No really, can YOU do that?

[Luci_ferson]

still got the problem of not all meat is good salted.
pork is okey, boar and anything related.
cant imagine lamb to be too good salted.
although if needs must you would eat anything.
Brine certainly would use less salt but i still imagine salt will become a luxury pretty quickly.
for most people salt extraction from sea water is probably too much hassle.
If you can store enough salt to preserve all your meat for one year then its great. but i know i cant store that much. and certainly couldnt transport it about.

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theres also the health risks to consider at a time when most of us will have a poor diet to begin with.

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a smoker shouldnt be too difficult to build.
and im definately looking into experimenting with a marble cold store.

[Scythe13]

This is exactly that I'm on about BP.

Knowing the names of the processes is great, and knowing they're available is also a great thing, but unless the skills are practiced they are just pretty words.

I've heard of drying, curing, smoking, salting, pickling, and many others. Truth is, I've not done any of them. Preserving meat isn't my thing, but I see the benefits it has.

WTF?!??!? YOU'VE NOT LEARNED TO PRESERVE MEAT!?!?!?!?!?

No, I've not. Why not...? Because I'm learning to butcher a deer, rabbit, and even rats. What I'm trying to do is learn the full process, one step as a time. I'd rather master butchering, and thus know I can get pure clean meat, than learn to preserve and know I can't make sure the meat is pure and clean enough to eat. Make sense?

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I guess this is the reason for the forum....to share our knowledge.

[Luci_ferson]

i fluffed up, i learned how to butcher but didnt learn how to catch.
i wont always have sheep available.
no point being able to butcher if you got nothing to butcher

I need to remedy this problem sadly the only hunter i know i really dont get on with. (mutual)

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okey a cat is the same as a rabbit, but it wont be long before cats learn to avoid humans.

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at first they will wander up pto you looking for food and become dinner, but theyl soon get smart to that lol

[Rush2112]

dont worry fellas, i dont think we'll be worried about preserving meat for some time after the event. The thing to keep in mind is once the animal dies, the meat starts to spoil. the warmer outside, the faster it spoils. Thats why i prefer traps that hold the animal alive until you come along. kill it, clean it and eat as soon as possible.

[Luci_ferson]

trapping would be ideal cos you could keep it alive untill you wanted to eat it, it dont go off if its alive, it just gets thinner the longer you leave it.

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with my hunting skills , il be lucky to have any meat worth preserving, once the animals i have are gone, if i cant get them to bread , il be living off snails.

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well thanks guys, ive been stuck in the house for 2 days due to weather.(cant build)
youve just given me a problem to go find a solution too.
off to the garden centre to price up some marble . and maybe find a good terracotta pot for my oven.

[Scythe13]

(8 March 2013, 13:25)Rush2112 Wrote: The thing to keep in mind is once the animal dies, the meat starts to spoil. the warmer outside, the faster it spoils. Thats why i prefer traps that hold the animal alive until you come along. kill it, clean it and eat as soon as possible.

Exactly my thoughts. Once it's dead, it's starting to spoil. The wilderness fridge is still on the hoof. That's why I'm quite against the idea of a lonewolf hunting deer. That's WAY too much food for a single person, or even 2 people! Taking one out, as of and when you need it, is a great way to destroy the very thing that's feeding you!

[Tartar Horde]

If you take an example from history and look at the sea voyages of days gone by etc, the only safe way to keep meat was salting, and it was invariably salt Beef or Pork. They heavily salted their meat to stop any chance of contamination, this made the meat inebible before it was soaked to get rid of excess salt. The same can be done with fish ie (baccaloa salt Cod) but you have to soak it overnight.
Mentioning Lamb I reckon smoked Lamb might taste ok, or am I being weird lol

[Digger]

Smoked lamb sounds good to me. mmmmmmm

[Tartar Horde]

(8 March 2013, 13:52)Digger Wrote: Smoked lamb sounds good to me. mmmmmmm

Yeah me too
Smoked meat that is cooked whilst smoking will go off apparently, but raw meat that is just smoked without cooking it will keep. I looked at this last Summer and used a BBQ with a lid but I got the wood shavings too hot and cooked the meat (pork) but it did taste good. I used Oak and Beech sawdust/shavings but they ignited!! the key seems to get the wood hot enough to smoulder then put the lid down and try to control the heat by using the vents, but I will try again. I know you can make a good smoker but I don't see any reason to pay out good money for something when you can make it yourself

[bigpaul]

yeah, i think a deer(unless its a munkjac) is too big an animal for lone wolfs or small groups, i'm more used to rabbits and pheasants and they go into a game stew.