... is a day to gaze gratefully into your freezers.
We have two chest freezers and now they both look pretty much like this - about 2/3 full of venison in steaks, stew meat, roasts, and ground into burger. For readers that might not want to see the details, don't worry, this is the only photo I'm going to subject you to.
John and Justin both hunt, in PA and NJ. Justin has gotten two deer and taken them to the butcher for processing. John got one deer and because he says "he wants it done right", we butchered John's deer ourselves. (This may also be due to being somewhat frugal, but it is his deer.) I had forgotten the time and effort that it took to butcher a deer as I haven't done one in over a year. It took us 22 man-hours to process this one, including all the actual butchering, grinding, and packaging the meat. I'm glad for the meat in the freezer, and I'll be even happier when my back feels better. John figures that we got ~ 100 pounds of meat, and I hope the loin roast that we're having tonight is delicious.
Oh wow! That is wonderful. I bet your roast is just delicious. I remember the days when my friend's husband would go hunting in the Poconos. The venison steaks were so yummy!
ReplyDeleteWhew, that's a lot of work! But what a reward!
ReplyDeleteWe do not have any hunters in my family (we are very much city people!), but it does make me happy to hear about people who do hunt actually consuming what they get. I know the state also encourages those who don't want to keep their deer to donate them so they can feed those in need. I'm glad that you have the means to store all that meat and that you'll be eating well throughout the winter!
ReplyDeletenothing like a freezer full of choices!!
ReplyDeleteYou and John make a great team, Bonny! And a fully stocked freezer (or two) is the best way to head into the winter. Bravo! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit of impressive work, Bonny! I am in awe of people who can actually hunt, bring a carcass home and process the meat. The blessing of abundance must overcome you both whenever you look into your freezer. Congratulations on such worthy work, and I hope your back feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a lot of work, but that fully stocked freezer looks like it was worth the effort! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI whine and complain and protest about a job that big but I'm quite glad to have the meat now that it's done!
DeleteDale is a deer hunter, too, but we've never actually butchered the deer ourselves, we take it to a local butcher to have it done. He has sometimes suggested we learn to do it but I've always felt like it would be too much work. Good for you and good for John and Justin, too!
ReplyDeleteButchering is a lot of work. It is nice to have a freezer full or almost full of food. My small chest freezer is 2/3's full of summer tomato products and a few jars of applesauce. It's a good feeling.
ReplyDelete