Ultimate Kill-and-Grill and VIP Dinner

Fire and Feast: An Epic Asado Adventure

Get ready to ignite your culinary passions on November 7-9, 2024 at the Ultimate BBQ Experience, where you’ll learn butchery skills from Shawn Kelly and the ancient art of roasting from Big Jav, the guru of whole animal open-fire cooking, and AJ of AJ’s Custom Cookers. This Master Class is the pinnacle of field-to-fork harvesting and roasting. One grass-fed and finished steer, a pastured pig and 25 Cornish Cross chickens will be harvested for the trifecta of meat indulgence.

As with all of our butchery classes, we’re starting with live animals and will work together as a team to harvest them humanely. This class is different because instead of breaking them down into individual cuts, we’ll be roasting them whole. The entire beef will be roasted over an open fire on our new Asado cross. Big Jav will be leading the crew and you will be working with him over a 26-hour cook. In addition, you will get hands on experience with the preparation and roasting of a whole pig and 25 chickens.

This epic experience includes an intimate Meat-n-Greet VIP Dinner with the speakers from the Rogue Food Conference, including Joel Salatin, John Moody, and Holly Hickman and more on Friday night! Imagine the tantalizing aroma of perfectly roasted meat wafting through the air as you gather around the campfire with fellow enthusiasts, swapping tips and tricks while networking with homesteading pioneers.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by – only 30 spots available.

$549 per person includes the 3-day Kill-and-Grill Experience, 5 meals including the VIP Dinner, and Saturday Rogue Food Conference ticket.

Homestead Hog Harvest
Homestead Hog Harvest

OPEN FIRE MASTER CLASS

Marathon of Meats

Since everything is bigger in Texas, Crunchy Mama Farms is teaming up with the Rogue Food Conference to bring you the Ultimate 3-day Master Class in Open Fire Cooking that’s fit for a carnivore! The protein that is harvested will be donated to help fuel the Rogue Food Conference on Saturday, November 9, 2024 and the VIP Dinner on Friday, November 8th. We are opening this experience up to 30 students that desire to participate in the most intensive farm-to-fork harvest marathon that we’ve yet to create. The 3 day experience includes multi-species butchery instruction, sampling of the meats as they roast, meals by the fabulous Chefs Brian Santiago and Luca Bushmann, and tips and tricks from one of the most influential whole animal fire cooks in North America, Big Jav himself. This is a marathon event and students are welcome to tent camp at the farm if they so choose.

ROGUE FOOD CONFERENCE VIP DINNER

Meat-n-Greet

When a little birdie mentioned that the Rogue Food Conference might be heading south to the great state of Texas, Shawn and Amy Kelly of Crunchy Mama Farms jumped at the chance to host the VIP Dinner. They attended the 2020 VIP Dinner at the first Rogue Food Conference in Cincinnati. The splurge for Amy’s milestone birthday was worth every…single…penny. It’s one thing to read someone’s book or watch them on YouTube, but it’s a completely different experience to break bread with homesteading legends and have one-on-one conversations. Shawn and Amy shared wonderful conversations with Joel Salatin, Congressman Thomas Massie, Mark Baker and John Moody, as well as fascinating homesteaders from across the country. Shawn and Amy also experienced the Rogue Conference VIP Dinner at Polyface Farms and still keep in touch with friends they made. The VIP Dinner is included as part of this Ultimate Kill-and-Grill Experience, as is a Saturday ticket to the Conference.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, November 7th, 2024:

9:00 AM: Meet for coffee and safety briefing at the farm kitchen. Discussion on raising beef on pasture and benefits of grass-fed/finished beef.

10:00 AM: Field harvest of one beef, then transport to the farm kitchen for skinning and evisceration. Hands-on participation in the harvest process.

2:00 PM: Setup scalder and discuss pastured pork. Harvest a 100 lb roasting pig, followed by scalding, scraping, gutting, and cooling.

Throughout the Day: Enjoy organ meat appetizers and locally sourced food as part of the farm-to-fork experience.

Friday, November 8th, 2024:

4:00 AM: Coffee and place marinated hog into La Caja China roaster for slow cooking.

5:00 AM: Meet Big Jav and AJ. Set up Asado Cross with Big Jav, position beef sides and start fire.

6:00 AM: Cowboy breakfast

Morning: Begin harvest of 25 pastured chickens for VIP Dinner.

Break for a Late Lunch: Lunch on your own; get ready for the VIP Dinner

Evening: Assist chefs, enjoy fellowship around campfires, and prepare and participate in the VIP/Speaker dinner. Campfire discussions and dessert with speakers Joel Salatin, John Moody, Holly Hickman and Shawn & Amy Kelly.

Night: Beef cook continues overnight; students take shifts with Big Jav and crew.

November 9, 2024:

Morning: Continue beef cook. After breakfast, bring primals into the farm kitchen for pulling and warming.

9:45 AM: Depart for the Rogue Food Conference at MET Church in Fort Worth (1-hour drive).

11:00 AM: Conference begins; enjoy shredded beef you helped roast at lunch.