Meredith Leigh is a farmer, butcher, cook and author of The Ethical Meat Handbook: Complete Home Butchery, Charcuterie and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore and Pure Charcuterie: The Craft & Poetry of Curing Meat at Home. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
Meredith will be speaking at the Pennsylvania, Kansas, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Oregon FairsWorkshops
Check It Out!
Whole Animal Butchery
Meredith Leigh, author of The Ethical Meat Handbook, demonstrates whole-animal butchery. Using a hog as an example, she discusses delicious and thrifty use of the entire carcass, and applies principles of butchery, charcuterie, and cooking to other animal species, as well.
Modern Homesteading Real Foods
Available In:
Pennsylvania, Saturday 11:30-12:30 p.m., Real Food Stage
Kansas, Saturday 2:00-3:00 p.m., Real Food Stage
North Carolina, Saturday 2:00-3:00 p.m., Real Food Stage
Maryland, Saturday 2:00-3:00 p.m., Common Market Co-op Stage
Oregon, Saturday 2:00-3:00 p.m., Real Food Stage
The Art of Cooking Meat
You don’t have to be a charcuterie nerd making obscure salamis to benefit from a little cured meat knowledge. Interested in making your own deli ham to pack in your kid’s lunchbox? Curing your own bacon so you can feel good about its ingredients? How about making the best barbecue or grilled chicken at the next block party? Attend this session to learn the most basic tenets of curing, brining, and smoking to bring your cooking and self-sufficiency to the next level.
Modern Homesteading Real Foods
Available In:
Pennsylvania, Sunday 10:00-11:00 a.m., Real Food Stage
Kansas, Saturday 5:00-6:00 p.m., Grit Stage
Texas, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Real Food Stage
North Carolina, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Real Food Stage
Maryland, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Common Market Co-op Stage
Oregon, Sunday 11:30-12:30 p.m., Real Food Stage
Sausage Making 101
Learn the basics of making delicious sausage from pork, beef, chicken, lamb, rabbit, or wild game. Meredith Leigh, author of The Ethical Meat Handbook, discusses secrets to optimum flavor and texture, and she covers equipment needs (as well as creating your own recipes). Hear about cooking methods, including smoking, in addition to processing.
Real Foods Keynote
Available In:
Texas, Saturday 5:00-6:00 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage
Introduction to Charcuterie
Learn about charcuterie: the preservation of meat using salt and smoke. Meredith Leigh demonstrates making fresh sausage and discusses other forms of charcuterie (such as fermented sausages and smoked meats). A farmer, butcher, and cook, she has been working for half her life to advocate for, grow, cook, and create real food. She's the author of The Ethical Meat Handbook: Complete Home Butchery, Charcuterie, and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore and Pure Charcuterie: The Craft & Poetry of Curing Meat at Home.
Real Foods Keynote
Available In:
Pennsylvania, Saturday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage
Kansas, Sunday 11:30-12:30 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage
Texas, Saturday 2:00-3:00 p.m., Real Food Stage
North Carolina, Saturday 5:00-6:00 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage
Maryland, Saturday 5:00-6:00 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage
Oregon, Saturday 5:00-6:00 p.m., Mother Earth News Stage
Hands-on: Piecing Poultry
Learn three ways to piece a whole bird with butcher and author Meredith Leigh. Work with a partner to produce wings, thighs, drumsticks, and breast meat. Plus, find out how to remove the oyster intact, and how to produce professional boneless cuts. You'll never pay a higher price for preportioned poultry again! Note: An extra pass is required for this workshop. Space is limited, get your passes today.
Modern Homesteading Real Foods Hands On
Available In:
Pennsylvania, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Hands-On Demonstrations
Kansas, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Hands-On Demonstrations
Oregon, Sunday 3:30-4:30 p.m., Hands-On Demonstrations
Hands-on: Mastering Spice Blends for Sausage and Dry Rubs
Author, butcher, and cook Meredith Leigh immerses audiences in a world of flavor. In this hands-on session, participants learn the perfect ratio for seasoning homemade sausage and dry rub. They discover how to pick from a host of spices and herbs to create their own sausage-seasoning blend. The live sausage demo and tasting during the class focuses on one spice blend. Attendees leave with ideas for new flavor combinations to try, knowledge about buying and storing bulk spices and herbs, fail-proof ratios for their own seasoning blends and rubs, cooking tips, and pro techniques for marinating and making sausage. Note: An extra pass is required for this workshop. Space is limited, get your passes today
Real Foods Hands On
Available In:
Texas, Sunday 10:00-11:00 a.m., Hands-On Demonstrations
North Carolina, Sunday 10:00-11:00 a.m., Hands-On Demonstrations
Maryland, Sunday 10:00-11:00 a.m., Hands-On Demonstrations