Kim asked about how we process the moose so I'll share a quick run down.
The moose was shot 200 road miles then quite some distance into the woods from here near my hometown of Tok by my brother Larry on the morning of the 17th. On the 18th he brought it to Fairbanks and by afternoon it was hanging in a tent.
.jpg)
Here's the tent (with a leg bone outside to catch the interest of any stray dogs so they don't go inside to the good stuff). We did get a stray dog, too. It didn't go after the bone. It didn't go after the meat. It tore open a bag of trash we sat out at 2:00 am. Woke us at 6:00 am. Damn trash dogs!
%2B(2).jpg)
On the 20th my niece, her daughter, my two daughters, Homer and I started processing. Homer worked out in the tent taking the meat off the bone.
.jpg)
He brought it in for us ladies to clean (few miscellaneous hairs, trimming fat, etc.). Beer is good while cutting. ;)
.jpg)
We have our own grinder for making burger.
.jpg)
Some of the moose fat was added, but we grind it pretty lean. Last year we didn't even add fat.
.jpg)
Here are the antlers. Nice, but it was a small bull.
.jpg)
The meat is wrapped in saran wrap then butcher paper. Labelled and into the freezer it goes. This is what we have so far....
155.5 lbs. burger
94.2 lbs. of steak
23.7 lbs. of roast
12.2 lbs. meat
8.6 lbs. brisket
69.8 lbs. ribs
11.0 lbs. tenderloin
11.4 lbs. back strap
23.2 lbs. hump
409.6 pounds of meat in the freezer plus we still have two pieces left to process (and my brother took two sections with him for burger and sausage). We didn't get to it last night as my truck broke down leaving me sitting on the side of the road. By the time we were done towing it home it was too late to get into that kind of mess.
The temperature is 20* at night and 38* right now at 11:00 am. The meat gets a skin as it hangs and will be fine for quite some time. Hopefully we can get to it after Lucas' first basketball practice tonight.
Oh... and my hero fixed my truck this morning. The cam sensor went out. Such a benefit being married to a mechanic.
The forecast called for 2 inches of snow last night. It isn't here yet, but I am sure it's coming. I was trying to do one last mow of my very long grass, but ran out of gas. I broke down on my way to get gas. Figures. Heading to get some now and hope it doesn't start snowing until I am done!
***my 1400th post in 7 years***
5 comments:
Great post and I enjoyed seeing how you process all that meat. Love the moose antlers - will you hang them?
I like how all the kids chip in and help.
Snow already? wow.
Wow, I had no idea at all that a Moose would give you so much meat, will that last for your winter? And the grinder, a super sized one, Olivia, how tall are you now? I can see quite a lot more tall than when I first "met" you here. According to "wunderground" where I see all the temps of my favourite blog friends, you will have a high of 7C, low of -4C, so cool indeed. Take care. Jean. p.s. again, it is so great to have you back here with us all.
Very interesting post! What a LOT of meat you processed and what a GREAT helper Olivia is.
Enjoy the rest of your week ~ FlowerLady
Congrats on your 1400th post! That's a lot of posts.
Moose is great eating, it's better than beef. Glad to hear your freezer is full.
Dee
What a lot of work, but so worth it. I have never eaten moose, or processed meat, although I am more than willing to do both. It has to be a good feeling to be so able to provide your own food.
Post a Comment