They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
The weather is not cooperating with our hopes and dreams, these days. We had originally been planning on butchering our big Meishan barrow ("Bacon") this coming weekend, but the weather is going to be over 40 degrees all night, several nights in a row. In fact, last weekend was likely our last night below 40… Continue reading Salt Cured Lamb, Continued
The last lamb we slaughtered was a difficult and frustrating process. The kill was quick and humane, but a single slip of the knife early in the dressing process resulted in slicing the achilles tendon and dropping the carcass, then a difficult skinning, which in turn delayed evisceration, resulting in the stomach falling and rupturing.… Continue reading Lamb slaughter and butchering, take 2
Saturday was the day we butchered and wrapped one of our katahdin rams. We started out by enjoying the hangar steak, the heart and part of the liver for breakfast. Stirfried with mushrooms and onions. Topped with havarti. That will stick to your ribs. And some of our ribs need more sticking than others. We… Continue reading Butchering a Ram
Busy runaround day, last Thursday. Seppi, Daddy and Winnie started out with a run to the dump to drop off trash. We managed to rub the sidewall of the tire up against something and rip a flap in it. We will need to change that this coming week. Seppi helped Daddy build a prop for… Continue reading Thursday
Last Monday we culled the roosters and drakes. This really should have been done at the start of Autumn, but, hey, we get to it when we can. Roosters and drakes eat feed, but they do not lay eggs. Therefore they are an economic drain instead of a resource. We really only need two roosters… Continue reading Culling the Flock
Caution. This post is about where food comes from. Proceed accordingly. The meat ducks reached a healthy (and hefty) 8 weeks old, averaging 8.4 Lbs (this might be a slight overestimation, as they sometimes bounce around in the bucket while being weighed). We ordered 20 ducks from Meyer hatchery, they shipped 21 on April 7th.… Continue reading Processing the Meat Ducks.
We had a good pile of bones from the lamb after all the butchering last week. We froze them temporarily, just to keep them from spoiling until we got around to dealing with them. Last Monday, the 6th, we roasted them in the oven, and then put them in the roaster. This has become our… Continue reading Lamb Stock
Tuesday, December 31, we cut up the sheep. This is our first attempt at butchering an animal larger than poultry, so we don't know what we are doing. We have a book. The sheep were chilled in a <40 degree shop overnight, wrapped in cheesecloth to slow water loss. First step, remove the neck. Next… Continue reading Butcher and Packing the Sheep
Monday, Dec 30 the stars aligned. The weather was forecast to be 40 degrees during the day, and almost freezing overnight, and below 40 into Tuesday as well. Not only that but Ryan and Adam both had the day off. The time was right. The sheep must die. To recap, They were a pair of… Continue reading Slaughter day: Sheep.
Saturday was a busy day on the farm. We set it aside as the day that the ducks and turkeys would meet their fate. Daddy and the three oldest kids went to the farm to help Uncle, while Mommy and Winnie stayed home to write out school schedules and do some baking. By the way,… Continue reading Processing Ducks and Turkeys
Little Farm in the Big City 