Master The Art of Butchering Pork
(Cooking and Eating It, Too)
Do you like eating (and drinking)?
Do you like cooking (or want to like it more)?
Ever wanted to make your own sausage (or at least know how)?
Want to level-up your culinary skill (or just curious about butchering)?
Good. Keep reading.
Our next class is Saturday,
March 15. Join us!
We'll go from pork carcass ready to butcher...
(that might as well be Greek to you)
To cuts you know...
(cut by you)
To cuts you know...
(cut by you)
To delicious meals on the table.
(prepared and enjoyed by you)
You'll leave with new eating experiences (and recipes to replicate them),
transformed culinary skills (and reference materials for later),
and pork for your own table (so you can practice at home).
Sound good? Keep scrolling.
My Name Is
Craig Taffaro
I’m a butcher, chef, farmer, and teacher.
And I love to share what I do with people like you.
I want to offer you an immersive experience at the intersection of food, farming, and community.
It’s not just about connecting with your food in a new way or feeling a deeper sense of gratitude or increased joy at mealtime.
It’s about connecting with other people in a deeper way, the way only food can do (which is why our course includes cooking and feasting as much as butchering).
As one of my friends puts it, "you can't be a good butcher if you're not a good cook." Cooking and eating food is actually the whole point of butchering.
That’s the problem with learning this stuff on YouTube or blogs or forums or reference books.
You lose the most important part: the relationships.
You can go find the technical details of butchering and cooking on the internet somewhere, but you won't have the immersive experience I described a moment ago. That takes other people.
It's the difference between traveling Death Valley with friends, an experienced guide, and plenty of water and wandering the desert alone.
Plus, it’s actually way faster and wayyy more fun to learn from an experienced guide with other awesome people around you. (Especially with good wine.)
This masterclass gives you the unique experience of transforming a pork carcass into the beautiful meals we'll enjoy together and pork cuts for enjoying at home.
You'll get hands-on instruction in a small group setting (no more than 8 people), with TWO professional butchers guiding you every step of the way.
You'll leave with the skill and confidence to butcher a pig at home (if you're into that) and cook virtually any cut of pork you come across.
Here’s what’s included:
✓ Full-day hands-on instruction with TWO butchers 🔪👨🍳👨🍳🥩 ($1,600 value)
✓ Two farm-to-table meals with wine 🍽️ 🍾🍷 ($150 value)
✓ Hands-on cooking instruction 👨🏫👩🍳 ($500 value)
✓ Take-home portion of premium cuts 🥩🥓🐖 ($100 value)
✓ Comprehensive butchery guide with recipes 📘 ($75 value)
That’s a total value of $2,425.
But don't worry, that's not what I'm charging (although some customers offered to pay it)!
Before lunch we'll begin breaking down a pork carcass into cuts, prepare fat for lard rendering, and prepare sausage.
We'll break for lunch, featuring the sausage you just made, local cheese from Looking Glass Creamery, and wine from Overmountain Vineyards.
After lunch we'll continue butchering our pork carcass, finishing sausage making, preparing cured meats, and preparing our dinner.
We'll finish the day with a delicious meal from the farm. It will be sad to say goodbye at the end of the day. Now, you're part of the Melvin Hill Meats family!
After lunch we'll continue butchering our pork carcass, finishing sausage making, preparing cured meats, and preparing our dinner.
We'll finish the day with a delicious meal from the farm. It will be sad to say goodbye at the end of the day. Now, you're part of the Melvin Hill Meats family!
So How Much Is It?
While this class is easily worth over $2,000 when you consider the tangible benefits (the hands on practice, meals, take home pork, cooking instruction and take home materials), it's far more important to share my passion with others than it is to make as much money as possible.
So instead of the true value of
$2,425
I'm offering you this class for a meager investment of
$497
Here's the thing. To really make this worth my time and my family's time and afford to give you the incredible experience I promise, I need your investment cost to be $497.
But, because I know people like learning with people they know (maybe a spouse, significant other, best friend). And because it's close to Valentine's Day...
I'm going to do something that makes my wife cringe (shhh!)...
Until February 17, I'm going to offer this class for half price
so you AND a friend can come for the price of one.
AND you can still win one of the bonuses listed further down.
Just use the code
PorkClassValentinesDayBOGO
$497 $249
That’s less than the cost of a couple of fancy date nights. And instead of an experience that quickly fades into last week’s forgotten memories, you’ll leave with new skills for life (and an incredible experience worth bragging about).
We keep this class small to maximize the attention you get from us, so if you think you might want in on this, you should do it now. Plus you could win one of the following bonus prizes...
The 1st person to buy the Masterclass gets 50% of the class cost refunded
The 4th person to buy the Masterclass gets 50% of the class as credit for a future purchase (beef, pork, lamb, classes, etc.)
The 7th person to buy the Masterclass gets 10 pounds of bonus sausage to take home the day of the class
The person who spends the most when buying the Masterclass gets 5 free tickets to our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil (might as well grab beef and pork shares in your Masterclass checkout)
See you there!
Saturday, March 15
Melvin Hill Meats.
584 Melvin Hill Rd
Columbus, NC 28722
Mid morning to evening -- full details provided to registrants.
No. This is not a slaughter class. This masterclass is 100% focused on butchery and cookery (the stuff that takes place in the days after slaughter). If you're interested in learning how to slaughter, make sure you sign up for our mailing list so you know when those classes are available.
Slaughtering is messy, but butchering and cooking are quite clean. Actually, good butchery requires cleanliness. You won't deal with blood and guts at this masterclass.
That's great! You're coming with points of reference that will make your time with us even more valuable. Our experience teaching others pork butchery and hands-on cooking is that those with prior experience always leave with new learnings, ideas, and skills. And we'll probably get to learn something from you, too. So, please come!
Perfect! This experience is exactly what you need. There is nothing inherently wrong with buying pork at the grocery store, but you're selling yourself (and the pigs) short. The pork at the grocery store and the pork you'll experience from our farm are not the same (they don't even seem to be in the same category of things). You will leave this course with a new perspective on sourcing and enjoying meat.
Nonsense! I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't like pork. I have met plenty of people who claim not to like pork, but that's because they define pork (subconsciously) as the weird stuff sold in stores under the name of "pork." Instead of being pale pink, almost chicken-like, our pork has color (that equates to flavor). And instead of being gross and destined for the trash because the dog won't even eat it, folks clamor for the fat.
In short, you can't say "I don't like pork" until you've had pork like you'll have the class.
Grab our free e-book to start your kitchen transformation. Find out...
...3 secrets you need to enjoy better meals without buying new kitchen gear or mastering fancy techniques
...the 3 methods you need to master to literally cook any cut of meat like a pro
...what salt does to meat and why the type you use is important
...6 proven recipes that you can use today