In these episodes, Brandon and Lauren discuss the virtue of making bacon -- how it is about so much more than just putting food on your table -- and how it can lead you to excellence through virtue.  Learn: how emotion, passion, virtue, and temperament relate to the slaughtering of animals and making bacon; what you can anticipate in making home-made bacon for the first time and the difficulties you might encounter in eating it; and the new tools Brandon has been dreaming about for his shop as well as the factors he must consider in discerning whether or not to buy them. Introduction and Announcements: To Kill a Pig Nicely now available FREE of charge on our YouTube channel! Membership is open! 60-day free trial available!  Promo code: "60 Day Trial" New content available on: lamb butchery, curing red meat, lamb curing, and lamb carpaccio! Membership forum topics now categorized for easy browsing! Join us for one of our upcoming spring Family Pig classes! Help us produce more episodes by supporting us on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/meatsmith. Part 1 Show Notes: Announcements (and what Brandon's been up to), :59 Dreaming of a bacon slicer, 2:17                  ... and a wall-mounted paper dispenser.... and a bowl chopper,  18:38 On what basis does one decide to upgrade their home meat production set-up?  23:23 What one can anticipate when you first start making bacon, 32:28 How to overcome some difficulties of eating bacon: abundance, 33:35 rancidity, 36:15 Virtue acquisition through bacon making; 39:18 The ends of cooking: the natural and the supernatural, 46:33 Part 2 Show Notes: Why do we cook? 1:02 The dichotomy between work and gift, 5:09 Animals and the hunt, 10:47 Emotions and the kill, 14:15 Emotion, passion and virtue, 23:18 Excellence in the ordinary; filling your life with humble delight, 30:04 How emotion and temperament affect the kill, 38:29 The temperament of pigs, 46:35 Links for Episode 47: Berkel Bacon Slicers: https://www.theberkelworld.com/us/slicers.html On the Natural Fermentation of Salami by Brandon Sheard: https://farmsteadmeatsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/On-the-Natural-Fermentation-of-Salami.pdf Farmstead Meatsmith Slaughterday Fry video: https://farmsteadmeatsmith.com/membership/harvest-films/ Benton's Bacon:  https://shop.bentonscountryham.com Links for Episode 48: Seven Fires:  Grilling the Argentine Way by Francis Mallmann:  https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Fires-Grilling-Argentine-Way/dp/1579653545 St. Thomas Aquinas:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas Descartes:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes Aristotle:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle Jane Grigson:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Grigson The four temperaments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments Andrew Plotsky:  https://www.stitchdownfarm.com/about