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Years ago my folks let me develop an addiction that has become vital to my very existence. In the intervening years since leaving their home I have taken it to heights they could have never imagined. In fact in the years since my retirement it seems to consume a major portion of my efforts.
Since any addiction can become expensive, the best way to reduce costs is by both growing your own and processing it yourself. Besides the cost reduction you have the added benefit of knowing that the content and quality exceeds that normally supplied by dealers.
Food. Yep, that's my addiction. I like to eat good food. I'm not talking about expensive and exotic things. Just simple, basic high quality food.
Today before the sun became unbearable, I was weeding the garden and pruning the tomatoes. This year I am suspending the vines from an overhead wire to making picking easier so part of the time was spent tying them off.
Just before coming inside for the afternoon I picked the ripe wild blackberries that grow along the edges of the field. The berries are very small but the flavor is much better that any domestic berry you can find. I've been picking for several days and I may have finally have enough to make a patch of jelly.
When it comes to venison, I usually always take my limit and David will take a couple as well. When you figure that most processors charge $75 that adds up to a lot of money. Also I have yet to find a processor that processes the animal with the same care that I do. If they did the cost would be astronomical.
I probably have processed 400 deer and several years ago I even appeared on a television show demonstrating the method I use. I spend a great deal of time trimming the inedible parts from the meat that are normally ground by the processors. Sinew and membrane was used by the Indians for sewing thread so it's my position that it is something I don't want to eat.
It's often said that you should never watch sausage being made. Scrap meat constitutes the majority of the product and processors make it in 100 lb batches. If you have them make sausage for you the meat from your animal will be added to the meat from another hunters deer. The quality of the venison your meat is added to may be far less in quality than yours. Also it will contain the inedible portions of the deer that the processors fail to remove.
Since my family loves many varieties of sausage, I decided the best way to have great tasting quality product was to make my own. The same holds true for the brined meats like pastrami and corned beef. Late fall and early winter the smell of smoking meat fills the air in my neighborhood.
Since any addiction can become expensive, the best way to reduce costs is by both growing your own and processing it yourself. Besides the cost reduction you have the added benefit of knowing that the content and quality exceeds that normally supplied by dealers.
Food. Yep, that's my addiction. I like to eat good food. I'm not talking about expensive and exotic things. Just simple, basic high quality food.
Today before the sun became unbearable, I was weeding the garden and pruning the tomatoes. This year I am suspending the vines from an overhead wire to making picking easier so part of the time was spent tying them off.
Just before coming inside for the afternoon I picked the ripe wild blackberries that grow along the edges of the field. The berries are very small but the flavor is much better that any domestic berry you can find. I've been picking for several days and I may have finally have enough to make a patch of jelly.
When it comes to venison, I usually always take my limit and David will take a couple as well. When you figure that most processors charge $75 that adds up to a lot of money. Also I have yet to find a processor that processes the animal with the same care that I do. If they did the cost would be astronomical.
I probably have processed 400 deer and several years ago I even appeared on a television show demonstrating the method I use. I spend a great deal of time trimming the inedible parts from the meat that are normally ground by the processors. Sinew and membrane was used by the Indians for sewing thread so it's my position that it is something I don't want to eat.
It's often said that you should never watch sausage being made. Scrap meat constitutes the majority of the product and processors make it in 100 lb batches. If you have them make sausage for you the meat from your animal will be added to the meat from another hunters deer. The quality of the venison your meat is added to may be far less in quality than yours. Also it will contain the inedible portions of the deer that the processors fail to remove.
Since my family loves many varieties of sausage, I decided the best way to have great tasting quality product was to make my own. The same holds true for the brined meats like pastrami and corned beef. Late fall and early winter the smell of smoking meat fills the air in my neighborhood.
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