Ode to the Pig
I love pig. Pork shoulder, loin, butt, ribs, chops and belly. Ham. Bacon. Sausage. Cold cuts. Hot dogs. Love ‘em all.
The pig gives us such versatile meat. You can fry it, smoke it, cure it, barbeque it, grill it, roast it, do just about anything to it but eat it raw (and even that’s not nearly as dangerous as it used to be, at least not in the U.S. and Germany ). It tastes great with virtually no seasoning. It holds up to strongly flavored sauces. It’s fit for a king. It’s cheap enough for a peasant.
As I mused about the pig one day, I decided that it was one of God’s great gifts to mankind. An instant later, the irony hit me that two of the world’s three great monotheistic religions prohibit their adherents from accepting this gift.
What a shame! I understand that these rules were, in antiquity, enacted because of legitimate health concerns. But we figured out this cooking thing a long, long time ago. I truly believe that the Almighty would not have given us this gift if he had not meant for us to, at the appropriate time, accept it.
I, for one, am very thankful for the pig.
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