Author Topic: Our survival preparations  (Read 16298 times)

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Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2015, 11:29:10 AM »
Hippie that's what I was thinking..."I usually like to go cheap"...and it's too expensive to stock up a room full of it. But it sounds like a good thing to have when on the move or for a quick meal as I said before. We buy meat at a Save a Lot grocery in Lake City near here, much cheaper than anywhere else.

Mary uses one of those pressure canning cookers and those things are the best thing since sliced bread! She is using it this morning to seal up in jars our first batch of beef jerky which turned out real good. We are both a little bummed out because we can't get the food saver vacuum sealer to work! I really wanted to seal them up in bags.

I have never tried jerking pork, sounds like it would be nasty even though I love pork! But I guess I'll try that next. Mary has used her pressure canner to put up pork, beef, bacon, vegetables, fruit and we'll can whatever else we can think of!

We believe times are going to get to be very hard in the future, possibly not too far off. It's never too late to start getting ready.

Offline armedhippie

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #21 on: December 11, 2015, 11:35:49 AM »
Sounds like I may have to not temp the flavor demons like RM dont wanna feed the mosinitus.   rofl

I thought deer would taste different then cow.....  :-\

Wait...  Is mosinitus directly related to eating deer jerky??    :o

Well....I'm not gonna say it is...but...come to think of it....I may need RM's addy as well  rofl Now I've heard Reindeer jerky is a given. It'll have you digging through every LGS and pawnshop in the country.  :))

Think of good deer as Grass fed, organic, very lean beef. IMO the fat of any animal is what will start throwing different flavor profiles and with jerky....you go lean, lean, lean. I've had real gamey deer given to me in the past and I would assume it might transfer to jerky, but don't know for sure. What bbush said about debone/defat/and deslimeing the meat is key. I even go as far as "bleeding" the meat in ice water/ salt water if it hasn't had a chance to hang. Every1 has a different method and some deer will be gamier than others ( Like a buck at height of the rut) I go a tad OCD with trimming.

Bbush....That answered my questions perfectly. Thanks man  thumb1 Some great info there. Sounds like you got going on, what I'm trying to get to. Man would I love to try making some Brawts. Come to think of it, moms got a jerky caulking gun like you mentioned. Think I'll give it a try this year.

Danny, you'll like this ...I've involved my lil 1's in the meat processing every year since they were still in diapers. People think that it might "traumatize" the lil 1's but its quite the opposite. I've found that its not till 1 gets older and is taught that, that is "gross". My kids were very curious and happy to be a part of the food making process. Heck my cousins kids were flabergasted that fast food burgers came from cows and not from deer.  rofl With non-meat processing...the more lil hands stringing green beans, the better  chuckles1 I always joke with my kids that, 1 of the reasons I had 'em was to get around all those pesky child labor laws.  chuckles1 chuckles1

Yep Danny, Its never to late to start. Even being pricey, I still stock up on the ration bars for the reasons you mentioned. Think of 'em as a highly nutritious granola bar that will last and last. Their vacumed sealed in a type of foil. Water proof and very toteable.
Hippies are like stray cats...Feed 'em once and they never leave...then they stink up your couch.

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #22 on: December 11, 2015, 11:41:12 AM »
Thanks to hippie, phosphorus and BB for lots of danged good info!

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #23 on: December 11, 2015, 11:47:03 AM »
Hippie that's one of the reasons our grand kids say they like coming over, getting involved in so many interesting things like you do with your kids! We ride horses, fish, target shoot...geez, the list goes on and on!

They are learning things that may be useful to them one day but the most important thing is we are creating some great memories for them!

Offline armedhippie

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #24 on: December 11, 2015, 12:01:26 PM »
Oh yeah gotta teach the next generations these things or it will disappear. You hit the nail on the head with creating memories with the lil 1's.  thumb1 30 years from now...they wont remember what I-phone or different app they had but...they most certainly will remember that fishing/camping trip or how dad/grandad taught them how to make a log cabin or teepee fire. My 7 year old was grinning ear to ear talking to his maw-maw and paw-paw about how he showed the older kids in his scout group how to restart a fire that every1 there said was out. He did it with a lil kindling and a 3 ft section of metal pipe.

I always joke about how being dirt poor would be a step up and how I have a 30 yr loan on a pot to pi.....well you know the old saying  rofl rofl But memories cost next to nothing and will mean the world to the young'uns.  :)
Hippies are like stray cats...Feed 'em once and they never leave...then they stink up your couch.

Offline bbush44

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #25 on: December 11, 2015, 12:17:39 PM »
Sounds like I may have to not temp the flavor demons like RM dont wanna feed the mosinitus.   rofl

I thought deer would taste different then cow.....  :-\

Wait...  Is mosinitus directly related to eating deer jerky??    :o

Well....I'm not gonna say it is...but...come to think of it....I may need RM's addy as well  rofl Now I've heard Reindeer jerky is a given. It'll have you digging through every LGS and pawnshop in the country.  :))

Think of good deer as Grass fed, organic, very lean beef. IMO the fat of any animal is what will start throwing different flavor profiles and with jerky....you go lean, lean, lean. I've had real gamey deer given to me in the past and I would assume it might transfer to jerky, but don't know for sure. What bbush said about debone/defat/and deslimeing the meat is key. I even go as far as "bleeding" the meat in ice water/ salt water if it hasn't had a chance to hang. Every1 has a different method and some deer will be gamier than others ( Like a buck at height of the rut) I go a tad OCD with trimming.

AH - I have to agree with you 100% on deer vs beef taste. We are very OCD when we are processing deer, and a lot the gamey taste does come from the fat, unlike beef where it adds a good flavor. I have used the "grass fed, organic beef" term to several deer meat haters over the years. My biggest battle is with my girlfriend on this topic. Her ex used to deer hunt, and they would run a deer, shoot it, let it ride around in the back of the truck for hours and then drop it off at the locker plant. Then have it thrown in with the rest of the deer that where harvested much of the same way. When they got their meat back from the locker they would over cook all of it, and **** it was gamey.
I field dress my deer minutes after it has been shot. Several times I have shot a deer at first light, jump out of my stand, gut it, wedge something in its ribs to cool it down and get back in my stand. After an hour or so the deer are back under my stand. I have shot deer hours apart from the same stand. When my hunt is over I flush any remaining blood from the deer and load it in the truck. We then hang them in a walk in cooler until we are ready to process them. It is really all in how you handle the meat after you have harvested it.
My GF will eat deer now, and actually will request it when I am grilling. I have to hide all the jerky from her too!
The only reason we add the beef to our ground deer is for the fat. Otherwise it is to lean and won't stay together if you try to make a hamburger patty.

Bbush....That answered my questions perfectly. Thanks man  thumb1 Some great info there. Sounds like you got going on, what I'm trying to get to. Man would I love to try making some Brawts. Come to think of it, moms got a jerky caulking gun like you mentioned. Think I'll give it a try this year.
I am very thankful my dad has picked up all of this equipment over the years, and shown me how to use it. We usually process 4-6 deer a year and have gotten pretty good at it.
The brawts are time consuming, but are pretty tasty.
This is similar to the stuffer we use, but I believe ours is 10lbs.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/food-processing/sausage-making|/pc/104791680/c/104723280/sc/104552280/cabela-s-5-lb-sausage-stuffer-with-steel-gear/1968590.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1117843
Here is the kits, that come with the seasoning and cases.
http://www.himtnjerky.com/Sausage-Kits/

Danny, you'll like this ...I've involved my lil 1's in the meat processing every year since they were still in diapers. People think that it might "traumatize" the lil 1's but its quite the opposite. I've found that its not till 1 gets older and is taught that, that is "gross". My kids were very curious and happy to be a part of the food making process. Heck my cousins kids were flabergasted that fast food burgers came from cows and not from deer.  rofl With non-meat processing...the more lil hands stringing green beans, the better  chuckles1 I always joke with my kids that, 1 of the reasons I had 'em was to get around all those pesky child labor laws.  chuckles1 chuckles1


I've helped my father and late grandfather process deer for as long as I can remember. It is probably why I still deer hunt today and choose to process my own instead of take it to a locker plant. I rarely have any straight beef in my freezer, and prefer deer. My 8 year old nephew has helped us the last 3 years, and really enjoys it.  As he gets older he really is a big help, and is picking up on the process very well. My sister says the only downfall is he wants to wear nothing but camo, and won't quit talking about when he gets to shoot his first deer.

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #26 on: December 11, 2015, 12:48:50 PM »
Thanks for the links BB. Until about two yrs ago we were taking in 2-3 deer a season but haven't since then. What venison we have had this past year was provided by our daughters & sons in law! Now that I have my worst health issues behind me I hope to change that.

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #27 on: December 12, 2015, 05:43:41 PM »
This is the seasoning we are using and it is really good. I haven't tried making my own but maybe in the future. I picked this up at the Save a Lot grocery in Heber Springs, Arkansas and I saw it in the one here in Lake City Florida. I'm sure one could pick it up most anywhere. One package will do 15 lbs of meat.


Offline armedhippie

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #28 on: December 12, 2015, 06:25:59 PM »
When reading around for recipes, That brand of cure was mentioned often and favorably. I'm looking for a cure to use in my ground deer jerky soon, might have to give it a try.
Hippies are like stray cats...Feed 'em once and they never leave...then they stink up your couch.

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #29 on: December 12, 2015, 07:15:10 PM »
Hippie we really like it, it has a good rich flavor without being overpowering or too strong.

Offline bbush44

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #30 on: December 14, 2015, 09:32:15 AM »
I've used that brand before also, and it turned out great. You can usually find several different flavors by them at nearly any grocery store around town.