Farm-fresh sausage
“Bootlegging” no more, Moore family sells bulk sausage
Joe Moore, shown, grew up on the family farm near Glasgow, helping his father and grandfather every day with tobacco, dairy cows, corn, hay, sheep, hogs and cattle. When he was 6, his family moved to another farm, but stayed close to the family property. “My dad and I farmed together every day of my life,” he says, all the way through 31 years as a high school teacher in Barren County.
Like his father, Joe raises beef and lamb, but he’s also made a name for himself with his bulk pork sausage. He seasons it with a recipe that combines something from each of his grandfathers’ original recipes.
People in the country, he says, often make sausage and give it to friends or neighbors or workers who come to the house. Once, “maybe 20 years ago,” he says a building contractor in the area wanted to buy 100 pounds to give out to his clients. When he returned, he wanted 300 pounds. “I told people I bootleg sausage,” says Moore, a consumer-member of Farmers RECC.
But when Joe realized he could make a business out of selling sausage, he got squared away with federal and state regulations. The sausage business is good enough to keep Joe’s kids, and their kids, helping the business grow.
The Moores sell their sausage, lamb and other products from their farm and at the Bounty of the Barrens farmers market, which is active every other Saturday through the winter. To find out more, go to www.mooresfamilyfarm.com.
Black-eyed peas and Hoppin’ John are traditional foods to serve on New Year’s Day. The black-eyed peas are said to resemble coins, and eating them will bring prosperity in the new year. The Moores’ recipe is made with their country sausage.
