I’ve just arrived home from Hog Fest 2014, an annual pig roast party our friends Marty and Sonya Brouillette have at their house in the country near St. Francisville. Before you ask, no, I didn’t eat any of that roast pig you see above (that’s Marty in the lab coat). It smelled so insanely delicious, but it’s Lent, and I know what I’m supposed to do. Still, we went because we love the Brouillettes, and we love the idea of a pig roast. How could you not go?

The hog was slaughtered yesterday, a ceremony that we missed. The master of ceremonies was Gerhard Wolf, a German butcher who now lives in North Carolina. Here he is:

For Gerhard, the vocation of butcher is a family tradition from Germany. I had a great time talking with him about food and culture.

Marty Brouillette, who is also a butcher by training, just completed building his own backyard smokehouse. Here he is in front of it:

And here is what was inside the smokehouse:

After the pig came out of the smokehouse and Marty began to carve it, the music started next to the garage. That’s young Owen Brouillette on banjo:

Dessert:

And a final shot from the pasture where all the guests parked:

Louisiana, woo-hoo!