can move about quickly and easily at all.

The breed is considered rare, and it almost died out entirely. Because the Mangalitsa has so much lard, the breed was unpopular in the 1970s and ’80s when fat became unfashionable. Who remembers the ad campaign for “the other white meat?” It was almost extinction for the Mangalitsa. But thanks to the growing popularity of bacon and pork in general, a desire for rich flavor and unctuous texture in meat, and the recognition that genetic diversity is a good thing, the Mangalitsa is making a comeback and its smooth silky fat is now held in glorious esteem. Winfield Farm is currently the largest breeder of the Mangalitsa in Southern California.

The pigs are fed with fruit and vegetables from the farm with additional organic grain supplement. If Bruce sees an opportunity to feed them something local and readily available, he’ll give it to them. Like autumn acorns or winter squash. So much squash.

The Mangalitsa pigs seem to breed like crazy and the Steeles are excitedly incredulous at times that their initial investment in 2013 of a handful of pigs has become an increasing series of enclosures with their original pigs, then a serendipitous rescue of 13 additional Mangalitsas, plus their next generations. Now there’s new sets of spunky piglets that arrived over Christmastime, running around, squealing, rooting and foraging. They grow so quickly.

Bruce is often constructing new shelters for expectant sows to birth and nurse their young. It’s not all a fairy tale—the reality is that stillborns occur, and when some don’t make it due to a sudden cold snap or the lack of enough suckling teats to go around, it is upsetting to everyone. This is farm life and it comes with unanticipated death as well. As for their fondness of the Mangalitsa piglets, Bruce says with both a smile and a shake of his head, “they’re just so darned cute.”

Winfield Farm to Chef – Full of Life Flatbread

Winfield supplies whole pigs by order to local restaurants, such as Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos. Chef/owner Clark Staub purchased a whole Mangalitsa last summer, and he and his staff broke it down and processed it entirely. The specials menu ran fresh Mangalitsa dishes for several weeks, while its legs were set to cure for longer-term projects, like smoked hams, speck and lardo that started to grace dinner plates this past February.

Sourcing locally is important to Full of Life, and the relationship between farmer and chef in this case is especially close—Clark lives just a few miles away from Winfield Farm off Highway 246 and passes it daily on his way to the restaurant. Not only do we have the opportunity to eat this spectacular pork prepared by one of our county’s favorite chefs, but the two are collaborating on recipes for an upcoming Mangalitsa cookbook. Something to watch out for!

Resources

Direct purchase is available to the public, by ordering online or purchasing pork through the farm’s weekend produce stand. Winfield offers the magic of Mangalitsa in all varieties of cuts and processing. The primals, or basic large cuts, are the biggest and least expensive per pound, while packets of bacon, chops or sausages are available by the pound, which is a very approachable option for those making a first foray into local heritage pork. They are a great source for the Mangalitsa’s special feature: its fat. Both leaf fat and back fat can be bought, useful for making flaky pastry or cut into lean-meat sausages, respectively.

Slaughter and processing takes place farther north. Currently this requires driving the pigs to a USDA-certified slaughterhouse in Fresno; the Steeles hope to bring this closer to home when such an option becomes available. In Bruce’s ideal world, he would like to convert all this farming equipment to solar—even the tillers and plows.

Whole pig prices are $7 per pound, and are custom scheduled by contacting Winfield Farm. Select cuts in smaller portions range from $10 to $15 per pound. These can be bought by mail order, shipped or picked up in person at their weekend farm stand in Buellton.


Read the original post: Edible Santa Barbara

Chef Clark Staub, Mangalitsa pigs

A visit from Wilhelm Kohl and Barbara Meyer zu Altenschildesche

February 22, 2015 / Bruce Steele / Mangalitsa Pigs

WINFIELD UPDATE –
A visit from Wilhelm Kohl, author of “The Mangalitsa Pig:  Royalty is Coming to America”

 

  • Bruce introduces Wilhelm Kohl and Barbara Meyer zu Altenschildesche to Winfield Farm Mangalitsas

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  • Wilhelm photographs Bruce with his Mangalitsa wooly pigs

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  • Barbara meets young boar Lunker and his two ‘sows’

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  • Bruce demonstrates how young boar Lunker likes to have his belly scratched

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  • Bruce poses with Barbara as Lunker and his “sows” to be look on

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  • Bruce poses with Lunker and his mates

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  • Lunker lays down so Bruce can scratch his belly

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  • Bruce feeds bananas to Mangas in the field

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The power of social media to connect the world is amazing!   Wilhelm Kohl co-authored  “The Mangalitsa Pig:  Royalty is Coming to America”, to document the history of these amazing Hungarian wooly pigs and share recipes from Hungarian chefs.

Wilhelm discovered the Winfield Farm website Mangalitsa page and subscribed to our e-letter, then responded to our Christmas greeting.  Trading emails and phone calls back and forth, we learned that he is partner in a Mangalitsa farm in Michigan raising red and blonde Mangalitsa wooly pigs, is writing a sequel featuring American Mangalitsa farms and recipes from American chefs, and – the amazing part – he asked to visit us for the purpose of including Winfield Farm and Bruce in his new book!

Wilhelm arrived at the farm on February 18, accompanied by his photographer, Barbara Meyer zu Altenschildesche,  a Royal red Mangalitsa farmer in the Netherlands who also runs a confinement breeding operation, raising Manga piglets for export, some to the United States.
Small world!

Barbara and Wilhelm showed up at feeding time, and spent the afternoon in the field, photographing our swallow-belly Mangalitsas.  Barbara made friends with our 450-pound foundation boar Augustus  (Gus), “speaking” to him and scratching his belly (albeit through the fence of his paddock).

Following the introduction to our porcine menagerie, we gave Barbara and Wilhelm the proverbial cooks tour of restaurants in the Santa Ynez Valley who have purchased Winfield Mangalitsa pork.

  • Barbara and Wilhelm compliment Chef Seth Nelson at Root 246 restaurant

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  • The large meat plate at Industrial Eats features Winfield Mangalitsa lomo (lots of silky fat!)

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  • Bruce and curing master Brett Stephens look on as Barbara photographs Industrial Eats’ curing room

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  • Barbara poses with Chef Pink and Courtney at Bacon and Brine in Solvang

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  • Full of Life Flatbread’s amazing Levain Bread with avocado and Mangalitsa Lardo

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  • Full of Life Flatbread’s Wild Boar and Mangalitsa ‘Scotch’ Egg and Puntarell, Fennel salad with Mangalitsa speck

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  • Wilhelm and Barbara pose with Flatbread’s Clark Staub after a spectacular feast fit for Royalty

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  • Clark’s entree’ – an oven roasted loin roast (mouthwateringly good!)

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  • A Root 246 pork delicacy

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On Wednesday evening we visited Root 246 Restaurant in Solvang for a special dining experience. Root 246 bills itself as offering the ultimate in farm-to-table cuisine.  Chef Seth Nelson exceeded expectations with an elegant entrée, Winfield Farm bone-in Mangalitsa loin chops,  brined in whey crafted from house-made ricotta cheese, which also adorned the plate.

On Thursday Barbara photographed our newest addition to the farm, 17 six-week old Manga piglets – so adorable with their wooly coats still colored with racing stripes.  (The stripes fade when the pigs mature.)    Then we were off to lunch at Industrial Eats in Buellton, a bustling European-style restaurant featuring two custom “beehive” pizza ovens and its own charcuterie case.  Owners Jeff and Janet Olsson, who also operate New West Catering and have been great customers of Winfield Farm produce, bought our first Mangalitsa – in fact Jeff has purchased several over the last year.  His interest in charcuterie –– he makes yummy prosciutto, melt-in-your-mouth lomo (which we devoured as it was served on their large meat plate) and other cured delicacies from our pigs –– is a big reason why we settled on raising Mangalitsa pigs in the first place.  (Mangalitsa, a heritage lard breed originating in Hungary, is renown worldwide for charcuterie…  and a natural fit for us after visiting Hungary four times and falling in love with the country.)

After lunch we visited Chef Pink and Courtney Rae DeLongpré at Bacon & Brine – a relatively new and very popular lunch spot in Solvang that features ONLY local sustainable produce — and Winfield Mangalitsa pork when available.

Barbara posted a series of photos of our visit to Chef Pink on her Mangalitsa Breed Facebook page afterward, commenting “Facebook is amazing. .. without it we never would have met.”

Our culinary tour concluded Thursday evening at Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos, where owner/chef Clark Staub served us a five-course Mangalitsa feast truly fit for Royalty! First came home-made levain bread with avocado and Mangalitsa lardo, garnished with rose-pickled Winfield Farm “Gen Red” onions, grown from seed stock that Bruce created himself. Then we dove into a wild boar and Mangalitsa “Scotch” egg, and shaved puntarell, fennel and radish salad bedecked with Mangalitsa speck.  A signature Flatbread ‘pizza’ featured house-made shamen’s bread with rosemary lardo.

The entreé was oven-roasted bone-in Mangalitsa loin roast on a bed of charred blood orange, with fennel and paprika, served with broccolini, fingerling potatoes and wild nettles.    To top off the meal Euro style, we finished with little gem lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, sheep’s milk cheese and Mangalitsa ‘croutons’.   All in all, a truly amazing!!! dining experience crowning a visit that we won’t forget!

Wilhelm and Barbara departed early on Friday morning and we will continue to stay in touch. In fact, Wilhelm suggested that I write Bruce’s profile for his new book – he called it a great story…  from covered wagon days (Bruce’s family crossed the prairie in the mid 1800s to settle in CA), to sea urchin diving to Mangalitsa farming.  As Bruce says, he’s moving up in the world!

Postscript:  Now that we have some 80 Mangalitsas to raise for market, we have begun our own social media campaign.  Please check out our new Mangalitsa webpage and News Blog, as well as our Winfield Farm Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WinfieldFarmBuellton)

Also FYI:  We now have USDA certified, frozen cryovac-packaged Mangalitsa rib chops, a few Boston butt and Tri-Tip roasts (2 lb pkg), smoked ham (2 lb pkg) and bacon (1 lb pkg), as well as trotters and smoked ham hocks. Characteristic of this heritage breed, we also have lots of leaf fat!  Please visit our Mangalitsa Market online to order.

We will be going to market again in April.  Please sing out now to reserve your Mangalitsa pig (or custom cuts).

All the best,
Bruce and Diane


Photo credits: DB Pleschner | Barbara Meyer zu Altenschildesche — Visit the gallery for full size and additional photos taken during this visit.

Bacon & Brine, Barbara Meyer zu Altenschildesche, Chef Clark Staub, Chef Pink, Chef Seth Nelson, Courtney Rae DeLongpré, Full of Life Flatbread Los Alamos, Industrial Eats Buellton, Janet Olsson, Jeff Olsson, Root 246 Restaurant, Wilhelm Kohl

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