Because many of our livestock-farming methods now operate efficiently all year round, with the exception of spring lamb (see March), we don’t usually think of reared meat as being seasonal. But in leafy Hampshire there is a particular porky produce that is worth looking out for throughout the autumn months – and it all starts in September with an ancient land management system that is still relevant today.
It’s autumn in the New Forest and the scene has hardly changed since the twelfth centure. Traditional breeds of pig are roaming freely on the Hampshire heathland, foraging and snuffling through leafy undergrowth. They are hunting primarily for acorns, but beech nuts, chestnuts and crab apples are also highlights of the free porcine picnic. It’s a practice dating back many hundreds of years, to when certain inhabitants of the forest, known as ‘commoners’, claimed their right to graze pigs in the national park. But it’s more than just an age-old custom – as well as getting a free meal, the pigs are doing good for the more famous residents of the forest, because acorns are poisonous to the wild ponies and cattle.
The practice is known as ‘pannage’ or the ‘Common of Mast’ and it takes place every autumn, usually starting in September. The local forest wardens or verderers, together with the Forestry Commission, decide when the pannage season will begin, depending on the weather and when the acorns start dropping. The season usually lasts for sixty days, ending in November. In some years, however, trees produce unusually large numbers of acorns and nuts. This mysterious event is known as ‘masting’ and the cause of it is not completely understood. But in mast years the pannage season is usually extended to December to ensure all of the acorns can be eaten.
At the end of the season, the pigs are ‘finished’ on a diet of whey and barley before going to slaughter. The resulting meat, pannage pork, is truly unique, with a coarse-grained texture and unusually dark appearance. It can be almost black if the pig has had a particularly acorn-rich diet. You’ll find pannage pork in specialist butchers for about two months after the end of the season.
Try: Brined pork chops with roasted red pepper and courgette salad (p. 211)