We’ve been raising meat chickens for several years now. Every year we learn something new and seem to generally be improving our system. We love raising the Freedom Ranger broilers (or whatever you want to call them) in particular. We love watching our future roast chicken running around eating what it was created to eat- […] Read more…
Since we began butchering our own pork, we’ve had to experiment with recipes, trying different things for meats like bacon, ham, and sausages. While we haven’t struck gold in yet in the bacon & ham department, we were very pleased with the kielbasa made last year using the natural casings prepared from our hog. In […] Read more…
I’d like to share with you my video tutorial of how to clean hog intestines for use as casings in sausage making. Because that’s how casings were traditionally made. And because by using the casings, just that one extra part of the whole beast, you’re able to stretch your investment in the animal and respect […] Read more…
{Breaking Down into Primals} {Sausage Making Crew} {Snacking on Stale Bread} {The Butchering Frame… and kitty finished up snacking} {Before} {After} (This is one of the cure recipes we’re trying…) {Wet Brine for other Hams} {And this is what it’s all about! The BACON!!} {Because one shot simply isn’t enough.} {Thanks Gals!} 2014 Hog Butchering […] Read more…
Did you know that it’s possible to estimate how much your pig weighs simply by using a tape measure (or string, piece of baling twine, etc…) and a calculator? By taking 2 simple measurements and applying them to a formula, you can get a general idea of the live weight of your hog. We’ve been […] Read more…
| Butchering, celebrations, food preservation, In the Kitchen, our homestead, winter
•December in our home begins with a celebration. A celebration of the gift of this precious little girl, our second daughter, Lydia. My poor children with a mother as practical as they have… I struggle with gift-giving, so much of which you see is so incredibly wasteful, poor stewardship of resources because it’s all such […] Read more…
| Broiler Chickens, Butchering, food preservation, In the Barnyard
There’s nothing like raising your own meat to make you really appreciate the value of the creatures’ life, not to mention your own hard work and financial investment in each animal. It makes you want to do things that you never would have dreamed you would have done before. It makes you want to make […] Read more…
| Broiler Chickens, Butchering, cost analysis, In the Barnyard
Let’s talk chicken. Because we butchered ours last weekend and I have an irritating little habit of sharing with you all the details from butchering day. I did in 2011 (twice), 2012, and frankly I don’t see why 2013 should be any different. Today, I’m reviewing the day and then opening up the ledger to give […] Read more…
This weekend we slaughtered, skinned, and eviscerated our first steer. He was a 2 1/2 year old Irish Dexter and was born onto our homestead to our first family milk cow, Maybelle. We chose Dexters because they are dual-purpose, hardy, thrifty, and supposedly make a nice grass-fed beef. That way any calves born into our […] Read more…
One Year Ago: ~The 105th Psalm~ Dark weather means photography slows down some. So will these posts then. Hence the two week span since the last one. That doesn’t mean things have slowed down on the homestead however. Butchering season has begun with the steer, soon to be followed this week by the broiler chickens, […] Read more…
| Butchering, Cattle
Well, aging weather is here. Looks like this will be the first week of the winter where temperatures will be hanging steady around the 40 degree mark. If the forecast holds true, then we’ll be able to age our beef for at least a week, hopefully longer, but in the absence of a cooler how […] Read more…
| book review, Butchering, food preservation, In the Kitchen
One Year Ago Today: ~Week 44~ I recently (and finally!) explored my library options after having moved. I loved my last library and it’s inter-loan system and was terribly afraid that I would have my source of free educational reading material dry up with the move. Thankfully, it looks like the new system is even better! […] Read more…