Jonathan decided it was time to process this year's deer, so last night he took it out and left it on top of the freezers to thaw. It hardly began to soften, so the carcass sat out on our kitchen table all day to thaw. We finally started the process about 4 this afternoon.
No one really had the heart to do the project, but we forged ahead and have half of the work done. I guess after doing this year's chickens, pig, and ducks we are a bit tired of working with raw meat. We'll finish the rest tomorrow.
Jonathan plans to make pemmican this year. We tried a recipe for it about 4 years ago, but for the fat we used peanut butter and it was nasty stuff. We found a different recipe and will give that one a try; it calls for using the fat from the deer. Jonathan plans to mix that with dried raspberries. It still doesn't sound appealing, but we'll see how it goes.
5 comments:
Bless your heart. Ya'll are REAL pioneers now!!! :)
Love the snow pictures!!
I totally relate, our last butchering will be beginning to middle of January, our two pigs!
Pemmican, is that an Indian recipe? It seems I've heard about it before. IMHO, I think I'd get beef suet instead of the deer. Venison fat is what makes the meat have such a gamey taste. We love venison, just with the beef in the freezer, we do't need the meat, and that is why Mike hunts, not for sport.
Cold and windy heading your way Lynn. Some chances of snow too! It's -15 to -20F with the windchill, right now. I dislike this frigid windchill more than anything else. If it was that cold without wind, it's tolerable.
Have a blessed weekend, stay snug, it's heading right for you!
Marci,
I think it would be better to be called a reluctant pioneer!
Kelle,
Thanks for the heads up. I was bracing for the Alberta Clipper they warned us about, but all we got was 6" of snow and not the bitter cold. HOWEVER, last night the wind chills were supposed to be -20 degrees. I checked the forecast for tonight, and the regular temp. without wind chill is supposed to be -15, so you are right, frigid temps are coming. We won't be above zero at night for a while. No fun, since we have a calf due any time starting next week.
Kelle,
I forgot to say pemmican is a weird concoction from the Native Americans consisting of dried meat, fat and fruit! It's supposed to be all you need to keep you alive. I'm hoping we never have to check that out!
Lynn,
Here's our forecast; Last night(7th) it got down to -7 but add in windchill and it was-18F. Today(8th) the high is to be -1F and windchill of -11F. Oh YEAH(insert rolling eyes here) tommorrow(9th) the wind is to blow 10-20mph, bringing the daytime high of 2F to -35 to -40F.
I'm already so sick of this frigid weather,grrrr... and January is when this stuff typically happens. By then I just tell myself Feb, is coming quickly. Now all we have to look forward to is a month of off and on frigid next month< Oh raspberries>
Breaking the troughs open is a three time a day chore and then we have to haul water from the house two times daily. The piles of ice we've strained out of the troughs is already 2-3+ ft tall. Our animals have it, as good as yours, but the rest out there, I feel so sorry for, even the wild birds.
By 10th, 11th and 12th it's supposed( they change it every day, so....take it with a grain of salt) be making a slow climb back into the low to mid 20'sF. The overnight lows are still sub zero clear until Sat. and Sunday though.
Sorry for the bad news, but it's a heads up anyway.
Blessings for your day, we're baking and sticking close to the wood cookstove, when not outside hauling, or busting open waters or doing chores.
Kelle
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