We Became Pork & Beef Farmers For A Day in Jeju, And This Was What Happened
Being a pig farmer is no walk on a red carpet of course, but what we didn’t expect about the job is it being so… sweaty. And the smell. Arghhhhh, the smell.
We swear, we will never take fresh air for granted again. On a rural piece of land in Jeju, one nondescript metal gate holds the power to decide whether we could breathe normally again, or not.
8days.sg is at Montrak Jeju Pork, considered the largest single-source Jeju pork farm in Korea. On this day, we were plucked from our normie office job in Singapore and transported to the family-owned farm, almost an hour’s drive out from the city centre, to experience being pig farmers.
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Home to pigs that are grown for hormone and antibiotics-free pork, the 40-year-old farm is the largest farm-to-table producer of Jeju pork.
In Singapore, Montrak’s pork is exclusively stocked by local meat purveyor Meat Co., which has two brick-and-mortar outlets at Paragon and Cluny Court, as well as an online store.
What pig farming is like
Before we enter the pig farm, we have to suit up. A Montrak staff hands us a disposable black jumpsuit complete with a secure elasticised hood, which kind of makes us look like a Squid Game guard from Pinduoduo.
It’s so roomy, we could hypothetically stash our bags and even smuggle some cute piglets on our way out. Then plastic covers for our shoes, to avoid tracking dirt from outside into the farm.
Why are these suits disposable, we randomly wonder to ourselves. The organiser had given us a heads-up during our ride to the farm to leave our jackets on the bus, and basically anything that could absorb odours.
Maybe it’s like how people try to avoid smelling like grilled meat after K-BBQ, right? As we are ushered through the farm’s metal gate (which sprays industrial-strength sanitiser all over us as we pass), we suddenly understand why.
It feels like we are punched so hard in the nose, we want to crawl back out the gate to take a gulp of fresh air. The intense scent, we deduce, features top notes of warm poop with base notes of damp hay and mud.
Aesthetics farming
Compared to its purely functional entrance, Montrak’s farm itself is surprisingly aesthetically pleasing. Neat lawns with well-manicured bonsai shrubs sprawl in all directions, dotted with what looks like small cottages.
These rustic chalets house Montrak’s pigs, and are equipped with a 24/7 air-filtering system that functions as air-con for its pampered porcine residents, which are very prone to heat stress.
About 40 days before slaughtering, the pigs are given a corn-based feed, which prevents them from gaining excess weight so that they yield leaner meat. Only around five per cent of pig farms in Korea are game enough to use corn feed to prioritise pork flavour, as heavier pigs typically fetch higher prices on the market.
Piggy daycare
Montrak pigs are housed separately by age. We drop by a brick barn, where the piglets live in pens. It feels like a sauna in there, as these piggies need a very warm environment to survive their crucial early weeks.
The little babes, some beige and some brown, turn out to resemble curious but skittish puppies. They huddle in a group and dart to a corner when they see us approaching, all while eyeing us playfully. Once these piglets are able to live independently from sows, they feed on powdered milk from a large dispenser in their pen.
As the farm does not inject any antibiotics or hormones into its animals, a specialised vet is called in whenever a pig feels unwell. This means no cheap shortcuts when it comes to dealing with ill animals (incidentally, the World Organisation for Animal Health declared Jeju free from foot-and-mouth disease last May, boosting its export viability).
“The bestselling cuts in Singapore are tomahawk and pork loin, though pork belly and tenderloin are also popular,” shares Meat Co. founder Chua Shengyu, 37.
This month, he is bringing in “house-smoked Jeju black pork bacon and ham” that only his brands carry, as he anticipates demand for it. It will be stocked end-August at selected CS Fresh supermarkets. “The black pork bacon works well for dishes like carbonara, or paired with sourdough or added to scrambled eggs,” says Shengyu. “I recommend using the black pork ham for breakfast sandwiches.”
He will also introduce Jeju dry-aged pork, which is kept in a cold environment so that enzymes break down the meat naturally, leading to tender pork with more robust, nuttier flavour.
Prices start from $16 for 250g of Jeju Black Pork Ham via Meat Co, while 300g of Jeju Black Pork Tomahawk, roughly the size of a rib steak, costs $28. “For the quality, you are paying a fair price,” Shengyu reasons.
What’s the difference between black pork and white pork?
Simply put, black pork is the atas alternative to the more commercially common white pork. Black pork comes from Jeju black pigs, which mainly descended from English Berkshire pigs brought over to Jeju some 200 years ago by Canadian missionaries.
Compared to white pork’s pale pink hue, black pork is a deeper red with more intricate marbling, almost similar to beef. This is due to its higher myoglobin level, a protein found inside muscles that stores and releases oxygen.
According to Montrak’s CEO and second-gen owner, Ru-jin Yang, black pork is more premium than white pork and costs more as black pigs take longer to raise. Eight months, compared to the usual six months for white pork, and black sows give birth to fewer babies too. “If a pig gives birth to too many babies, the quality of meat suffers. It’s more difficult to breed black pigs and maintain their weight,” he tells 8days.sg.
While Jeju is not considered a major source of Korean pork and beef, with the majority of the meat exports coming from other parts of Korea, it has carved a niche for itself as a producer of good quality handon (Korean pork) and hanwoo (Korean beef).
‘Meat’ the butcher oppas
As it turns out, even K-butchers are better-looking than our neighbourhood wet market pork stall uncle in a singlet (sorry unc). At Montrak’s pork-processing facility, the Korean staff are mostly anonymous in white lab coats and masks.
They include young butchers Kim Wo-seop, 29, who specialises in making sausages, and Moon Sang-hyun, 34, who deftly breaks down entire pig carcasses from snout to tail.
Montrak’s new hires typically take one-and-a-half years to learn how to process a whole pig. Seasoned butcher Sang-hyun, in a rather K-drama twist, was personally scouted by Montrak’s CEO Ru-jin Yang to work there. When we ask Ru-jin what he looks for in a pork star, he opines: “Experience and time is more crucial than education [for a butcher to be good].”
But Jeju butchers can be degree-holders too. Like Wo-seop, who tells 8days.sg that he was interested in the subject and “studied livestock in university”, leading him to take a course in sausage-making. He now helps to develop products like sausages in new flavours for Montrak.
The world’s most expensive beef
Japanese wagyu may have long enjoyed the reputation of being the world’s most expensive and exclusive beef, but hanwoo is rapidly catching up.
If you have noticed Jeju meats taking over the menus in many Singaporean restaurants like new mod Korean eatery Liora, D’rim Korean Steak House to Cantonese restaurant Hey Kee, know that it was only available here from last November following a long-negotiated trade agreement between Singapore and Korea.
Only meats from Jeju are currently cleared for import here due to the island being an agricultural diseases-free zone, and the fact that the meats’ provenance is completely traceable from farm to table.
Strange but true: hanwoo cattle are each assigned an IC number at birth to track their entire lifecycle. Customers can deep-dive into certified hanwoo beef lore down to specific details like its farm of origin, the calf’s birthdate, transportation history, meat grade and gritter stuff such as slaughter and processing info.
What’s the difference between the taste of hanwoo and wagyu?
Compared to wagyu, hanwoo has less marbling and is not as rich. It doesn’t melt in your mouth immediately like wagyu does, but is still luscious and decadent. What’s special about it is its full-bodied beefiness, while Japanese beef’s appeal lies in its butteriness. But this is why you can gobble up way more Korean beef in one sitting, ’cos it’s not as jelak.
These cows eat Jeju oranges
It’s a long walk to the Blue Meadows Agricultural Cooperative farm in Jeju. The narrow dirt path leading to the secluded farmland cannot accommodate a tour bus, so we have to hike the rest of the way.
Cheese and milk refreshments
It’s common for light refreshments like pastries to be served at meetings. At a media presentation at Blue Meadows’ office, we are earnestly handed plates of processed cheese slices, string cheese and fresh milk cartons, all in-house products arranged ceremonially for guests.
Where to buy hanwoo beef at good prices
If you are in Jeju and determined enough to buy the freshest hanwoo beef, head to Blue Meadows’ processing facility halfway up Mount Hallasan. Jeju locals make the trek to a tiny retail store just by the entrance, which sells freshly-processed beef at reasonable prices like 5,000 won (S$4.40) for a whole kilogram of beef trimmings.
But those in Singapore will also get more hanwoo beef options, as Meat Co. has recently signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Jeju Livestock Cooperative, the island’s largest for hanwoo beef.
The cooperative covers some 600 cattle farms in Jeju, all of which will supply premium beef to Meat Co. at competitive pricing.
The MB9 marbling rating (from 1 to 9) is awarded to beef with dense, finely veined marbling, while the 1++ rating (from the best 1++ to lowest 3) is given based on an overall evaluation of marbling, colour and texture.
Owner Shengyu says: “Through the direct partnership, Singapore customers can have better access to fully traceable hanwoo beef from Jeju, and the quality and availability will also be more consistent.”
Photos: Yip Jieying
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
This trip was made possible by Meat Co. For online order and delivery, go to https://meat-co.com.
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