Processed it, now don't want to eat it.

[SandraMort]

OHHH, smoked tuna is SO good

 

[momofchicks]

I didn't know this was going to be such a hot topic. But seems like others have the same feelings as I do. Every day the thought gets better as for me eating them. I completely understand where you all are coming from in that who knows for sure what we are eating from the grocery store. I guess it's just that it wasn't processed by professionals, which I suppose we are now right. Does two birds count as a professional? I will get to cooking it next week! I froze them whole so I will go ahead and cook them whole this time. I'll surely post when we do eat it and let you guys know how much we loved it. Thanks everyone for your kind words and cooking suggestions.

 

[chickenannie]

You asked if you were a professional chicken processor... well think about the fact that you probably did a MUCH better job on those 2 chickens than someone under pressure, bored, working in a factory setting who has to process tons more chickens each hour. You knew you were eating those birds and you probably looked them over really well and made sure they were kept clean. I've read (in the Omnivore's Dilemma) that typically chickens are thrown into a large chilled water vat after being processed where they sit for hours picking up what he calls "fecal soup" from the tons of other chickens that have been tossed into the vat. If even one of them was improperly cleaned it leaks onto all the others. That is where you start to get the food poisoning from. Also, there's a lot less personal responsibility in a large processing plant. A family who processes their chickens and sells it to friends and neighbors is going to feel a lot more accountable for the product. My 2 cents...

 

[swampducks]

Quote:
The best fish to smoke are the fatty ones. One of the reasons I don't smoke venison, too lean, dries out too much.

 

[swampducks]

Quote:
Well, I'm about 4.5 hours from Detroit, 4 hours from Ann Arbor, I'm not sure where you are, I'd have to get my map out of the car.

Come on up, I love company!

Beer is good, and Alpena's got a dang decent brewery now, too.

 

[Miltonchix]

Quote:
Mine too!!
And yes, we had to wait a few days to "work up to it" but boy, oh boy was it worth it!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I agree, absolutely. We've been brainwashed to think only big corps do things right, when in fact, they do a lot wrong. Look at all the food recalls and alarms we have. Not one of them is from homegrown food. That's all from "professionals", who are thought to know what they're doing. How often do you even hear of anybody being harmed by any homegrown food? Improper canning, once in a great while, but not much more.

We've become a nation of wimps afraid to do anything for ourselves, we think we have to have a professional to do it for us. What nonsense.

Trust yourself. You are more likely to be careful with your own health and that of your family than any corporation, who will happily sell you contaminated meat, high fructose corn syrup, and carcinogens, and tell you it's good for you. Chlorinated carrots, indeed.

Good for you taking the first steps. Freeze your birds for a week or two, and look up articles on food recalls, that'll help you want to eat the homegrown birds. BTW, you didn't say how old these roos were. (or maybe I missed it) If they were young, say under 10 weeks, they'll fry up just fine. If they were older, try the crock pot, first time you cook one. I'd hate your first homegrown chicken to be rubbery! You can use that tender crock-potted meat all kinds of ways. And the broth is darker than with a store chicken, very rich and wonderful! Now that's the stuff!

 

[brandywine]

Last week an acquaintance's 13 year-old nephew was helping us with search dog training. We were in the woods at a state park.

Stopped on the trailside to scarf down gorgeous shiny sweet blackberries. And the boy stood back and watched. Encouraged him to grab some. "No thanks." Even the dogs were picking blackberries.

Kid said "I don't eat things like that, you don't know what's in them." Meaning, wild, growing things that are attached to a green plant.

Tried to briefly explain to him that, in fact, it's store-bought fruit that you have to worry about. Especially fruit out of season, imported from some Banana Republic where they use DDT as a hair tonic and life is cheap.

Nope. Couldn't bring himself to eat berries that weren't in a plastic box.

What has been done to that boy's brain by the industrial food production system?

 

[momofchicks]

It is funny how one's mind thinks. I grow my own veggies because of recalls. And I do buy a cow from a neighboring farmer for the beef, get it processed by a local butcher. But I questioned my own processing. I am much better now. And completely agree with you all. I will be cooking him up in a few days. Thanks for all your input.