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Offline Dannyboy53

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Our survival preparations
« on: December 08, 2015, 12:15:10 PM »
A hint at what Mary & I have done to prepare for most scenarios. Easily done in just a few hours a day for a couple of days a week.


Preserved & non-perishable foods




Food and medical supplies




Ammo (5000 rds 7.62X39, 2000 rds of .357Mag, .45ACP, .380ACP, .30-30, .270 & 12 gauge) Also 1100 rds .22 LR




We have stocked these items from the Survival/Preparation list posted here: http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=342.0   Those coming on-board with SKS-Files since last October, check out our list if you haven't done so before now.

Mary has been canning vegetables, fruit, and meat for some time and we have a considerable amount put away. With what we have done so far, Mary and I could survive approx a year. We recently got a food dehydrator and will be putting up dried fruit as well as making jerky.

People have asked us "how much is enough"? I don't think there is a good answer to that question other than in this case it's better to have too much than not enough, our preparations NEVER stop!




Offline Loose}{Cannon

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2015, 03:33:54 PM »
I know where I'm going when shtf.    :o

Very nice Danny!     thumb1
      
1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms... It doesn't matter how many Lenins you get out on the street begging for them to be taken.

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2015, 06:24:56 PM »
I know where I'm going when shtf.    :o

Very nice Danny!     thumb1

Thanks, and you're welcome here. Just bring some guns & clothes!
« Last Edit: December 08, 2015, 06:40:58 PM by Dannyboy53 »

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2015, 06:36:45 PM »
Thought I would add a couple of more things. I spoke of the food drier, ours has six shelves but more can be bought and added if desired. It's pretty much set, load and forget and I think, depending on what you are drying it will take several hours to all day or night.




Here is a photo of a neat idea Mary ran across and passed on to me a few days ago. Great idea for storing canned goods! I haven't got around to build it yet but as you can see it will save a lot of floor space. One or more can be built and installed in the house, garage, etc and it can be built as small or large as is needed. I don't have any plans, only this photo but it's pretty simple.



« Last Edit: December 09, 2015, 02:59:42 PM by Dannyboy53 »

Offline Loose}{Cannon

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2015, 07:01:53 PM »
We have a dehydrate device similar to yours, but not quit as fancy. 
      
1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms... It doesn't matter how many Lenins you get out on the street begging for them to be taken.

Offline running-man

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2015, 08:44:33 PM »
Excellent Danny!

With the food that Mary cans, how soon do you start rotating it?  By that I mean is there a certain deadline that exists where you would simply dump the contents instead of trying to eat them?
      

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2015, 12:04:10 PM »
Hi RM, Mary says if you keep the jars in a controlled temperature area the shelf life is about 2.5 to 3 years. Of course she dates her jar lids with a sharpie.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2015, 03:07:17 PM by Dannyboy53 »

Offline armedhippie

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2015, 12:46:25 AM »
Awesome Danny Good work buddy.  thumb1

A lil extra here and there, really adds up over time. Really digging the can storage, think I'll try to build one when I can salvage some scrap that fits the bill. I've run outta room myself and stacked boxes don't make for favorable rotation. Have you given any thought to different off site storage? I'm with ya on the never stop prepping, it gets to be a daily part of life. Me and my lil clan have passed the "could lock the door and not have to leave"point of over a year.  :)

I've just started really getting into drying different foods and Pineapple has become a favorite ( fresh or canned works great and are both a lil different). Do you have any tips for deer jerky? Gonna try some this weekend if you or Mary have any recipes to share.

Home canned foods are well worth the time and trouble for any 1 who doesn't. I grew up with 'em and heard many a story from my parents, that they wouldn't have made it through a few winters without it. 2.5-3 years is a good rule of thumb for sure and once you start, its easy to have cans around that long. For non-acidic foods I go to around 5 years and even push 6-7 if its there.

Now I'm not suggesting this but to put a lil perspective on how well a properly keep can "could" last...My mom found an unintentional stash of  pressure cooked navy beans. We didn't tell any1 how old they were and enjoyed them greatly with some corn bread and green beans. Lets just say 2000 was a great year for navy beans  :o  Not so much as an egg fart  :)) The oldest can of deer meat I've eaten was 6 years old. Sunlight, heat and humidity are what to keep in check.

I've started collecting Food ration bars lately. Shelf life of 5 years and portable. 2400 calories per pack and weigh in a a lil over a pound but....their about 5 bucks a piece. Not cheap but man are they handy, A full day of food for me and my lil 1's or about 3 days of "on the go" food for just me. Great for hiking, camping, and boating.
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 #8 on: December 10, 2015, 08:45:47 AM »
Thanks for adding in hippie! Floor space is at a premium around here also so I am going to build that can rack soon. Sorry about the deer jerky, I have never made any so I have no tips to pass along. But I have some friends in Arkansas that have made Venison jerky and as soon as I can catch up with them (truck drivers) I'll find out how they do it and pass it along here. Fish is another thing I want to try, gotta look into doing that!

Making jerky can be done in the oven however it ties up the oven for a day or so and usually the little momma don't like that. Well for that matter neither does poppa when he cant get his biscuits!

Shelf life is a lot longer as you point out for many things, I just gave the average life for most stuff. It really depends on what you preserve and how it's stored.

I'm going to look into these food bars you mentioned hippie, sounds like something to keep around for a quick meal or when on the move or whatever.

Thanks again for your input hippie, I look forward to your ideas!

Offline bbush44

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2015, 09:40:31 AM »
Between my father and I we make around 100 lbs of whole muscle deer jerky in the dehydrator. We mainly use the large muscle from the hind quarters of the deer. I don't have a special recipe  or anything, I got a little booklet from a local smoke shop years ago, and they also sell the liquid marinade that you can mix with all sorts of different flavors.
I usually do 5-15 lbs at a time depending on how much time I have, and this will usually yield about half of what you started with (EX. 5lbs -2.5lbs, 10lbs-5lbs, etc...) I take the frozen whole muscle from the freezer and let it defrost about half way, it is much easier to cut when it is half frozen. I slice them in to 1/4 to 3/8 pieces (doesn't have to be exact the thicker will just take longer to finish) and put them in a large bowl with a lid.
I then dump all the marinade and seasoning into the bowl, mix it up real good and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.
The next night I lay them all out on the trays of the dehydrator, set the temp at med-high, and forget it. I have found if you set it on high the meat ends up being tougher. I am a fan of the low and slow method. After a few hours I check through the trays and move them around and sort out the thinner pieces that might be done already.
Once it is finished I store them in ziploc bags.

Here is a similar method I found online that has a recipe. 
http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com/articles/best_tasting_venison_jerky.htm

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2015, 10:07:26 AM »
Good info BB and thanks, Mary was taking notes with this one!!

Offline Loose}{Cannon

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2015, 04:11:22 PM »
Never had deer jerkey... Whats it taste like!?!?    cry1
      
1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms... It doesn't matter how many Lenins you get out on the street begging for them to be taken.

Offline running-man

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2015, 04:17:03 PM »
Neat stuff Hippie & Danny.  We can lots of salsas, non-meat sauces, jellies, jams, and pickled things.  We've never gotten into canning anything containing meat or anything non-acidic and have never pressure canned before either.  I was mainly curious as to how those kept and from all the responses it seems as well if not better than what we do!  My wife really doesn't enjoy gravy at all, and while I and the lil' one would probably love it, she's simply not going to can something she doesn't 100% enjoy  ???

We try to rotate things such that nothing ever gets much more than 3 years old, but things get lost in the cupboards and found many years later.  If the color is off, the consistency is wrong, there are bubbles, or any type of growth, it gets chucked immediately.  If the color is ok, it gets opened and smelled.  If the smell is off, it gets chucked immediately.  If the smell is ok, I usually opt for a taste just to see how it's kept up.  That's about as far as I've gone though because I'm not going to risk getting wretchedly sick over a jar of homemade tomato sauce made in 2007. :)

In hard times when there might not be another jar until next season (or ever), you can bet that if it's even semi-edible we'll do our darnedest to utilize it.  thumb1
      

Offline Loose}{Cannon

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2015, 04:29:18 PM »


Is that canned corn?   Lol.     You know that stuff dont digest?   rofl
      
1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms... It doesn't matter how many Lenins you get out on the street begging for them to be taken.

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2015, 06:23:51 PM »
Running-man you folks already have a leg up on canning then! Your method of testing is pretty much what we use...eyeball test...smell test...then invite a neighbor over to taste it! ;)

Offline Dannyboy53

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2015, 06:26:43 PM »


Is that canned corn?   Lol.     You know that stuff don't digest?   rofl

Nope, only the pulp inside, not the hull. Several foods that are like that, black pepper is another I can think of off the top of my head. It has zero nutritional value, only flavoring!

Offline Phosphorus32

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2015, 06:28:04 PM »
If the color is off, the consistency is wrong, there are bubbles, or any type of growth, it gets chucked immediately.  If the color is ok, it gets opened and smelled.  If the smell is off, it gets chucked immediately.  If the smell is ok, I usually opt for a taste just to see how it's kept up.  That's about as far as I've gone though because I'm not going to risk getting wretchedly sick over a jar of homemade tomato sauce made in 2007. :)

In hard times when there might not be another jar until next season (or ever), you can bet that if it's even semi-edible we'll do our darnedest to utilize it.  thumb1

Under a desperate survival situation where you simply couldn't afford to throw out a suspect canned item, the main thing with canned goods that show bubbles (hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas) or bulging cans/lids (gas pressure), especially in protein rich products where Clostridium botulinum thrives is to cook thoroughly to inactivate the neurotoxic, paralyzing botulinum toxin (a protein).  Even after cooking, never feed suspect items to small children, since the extremely heat tolerant spores of Clostridium species can survive even boiling temperatures and can grow in the intestine and subsequently produce the toxin.  The latter is not a concern for adults unless they're severely immune compromised.

Offline armedhippie

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2015, 12:23:46 AM »
Never had deer jerkey... Whats it taste like!?!?    cry1

 :o That right there has to be remedied! When I make another batch or have some given to me...expect a package in the mail man.

bbush, A 100 pounds....that lasts what 2 maybe 3 weeks?  rofl rofl j/k Jerky is made for saving but dang it goes sooooooo quick in my house. I'm cool with low and slow also, How long does your jerky take? and have you noticed much difference if your trays are over loaded or would you suggest lots of space and less meat at 1 time? Have you ever tried ground deer jerky? It was my absolute fav growing up and I'm getting my aunt to teach me this year. You use a press to make flat sticks and its softer....Yum. Plus I kinda....already ground a whole deer minus the loins  already  :)) But since loin steaks have a tendancy to sit in my freezer, I was thinking of jerky'n some and grinding the rest up with pure bacon fat for hamburger steaks. ( I mixed in whole hog sausage and bacon with the rest of the deer this year. I've found that every year I have steaks the next year but...never have burger left, so just went with grinding the whole dang thing this year  rofl )

Danny I usually like to go cheap but when I saw the ration bars in the camping section of my local wally world...I had to try 'em. I pick up 1 or 2 a month and have quite a few already. Their high in protien, fat, carbs....basically good all around for meal replacement and a full belly with added vitamins as well.

For any1 wanting to get into pressure canning meat...Whole pork loins are a great place to start. Hit the sales right and you can pick up whole pork loins at less than $1.99 a pound at 8-12 pound avg. Trim the fat and cube the meat and fat into 1" cubes. Fill pint jars 3/4 full with lean meat cubes then add 'bout 3 cubes fat + 1/4 tsp salt. Then follow blue book or pressure canners time/pressure chart and BAM Instant "pulled pork" BBQ at the pop of the top anytime you want it. Its very tender and tastes great just heated up right out of the can. Even makes a great pork and dumplings.

If you've never seen canned deer meat...it looks odd in the jar. But don't let how it looks fool ya, Its fantastic and goes from a muddy red color to perfectly brown in the pan/pot. ( saying this because I've known people to be a lil grossed out when 1st seeing it and tossing out perfectly good meat.)

Thanks for the info Phos  thumb1 Great to know.
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 #18 on: December 11, 2015, 10:15:43 AM »
Never had deer jerkey... Whats it taste like!?!?    cry1

 :o That right there has to be remedied! When I make another batch or have some given to me...expect a package in the mail man.

bbush, A 100 pounds....that lasts what 2 maybe 3 weeks?  rofl rofl j/k Jerky is made for saving but dang it goes sooooooo quick in my house. I'm cool with low and slow also, How long does your jerky take? and have you noticed much difference if your trays are over loaded or would you suggest lots of space and less meat at 1 time? Have you ever tried ground deer jerky? It was my absolute fav growing up and I'm getting my aunt to teach me this year. You use a press to make flat sticks and its softer....Yum. Plus I kinda....already ground a whole deer minus the loins  already  :)) But since loin steaks have a tendancy to sit in my freezer, I was thinking of jerky'n some and grinding the rest up with pure bacon fat for hamburger steaks. ( I mixed in whole hog sausage and bacon with the rest of the deer this year. I've found that every year I have steaks the next year but...never have burger left, so just went with grinding the whole dang thing this year  rofl )

I don't think deer jerky taste any different than beef jerky. I'll send you some LC if I don't eat it all first.
AH- No it doesn't stick around very long. I have to hide it from myself to make it last more than a couple days.  :)
I usually start the dehydrator after work so 6PM or so and leave it run for several hours on med/high. As I sort through and flip pieces over while I am still awake. If the jerky bends instead of tears I leave it on longer. Depending on how big of batch I make, I will turn it down to low and leave it run over night. Checking it first thing in the morning 4AM, and it is usually finished up. Again checking if it bends. I would say it usually takes 8-10 hours.

I usually load the tray as full as I can get it, with most of the pieces touching each other, but not overlapping. As the meat starts to dry out, there will be gaps in between the pieces and I will start combining the trays. Not sure if it is necessary, but it is just what I do. Even though most people say you don't need to I also rotate the trays top to bottom throughout the whole process. It seems to ensure the majority of the meat gets done at the same time. If I cut a few pieces to thick I will leave them on 1 or 2 of the last trays longer.

I will make the ground jerky once I run out of whole muscle. I pretty much follow the same process as the whole muscle jerky. Defrost a few pounds of ground deer, mix in the marinade and let it sit for 24 hours. Then I use a jerky gun, which basically looks like a caulking gun, but for meat. Since the trays are round, I just start in the center and spin the tray around until it is completely full. I like the ground deer jerky, but I eat it way to fast.

Over the years with most of the butcher shops closing in the small towns around my home town, my dad has purchased all of the equipment to process the deer ourselves. During/after deer season his shop turns into our own little butcher shop.
We turn the back straps into tenderized deer steaks. (My favorite)
As mentioned before we use all of the whole muscles from the rear quarters for jerky.
We debone/defat/deslimy stuff the rest of the meat and coarse grind it. We then decide how much breakfast sausage, bratwurst, hamburger patties, and ground burger we are going to have and weigh them out into separate totes.  Then stick them back in the walk in cooler until we are ready to work on them.
For the breakfast sausage we buy pork butts, and debone them and coarse grind them. We then mix it 50/50 with coarse ground deer, and fine grind them into 1 lb packages, and freeze.
Depending on what flavor of bratwurst we make some call for mixing the deer with beef or pork. The ones that call for beef we will buy 70/30 beef in 10lb tubes from the local grocery store, the pork ones we use the same pork butts as the breakfast sausage. The seasoning packets are usually for 30lbs so we mix 15lbs deer 15lbs pork or beef and fine grind it. We then use a sausage stuffer, and put them into natural hog casings. We separate them out into meal size portions, wrap in plastic, freezer paper, and freeze. This year we made 30lbs each of Italian, German, and Chorizo.
There is a little contraption that attaches to the sausage stuffer that allows you to make 1/4 pound hamburger patties. For standard hamburger patties we mix the ground deer 50/50 with ground beef, fine grind them and run them through the stuffer. We put a piece of wax paper between each patty, and put three patties per package. We then wrap them in plastic, freezer paper and freeze.
We have added Jalapeno pieces from the garden to them also which turns out pretty tasty if you like a little heat. 
We also make bacon burger patties, where we buy 10lb boxes of bacon ends from the grocery store, coarse grind, mix 50/50 with ground deer, fine grind and run through the stuffer.
Whatever is left of ground deer we mix 50/50 with ground beef, fine grind, and put them in 1lb packages and freeze.

If you've never seen canned deer meat...it looks odd in the jar. But don't let how it looks fool ya, Its fantastic and goes from a muddy red color to perfectly brown in the pan/pot. ( saying this because I've known people to be a lil grossed out when 1st seeing it and tossing out perfectly good meat.)
We didn't can any deer this year, but we have in the past. I agree it looks a little funky after it has been canned. My favorite thing to do with canned deer is dump it into a pan on the stove on low heat, mix in BBQ sauce and it is basically a BBQ Beef sandwich.  Pretty tasty.

Offline Loose}{Cannon

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Re: Our survival preparations
« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2015, 10:39:36 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
      
1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms... It doesn't matter how many Lenins you get out on the street begging for them to be taken.