sjemac

Ringnecks have long been one of my favorite ducks to eat. Don't get them too often in my present location however.

I actually used the pigs to clear up some of the underbrush on our place so I fenced them into about a 1/4 acre at a time to accomplish this. I simply moved them when they had ripped up the area to to my satisfaction. You can raise one in a 50 sq ft pen if you wish but this is not the best quality of life for the pig. By putting pigs on fresh earth (earth that hasn't had pigs on it for a couple of years) you can avoid having to give dewormers and antibiotics to the pigs. X 2 on the need for two pigs. They grow faster and are happier with a buddy. We kept one for ourselves and sold off the other to cover the cost of feed for the second pig.

Now this is what I really wanted to raise my own pork for: Nice fat cap. Look at the marbling. After pan roasting: With some carmelized onions. Inside. A little on the overdone side for me normally but the marbling kept the meat moist and tender. Saved about 5lbs of uncured belly to use over Christmas holidays.

Freezing should have no effect in the short term. In fact I just defrosted and cooked a moose loin that was vac packed in 2008 and it was just as good as the day I packed it. Med rare to rare is still the way to go. In my house if you want a steak of any kind well done -- you'd better order out for it.

I shot these myself while deer hunting (I carry a little shotgun in a backpack for such targets of opportunity). Usually we go after them seriously using dogs and better shotguns. I've hunted them all and bagged all of them but Blue Grouse who live quite high up in the mountains and are difficult get a bead on. After Ruffed grouse, ptarmigan are my favorite to eat (the famed Red Grouse of Scotland are simply a sub-species of willow ptarmigan that don't turn white in winter). The birds pictured are different species who can exist in the same area because they exploit different food supplies. The crop of nearly every spruce grouse this time of year will look the same as the one pictured. Same goes for the ruffed grouse. The legs and keel bone go into a stock pot (the tendons in the legs are so tough they are essentially bones). The innards, head, wings and back go to the cats. We also have partridge, pheasant and wild turkey but they are all non-native birds.

There are 5 species of huntable grouse in Alberta with Ruffed Grouse and Spruce Grouse being the most common (the other 3 are Blue Grouse, Sharptailed Grouse, and Ptarmigan). I was lucky enough this fall to pick up a brace each of ruffed grouse and spruce grouse on the same day and decided to do a taste test. All the birds were hung for a week before gutting and cleaning. Ruffed grouse in foreground. Spruce Grouse Ruffed grouse breasts on the right, spruce grouse on the left. The crop of the ruffed grouse full of rosehips. That of the spruce grouse gives rise to its name: spruce needles and kinnickinnick berries. Breast fillets simply seasoned with salt, pepper and a little Szechuan peppercorns. Sauteed in butter for a couple of minutes a side and served with roasted carrots and parsnips and a simple vinagrette slaw. Ruffed grouse at the bottom of the pic and spruce grouse above it. Tasting notes: Ruffed grouse is definitely the milder of the two and the most like chicken (a chickenier, tangy chicken) that could easily go into just about any dish that features chicken breast. In fact a good chicken dish would be elevated into something great simply by substituting ruffed grouse for the chicken (much shorter cooking time though). I would rate it as superior to pheasant. Spruce grouse is often maligned around here as being "bad" tasting. It does not taste like ruffed grouse but is not gamey in any way. It has undercurrents of juniper berry in it (makes sense with the diet) and is more like a cross between chicken and duck in flavour. I served it on the med-rare side and that seems to be the perfect doneness for this bird. It would hold up quite well to sauces featuring juniper berries, rosemary and/or red wine. Ruffed grouse is usually the first game meat I introduce people to and then gradually move them on to birds and critters with more flavour.

Chronic Wasting Disease: the deer equivalent of Mad Cow. No evidence thus far that it can transfer to humans but all jurisdictions are playing it safe. Here in Alberta, they've designated a 100 km buffer zone alongside the neighboring eastern province and intend to kill every single deer in that zone to keep the disease from spreading to our herds. If that sounds impossible, digest the fact that Alberta is completely rat free and is the only place in continental North America that can make that claim. We actually have an official "rat patrol" that cruises the borders and kills every rat they find sign of. Rats are a lot smaller and furtive than deer be.

I'm going to disagree to a certain extent. In an area like yours with CWD only boneless cuts should be used. However, in areas where CWD is not present the bones of young deer can add more flavor to the meat. I typically butcher one of my young (as in 6-7 months old)deer with the spinal bones in for saddle of venison or loin racks. Makes for a nice presentation and the bones provide a richness in young deer. In older deer that richness can be construed as "gaminess" and for that reason I always bone out the older bucks and does.

If you were to take the ribcage and saw off the lower half (sternum end)of each side, the torso would then be able to stand up (using the ribs as the "legs") in a large roasting pan. You could then sear it under high heat for a few minutes before turning down the heat and covering with foil to finish cooking. When the backstraps got done to the point that you desire, fillet them off and return the remainder to the oven to go low and slow until almost breaking down. Lay the backstraps back on to bring up the temp again and the serve the whole beast for a "WOW" presentation. All kinds of aromatic herb and veggies could go under the archway created by the deer ribs and spine. If in Denmark, I assume we are talking about a roe deer?

I had wanted to scald the pigs (all those yummy cracklings) but their hair was not in the right condition. It was in the growing phase and would not scrape out as it should so we made the decision that day to skin instead. We'd discussed an abbatoir but felt that the stress we would induce in trying to get 2 250-300lb animals into the back of a truck would have been counter-productive to what were trying to achieve. Mine were quite fat -especially the second pig who had nearly 10 inches of back fat. We kept some of the fat for grinding with venison for sausages later, made a smoked "lardo" out of about 5 lbs of it, saved some for lardo making later, and rendered down the leaf fat around the kidneys for lard. Plus we were able to leave a very nice thick rind of it on the pork loins. The jowls were cured with the recipe right out of Charcuterie (salt, pink salt, sugar, chervil, pepper I think) for 7 days and then hung for a month (just took them out of the room this weekend). Bud, I cut my finger so badly becase the knife was razor sharp (as in I test it by shaving hair off my arm). Simply got careless and put my finger under the thing I was trying to cut through. We ate the heart, liver, tongue and kidneys from each animal. Since salted sausage casings are so cheap, we didn't bother with the mess and endless effort of trying to clean out the intestines -- the coyotes had those gone by morning anyway. The dog and cats got some of the other offal. So far we have had "Donnie Brasco" roast pork shoulder from one of the River Cottage books, Carolina style pulled pork shoulder, some oven roasted pork chops, smoked ham steaks and of course have been eating bacon and using the pancetta on a regular basis. The air dried ham has been out of the salt for about 2 week and "only" has 4.5 months longer in the drying room. I just finished putting up 4 deer yesterday and will be in the sausage making mode for the next few weeks.

Absolutely inspect them. I had 48 birds we shot last week and about 8 of them were breasted out on the day they were shot due to being heavily hit or hit well back. Birds with shot in the legs or breast were cleaned after about 3-4 days and only the perfect ones (hit in the head/neck - no broken wings or legs) were left for the full 7-10. Certain birds like wigeon and gadwall are pond weed eaters around here so they get cleaned up in a day or two. The barley fattened mallards and geese are best hung as are the diving Canvasbacks and Redheads. David, discard the blue parts. They may be edible but probably not palatable.

Not at all. You just need to learn how to cook it. I've cooked it for people expressing exactly the same opinion you have. They used to hunt them but didn't like to eat them. They are now coming out for hunts and taking back full limits of birds to their kitchens. If you cook it past med-rare it will taste like liver. Except for the legs. They need low and slow till falling off the bone. Now goose breast I turn into ham, corned goose or sausage. It tastes like very tough, dry beef otherwise. If you have been eating sea ducks or sewage lagoon ducks then I understand the sentiment. Canvasback Sashimi with braised legs:

Kibbe, steak tartare, offal, salmon caviar, blood sausage -- essentially all the stuff I love but the family won't touch with a 10 ft pole.

It took from late May to October so about 5 months. This year we didn't save money but we bought barley by the 50 lb bag and they were eating a full bag a day during the last 2 weeks so we spent about $500 on feed, $80 on the pigs themselves, $300 on the electirc fence tape and $300 on the moveable shed. If we pro-rate the fence and shed over 5 years then the cost per pound of dressed pork was about $2 a pound which is what we can buy a side of pork for around here. We also supplemented them with pasture and garden wastes. We live in the heart of barley country though so next year we will be able to simply back the truck up to a farmers bin an get a years worth of food for about $50.00. When you consider the value added products we are making ourselves we would probably be saving a bit. It cost us about $20 in extra ingredients to make 45 lbs of ham and 25 lbs of bacon. The following pics were all based on recipes from Ruhlman's Charcuterie. Bacon fresh from the smoker. Guaniciale (cured pork jowl) hanging to dry. Cheese cloth wrapped pancetta in the drying room.

This time of year when the temps are hovering around freezing up here, I hang all my birds for 7-14 days with the guts and all in them. The enzymes improve the texture and flavor (makes it milder) of the duck. There is a noticeable difference between fresh and aged birds. My hanging rack. Never more than med rare with duck. It tastes "livery" well done. Try this one guys.It's a way of cooking ducks and geese that will appeal even to people who say they don't like waterfowl but still has enough of the duck flavor to appeal to those of us who do like it. Try this out, you won't be disappointed with the results. Step one: Pluck the breast of a medium to large duck and singe of the pin feathers. Step 2: Cut the breast off the bone in one piece so that you have the 2 halves still connected by the skin. Step 3: Cut a crosshatch pattern on the meat side of the breast but be carefull not to cut all the way through. Season meat side well with salt and pepper, cajun seasoning, or my favorite --OLD BAY. Step 4: Put your favorite stuffing in the breast and tie the breast up with butcher string as shown (skewers or good sharp tooth picks can be used to hold it together too ). The stuffing shown is just ritz crackers, salt, pepper and parsley. But I've used fruit, herb, and sausage stuffings too. Step 5. Roll in a light dusting of flour and deep fry at about 345-350 until the skin's really nice and brown(or roast at 425 for 20 minutes -- baste with oil or butter as she's going). Take out of oil, drain, dust with your favorite seasoning salt or spice and let sit about 5 minutes before taking off the string and slicing. Should be medium rare when done. I serve this with a drizzle of sauce made from lemon juice, mayonaise, capers, green onion, salt/pepper, hot sauce and worchesteshire.

None of the pics are "needed" per se. I do find it interesting that you find the picture of the gun more objectionable than the knife to the throat though. The picture is an important part of the whole story I think. The pig didn't roll over and die out of sheer desire to provide me with bacon. He was however, content and happy right to the end. That is the important part for me. He never had to endure the stress of being shipped to a slaughterhouse and died doing what pigs like to do best -- eating.

I couldn't take any pics hat day since I was trying to get all the butchering done more or less one handed due to slicing myself the day before. I followed the techniques in the following link almost cut for cut though. http://members.shaw.ca/masterbutcher/meat_cutting_tutorial/meat_processing.html

Raised a couple of my own hogs this year for the first time. Got them in May and they were 250-300 lbs by Oct. 40lbs in May We used them to help clear up some of the land on our place. Day 1 on new turf: Day 6 on the same turf: Slaughter Day for "Bacon". Collecting Blood. Skinning (First time skinning a pig ever so it went a little rough. The second pig "Pork Chop" was done the next week and the skinning went much better and cleaner -- no pics though becuase I nearly severed my finger tip while gutting him. 2.5 hours in Emerg was not planned for). We were a little disappointed because we had planned to scald it and scrape the hair off. The pigs were just coming into their winter coats though and the hair roots were well embedded in the skin forcing us to skin. Next year we will slaughter a little earlier or later to avoid this problem. Getting Jowls, tongue and cheeks. This one went to the butcher for processing but the second pig was processed at home. Here is the first product we got from it, boudin noir from Ruhlman and Polcyn's Charcuterie (I did up another batch from the River Cottage Cookbook recipe too -- haven't tried them side by side yet). I like it sliced thin on buttered bread but it is rich and I can only eat a little at a time. Curing all my own bacon (jowls too) and have one 20 lb ham in salt to be air dried later and the other ham in brine for smoking this weekend. Shoulders are done up in roasts and the loins are chops. Lots of fat for sausage making and lots of trim for the same. We ate deviled kidneys, corned tongue, and turned the liver into pate. The second pig dressed out at just over 200lbs. I'll post up pics of other dishes as they get done.

I always salt before grinding but I usually make the patties and cook them within an hour or so of grinding. I find the meat to be perfect for holding together just enough to not be sloppy but is still tender to the tooth. I've never seen a burger like the one they produced in their experiment. Methinks the 2% salt is way too much.

Poutine is sold virtually everywhere in Canada -- even in the backwoods of Alberta where we disdain virtually anything associated with Quebec. A&W sells it too. My favorite version has ground beef, cheese curds, peas, and lots of gravy -- often sold as "fries with the works". And Canada's national dish? Beer.

I don't but my wife does and I have the scars to prove it. We have a couple of mag strips we put the knives on right beside the sink but she still won't put them there. She lets them hide under a film of soapy water waiting for prey. The upside is that I don't do the dishes often. Volunteering to be the cook keeps my blood supply consistent.

Took about 45 minutes. We have a "secret" spot that we can walk out to at dead low tide and dig them out of the sand bars. We use a pitchfork and wheeled golf bag carrier to hold the bucket. Digging razors is a pain. They are way more abundant than the bar clams but we break so many of them digging them that we generally leave them alone as I don't like the waste. We do up a nice boulliabaise with the razors, moonsnails, softshell clams, mussels, rock crabs and whatever ocean fin fish we happen to catch. The bar clams, we shuck live and then freeze for later use after eating a bunch the first night. I eat the bar clams (quahogs too) raw quite often too though they have to be shucked and the rather large gut bag removed.

These are my favorite: Bar clams from PEI. Big and meaty, they make an amazing chowder or marinated clam salad. We usually get a good mix of razor clams and moon snails with them.

I'm a whole beast kinda cook. I like to catch/kill/raise my own fish, fowl and beasts and then find ways of using as much of them as possible. I catch Spring (Kings to those south of the 48th parallel)salmon and make caviar from the roe sacs, stock from the bones, toast the skin, and roast the heads all before even touching the meat itself which I cure, or smoke or candy on top of the traditional and nontraditional methods of cooking. I hunt my own deer, bear, moose, waterfowl, game birds, and small game and use the organs on top of the flesh. Even the bones get roasted and simmered for stocks. We will be raising our own Tamworth pork this year and adding Khaki Campbell ducks for eggs next year. I make charcuterie and use sous vide as a cooking technique and continually experiment with different flavors and preparations. I frustrate my wife to no end because I never write down recipes and rarely make the same thing twice. I cook everything from Asian and Indian inspired dishes to rustic classics and home made junk food. I guess I'm a culinary schizophrenic with a severe case of gastronomical ADHD.

I did it with Ruhlman's duck prosciutto recipe. Final product was pretty good but the next time I did it I would dry it longer and use some more robust seasonings to stand up to the meatier flavor of Canada Goose. Finished after cure. With accompaniments.