[wildrosegirl]

Unsound Unsound:

@WRG - Like andy said, you paid wholesale. If I could afford to buy a whole ;ig or cow I would love to, but that's a lot of money up front, and a lot of freezer space. Not practical for most people.

So find two or three other people that would like to as well and split it. That's what we all do. Have for years.

$1:

I know a few people who hunt. They say once you factor in the cost of your licenses, tickets, transport to and from the bush, processing/butchering fees, etc... game costs more per pound than most meat from the grocery store.

That can be true, (especially when you're factoring in fuel costs) but the flip side is that at least you're getting "real" meat. Also, for some of us, hunting is our recreation. What do golf fees/boating costs/biking equipment (whatever your hobby is) cost per season? You have to factor that in as well.

[wildrosegirl]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

I get mine, along with chicken, from local Hutterites. It is the way things should taste! Another local farm raises buffalo and elk. The local butcher features local beef and lamb, and is a German trained sausage maker. I make my own sausages, and they can't compare to store bought.

Yes, it's more expensive, but it's also tastier and worth every penny. Here's a trick - take those $20 pork loins (not tasty) and cure them and smoke them yourself. For a couple weeks stay in the fridge, you wind up with $120 work of back bacon if you had bought it in store at their prices. Screw pork belly! The loin is where it's at.

We have several hutterite colonies around here as well, and the local grocers and butcher shop carry some of their meat. They'll be at the farmer's market soon too. I'd never buy farm raised elk, but the rest sounds good.

We got the pigs from a fellow my uncle knows. He raises some super lean breed (I don't recall the name) that is just spectacular. The loins are delicious. It was so lean, in fact, that we couldn't make side bacon. Just not enough fat. They had a really hard time skinning them, they were so lean. Excellent meat though, and you're not paying for a bunch of fat that you cut off and throw out. Definitely gonna keep the back bacon trick in mind for next time though. We just bought my dad a smoker for his birthday too.... I'm thinkin' family weekend of bacon making coming up.

[DrCaleb]

wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:

Definitely gonna keep the back bacon trick in mind for next time though. We just bought my dad a smoker for his birthday too.... I'm thinkin' family weekend of bacon making coming up.

Why skin them? Pork belly should be smoked skin-on, then the skin removed after. And your dog will love you forever for the scraps.

And back bacon is so easy I don't know why more people don't do it. All you need is to make the brine, get a plastic bag and put the loin and brine for 2 -4 weeks in your fridge, then smoke it. Or add liquid smoke to the brine, and slow roast in the oven.

Ran across this recently too, thought you'd like it:

$1:

'Cougar is fantastic. Tastes just like pork.'- Jeanette Hall, Extreme Huntress semifinalist

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1.2632974

[DrCaleb]

wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:

We just bought my dad a smoker for his birthday too.... I'm thinkin' family weekend of bacon making coming up.

For Father's day, buy him these:

http://www.amazon.ca/Charcuterie-Michae ... 0393058298
http://www.amazon.ca/Salumi-Michael-Ruh ... 43-0502261
http://www.amazon.ca/Artisan-Cheese-Mak ... 43-0502261
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Art-Making-Fer ... 0H09PG6QV4

[wildrosegirl]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

And back bacon is so easy I don't know why more people don't do it. All you need is to make the brine, get a plastic bag and put the loin and brine for 2 -4 weeks in your fridge, then smoke it. Or add liquid smoke to the brine, and slow roast in the oven.

Ran across this recently too, thought you'd like it:

$1:

'Cougar is fantastic. Tastes just like pork.'- Jeanette Hall, Extreme Huntress semifinalist

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1.2632974

We've just never had the time. We'll get into it more now that we have the big garage and about half of our renos are done!

Very interesting article. I've heard cougar meat is very good, but have never tried it. I wanted to go out bear hunting this spring, but just no time with everything else. This fall or next spring for sure.I've heard wild boar is fantastic as well, but they were taken out by the wolves a couple winters ago so they aren't as plentiful as they were a few years ago (which is NOT a bad thing).

$1:

For Father's day, buy him these:

http://www.amazon.ca/Charcuterie-Michae ... 0393058298
http://www.amazon.ca/Salumi-Michael-Ruh ... 43-0502261
http://www.amazon.ca/Artisan-Cheese-Mak ... 43-0502261
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Art-Making-Fer ... 0H09PG6QV4

Thank you! I'll take a look at those.

Ahhhh... so many things to do and so little time. Oh well, leaves me a good Bucket List to work on.

[Yogi]

wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

And back bacon is so easy I don't know why more people don't do it. All you need is to make the brine, get a plastic bag and put the loin and brine for 2 -4 weeks in your fridge, then smoke it. Or add liquid smoke to the brine, and slow roast in the oven.

Ran across this recently too, thought you'd like it:

$1:

'Cougar is fantastic. Tastes just like pork.'- Jeanette Hall, Extreme Huntress semifinalist

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1.2632974

We've just never had the time. We'll get into it more now that we have the big garage and about half of our renos are done!

Very interesting article. I've heard cougar meat is very good, but have never tried it. I wanted to go out bear hunting this spring, but just no time with everything else. This fall or next spring for sure.I've heard wild boar is fantastic as well, but they were taken out by the wolves a couple winters ago so they aren't as plentiful as they were a few years ago (which is NOT a bad thing).

$1:

For Father's day, buy him these:

http://www.amazon.ca/Charcuterie-Michae ... 0393058298
http://www.amazon.ca/Salumi-Michael-Ruh ... 43-0502261
http://www.amazon.ca/Artisan-Cheese-Mak ... 43-0502261
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Art-Making-Fer ... 0H09PG6QV4

Thank you! I'll take a look at those.

Ahhhh... so many things to do and so little time. Oh well, leaves me a good Bucket List to work on.

Trust me COUGAR 'MEAT' IS GREEEAAAT!

[Jabberwalker]

... he said while picking the kitty fur out of his teeth ...

[herbie]

So it's all food pricing rocketing up and sizing going down. She brought home some "Wagon Wheels" last week about the size of loonies. "Oh you just remember them bigger - your hands were tiny last time you had these". If the Conestogas had wheels that size they couldn't cross a shag carpet!
And yesterday I saw Oreos on sale. Wow! Two bags for $5.
So when I opened them up there were 30 or so desktop icons of Oreo cookies neatly lined up in the box. Toonie size, Saltine thin with the icing applied by inkjet or something....
M|y Gawd I'm getting old. I remember my Dad bawling "In my day a Coke was a nickel!" when he bought me one for 12 cents. Now I buy my grandson one for $2.29.

[Unsound]

wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:

Unsound Unsound:

@WRG - Like andy said, you paid wholesale. If I could afford to buy a whole ;ig or cow I would love to, but that's a lot of money up front, and a lot of freezer space. Not practical for most people.

So find two or three other people that would like to as well and split it. That's what we all do. Have for years.

Considering doing something like that.

$1:

I know a few people who hunt. They say once you factor in the cost of your licenses, tickets, transport to and from the bush, processing/butchering fees, etc... game costs more per pound than most meat from the grocery store.

That can be true, (especially when you're factoring in fuel costs) but the flip side is that at least you're getting "real" meat. Also, for some of us, hunting is our recreation. What do golf fees/boating costs/biking equipment (whatever your hobby is) cost per season? You have to factor that in as well.

Absolutely, if hunting is what you enjoy doing the meat is almost a bonus. Kinda how I like fish, but would never go to all the trouble of catching it myself if it was just for a meal.

But to get back to, as far as i remember, the original point of the thread, buying whole animals or hunting your own might be more economical in the long run, but it's just not that practical for the average city dweller. (run on sentance much?)

[andyt]

Not only not practical, but the production just isn't there. Want to feed masses of people, you've got to have mass production and distribution. Can you imagine Calgary, say, streaming out to the local farmers to buy meat for the whole population? What a freakshow, man. Make Darfur when the relief trucks arrive look like Londerns queuing for the bus. Almost as bad as black Friday at Walmart.

[wildrosegirl]

Unsound Unsound:

Absolutely, if hunting is what you enjoy doing the meat is almost a bonus. Kinda how I like fish, but would never go to all the trouble of catching it myself if it was just for a meal.

Oh hell, I do!!

$1:

But to get back to, as far as i remember, the original point of the thread, buying whole animals or hunting your own might be more economical in the long run, but it's just not that practical for the average city dweller. (run on sentance much?)

For most, probably not. But it would certainly be an option to more folks than take advantage of the options (not that I'm complaining when it comes to hunting, because there are enough jackasses out there as it is).
As for buying from the local small farmers - I'd like to see it practiced far more. The large markets are running the little guys out of a market that could actually be kept alive by average joes like you and I. That would be a win/win.

[wildrosegirl]

andyt andyt:

Not only not practical, but the production just isn't there. Want to feed masses of people, you've got to have mass production and distribution. Can you imagine Calgary, say, streaming out to the local farmers to buy meat for the whole population? What a freakshow, man. Make Darfur when the relief trucks arrive look like Londerns queuing for the bus. Almost as bad as black Friday at Walmart.

For all the masses, no. But for far more than you likely think. And - when the large market producers are squeezing those guys out, they could use that support.

Is it for everyone? Of course not. But if a couple (or three or four) average families got together and split a cow and a pig once or twice a year, they'd be much further ahead, in time the smaller farmers would thrive again, and everyone would win (particularly health wise) in the end. Putting independent farmers and butchers would be back in business would also be beneficial to the communities.

[Jabberwalker]

andyt andyt:

Not only not practical, but the production just isn't there. Want to feed masses of people, you've got to have mass production and distribution. Can you imagine Calgary, say, streaming out to the local farmers to buy meat for the whole population? What a freakshow, man. Make Darfur when the relief trucks arrive look like Londerns queuing for the bus. Almost as bad as black Friday at Walmart.

When the petroleum runs out (and it will) food will have to come from right near by, again. A likely scenario is that the cities will empty out and the countryside will become re-populated for this very reason (and the need for agricultural labour again)