This is the first segment of a series I’m penning about the most noble of all animals: the common hog.

Back when I was a just a young country sprout, my grandaddy Big Jim Sullivan was known throughout the tri county region of Southeastern Kentucky as the go to man for country ham.

He raised Durocs, a breed that was known for it’s ability to put on weight, maturing quickly to perhaps a thousand pounds or more. Their massive size, coupled with their hardiness[ they could survive the brutal Kentucky winters] meant they were a very attractive breed for a man trying to put meat on the table for his family. I remember the pork from back then as tasting so strong it was about overwhelming. So piggy that I could only eat one or two strips of the bacon and needed plenty biscuits and gravy to even get that much down.

I just read a great article about wild boars from Russia and I imagine their meat to taste the way my grandaddys’ Durocs did when I was a little kid.

Hot link to the article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in comments below.