Long Term Food Storage ...

[BadgeBunny]

OK, guys ... Thread No. 1 ... If you guys don't make me work too much, I'll see about doing some more of these once I figure out if I am gonna survive this bout of hunta virus that seems to have settled in my throat and lungs ...

Long term food storage conjures up a lot of different things to everybody. Some folks can everything they get their hands on, some folks dehydrate, some folks freeze. Anybody who's a "real" prepper has mylar bags FULL of stuff ... Those that have the money buy that expensive FD/DH stuff ... and all that is fine and dandy for right now ...

BUT ...

What happens if you have a whole deer or hog or beef to "put up" and need to preserve it the "old fashioned" way? Are any of you guys familiar with charcuterie? I'm kinda worried about the botulism thing (my grandma nearly died from botulism when I was a kid. You have not seen a sick person until you have seen someone sick with botulism. YIKES!). But, I've also heard that you if you have never had home-cured bacon (made without nitrates) that you haven't lived.

Besides, I think charcuterie would be a good skill to have for a couple of reasons ... One for the here and now (I've become a "non-fan" of "manufactured" foods) and one for later (just in case all these naysayers are right and my world goes to **** tomorrow ... )

Talk amongst yourselves ...

(Don't make me come back in here and straighten you out!! You guys are gonna get along, dammit ... And you are gonna like it!! )

 

[like2shoot]

Home made bacon is awesome! I've got a friend that smokes his own and says once you've tried it you'll never buy store bought bacon again. It was very good. I've given this same subject some thought lately. I build/use smokers and I've wondered about preserving meat without refrigeration. Never heard of the charcuterie thing, I'll have to check it out.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Here's a couple of books I've ordered on the subject. (Amazon is a dangerous thing! :wink2) I kinda think it covers salting, smoking and curing, as well as offal cooking (otherwise known in polite circles as "whole animal butchering"). GC is less than keen on the subject of using "everything". I say if you are gonna go to the time and trouble to raise your own, you need to get your money's worth out of it. (My grandparents had a LOT to do with that attitude. My grandma never saw a brain she didn't like ... lol)

http://www.amazon.com/The-River-Cottage-Meat-Book/dp/1580088430/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2DEN2ZWLWXA9Z&coliid=I3ECTZ8QS5L8PG

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2DEN2ZWLWXA9Z&coliid=I1T0VEURX3E3J0

How big are the smokers you build? We have a little one (well it's huge for us) that we use for turkeys, ribs, etc. but there's a little smokehouse over on Buy4Less's parking lot that really intrigues me ...

 

[jakerz]

For the ones that refuse to read a book, here is a short video I found informative on preserving meat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tGmjG0U5cw

It doesn't cover everything, and I would definitely recommend getting a book to go along with it. But it's a start.

Thanks for the amazon links BB. I love/hate that website. Spend wayyy too much money on there.

 

[BadgeBunny]

For the ones that refuse to read a book, here is a short video I found informative on preserving meat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tGmjG0U5cw

It doesn't cover everything, and I would definitely recommend getting a book to go along with it. But it's a start.

Thanks for the amazon links BB. I love/hate that website. Spend wayyy too much money on there.

Yep ... but don't tell GC ... It's a secret ... lol

 

[like2shoot]

How big are the smokers you build? We have a little one (well it's huge for us) that we use for turkeys, ribs, etc. but there's a little smokehouse over on Buy4Less's parking lot that really intrigues me ...

Google "ugly drum smoker". It's basically a repurposed 55 gallon drum. Nothing fancy or proprietary. Just something I saw and built. I haven't tackled a large, weld up, on a trailer job yet. I've thought about it, but lack some of the tools.

 

[SMS]

Charcuterie like in prosciutto? I loves me some prosciuttoo....

You have my attention BB!

One little tidbit I found when looking into brining for preservation was the requirement for sodium nitrate, in addition to salt. Something from a green leafy vegetable, like celery juice.

 

[Lurker66]

Ive never tackled curing meat. Ive seen my gramma do it and helped her. She did it all.

But butchering, quartering, cleaning, ive got that down. Wrap it up n toss in freezer.

I guess im just skeered to try. And dont wanna screw up a whole hog.

 

[jakerz]

Ive never tackled curing meat. Ive seen my gramma do it and helped her. She did it all.

But butchering, quartering, cleaning, ive got that down. Wrap it up n toss in freezer.

I guess im just skeered to try. And dont wanna screw up a whole hog.

You could try just doing a section. I think I might try this myself next time.

 

[BadgeBunny]

OK, that does it ... I gotta give this a try ... If for no other reason that to get that SMS feller to follow me around droolin' ...

I think I have a good place to salt cure a ham ... Hmmmmm ... You guys know GC is gonna leave me over this, right?? He already thinks I'm daft because I want a couple of dwarf goats. It's only two ... AND they ARE dwarf ... *sigh*