Dont be scared of rendering fat! The great news is no matter the fat youre rendering, the method is the same. No fancy tools needed, although a meat grinder will make the job quicker. Years ago I did a post … Continue reading How to Render Fat {Pork, Beef, Bear = Lard + Tallow}
Last year I managed to take photos of *most* of the process of butchering a deer. Butchering doesn’t include the hanging, skinning, gutting, that’s all done before and I’m usually at home with the boys while he does that. Mac has expressed interest in helping with it this coming fall which is neat as he’s always had a healthy fear of large animals, even when they’re dead. Continue reading Butchering Deer: The Front Quarters and Backstraps
Try this simple and delicious way to cook Pan-Fried Deer Heart. (Even if you don’t like other organs, the heart is delicious!) Continue reading Pan Fried Deer Heart
Now many of you aren’t going to like this. I’m writing it for those who are in the position I was last summer. I wish I had read something like this, and that’s why I’m putting this out there! From August 2011-June 2012 we tried breeding our milking cow. She had multiple calves before this one, but we sure had troubles. She had a miscarriage, as well as just not taking through AI (Artificial Insemination). P’Lady was a small cow and couldn’t be bred to anything but a Jersey, due to hybrid vigor. (Sometimes a cross breed will end up … Continue reading Why We Ate Our Milk Cow
The only thing available to us is whole chickens, as we choose to raise and butcher chickens ourselves. For the first few years the only way I cooked chicken was by roasting it, eating it, then using the leftovers for sandwiches, soups, etc. Then I had this amazing brainwave. Why don’t I cut up the chicken, so that I can have different cuts to work with! Liiiiightbulb. (I love the movie Despicable Me!) So here is the parts all cut up in a picture. It looks a little crazy, but really, a whole bunch of cut up chicken? … Continue reading The Economics of Buying a Whole Chicken