I made a pig of myself.

But when I got invited to try the 11th annual “Whole Hog” event at Oliveto in Oakland, that’s just what I had to do in the line of duty when confronted with an entire menu featuring pig parts of every kind imaginable.

And what a gloriously filling experience it was.

Yes, for a week earlier this month, the restaurant abandoned its regular menu to feature one spotlighting only porky goodness. Twenty-five pigs and hogs from family farms were used to create an amazing range of à la carte dishes from boudin blanc “Wellington” tart with sticky Barhi dates to smoked ham with kumquat-clove gravy to terrina of pork ears with horseradish to Valhrona chocolate-caramel tart with candy-coated pancetta. Yes, pig even in the desserts.

The dining room was packed the Saturday evening that my hubby, aka Meat Boy, and I were there. Diners eagerly eyed every dish that was carried out of the kitchen, pondering just which dishes to order, themselves. You could see diners unabashedly quizzing others nearby about the merits of particularly intriguing dishes on their table.

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much meat at one sitting. We started with Sardinian pork cheeks ($14). The second the dish was set down, you could smell the sweet, earthy perfume of saffron in it. Bite-size, incredibly tender slivers of pork had been braised with that pricey spice, as well as mint, aged provolone and a tad of polenta to give the sauce depth and body. We used crusty bread to happily sop up all that remained on the plate.

Next up, a dish that honestly doesn’t photograph well and might make a few people squeamish. But it was my favorite one of the night: Pappardelle nere with pork heart and wild mushroom ragu ($19.50).

Reddish-brown on reddish-brown, it was. And absolutely extraordinary, it tasted.

Pork blood goes into the pasta dough rather than water, giving it a much deeper color. Still with me? The super silky, tender fat noodles are coated with a thick, rich, ragu of mushrooms and finely chopped pork heart.

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Every Friday and Saturday night at One Market restaurant in San Francisco, a different animal stars in a very special menu.

At the restaurant, near the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, the “Weekly Beast” dinner is a $49 five-course prix fixe that showcases the versatility and deliciousness of a particular farm-raised animal from head to hoof or foot. It’s a chance to understand exactly how different parts of one animal — be it Duroc pig or Muscovy duck — can have such different flavors and textures. For those who aren’t quite ready to make that much of a commitment, the dishes also are available à  la carte.

Recently, Chef Mark Dommen invited me in as his guest to try his “Weekly Beast” dinner featuring goat from Marin Sun Farms in Point Reyes Station. Since I”ve only had goat once or twice before — and always just one dish of it at a time — I was eager to experience the nuances evident in various preparations of the animal all at once.

“Goat is to lamb what veal is to cow,” Dommen says, meaning that it’s almost lamb-lite in terms of flavor and texture.

Before the first goat dish arrived, Dommen sent out a few amuses and extra tastes my way. A shot glass of apple water was like a soft, barely set Jell-O shot. It got even more body with a float of lemon oil was at once refreshing yet ever so decadent.

Another tiny amuse followed, this one a single grilled shrimp with great charred flavor that was dunked inside a citrusy tequila-lime float. Finally, two mini Dungeness crab tacos that were bright and crunchy. I wrapped the two-bite treats in my favorite shiso leaves for an extra minty hit.

Now, it was time to get the goat party started.

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