Join us for “Pig in a Day,” one of our signature butcher courses and a firm favorite at River Cottage HQ. In this intensive one-day course, you’ll dive into the principles of pig husbandry, animal welfare, and butchery, learning how to prepare and cook various cuts of meat.
Start your day with an introduction to pig husbandry and welfare standards before moving on to butchering primary cuts of a whole pig. Our skilled chefs will guide you through the process of making your own sausages, bacon, and chorizo, as well as preparing lesser-known delicacies like brawn, roasted pig’s head joint, and devilled kidneys.
Throughout the day, you’ll enjoy tastings and a delicious two-course lunch featuring the chefs’ creations. You’ll also have the chance to explore our beautiful surroundings. By the end of the day, you’ll leave with new butchery skills and your very own handmade liver pâté and sausages.
“A brilliant day and my husband and I enjoyed every minute from seeing the weaners, understanding pig husbandry, systematically working through the different parts of the pig and eating different cuts of pork throughout the course. I never realised how tasty a pig’s head can be!” Emma, March 2023
10:00 - 17:00
You will meet your host and start the day with tea, coffee and a treat fresh from the kitchen.
We will look at husbandry, provenance, the carcass and how to butcher a pig into the primary cuts.
Next you'll learn how to prepare and tie roasting joints and the tricks to getting the perfect crackling.
You will learn how to make sausages, liver pâté and a range of delicious offal recipes including brawn, roasted pig’s head joint, Chinese BBQ ribs, and devilled kidneys. You'll have tasters of these throughout your day.
Food is always the focus at River Cottage, and a fantastic two-course lunch of local, seasonal produce with porky additions will be one of the highlights of your day.
Next you will get to grips with fabulously flavoursome chorizo, dry cured bacon and make delicious River Cottage bangers.
There will be time to chat to your fellow scholars and the River Cottage team, as your course finished at 4.30, before heading back up the hill at 5pm, liver pâté, chorizo and River Cottage bangers in hand.
This course is run from River Cottage HQ on the Dorset/Devon borders. Full address details of HQ will be provided once you have booked.
We are a licensed venue. We have a wide selection of the finest organic wines available to purchase.
If you would like to stay at the heart of River Cottage, we offer overnight accommodation at River Cottage HQ in our beautiful 17th century farmhouse. We have three stylishly refurbished bedrooms for B&B plus the 2-bedroom Gardener's Cottage. These get booked quickly so for more information go to rivercottage.net/stay to book. Alternatively, we have put together a list of our local accommodation which includes B&Bs, self-catering, hotels and camping.
We would advise that this course is only really suitable for 12 years of age and upwards. Under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult. We put these guidelines in place for the safety, comfort and enjoyment of all our guests.
This course isn't suitable for those who are pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan.