Happy 4th of July!

 

I know its from last year, but I love it! 

Have a Porktastic 4th of July!

–    B

Happy Father’s Day

A Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!  Most of the fathers I know can’t pass up the opportunity to devour or showcase their own juicy grilled pork chop or pork loin.  So if you are celebrating your father, grandfather, great-grandfather, or any other father in your acquaintance, take a look at this posts so that you are prepared for the weekend! Then feel free to fire up that grill, barbeque, or the truly man worthy pit of fire. 

(Disclaimer: we guarantee you will love the pork you pull from the grill, but we do not guarantee you will still have your eyebrows if you choose to go with that pit o’ fire)

• Grilling Quick Tip
• Directions for quick and delicious pork chop
• A recipe for kebabs
• If you want to steer clear of the grill, but still want to deliver a meal worthy of your favorite father try the pulled pork or pork tenderloin sandwich!

Let us know how your Porktastic Father’s Day celebration turns out!

Go Green: St. Patrick’s Day and National Agriculture Week

Hold the phone St. Patty’s Day!  It’s National Agriculture Week and we are trying to do all we can at Porktastic to embrace the spirit!  So wear all those shamrocks and go ahead and drink the green bee… well, whatever the beverage of your choice may be… but go ahead and tip that beverage for the farmer too.  Here are some ways to incorporate a little pig power into your dedicated Irish celebration.

1. Stop chasing that pot o’ gold.  Pigs were a sign of prosperity in Emerald Isle back in the day, so try to grab onto a curly tail instead!
2. And like we do for every holiday, here are some ways to decorate yourself and your home with pig paraphernalia (pig paraphernalia…say that five times fast).  Decorate with this pig poster or strut your stuff with this pig and St. Patty’s Day shirt.
3. Add a little bacon to your corned beef and cabbage.  Go ahead, get a little crazy.

Do a little celebrating of St. Patty’s Day, National Agriculture week, and of course our curly tailed friend all in one feel swoop.  And may you have the luck of the Irish all week!

The Most Important Day of the Year

Today is the most important day of the year. It is a day to stay home from work. It is a day of celebrating with family and friends. It is bigger than Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year’s and the Fourth of July combined. It is a day to honor the reason there can be delicious bacon and pork chops and swine inspired doo-dads and even a nation of Porktastic. My fellow Porktasticans prepare yourselves because today is National Pig Day.

My friends, we will be grilling, baking and slow roasting all of our favorite forms of pork throughout the day, not to mention watching our favorite famous pigs like Babe, Porky, Gordy and Miss Piggy. So come party with us! We’ll be easy to spot since we’ll be the ones decked out head-to-toe in true pig style – nose, ears and of course curly-q tail.

But, if for some crazy reason your boss won’t let you off to celebrate this holiday of holidays, we have a few ideas to help you take the party to work with you:

1. Choose your favorite pig tie or jewelry to commemorate the day.
2. Hang a string of pig lights around your office or cubicle.
3. Grill up some pork loin chops and bring enough to share with your coworkers, remembering they want to be home celebrating just as much as you.
4. Get a pig piñata filled with bacon candy.
5. Wear your favorite pig inspired tee underneath a button-up dress shirt. When everyone complains about missing Pig Day rip your top shirt off like Clark Kent and set up a completely awesome celebration of pigs and pork.

Have a Porktastic day holiday and be sure to tell us how you celebrated National Pig Day by emailing stories or pics of your celebration to Mr.Oinkers@gmail.com.

Holiday of Love

Today is a very important holiday, that’s right it’s the Chinese New Year! Bet you were thinking Valentine’s Day, but no worries, this post is all about love – of pork of course. This time of new beginnings and fresh starts is celebrated by the Chinese and pork lovers all over the world.

Why are pork lovers celebrating? Because China is the place where pigs were first domesticated of course! Around 4000 B.C. the emperor of China made a royal decree ordering the Chinese people to raise and breed hogs. We owe him so much. The ancient Chinese loved pork with a passion that could rival our own. They hated to be separated from fresh pork so much that when they died, they were sometimes accompanied to the grave with their pigs. This Porktastic infatuation hasn’t gone away, and today China is the #1 producer and consumer of fresh pork in the world.

So get the whole family together to commemorate our pork-loving friends with Chinese Pork Dumplings and Chinese-Style Spareribs, two dishes full of Asian flavors and of course pork. Don’t forget the fortune cookies!

Neighborhood Cheer

"Hi-dy ho neighbor"

December was “Hi Neighbor” month, but good cheer was already so prevalent that we decided to push back our celebration of this friendly month and let the neighborhood cheer continue past New Year’s. Therefore, we at Porktastic are taking a cue from our two favorite neighbors this month by sharing our knowledge of all things pork. Whether it’s sharing our insight into the world of the hog farmer over the fence or inviting our neighbors to a Porktastically good meal (and then looking the other way when they take all the leftovers and our secret family recipe), we vow to be the best diddily-arn neighbors ever.

"Hi-diddily-ho neighborino"

So brush up on your hog farm know-how, whip up a Porktastic Nine recipe and meet your neighbors at the fence, driveway or door to join us in sharing pork with the world, one neighbor at a time.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to everyone!  May your holiday season be filled with happiness, good company, and a little bit of pork.

O Christmas Bacon and Other (Soon to Be) Caroling Classics

If you decide to share the Holiday spirit by going caroling this year, here are some options that will spread the joy!

O Christmas Bacon! O Christmas Bacon!
Thy pieces are so delicious;
O Christmas Bacon! O Christmas Bacon!
Thy pieces are so delicious;
I wait for you all year long and,
Even share you with St. Nick.
O Christmas Bacon! O Christmas Bacon!
Thy pieces are so delicious!

Or how about this to the tune of Winter Wonderland:

Pork chops sizzle, are you listening,
On the stove, pork is cooking
A beautiful sight,
We’re happy tonight.
Eating our Porktastic holiday meal.

Gone away is the hunger,
Here to stay is the cured ham
We tuck in our napkins,
As we go along,
Eating our Porktastic holiday meal.

Porkgiving

Thanksgiving is here! In celebration we attempted to reach back into our elementary school years and make our own style of hand turkey, the hand pig.  Unfortunately, what resulted was a cross between a pig and rabbit and so the idea was nixed.  Still we had to celebrate this holiday dedicated to food and family.  Before you reach for those old worn out recipes, make the perfect holiday meal Porktastic style.

A Pork and Stuffing Masterpiece

Entrée: Apple and Cornbread-Stuffed Pork Loin with Roasted Apple Gravy

Side Dish: Grilled New Potato Salad with Bacon and Scallions

Dessert: The grand finale- add a little candied bacon on that pumpkin pie!

Mmmm, just thinking about all the pork possibilities makes our mouths water!  In fact, that sounds so delicious; pork should have its own holiday along with its own parade.  Introducing Porkgiving!  If you celebrate Porkgiving or can successfully make a hand pig, send us an e-mail.  We may have to share your holiday celebration!

Make it a Porktastic 4th

Independence never tasted so good…