SoCAL Pig Farms / Fresh Pork in Los Angeles' 150 Mile Radius - HELP!!!

[redrooski]

Hello Chowhounders,

I'm seeking out fresh pork butts by the ton, and I am searching for something that's driveable, roundtrip, from Los Angeles within a day.

If there are no pig farms down south or even in Central Cal, I'll be left with no choice but to order natural, heritage, or humanely grown pigs from Marconda's, who'll get it from the Midwest.

And I been searching through LA Farmer's Markets websites and I haven't had luck finding any fresh meat purveyors. Know one that I'm not privy to?

I really would like to source locally so your help will be tremendous!

Thank you!

BR.

[chez cherie]

i don't know if kent short can fulfill your needs, but he is in santa paula, a hell of a guy, and if he can't, he might be able to steer you in the right direction.
http://oldfashioncountrybutcher.com/
i ordered a heritage pig for a fairly recent pig roast, and it was locally sourced, and super tasty. the guy is the real deal--tell him i sent you (and harrynsuz sent me.) here's the link to the thread that led me to kent: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/852960

[redrooski]

Thank you very much, chez! I'll be giving him a call. I appreciate the lead!

[JudiAU]

You might check with Maccalls or Lindy and Grundy. They might have some sources.

But really, if you only want the one cut and 100 pounds of a week you probably need to go to a distributor of some time. You might contact Niman Ranch. They could handle the volume and they deliver locally. Harvey Guss would too but I doubt they carry natural meat.

[redrooski]

Ms. Judi Gold,

Thank you very much for your help. Yes, Niman is definitely the most suited provider for me at this point. It just sucks that the meat has to come from the Midwest.

I'll look into those other names you've mentioned. Appreciate your help.

[Dommy]

We have always been very happy with the quality and flavor of Cal Poly Pomona Raised Pork and Beef.

http://www.csupomona.edu/~meatlab/Pro...

--Dommy!

[redrooski]

Will give em a call. Thanks Dommy!

[redrooski]

hey guys,

thought i would give you an update in my quest.

sidenote: pig butts is really all i can use for the start up of my restaurant. every other cut gets astronomical in price when we're talking about these heritage pigs. i'll also need a minimum of 100 pounds per week. and asking for that amount to a california pig farmer doesn't look feasible. i guess there are only majority happy cows in california!

i'm looking at getting heritage pigs sourced from the midwest or canada.

still questing. thank you guys for your help. each tidbit brought me closer to the cookie.

[Jack Flash]

I know it's not cool to promote your own restaurant here on Chowhound, but since you're obviously committed to sourcing high quality ingredients, I'm curious (maybe you could give us a hint).

There's a grass fed beef vendor at the Pasadena farmers' market who occasionally has pasture-raised pork products. They're not from his ranch, though, and I'm not precisely sure what his source is. Perhaps it's worth contacting John DeBruin at Dey Dey's Best Beef Ever.
http://www.bestbeefever.com/

[Scotty]

Hold on, "by the ton"??

That is a lot of pork butts

[Servorg]

Without being too "punny" I'd say that was written "tongue in cheek"

[redrooski]

LOL. Yes, not a ton in actuality, but sheesh, 100lbs of pork butt per week is a lot of lovely pigs :(

[Jack Flash]

Up near Sacramento is a place called Jubilee Farms. Early this summer, I saw them at the Altadena farmers' market (alas, only one time).

http://jubileefarmca.com/turkeys/

[redrooski]

:( Driving to SacTown and back... OMG!!!!! I'll die from drinking to many 5 hour energy shots!

Thank you for the resource, Jack. I'll do anything for the flavor.

[redrooski]

This resource is the BEST I've found so far. An actual US database for heritage & natural pork farms!!!

http://www.cochon555.com/COCHON555_he...

If you know more, please share!

[TonyC]

they don't list a single rancher within 150miles of LA. They also gypped one of the LA County ranchers out of money for a whole hog awhile ago.

Rainbow Ranch: https://twitter.com/xeniarrf
Rocky Canyon: http://www.eatwellguide.org/listing/detail/45560
Da Le http://da-le-ranch.com/index.html

Of course I gotta shout-out ReRide, though they mostly do whole hog. The only butcher shop selling their cut meats locally is Lindy & Grundy.

[redrooski]

Tony,

Thanks for your recommendations, and yeah... After perusing the docs from cochon, I saw that they had Bay Area but not Central or SoCal? That's shameful. It seems like they're mostly in the Fresno area which isn't too bad realistically, but the farms north of SacTown... That's a drive from LA!!!

Who was the LA County rancher that got gypped? Maybe I can give them my business.

It is great that they sell whole pigs, but man, I only need butts!!! I love big ones, I cannot lie. As long as it's natural.

[redrooski]

ReRide is very close. And their story of their apple farm is charming. I would love to do business with them as they are the closest to LA.

Hopefully Rainbow Farms gets back to me.

Along with Rocking Canyon & DeLa.

Thank you very much for your help, TonyC.

[redrooski]

Hiiiii-5 on the tip for ReRide. I'll be hitting up the ranch this week!

[TonyC]

That is FAN-FUGGIN-TASTIC, please tell Lefty I said hello. We're due for a Fall visit shortly.

(chowmods: we're unrelated to Reride, just a fan of its pigs/ethos/eggs)

[redrooski]

Will do, amigo. Cheers!

[omieurhomie]

I visited Lefty's ranch last year too after going to Oak Tree Gun Club to shoot skeets. He actually mentioned you Tony and said you were one of the first to visit him haha. Love his ranch. Maybe I'll visit him this fall as well!

[budlit]

Have you tried jimenez family farms? www.jimenezfamilyfarms.com

[redrooski]

http://www.jimenezfamilyfarm.com/

Thank you very much for this tip!

[Servorg]

You can check with this family: http://www.mmlivestockco.com/

[redrooski]

Gonna be giving them a call. Thank you, Servorg.

[WileysHungryAgain]

Servorg-

I'm intimately familiar with MMlivestockco, and its owner Megan Mcdowell. Her business practices, and integrity are questionable at best. A cursory Google search will corroborate my sentiments.

In good faith, I could never personally endorse her operation.

Caveat emptor...