“We will serve no swine before its time” (low-and-slow cooking)

“We will sell no wine before its time” was the memorable advertising line spoken by actor/director Orson Welles (1915-1985) for California’s Paul Masson Vineyards in 1976. The advertising catchprhase was often parodied; by at least 1983, “We sell no swine before its time” appeared in print. ‘We will serve no swine wine before its time” (or “We serve no swine before its time”)—replacing the word “sell” with “serve”—is frequently used in the phrase.
   
The phrase means that the pork is cooked “low and slow” on the barbecue. Many barbecue restaurants and barbecue competitions use “We serve no swine before its time” as a slogan. The phrase has become popular in the 2000s, a generation after the last Paul Masson wine commercial aired.
 
 
Wikipedia: Paul Masson
Paul Masson (1859 – 1940) was an early pioneer of California viticulture and the most successful popularizer of Californian sparkling wine.
(...)
In 2008, Wine Group LLC of San Francisco purchased Paul Masson and two other California wine brands.
 
The Paul Masson brand is best remembered for its 1970s marketing association with Orson Welles, who promised for Masson: “We will sell no wine before its time.” An infamous outtake for one commercial from the Orson Welles campaign features Welles attempting to deliver his lines while inebriated.
 
23 February 1983, Chicago (IL) Daily Herald, section 1, pg. 2, col. 1:
Today’s chuckle
Wednesday, February 23.—Sign down on the farm: “We sell no swine before its time.”
   
18 January 1984, Titusville (PA) Herald, pg. 4, col. 1:
One day not long ago, two solidly built fellows with ruddy complexions got out of a car with a Nebraska license plate and headed for a restaurant to stoke up. As they walked past the rear end of their car the bumper sticker was revealed: We Will Sell No Swine Before Its Time.
 
Google News Archive
29 August 1989, Toledo (OH) Blade, pg. P1, col. 1:
Sales slogan: Neil Carmean, a communications consultant who handled the public relations phase of the Rib-Off this year, came up with the slogan for he event. “We will serve no swine before its time.”
 
9 December 1992, New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM), “Try a taste of Clinton’s home state” (Washington Post), pg. C4, cols. 3-4:
Gill’s family has been in the barbecue business since 1810, beginning with his great-grandfather. Gill’s advice: “Serve no swine before it’s time; serve no beef at any time.”
(Ray “Red” Gill from Blytheville, Arkansas—ed.)
 
Google Books
Fun places to go with children in New England
By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright
4th Edition
San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books
2003
Pg. 119 (New Hampshire):
Yankee Smokehouse
Rtes. 16 and 25, West Ossipee, (603) 539-RIBS.
The Yankee Smokehouse proudly proclaims it will “serve no swine before its time,” and it does not disappoint.
   
Google Books
Small-Town Restaurants in Virginia
By Joanne M. Anderson
Edition: 2, illustrated
Published by John F. Blair
2004
Pg. 254:
Formy’s Original Pit Barbecue
U.S. 13 / PAINTER, VA 23420
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“We sell no swine before its time,” savs the menu. The pork is cooked in a secret sauce for 24 hours over a fire of oak and hickory.
 
22 June 2004, Cedar Rapids-Iowa City (Iowa) Gazette, “it’s time for a refresher course on grilling” by Kurt Michael Friese, pg. 3E:
As a BBQ guru friend once said, “Ya gotta cook low and slow, and we will sell no swine before its time.” 
 
Google Books
Off the Beaten Path Alabama: A Guide to Unique Places
By Gay N. Martin
Edition: 8, illustrated
Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot
2006
Pg. 62 (Cullman, AL):
“We will serve no swine before its time,” promise Ron Dunn and Gary Wiggins, first cousins who operate Johnny’s Bar-BQ (256-734-8539), a family business at 1404 Fourth Street Southwest that opened in the early 1950s.
 
Roadfood.com - Forums
RE: Your favorite old food jingle or saying.
QFan
Sun, 02/17/08 8:05 AM
Barbeque joint in Northern Virgina back in the 90’s: “We will sell no swine before its time!” Sadly, they didn’t sell enough swine and are no longer around.
 
Google Books
America’s Best BBQ:
100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants
By Ardie A. Davis and Paul Kirk
Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing
2009
Pg. 187:
Ira Ray “Red” Gill
Razorback Cookers Catering,
Blytheville, AR
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Ray will be remembered for his clever way with words. here are some of his great sayings:
 
“Good Food Ain’t Cheap
Cheap Food Ain’t Good!”
 
“Serve no swine before its time;
serve no beef at any time.”
     
uptake Restaurants Blog
Famous Dave’s Invites Indy Diners to Get Down and Pig Out
Feb 06, 2009 15:00 - By: Julie Sturgeon
(...)
Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que didn’t let me down in that respect. They definitely stuck to the down-home, folksy feel complete with old license plates on the wall, bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, wooden tables and t-shirts bearing slogans like We Serve No Swine Before Its Time for the wait staff.
     
The Maine Switch
Gettin’ saucy
Spicing up BBQ is easy for these guys — and it can for you, too
2009-05-27
(...)
One of the most important pieces of advice Sherman, aka DennyMike, likes to give folks is to take it slow. According to him, “No swine before it’s time,” is a well-known slogan far and wide, and slow cooking is an essential barbecue strategy.
 
“People like those char marks,” he says, but “anything you cook is going to come out much more tender with a low and slow cooking process.”
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark WE WILL SELL NO WINE BEFORE ITS TIME
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 033. US 047. G & S: Wine. FIRST USE: 19760731. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19760731
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73344209
Filing Date January 4, 1982
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition February 8, 1983
Registration Number 1236639
Registration Date May 3, 1983
Owner (REGISTRANT) Paul Masson, Inc. d.b.a. Paul Masson Vineyards CORPORATION CALIFORNIA 13150 Saratoga Ave. Saratoga CALIFORNIA 95070
(LAST LISTED OWNER) VINTNERS INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, INC. CORPORATION BY MERGER FROM DELAWARE 800 3RD AVE. NEW YORK NEW YORK 10022
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Prior Registrations 0692920;0897052;AND OTHERS
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date February 7, 2004
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark WE WILL SELL NO WINE BEFORE ITS TIME
Goods and Services IC 033. US 047 049. G & S: Wine. FIRST USE: 20030900. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20030900
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78467344
Filing Date August 13, 2004
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition June 28, 2005
Registration Number 3245366
Registration Date May 22, 2007
Owner (REGISTRANT) CONSTELLATION BRANDS, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 370 Woodcliff Drive Suite 300 Fairport NEW YORK 14450
Attorney of Record Stephen L. Baker
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE