Cleaning Freezers and Corning Beef Part 1

I have been plowing my way through our freezers in an attempt to get them cleaned for the first time in about 3 years.  The only reason I know it's been 2 years is because I've found meat that dates back to 2010.

If it's been properly sealed, the meat is still fine...but I am trying to get all the old stuff used up ASAP to make room for the new meat that we'll be harvesting over the next month or so.

So yesterday I thawed a whole, untrimmed beef brisket.  I buy these when they go on sale (usually for .99/lb).  Obviously we use them for BBQs but I also use the fat for making venison sausage, grind them for ground beef, and perhaps my favorite brisket use....corning.

I LOVE corned beef, and home corned beef is the best.  For this one I've trimmed the fat...

I'll be rendering the fat and making suet cakes for the chickens, but that's another post.

Once the bulk of the fat has been removed, I cut the brisket into 2 sections.  The leaner section will be corned brisket that I will be canning in a week or so.  The fattier section will be corned, then smoked to make a lovely pastrami.

Corning beef is very simple.  First you need a non-metallic container (and apparently a cluttered counter top)

Then you need water, Tender Quick, pickling spices, and garlic.  You must have lots of garlic even though I didn't manage to get it into the picture.

My recipe is simple.  For every 4 cups of water you need 1 cup of Tender Quick.  You can use salt and pink salt in place of the Tender Quick, but I really like this product for corning beef.  You need enough of the TQ/Water mixture to cover the meat well.  Mix it in the bucket until the TQ is dissolved.  Meanwhile I lightly toast the spices to bring out the oils.....

Then put the spices into the brine, add the meat, and cover with some sort of plate to weigh it down.  I got these really nice clear square plates at a garage sale this Summer and I love how well one fits right into the top of this bucket.  It's gonna be great for making sauerkraut this year!

Then stick the whole thing in the fridge.  The meat will have to be flipped every day, and it will be finished curing in about a week.

I'll keep you updated.

Preparing for winter

As summer winds down and we creep into fall I start to think about what needs to be done to get ready for the end of the year.  Winter is NOT my favorite season, in fact I despise the cold.  I thank God that I live in Texas and that He gives us mild winters....although anything below 50ºF is absolutely frigid to me, and frost and snow are unbearable for more than 1 day in a row.  Whether it's due to my achy bones, or due to growing up in the South I don't know.  All I know is that I hibernate during the winter months, and do a lot of prep in the fall so that I can afford that luxury.

Of course there is still plenty of work to do during the winter months as well, but the work is cyclic.  I do much more cooking, baking, and sewing during the winter months while I'm trapped indoors.

One of our biggest concerns each winter is having enough hay for the animals to get us through Jan and Feb;  about 60 bales that must be bought, stacked, and stored...because both money and hay are scarce during those months, and the goats will never survive without plenty of hay to keep their bellies warm.  My goal is to have 100 bales by the end of Nov, which gives us the 60 needed for Jan/Feb and 40 to use for Dec and March that should get us through till the spring grasses emerge.  Our primary hay source during milking season is alfalfa hay in the form of Chaffhaye, but during the winter they need the long stemmed grasses in their rumen to generate body heat and keep their unborn kids growing.

Of course it looks much better once it's stacked in the barn...

Speaking of kids.  I have no idea what kidding season is going to be like this year.  Not that it's ever all that predictable.  I believe that Holly and Rita are both bred.  They should be our only first fresheners.  I think Tina is bred, and she should be first to kid.  And I bred Joy and Faith to Ditto.

However as we do nearly every year,  we've had 3 occasions with lovesick bucks escaping their pens.  Each time was marked on the calendars so that we can back track and determine parentage and due dates in the future.  We're still on milk test until Jan 1, so I'm planning to milk the does through without breeding if possible.  Joy should be the only milker to freshen.

I am hoping to keep kidding season a bit light next year since we have a new grandson due Jan 24.
I've also been filling jars and filling the pantry.  There are a lot of good sales going on this time of year, and we've got a lot of empty jars since I didn't do much canning over the summer.  We put up potatoes last week...I found them for $.30/lb and they were nice spuds...

So I bought about 50 pounds to put up and get us through the year...for a total of about $15.  Not too shabby.  I always can my potatoes in chicken stock....

Next on the list was chicken.  Our grocer had split chicken breasts on sale for $.99/lb which is a great score since I can remove the skin and bones for making stock....and then can the meat.  I'll be doing a lot of chicken since we use a LOT.  A pint jar of chicken breast makes a great casserole, soup, or salad...and will easily feed 6 people or more if you stretch it.

I am doing them in batches of about 25#.  First I remove all the meat ... the skin and bones goes into an open roaster and cooked in a 350º oven until dark golden and caramelized...

Then the bones are added to a large stock pot with onion, garlic, celery, and carrots....covered with water and kept at a simmer for about 20 hours.  Once strained and canned....I try to make GALLONS of this every year and use it for cooking most every day.

When I cut the meat up for canning I try to remove as much fat as possible...and the meat is cut into cubes.

$25 worth of chicken made 13 quarts + 1 pint of stock; and 12 pints of meat.

I'm pressing to get this all done because we'll start processing our own meat in just a couple of weeks.  Our pigs Biscuit and Gravy are getting big.  Gravy (the dark one) is already about 200# and will be first.  Biscuit has always been a little smaller and we'll give him a couple of extra weeks to grow.

This little guy keeps me from blogging as often as I'd like, but maybe now that we're indoors more I will be able to post more!

My Favorite Fungus

I found some mushrooms marked down at the store yesterday...

So I bought 6 packages......saving 1 package to use fresh....these 5 are going through the canner.  

We love mushrooms.  I buy them any time I can find them at an affordable price, and preserve them accordingly.  If I'm in a time crunch, I dry them...but my preferred method is canning.

With Button mushrooms, sometimes you can find enough small ones to can whole.  Most of the time, they need to be sliced....but anything smaller than these can be canned whole...

So first I sort them...those small beauties can be used for a great meal if you only have a tiny bit of meat.  Slice the meat (beef or venison) very very thin.  Sautee with a jar of  whole mushrooms and make a thick gravy.  Serve over rice, noodles, or over a thick piece of bread.

Most of them will be sliced for canning.....

I get the jars ready....half pints and pints....

Put the mushrooms in a pan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.....

Then they are ready for the jars.

I always prepare more jars than what I think I'll need. These are ready, but first I add salt.

1/4 tsp for half pints 

1/2 tsp for pints

Process at 10# for 45 minutes.  

I'm Sorry, I Can't Come To the Phone Right Now....I'm Dressing My Gourd

I need to blog more.  I know.  I have gotten back on Facebook and that is the killer of all blogs.

I know.

But FB does keep me aware of the world around me.  It gives me links to information that I need to know.  Specifically, I need to know what is going on in our country and what I can do as a citizen to do my part.

This country is in turmoil because the citizen no longer feels that they have a voice.

Okay there were like twelve paragraphs I just deleted.

So back to my point.  IT IS   F A L L ! !

Fall is our reward for all the work we've done this year!  

Today  Gourdy goes from her summer wear to her fall apparel.

Gourdy was a gift to me from a friend that I miss very much.....

By the way, if you think this is strange, you should see what the dogs are wearing.