Food Preservation

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Comment by Meghan Rosenbaum on July 20, 2010 at 3:15pm

I put up 20 quarts of pickled beets yesterday. Next project - naturally fermented cucumber pickles. Does anyone have any experience with this process?

Comment by Lynn S on July 20, 2010 at 5:51am

Pat, thanks so much for the vinegar tip -- I'd never have thought of that one. Makes sense!

I did understand that you meant smoking meats only partially. A project for early fall on our homestead is a home-made smoker and it could pull double-duty if I could can some smoked meats.

This year, I'll need to do more with canned meats -- we are running out of freezer room. We even bought a new freezer that's larger than the old 23-year old freezer a few weeks ago. Despite the extra storage, we still need to be careful with what we put in there. We have a generator for back-up should we lose power (and that happened last year during the blizzard with almost 5 days of no power). Still, should we ever suffer a long-term power outage, as in if the SHTF, we'd be scrambling to thaw, cook, and can meats that couldn't be frozen any longer. Better to prepare meats for canning and store some that way.

Thanks again!

Comment by Pat Johnson on July 19, 2010 at 1:42pm

With this Homegrown group it could be a really really efficient hunting group. One of us shoot it, another clean it and still another would can it, smoke it, or salt it down and dry it! I actually thought of doing something like that while in Alaska. I could have salted down a thousand pounds of Salmon and preserved it dry as leather for years like in the old "Salt-Cod" days! P.S. I vote that if Mel joins she has to bring along her BIG fire fighting hubby and his BIG GUN!

Comment by Torry on July 19, 2010 at 12:35pm

We should!
http://www.homegrown.org/group/hunting

Comment by Torry on July 19, 2010 at 12:32pm

Hmm....should we start a hunting group?????

Comment by Pat Johnson on July 19, 2010 at 10:05am

Mel,
I'm reminded of my first camping trip to Alaska. My dad and I took a couple pistols (a 45 and a 38) with us and tent-camping & fly fishin all the away to the Arctic Ocean and back. We didn't see many other humans on the trip once we got north of Fairbanks but one local saw us near the Arctic Circle and commented that our pistols would probably piss off a big grizzly rather than stop him. I quickly replied that we planned to use the guns on ourselves in case the bear started nawing on us! He got a kick out of that and went on his way. I went to Alaska 3 more times but never bothered to take a pistol on the subsequent trips.

Comment by Pat Johnson on July 19, 2010 at 9:55am

Lynn,
If I plan to can the meat I don't smoke it as long as I normally would. About an hour of hot-smoke is enough to get some smoke rings and plenty of flavor and it can finish cooking in the jar if needed. I've never canned staight from a cold-smoker but I have canned smoked sausage that had been cold smoked and then refridgerated. Generally a pint is about the right amount forone meal for two people (about 1 pound of meat). I've tried the smoke-then-can method on Corned beef to make it into Pastrami. I've tried it on sausage in casings and I've done fish that way. All of them came out pretty tasty. I use a 4 pint pressure cooker for my test canning so I don't end up with too many mistakes if the product doesn't turn out as well as I'd planned. I always make sure I wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar so the all seal properly (especially meat because of the oil and fat)

Comment by Lynn S on July 19, 2010 at 8:57am

I'm loving the idea of pre-smoking, then canning meats. That is a fantastic idea. Any more tips, ideas, etc?!

Comment by Mel G on July 19, 2010 at 8:48am

LOL! When you have a 6'2", 240lb+ Fire Fighter hubby standing right beside you with a big ole whopper of a gun, you don't really worry too much about not getting that kill shot (even though I do for the animals sake ~ I don't want it to suffer), because you know that if you don't get it down with the 1st shot, he'll finish the job. :) My little girlie self just cannot shoulder anything bigger than the 22. Although I do have a 12 gauge handy when he's not home, just in case... Hmmm, I've never really thought of it as a sport. I think of it along the lines of helping to provide for my family (I think that makes it easier in my mind).

Pst ~ Pat & Torry ~ I don't think it has anything to do with being brave or anything like that. I put it more along the lines of stupidity. LOL Or stubbornness.

Thank you for all the tips with canning meat! I've got a recipe book for game, but none for canning it. If anyone has any suggestions on a good canning game (or meat - I'll adapt it to game) recipe book, I'm all ears. In past years, it's always been smoked or put in the freezer. I'm really trying to move away from the freezer as much as possible.

Comment by Pat Johnson on July 18, 2010 at 1:15pm

P.S. Mel,
I'm with Torry on the hog hunting with a .22 or even a bow and a .22. You must have a little "Crocodile Dundee in you. I'm too old to be that brave. At my age you spend a lot more time thinking about self preservation and a lot less about the sport! Shoot em with a cannon is my motto;-)

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