SouthernUtahFoodStorage

December 29th, 2009

 

     I married an Air Force man and we moved a lot.  Even after he left the air force we continued to move around a lot.  We knew people who, not only didn’t have home food storage; but they usually had do go to the store or eat out on a daily basis. 

     I was raised on a farm and my husband was raised in a grocery store/dairy engineering (ice cream etc.)  There was always something to eat.  Our mothers were both good cooks.  Eating out was something special, not a way of life.  Additionally, we were both raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint “LDS”, “Mormon’s”.

     My mother always told me that we need to store four (4) year’s supply of food. I always thought that would be hard.  Now the LDS church asks its members to store a much smaller amount of food.  My husband and I store about a two (2) year supply. This allows us to eat a wide variety of foods, entertain unexpected guest, and know that we will be able to eat no matter what may happen tomorrow.

     Stressful times are not good times to make drastic changes in your normal diet.  However, if you don’t have food storage in your home, you must do something to feed your family.  Grow a garden? Do you have the necessary land, nutrients for the soil, seeds, tools, etc.?  That takes time?  Go hunting?  Have you ever been hunting?  Do you know how to hunt or, prepare and cook wild game? Do you have the necessary tools, weapons, skill, knowledge and licenses to hunt and fish?    These are all things we don’t like to think of.  I never thought the leadership of the country (“the United State of American”) would betray our country the way it has.  Perhaps we all need to think more about how to take care of ourselves, our family, neighbors and loved ones and less about how the government should take care of us.

     When I was a little girl I loved to help around the kitchen.  My widowed mother stayed on the farm after my father died in a farming accident, when I was three years old.  It was her opinion that it would be safer for her to raise her children on the farm then in the city. On the other hand today the rural life may be safer than the big city and all of its modern problems.

     She rented out the farm for a few years.  After the oldest boy was a teenager she allowed him to run the farm and keep any money that the farm made.  I and one other brother assisted him as free labor.  It was not always the safest way to grow up.  But it was certainly an educational way to grow up.  I have all kinds of talents, that I do not care to use, nor do I advise people to have their small children learn to do these things.

     The kitchen was another matter.  Mother would put a pan of bread dough on the seat of a chair; so I could reach it and taught me how to knead the dough.  Thus began my domestic life.

     When I was 17 years old I married the love of my life.  At which point, I had my own kitchen and my own rules.  I was truly in heaven.  I had a man that loved and cared for me.  We soon had a family of our own, to love and be loved by.  We had our own home and the security of knowing that my hard working husband loved his family.  Life was and is good. 

     Many things could and do happen to make people thankful to have a good supply of food on hand.  Unemployment, health problems, death in family, transportation problems, crop shortages, deflation of the dollar, falling stock market and the list goes on and on.

     The point is we should be prepared for whatever might occur.

     In this blog we will discuss many things concerning food storage, homemaking, gardening, hunting, food preservation, water supplies.  Anything you and/or I can think of that we might need to know and or do to prepare for the future and whatever may happen to us.

     In 1952 I purchased Meta Givens Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking

     It is a wonderful book. I learned so very much from it.  The recipes are easily converted to substitute canned, dehydrated, freeze dried or fresh food.  I have converted many of her recipes and would love to send you to the local bookstore to purchase a copy.  I have tried to find copies for gifts.  The only copies I could find are used books on amazon.com.  I found used books there in various conditions.  If you can buy a copy, the following is a book review I found on amazon.com.  If you can find a copy you will love it.    

I found

This review is posted on amazon.com.17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:5.0 out of 5 stars Meta Givens Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, April 16, 2000 By  Leila Owen (Springdale, Arkansas)   Like the reviewer from Gulf Shores, Ala.., I couldn’t even boil water when I married. I purchased this cook book in about 1952 and learned how to cook from it. It was my cooking bible. My copy has been through too many moves to count, the hard cover is gone and some of the pages from the front and back. But it is still used. The pumpkin pie recipe that calls for orange juice is a family favorite. We don’t wait for holidays to make it. I used this book to teach my children the proper way to set a table. I’ve used the menus. I used it to find out how to dress out ducks that my husband brought home from hunting. I like the way the recipes are grouped together in sections. If you want to bake cookies, all recipes are together. I learned all of the mysteries of cooking terms. We substitute healthier choices for some of the ingredients. For a new comer to cooking or shopping for food, the hints on what to look for are invaluable. Not everyone takes Home Etc in school or is even interested in it, anymore. Meta Givens taught Home Ec. at the University of Chicago. With more people wanting to buy healthy, it is wonderful. I have four grown children who are squabbling over who will inherit when I die! I have tried to find at least one more copy of this cook book. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the publisher would re-print this cook book!

 

The following is a direct quote from Meta Givens “MODERN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COOKING”

“Game

Too many people let their preconceived notions rather than actual experience influence their option of game meat.  This unfair prejudice has been responsible for a considerable waste of animals that are killed each year in the hunting season.  Sometimes the fault is the hunter; they are either careless in shooting or indifferent about cleaning and dressing carefully and immediately.  Other times it is the fault of the cook and either because of a lack of experience or skill, the game is not cooked appropriately.  If you fall into this category, this article is just for you.  And even if you have eaten and enjoyed game all your life, there will be information about hunting, cleaning, dressing and cooking that may be new and helpful.  This information is dedicated to prove that game can be the PIECE DE RESITANCE in even the most elegant company dinner.

If you haven’t a hunter in the family you can still secure game from various commercial breeders.

Too often the game that is killed each year by hunters all over the country fails to reach the table in its most edible form. Either incompetent handling after killing makes it unappetizing in appearance, odor or flavor, or it is improperly cooked.  Those who try to cook these unskillfully prepared animals or to eat the poorly cooked dishes are led to believe that game can never be as attractive as domestic meat.  However, when game is properly bled, cleaned, stored and cooked, it will appeal to those who have always enjoyed it.

I cannot possibly discuss in detail the handling of all kinds of game, but I can recommend certain basic principles for dressing and cooking that will enable even the inexperienced to prepare and clean an attractive meat, and to cook it interestingly and deliciously.  The main factors which influence the quality of game meat are: the health of the animal; prompt and adequate bleeding careful dressing and evisceration, thorough removal of hair and feathers, shot areas, and finally proper storage and cooking methods.

THE HEALTH OF THE ANIMAL

The health of any kind of game can be ascertained generally by and observing hunter.  Animal or birds with clean, sleek coats that are fleet of foot or wing show dependable signs of being in good health.  Most game is hardy and healthy.  One exception is the wild rabbit, which may have tularemia or rabbit fever. This wide spread disease is transmitted from the rabbit to man by the bite of a louse or tick that has been infected from a rabbit, or by direct contact in handling, skinning, or disjointing the infected animal.  A form of the disease may also occur from eating the inadequately cooked meat of a sick rabbit.

Usually the disease is not fatal to man, but it is serious enough to warrant taking special precautions.  However, tularemia is often fatal to rabbits, so an infected animal is a sick one.  He looks and acts sick.  Hunters should never shoot slow moving or sick acting rabbits for food.  A rabbit slow to react to either hunters or dogs should be viewed with suspicion, and any contact with a suspicious rabbit should be completely avoided.  Anyone handling rabbits is strongly advised to wear sound rubber gloves when cleaning. Skinning or bleeding, or preparing for cooking even rabbits that have not appeared sickly.  The disease is believed to be transmitted to man mainly through handling of the rabbits, since it usually starts with a lesion on the hands.  Therefore rubber gloves provide simple and adequate protection.  Once the meat is thoroughly cooked it is safe to handle and to eat.

PROMPT AND ADEQUATE BLEEDING

Those who are experienced in the dressing of animals know it is good practice to thoroughly bleed them as soon after killing as possible,  Animal Husbandry Departments in our colleges and all commercial meat packing plants recommend the thorough bleeding of all animals and poultry, because it not only results in better appearance, but also in better keeping quality.  Without exception, the same method of bleeding animal is used – as soon as stunned (or shot in the case of game), the jugular veins are severed so that the blood may escape quickly.  Domestic poultry is killed and bled differently, but since game birds are always dead or nearly so, they should be bled the same as animals by cutting the jugular vein.  If the animal or bird is then hung up, or in the case of large animals, placed so the head and shoulders are below the body, the blood drains very rapidly from the carcass.  Thorough bleeding can result only when a large blood vessel is opened immediately after killing while the animal is still warm.  In a very short time after death, the blood begins to coagulate in the vessels and any attempt to bleed the animal after this change sets in is bound to be slow and incomplete.

This leads to the question of using for food animals that are found dead in traps.  In most cases, marsh hare or muskrat which are trapped for their pelts die in the trap and their pelts are removed before there is any attempt to bleed them.  As a rule, when such animals are to be eaten, they are soaked in salt water overnight to remove the blood, and the carcasses improve greatly in appearance.  However, muskrat would be much more popular if only the animals found alive in the traps and killed and bled immediately were used for food.  The meat is naturally dark, fine-grained and soft, and when it is not bled, these qualities are exaggerated and give many people an unfair opinion of this meat.

The only controversy about the superior quality of thoroughly bled meat over un-bled occurs when the use of un-bled game birds is discussed.  This practice is defended so strongly by some hunters that they go so far as to say that birds that are bled never have as fine a flavor as those that are not bled.  However, equally sophisticated people take the opposite view.  For all other game, there is no question that thorough bleeding improves the appearance, flavor, and keeping quality.

Since a sharp knife is the only necessary tool, the modern hunter can easily bleed his kill thoroughly.  Small game are hung up by the feet; large game can be placed on a slope so that the neck and shoulders are lower than the rest of the body and the jugular vein can be pierced in very little time and with very little trouble.

CAREFULL DRESSING AND EVISCERATION

         The necessity for dressing game immediately after it is killed depends on the weather and the type of game.  Hunters seem agreed that game birds may be carried safely for a day in cold weather without being eviscerated, but that it is necessary to clean out at once after bleeding the abdominal cavities of large game, such as deer the dame day as killed and all small mammals as soon as possible.  If the day is warm, all game should be drawn immediately.  Washing the inside of the animals or birds should not be done until they can be refrigerated.

         Game birds are often aged to develop the “high flavor” that is preferred by many people.  The birds are drawn but the feathers left on.  A lump of charcoal is put inside the bird, and powered charcoals thoroughly sifted into the feathers.  The bird is then hung in a protected cool place until the characteristic flavor is developed (about 5 days).  A shorter hanging period is recommended for game birds that are to be eaten by those who do not care for this “high flavor”.  For this shorter hanging period, the birds should hang is a cool protected place with the feathers left on for about 2 days.  This recommendation is based on the principle that all meat for human consumption should be allowed to go through the stages of rigor mortis and the subsequent softening.  The tree important stages are described briefly as follows:

1. Fresh killed. The flesh is soft and juicy.  As long as it retains animal heat, it should not be eaten.  Thorough cooling immediately after killing most meat edible but not at its peak of flavor and tenderness.
2. Rigor mortis.  The meat at this point is hard and tough and is not suitable for cooking.
3. Aged. When the effects of rigor mortis begin to disappear, the meat again becomes soft, tender, and juicy and is best for cooking. A longer period of hanging is known as “aging” and develops the “high Flavor” highly prized by many and strongly disliked by others.

 

EVISCERATION

         The removal of the viscera from any animal or bird needs to be done with such care that no part of the tract of glands is broken open to release any of the contents.  This requires some knowledge of the anatomy.  In either the bird or the animal, the viscera are attached at one end to the esophagus and the windpipe and at the other end to the body vents.  To remove the viscera, the first thing to do is to make an opening in the body large enough to remove the entire viscera intact.  In an animal, this means splitting the underside of the body from the neck all the way down.  In a bird, it means removing the crop first, then making a slit just below the breastbone through to the cavity and down to and around the vent.  The viscera is carefully loosened at any point where it adheres to the lining of the thoracic cavity.  This is most efficiently done with bare hands or rubber gloved hands.  When drawn animals cannot be refrigerated for a few hours, the cavity should not be washed, but may be wiped out with a clean cloth, leaves or grass.  As soon as refrigeration is possible, the inside cavity should be washed in cold water, then allowed to drain thoroughly.

REMOVAL OF SHOT AREAS

         Some hunters insist that game flesh which is permeated with shot has a better flavor than that which has not been shot.  However, most authorities on cooking and dressing game will not concur with this opinion.  The mangled holes where shot enters the carcass or “blood shot” areas are unsightly in either the raw or cooked meat and these areas deteriorate and develop off-flavors rapidly.  The presence of shot in cooked meat also makes it unpleasant and even rather hazardous to eat.  Hair and feathers are carried into the flesh with the shot and if not removed, they greatly reduce the appetite appeal of the meat.  Whenever possible, therefore, the shot area and any feathers or hair should be removed immediately after bleeding with a sharp pointed knife, and any clotted blood should be squeezed out.  With game birds, however, that do not have the feathers removed at once, it is not possible to remove all the shot.  As the birds are eviscerated, some of the shot that may have traveled into the body cavity or have broken bones may be discovered and removed.  The remaining shot wounds must wait until the feathers or skin are removed.  When game is shot up badly, it is usually a waste of time to try to bring it to a state of edibility.  It is possible to soak it in salt water long enough to drain out most of the clotted blood, but it also draws out much of the fine flavor.

REMOVAL OF FEATHERS

         Game birds may be dressed by dry or wet picking or skinning.  Dry picking is very tedious and for most people it is impractical.  Wet picking is quick and when done properly, both fine appearance and excellent flavor may be retained.  Since birds differ in the tenderness of the skin and coarseness of feathers, it is necessary to use water of different temperatures to obtain satisfactory results.  Pheasants, grouse and quail have fairly tender skin and should be dipped in water heated to just 130 degrees F.  Mallard ducks require water heated from 150 to 160 degrees F. far the feathers to be removed most effectively.  The large Brazilian ducks require still hotter water, from 165 to 170 degrees F.   A thermometer is essential in order that the exact temperature of the water will be known. The birds are dipped up and down in the hot water until the course wing and tail feathers can be pulled out with ease.  Then the bird is wrapped immediately in several folds of sacking or muslin and allowed to steam a few minutes.  The feathers can then be removed quickly and cleanly by beginning at the tail end and grasping a handful of feathers, then pushing the feathers out and away from you.  This motion is the opposite direction from the lay of the feathers and is less likely to tear the skin than if the pulling is done in the same direction the feathers lay. 

         Birds badly shot up are often skinned to obtain a cleaner and more attractive looking surface.  But this skinning removes the fat and the cooked bird does not retain its juice nor have as fine a flavor and appearance as birds with the skin intact.

         After ducks or geese are wet picked, the skin will reveal a thick covering of down that must be removed. (You can save the down it is what our grandmothers made pillows and down covers out of.  This is however, very difficult to remove.)  If you choose not to save the down or after you have removed all you can by hand, pass it quickly through a blue flame to remove both hair and any remaining down.), but the only effective way of completing the job is to sit down and with tweezers and a sharp knife and pick and scrape until a clean “downless” and “pin-featherless” skin is obtained.  This takes patience and perseverance but it is absolutely necessary if the cooked duck is to be thoroughly enjoyed.  Pheasants, quail and grouse are not covered with down, but occasionally they have pinfeathers that must be patiently removed with tweezers and paring knife in the same way.

REMOVAL OF FUR

         All fur bearing animals should be eviscerated at once and skinned as soon as possible.  It is said that a good hunter may be judged by the condition of the carcass he brings in: there should be no bits of lung or foreign material clinging to the inside of the carcass and the outer flesh should be free from any hair.  In skinning all animals, it is possible to carefully fold back the hair skin without letting the hair touch the meat. This is necessary because the hair carries with it the odor from the sweat glands, etc., and may give a strong flavor to the meat.  The hair also clings to the flesh and is almost impossible to remove by wiping or washing.  All shot and blood clots should be cut our at once, and the carcass cooled promptly.  The carcass should be chilled for at least 2 to 3 days.  At the end of this time, it should be wiped thoroughly with a damp cloth, and washed on the inside with cold water, or water acidulated with lemon juice (1 lemon to each quart of water).  Then it should be cut and stored properly or cooked according to the individual recipe.

REMOVAL OF FAT AND GLANDS

         Many fur bearing animals that are used for food will have a strong “gamey” flavor unless the fat just under the skin and the glands that are concealed under this fat are removed.  There are four sets of these glands or “kernels”  on the legs: two are found under the forelegs and tow in each thigh.  They are brownish, yellow in color and oval or round in shape.  Glands of this type are also found along the small of the back.  Squirrels, possum, coon, beaver, muskrat, bear and deer have these kernels or glands.  The thorough removal of all the fat will also remove the scent glands and will assure a more mild flavor in the cooked game.

SCRUBBING AND WASHING

         When the feathers, down and shot are removed, the birds should have a baking soda scrub.  Rub the soda well into the skin, and using a damp cloth, give the skin the same kind of a scrubbing you would give a dirty but tender-faced boy.  Rinse well in clear water, remove any tiny bits of viscera from the inside, wash inside with clear water, then drain, dry and chill until ready for cooking.  After animal carcasses have chilled for at least 2 days, they should be washed thoroughly inside and out with clear water and then wiped carefully with a clean damp cloth to remove any clinging hair.  It is never advisable to wash birds or animals after they are cut into smaller pieces.

PROPER STORAGE AND COOKING METHODS

         Game for immediate use should be loosely covered in a dish and stored in the refrigerator like any other fresh meat.  It should not be allowed to freeze or be left uncovered to dry out on the surface.  Game for future use may be stored in a home, low-temperature freezing unit or a commercial freezer locker and kept in perfect condition for several months.  Game birds and small animals may be left whole; large animals should be divided into the usual cuts similar to veal or beef.   Freezing of game is done the same as freezing of other meat.

         Game is cooked either by dry heat (roasting, broiling, etc.) or by moist heat (braising, stewing, etc.)  As a rule, game is less tender and more dry than a corresponding cut or kind of domesticated meat, but like domestic meat, the cut and age of the animal determine the method of cooking that will be most suitable.  Since the age and cut  is sometimes difficult to determine, it is generally better to overcook a young tender meat than to take a chance on undercooking a tough one.  The cuts of the large animals – venison, elk, bear, etc., look very much like the corresponding cuts of beef and can be recognized in this way.  Young tender birds and the steaks and chops from young animals may be broiled, fried and roasted.  The older birds and the cuts with more connective tissue from the larger animals may be stewed, braised, ground or made into soup.  Game meat is usually leaner than domestic and is improved by the addition of lard, suet or other fat.  The older methods of  “roasting” with a cover and with the addition of small amounts of water (now correctly called braising) seems to be more suitable for game than uncovered roasting.  Recipes for cooking the various game birds and animals will be provided later in the article.  These recipes have been especially developed to appeal to the veteran game gourmet as well as to the uninitiated family who receives their first wild game brought home by the proud hunter.

ANTELOPE

         The flesh of antelope is delicious when properly prepared and cooked.  The meat is similar to that of deer and elk except that it is leaner.  The tender cuts can be used for steaks and roasts but they will either require continued basting with fat or “larding”.   When such basting or larding is not practical, braising will produce the most excellent results.  Most recipes for the cuts of venison and elk can be used with similar cuts of antelope.

BEAR

         The bear carcass resembles that of beef except the fat is exceptionally strong flavored and the lean tissue is not so tender as a beef of similar age.  The carcass is divided into cuts much like beef of similar age.   It is very important to remove the scent glands (see p. 943) when the animal is skinned.  All the fat should be removed before cooking meat as it cooks.  Any beef or deer recipe can be followed successfully for the cooking of the different cuts of bear meat if the fat is carefully removed before cooking.

                             BEAR LOIN STEAKS

2 loin steaks, 2 ½ lb.,              5/8 to ¾ in thick        

2 teaspoons lemon juice          1 ¼ teaspoons salt                  

1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted                

 Generous dash pepper         ½ cup boiling water               

                  Wipe  steaks clean with a damp cloth.  Trim off all the fat because it is strong flavored. Trim off all the fat because it is strong flavored.  This leaves about 1 ½ lbs. lean steak.  Place steak on a hot, greased broiler rack set 4 inches from heat.  Combine butter and lemon juice and brush over top of steaks.  Sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper.  Broil 7 to 8 minutes.  Turn steaks, brush with remaining lemon-butter and remaining salt and pepper.  Broil another 7 or 8 minutes for well-don steaks.  Remove from broiler to platter.  Drizzle ½ cup water over rack and scrape down the residue into the drip pan.  Remove rack.  Stir gravy until well blended; reheat to boiling.  Pour over hot steaks and serve immediately.  4 to 5 servings.

         Note: If steaks seem tough, the meat may be pounded or diced as in preparation for Cubed Steak.

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Egg Noodles

December 29th, 2009

Egg Noodles

These can be used as a replacement for potatoes or in your favorite Casseroles

7/8 cup Sifted whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon poultry seasonings if desired
1 large whole eggs beaten

Shift flour, measure and resift with the remaining dry ingredients. Add gradually to beaten egg, mixing until thoroughly blended. Roll paper thin on a floured board keeping the shape rectangular as much as possible. Allow to stand 20 minutes. Roll up and slice 1/8 inch wide for fine noodles. Toss lightly to separate strands and spread out to dry for several hours. Make 1/2 lb of dried noodles. When ready to use, cook as directed above.

 

USE OF FOOD STORAGE PRODUCTS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE

When I am working with food storage I consider that all of our food in the refrigerator, home bottled, commercially canned, frozen, home dried, commercially dried, commercially freeze dried, and fresh food out of the garden are all part of our food storage.  They are after all interchangeable. 

I try to stay away from packages mixes and commercially canned prepared foods, as they contain an unhealthy dose of sodium and other preservatives.  I remember bringing a family member home from the hospital after a stroke.  When we arrived home everyone was hungry including; my brother, who had just been released from the hospital after surviving a stroke.  We had been give instructions to keep him on a no sodium diet.  Wanting something quick as we were all tired and hungry, knowing that John could not have any sodium, which was tough.  I don’t remember what we had. 

 The next morning I was up early cooking from scratch.  It did not take me long to figure out after days of grabbing a mix, when I was in a hurry, had to stop, while I had someone in the household with a restricted diet.  “Necessity is the mother of invention.”  I planned the day’s meals and if I did not have an ingredient that was in the form, that the recipe called for i.e. fresh food, or if there was a lot of sodium in the product I would have ordinarily used I found a substitute.   The freeze dried and fresh foods tended to have the least amount (usually no) sodium, but read the labels.    

The big surprise to me was that in the taste of soups, stews, casseroles etc. the freeze dried, after properly rehydrating it tended to taste as good as fresh and/or frozen foods.   I made bread from fresh ground grain several times per week.  I was so happy when my sister-in-law, “after my brother and sister-in-law went home,” came back for a visit and she said: “What I miss the most is your bread.”

Now when I make something I feel free to mix and/or match the form of food that I have on hand.  As we proceed with writing articles for Southern Utah Food Storage, I will give you recipes for common commercial products that we are accustomed to purchasing read made in a can or a jar.  It is fun and tasty.  —- Emma  Hunt