Making Deer Sausage

Here are a few pictures of us making deer sausage from the buck that Josh shot this past fall hunting season. If you have not processed your own deer before, I encourage you to give it a try. It's fun, rewarding, and saves you a fair amount of money. Not to mention, you learn a new skill that may someday prove very good to know. Learn the skills before you need them; it will pay big dividends.

As you can see, we are using a good ol' hand crank grinder. I have been tempted to buy a power one, but I like to stay off-grid as much as possible. It really is not bad using this grinder for the amount of meat we grind at one time. I think the most we ever do at one time is around 35 pounds. That's when we butcher a hog. If we ever butcher a whole cow, I may be getting an electric grinder then. This grinder cost around $35 and we have used it for around 7 years. It has more than paid for itself in that time, and is showing no signs of wear. We cut the meat into small chunks (that is what is in the silver bowl), which makes it easy to grind.

We run the deer meat through the grinder twice. Once with the large grinding plate, then once with the small plate. Next, we mix in 2 pounds of ground pork, and 6 pounds of ground beef. Then we sprinkle the seasoning evenly over it.

Next, we mix it thoroughly and run it through the grinder one more time. Then it gets wrapped to go into the freezer. We wrap it in cellophane and freezer paper, tape with freezer tape, and label.

Here is the deer sausage all ready to go into the freezer. We did up 25 pounds of sausage. It will be delicious with biscuits and gravy. Here is the recipe we used this time. There are thousands of recipes on the internet; we got this one from a homesteading book we have.

Seasoning mix for 25 pounds of sausage:

• 7 ounces salt
• 1/2 to 1 ounce sage
• 1/2 to 1 ounce black pepper
• 1/4 ounce red pepper
• 1/8 ounce cloves

Wild Turkeys Becoming Friends With My Chickens

I have a group of around 25-30 wild turkeys that come around regularly. Just recently they have figured out when I feed the chickens, and then they think they should come in and eat with the chickens. They don't fight with the chickens, they just kind of mosey on in amongst them. The chickens don't seem to mind. All I have are hens right now. If I had a rooster, I think there would be some fighting.

Fried Squirrel Recipe

Here is a nice easy recipe for fried squirrel. Give it a try, you will enjoy it. You can add more seasoning, like cayenne pepper or season salt, etc., if you want to spice it up more. This is just a basic recipe for those who have never fried squirrel. Build on it as you like. 

1 squirrel
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fat or cooking oil

(Multiply the ingredients by the number of squirrels if you are cooking more than one.) 

Cut the squirrel into serving-size pieces and soak them in cold water containing the 1 tablespoon salt for about one hour. Then remove from the water and wipe dry. Beat the egg with a fork until light, and then beat the egg into the milk. Dip the squirrel pieces in the egg batter and roll them in the crumbs that have been seasoned with the salt and pepper. Melt the fat in a skillet, and when it is hot, fry the squirrel pieces, turning them until all sides are golden brown.Turn the heat down to medium and cook the squirrel, covered until tender, which will be about half an hour. Remove the meat and drain on an absorbent paper and serve.

 "Do not let yourself be bothered by the inconsequential. One has only so much time in this world, so devote it to the work and people most important to you, to those you love and things that matter. One can waste half a lifetime with people one doesn't really like, or doing things when one would be better off somewhere else."

Indian Dirt (also known as Black Salve)

As I am no doctor, and these days you have to be very careful of what you post, (less some government agency come after you), I want to be clear that I am posting this for informational purposes only. These days, they even arrest the Amish for selling us milk. Anyway, what you do with this information is your own business. This is an herbal formula that has been handed down over hundreds of years. People have claimed to use it in our time to successfully remove skin cancer. There was a warning to use this salve carefully, it is like doing "herbal surgery". It is made from the following ingredients:

1/3 Bloodroot Powder

1/3 Galangal Root Powder

1/3 Zinc Chloride

A person making this today would need a petri dish or saucer (regular coffee cup saucer, not metal) and a small glass or plastic container with lid for storing your salve. (Recycled small Carmex jars work great for this.)

How one would go about making Indian Dirt:

Zinc Chloride looks like a brick of rock salt. It appears to act as a "carrier" for the two herbs. Some pharmacies carry it, about $30/lb. The two herb powders were available from Penn Herb Company 1-800-523-9971.

One would place a small quantity of zinc chloride in a saucer or porcelain dish. Then the dish is set in a clean place for 24-48 hours. During this time, the chunks of zinc chloride would liquify by pulling moisture out of the air. Alternately, one can add a tiny amount of distilled water and let set. Once all the crystals are completely dissolved, one would have what looks like a puddle of clear water in the dish.

Next, the person would get the two herb powders out and have two small spoons of identical size ready. The spoons can be 1/2 teaspoon size. Use one spoon for bloodroot, the other for galangal root. With each spoon, one would measure carefully equal quantities of each powder, 1 spoonful at a time, then stir the powder into the liquified zinc chloride using a match stick. Add more of each powder and stir again. They would keep adding equal quantities of each powder and stirring with the match stick until they had a thick, black paste. Once they had the consistency desired (not runny), they would scrape the salve into the storage jar (glass or plastic, with lid). It would be stored at room temperature. They say the shelf life is indefinite.

How Indian Dirt would be used:

For a black mole or other skin abnormality, a person would dip a very small amount of salve from the storage container, using the tip of a stainless steel knife or other stainless steel utensil. They would smear the salve on the area to be treated (taking care not to cover an area of skin larger than the size of a nickel at any one time), then cover with a bandage and leave for 24 hours. (If a person desired to treat a larger area, use multiple applications later). The skin a person treats, if cancerous or pre-cancerous, would usually begin to sting, and then go numb after a few minutes. The bandage would be left on for 24 hours, then removed. Using a cotton ball and 3% hydrogen peroxide, the person would wash away any remaining salve and cleanse the area. The area treated will usually be creamy white in color and numb to touch. The area would be cleaned well, and vitamin E oil would be applied to moisten it, then it would be covered with a clean bandage. The cleaning process would be repeated daily, cleaning with 3% hydrogen peroxide, applying vitamin E to moisten, and cover with a clean bandage.

My daughter took this picture on a recent camping trip here in Montana. This is the view from camp. I think this is at about 5500 feet elevation. It's looking east across the Bitterroot Valley, and you can see the Sapphire Mountain Range in the far distance. The clouds were settling in low over the valley. Clouds below, and clouds above. Fresh snow had just fallen. .... It's why we love it here.

Clothing Tips for Cold-Weather Hiking and Camping: Part 1

Cold-weather conditions can vary considerably depending on your regional conditions. Here in the Rocky Mountains, temperatures can easily vary 50 degrees between daytime and nighttime. It can be bright and sunny one minute, and then 30 minutes later you can be in whiteout. Despite these varying conditions, proper planning of what clothing we are wearing can make a remarkable difference in how comfortable we are, no matter what the climate.

 

I have read that 90% of people who enjoy camping, only venture out to camp in warm to mild weather. Spring and summer are the most popular camping months. 90% of campers never make a trip into the woods during the late fall or winter. For those who might consider giving winter camping a try, I encourage you to start by taking a few day hikes, then start with a couple short distance overnight trips. Over the years, I have compiled a list of tips. Things I have learned myself, along with advice from others. I will pass some of these tips along for those who are new to winter hiking and camping.

 

One of the many things I like about winter hiking and camping, is the lack of other people out and about in the woods. If you plan your trip right, you may never encounter other people, having the woods to yourself. For your first trip, this is not as important as finding somewhere not too far out into the woods. Stay close to your vehicle for the first few trips, so if something you failed to plan for happens, your trip is not a total disaster. Start simple and work your way into winter camping. Depending on your level of experience, you may even want to go car camping for your first few trips. There are campgrounds where you can winter camp, and usually during the fall and winter, there is no fee. Scout around your area and see what is available.

Here are a few things to consider:

• Be prepared by knowing the symptoms of hypothermia and frostbite, and know how to treat them in case the need arises.

• Being comfortable on a winter trip into the woods is as much about staying dry as it is staying warm. They both work together. If you are cold, getting warm isn’t too difficult. But if you are cold and wet, it can be much more difficult to get warm. Being wet or even damp from perspiration can, if let go too far, lead to hypothermia which can very quickly turn into a life-threatening situation if you aren’t prepared. Don't let this scare you. Just be prepared, and as already mentioned, know the signs of hypothermia and how to treat it, and more importantly how to avoid it.
  
• For clothing, you want to dress in multiple layers of light-weight clothes. As it warms up in the late morning or early afternoon, you can take off layers to avoid overheating and getting wet from perspiration. When you stop for lunch, put a layer back on while you are stopped. Add or subtract layers as needed throughout the day to suit your activity level. In the evening, you can add all the layers back on to keep warm. Failure to regulate your temperature through the clothing you wear is one of the biggest causes for being cold.
  
• Don’t overdo it. If you dress too warm, it will cause you to sweat, which will make you feel even colder.

• If you are going to be active and sweaty, wear a layer of synthetic clothing against your skin. Under Armour is one brand name available, but there are many others. Polypropylene or silk is good, because they wick perspiration and moisture away from your skin and keep you warm even if they are damp. Avoid cotton at all cost, as it holds moisture and makes you feel cold. Cotton socks are the worst thing you can wear, and doing so almost guarantees that you will have cold feet at some point during your trip.

• It’s easier to stay warm than to get warm. Even in the early fall on a clear day, temperatures drop considerably when the sun goes down. Much more so in the mountain regions, where daytime and nighttime temperatures can vary by 40 or 50 degrees. Take time in late afternoon to make sure you have a stocking hat, jacket, and a thick pair of gloves or mittens handy.

• The saying, “If your feet are cold, put on a hat,” is an old expression which is true. You lose most of your body heat through your head.

• Invest in good rain gear. A good poncho is about $15 to $25, and they are hard to outgrow. (On the other hand, a good rain suit can cost much more, and is sized like pants and jackets.) Cheap plastic ponchos are good to have handy for a sudden shower or emergency, but if it is really raining or you encounter a wet heavy snowfall, you want a good quality poncho.