In the KZN Midlands, Caz Griffin is making Dargle Valley Pork Products a name in quality and originality by mixing old techniques with new flavours.
Caz Griffin has dedicated the past 10 years to her pork processing business, Dargle Valley Pork Products, to establish herself as a producer of fine, speciality products.
Caz and her husband William are fourth-generation beef and pig farmers in the KZN Midlands’ Dargle Valley. They live on the 1 000ha family farm Chestnuts, with 1 500 head of Beefmaster-type cattle and 200 sows. Producing pork products came about as Will and Caz discussed ways to add value to the farm’s produce.
“I love cooking and decided to try my hand at pork pies,” recalls Caz. “I got my first carcass on the kitchen table in 1999 and minced pork with my little Kenwood mincer. I realised a carcass is a huge amount of meat and it would be stupid to put it all into pies when there’s a demand for good bacon and sausages.” Caz searched the internet for recipes and a local, retired butcher taught her the age-old art of smoking pork products. “We started smoking the meat in 200 drums until the business grew too big and we built a smoking room,” says Caz. “We don’t use smoke essence, only real oak shavings which we source from a furniture factory. It was a process of trial and error and we burnt a lot of meat perfecting the technique.” Caz dry-cures and smokes her bacon lightly, leaving it in the smoker for two hours, while larger items like gammon smoke for five to six hours or overnight. “We want that lovely rich, golden smoky look and flavour,” she explains.
Techniques and traceability
The tradition of oak smoking is an important tool in Caz’s business. It’s one of the reasons Dargle Valley Pork Products won two Eat In awards in the Fresh and Cured categories for the Paddock region last year. The awards were initiated by Eat In magazine and RMB Private Bank, in recognition of producers and retailers for innovation, integrity, care for the environment and passion. “The judges were impressed with our pork pies and bacon,” laughs Caz.
The judges were also impressed with the traceability of Caz’s products. “The pigs are reared here and we guarantee traceability to the abattoir and back to the farm factory,” explains Caz. “The pigs are fed a healthy diet of maize and soya without artificial hormones or animal byproducts. Hormone-free meat is what consumers want. I don’t deal with anyone who would give my consumers cause to question my integrity.”
Recipes for success
Caz makes her own preservative-free spare rib marinade and for pork pies she renders fat and boils down trotters for gelatine. “Nothing is mass-produced, making our business unique,” says Caz proudly. The only processing machinery we have are mincers. We don’t even have a hydraulic sausage filler.” The meat comes from five-month-old female pigs, removing any chance of boar taint. Carcasses weigh between 60kg and 65kg and Caz processes between 17 and 32 carcasses a week with demand peaking over the festive season. “You have to use the whole carcass and must be clever about it,” advises Caz. “Cuts like legs aren’t easy to sell, I use them for schnitzels and Texas steaks.”
Her culinary skills are used to create new products, like the loin roast with fig and couscous or bacon-and-prune stuffing. The Tiger Roast is a rib-eye stuffed with sausage meat, wrapped in dry-cured bacon and marinated, and the Fillet Twister is a marinated fillet wrapped in dry-cured bacon. In the early days the business was given a leg up when Caz paired up with her cousin, marketing chickens to housewives in Kloof, Durban and Westville. Caz’s products were offered along with chickens on e-mail orders and delivered to drop-off points once a month. Caz then began to do drop-offs in Pietermaritzburg, Howick and Nottingham Road, as well as to delis and restaurants in Johannesburg and Harrismith and eating establishments on the Midlands Meander such as Granny Mouse and Lythwood Lodge.
“The business grew by word of mouth and today, 50% comes from housewives,” says Caz. “I run a slick operation. Every item on an order form must be in the box and if there’s a problem, we let customers know ahead of time.” Packaging is very important, especially when dealing with products leaking blood. “Housewives like a dinky box that’s clean, strong and dry,” says Caz. “My vacuum sealer is my most treasured investment – it makes the meat look good. A friend down the road helped me create a sticker, adding the finishing touch.” Dealing with housewives means Caz is well-positioned to notice if the economic pinch affected consumer spending patterns. “Last year housewives ordered fewer luxury items like spare ribs and bacon, going for sausages and chops,” says Caz. “But my business is growing despite the economic climate.”
Thinking business
Caz says successful businesses need to be given time to get off the ground. “A lot of people don’t stick it out for the first three years,” says Caz. “There were times I cried and screamed and felt very sorry for myself. I woke up at 4am to slice bacon and would still be packing at 10pm. It took a lot of perseverance. “My advice to new producers is to do things properly and keep customers happy.” Contact Dargle Valley Pork Products on (033) 234 4159 or 082 2564 576. |fw
