A woman dubbed the “pork whisperer” has revealed all about her job as a butcher and meat curer – from cleaning the inside of pig ears to how people can make their own bacon at home.
Adrienne Eiser Treeby, from Bermondsey, south London, is one of just a handful of women in the UK working as a charcutier specialising in pork.
The 38-year-old is a former professional chef who decided to venture into the hog trade after meeting charcutier, Kris Doll, during a working stint in the US years ago.
She fell in love with the art of curing and cutting meat so much that she trained in it for three years, all while working full-time to pay her bills.
“My mother calls me a ‘pork whisperer’,” Adrienne, who is originally from Canada, told Jam Press.
“I think at last count there are three of us running businesses like these – one woman in Ireland, one up north and myself in London.
“Meat is seen as an extremely masculine activity, which can make it a bit irksome when you’re a woman.
“Someone once asked me if ‘a woman could actually do this work’ – to which I laughed and said ‘well, I’ve been doing it for eight years, so if I have any problems, I guess I’ll let you know’.”
Adrienne does some strange work in her field, including cleaning out dead pigs’ ears and cleaning the animals’ intestines.
She said: “Many years ago I had the opportunity to make sausage castings from start to finish, to which I helped clean the intestines straight from the pig, which involved a lot of flushing out the original contents.
“You can imagine what a pig might keep in there. It’s not for the faint of heart, I can assure you.
“Despite all that, I actually adore the smell of the meat aging. A bit cheesy, a bit tart, really tasty. I used to say if I could bottle it as a perfume and wear it, I definitely would!”
Adrienne even names some of the pigs – as well as enjoying chats with them.
She said: “I helped feed and raise some urban pigs years ago that we named and [we] spoke to them plenty.
“Just because there is an end goal in mind, it doesn’t mean you aren’t treating the animal with love and care the whole way through.”
Pigs are a big talking point at Adrienne’s family dinner table but people are often surprised by how little meat she consumes herself.
She said: “My daughter could eat her weight in our Pigtails – the name we give our snacking sausages – but outside of that, people are often surprised at how little meat I eat and feed my family.
“I do genuinely believe that the way we eat meat needs to change and I won’t eat pork, beef or lamb that I can’t be certain was raised in the high-welfare, regenerative way that I’ve come to believe is the only way forwards.
“Most of my family are actually in food as well – so it’s less surprising dinner table conversation than you might think.
“The thing I find tickles me the most though and possibly doesn’t tickle my family, is that I specialise in pork and we’re Jewish… so yeah, I suppose I’m the black pig of the family!”
But what does a charcutier actually do?
The job is very physical with the pork whisperer having to lug huge weights of up to 80kg.
Adrienne said: “Charcuterie is genuinely a magical process but it’s actually more about curing than butchering.
“From carrying half a pig on my shoulder or hefting up 20kg of minced meat to dump it into our mixer, it’s definitely a workout.
“But that said, I was still working right up till I went into labour with my daughter, so I’d argue anyone can figure out a way to do it!
“And like most jobs, it’s only hard if you aren’t enthusiastic about what you’re doing.”
In 2014, Adrienne launched her own company, Crown & Queue Meats, making British cured meats from traditional and historical British recipes.
However, being a meat curer – a title Adrienne prefers over ‘butcher’ – isn’t easy in 2022, with veganism growing in popularity.
However, the pork whisperer doesn’t want people to consume more meat but rather change the way they eat to reduce waste.
She said: “I honestly do believe that the way we eat meat needs to change, including reducing how much we consume and what farming practices we are willing to accept.
“That’s one of the reasons why I am so particular about which farms we work with, the business is low-to-zero-waste and why we’re so transparent about the process.
“My best friend growing up was a vegetarian and she was actually one of the most supportive [when I launched my business].
“Understanding what you eat, and respecting it, should be everyone’s goals, whatever they choose to eat.”
FACT BOX: HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BACON AT HOME
Adrienne has revealed her top tips on how to make your own bacon.
Adrienne said: “It’s really not as hard as you think – and what better way to control exactly what you’re eating than making it yourself.”
INGREDIENTS
– Loin, belly, jowl or collar of free range/high-welfare/sustainably-reared pork
– 4% of bacon curing salt per kg OR 1:1 demerara sugar to sea salt for a natural cure.
METHOD
1. Skin the loin using a boning knife or ask your butcher to do it for you, and always work with the knife away from your body, as it is easy to slip.
2. If using belly, sheet bone the ribs, keeping as close as you can to the bone, the bones can then be used for BBQ ribs.
3. Trim off any loose bits of pork and straighten up the edges.
4. On a tray, rub the cure thoroughly in to the meat, concentrating most on the flesh side, experiment with different sugars, spices and chilli flakes, depending on your taste.
5. Ensure that all cracks and crevices are well covered.
6. Place in a vacuum bag or Ziplock bag and refrigerate, moisture will leach out effectively becoming a brine, this is fine – just try to turn daily.
7. The classic time calculation is one day per half inch thick piece of meat, plus two days, so a two-inch thick loin would be in cure for six days.
8. Remove from the vacuum bag over the sink and rinse well under cold running water.
9. Pat dry with a clean tea towel.
10. Allow to dry in the fridge for two to three days, uncovered, it’s ideal if you can hang the bacon so that air can circulate all around, if not, place on a plate or tray and turn a couple of times each day.
11. Once ready, slice using the longest, sharpest knife that you have, once your bacon ‘flitch’ gets too thin to slice, cut into lardons.
12. Cook and enjoy.
