Does anyone else butcher their own meat?

I think we are stuck with butchering on Saturday. We do a collective butchering with friends. And our equipment is kind of a pain to get going and clean up so probably won't start it up for a bird or two. Maybe I can convince my husband to do that Monday or something but doubtful! It's going to be 60 the next two days then drop to the 30's and snow.
 
We process our chickens and rabbits- we really aren't set up to handle anything larger, plus we don't always have the extra time. Today is our last nice day and then dropping into the 30's, snow will be more north of us and if we do get anything it shouldn't accumulate :fl...our equipment isn't quite ready yet!
 
Turkey will keep if you put it in salt water/ice for 7+ days and it stays cold with ice in it. Totally submerged. If you have a vacuum packer it will keep in the fridge for 7-10 days in the coldest part or in a cooler chest covered in ice. The vacuum bags are the best thing to ever come down the pike. We did turkeys years ago and they dressed in the 35-40 lb range and I took them to a USDA place that got them in their vacuum chamber, I didn't have anything big enough for them, and they were still good frozen after 5 years. Kept 2 for the holidays in the vacuum bags for 8 days in ice and they were fine. Gotta keep them from the air...
 
We have shrink bags we usually use which get the air out but possibly not as well as a vacuum seal. But we'll probably do a brine for it so maybe that'll help. I don't know.
 
They are also calling for nice Fri and then cooler Sat with possible showers late then COLD and windy Sunday with possible snow showers...they are getting some serious snow out west now....We will feel the difference from the 60's and 70's the last few days. We will be baling small square bales today, cut 2 fields that we were going to bushhog but someone wanted sq bales so with the warmth decided why not. I raked yesterday and it was pretty dry already so should mostly do up pretty good. I'll be glad to be done with hay though....
 
So far we have a handful of rabbits and two pigs in the freezer. One pig belongs to my mother, the larger of the two and the other is for us. We still need to brine and smoke the bacon and hams, cure the jowls, and make sausage...we will get to it for now they are chilling in the freezer. We also have a small white-tail deer to process that will be ground except for the tenderloins. DH hopes to get 1 or 2 more deer before the season is over and now that there is snow on the ground it should be easier.

I think Elk and Deer taste very similar but i think elk taste more beefy. I like most all game i've tried. We should have one lamb to go to the freezer in the spring and we will be ordering freedom rangers for our meat chickens this year. If our ducks do well they should hatch us out some meat ducks.
 
I'll probably send my cockerels to freezer camp this Sat. because it is suppose to get up to 64. I was waiting to see if I could get a pressure canner but no such luck. I guess I could still can them later if I wanted too. Otherwise, they will have to be chicken and dumplings. Then again there is nothing better than chicken and dumplings on a cold day!
 
Latestarter said:
I don't think anything is in season right now... at least not big game. Maybe rabbit or squirrel... Some things are always open like coyote. I prefer to hunt big game; deer/elk... much more meat for the expense that hunting has become.
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Yes, big game is great to fill the freezer. My husband got a Moose this year and so did his father. Moose hunting in Maine is a lottery drawing you need to put in for. It was amazing both he and his father were drawn this year. Between the two of them the freezer is well stocked for the winter. It came out to about $3.00 per pound; can't beat that.
 
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