Category: Meat
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Irrigation Troubles and Moving the Rams
Our irrigation ditch is turning off this Saturday, August 2nd. We’ve been moving sheep to get them closer to the house. That way, we can more easily haul water to them if necessary. We do have a pond that holds water, and the adult rams have access to it in the lower pear orchard pasture.… Continue reading
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Mountain Mutton
We were honored to provide meat for the celebration of life for Jerry Hatem of Aspen. Our mutton was featured at the barbecue on the back side of Aspen Mountain, overlooking Mt. Hayden, where family and friends gathered to celebrate his life. Take care, everyone. Continue reading
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How I Got 15 Meals From a Nine-Pound Heritage Turkey
Thanksgiving is over for this year, and all of the leftover turkey is gone, too (finally). For the last several years, we haven’t had turkey on Thanksgiving. It was because I couldn’t find a locally raised heritage bird. I like the flavor of heritage breeds, and I want to support rare breed conservation. If I… Continue reading
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Freezer Management
One of the hardest things to manage when you use chest freezers for storing sale meats is how to handle the deepest areas. It’s easy to lose track of inventory in there! Fortunately, we’ve discovered a few tricks over the years that apply to anyone with a chest freezer. My secret is this: wine boxes!… Continue reading
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98 Degrees, <10% Humidity... What to Cook?
It’s hot, hot, hot! We’ve had no rain, and our temperatures are soaring with low humidity. I don’t want to cook anything inside and heat up the house, but we have severe fire restrictions. No open flames are allowed, so outdoor BBQ isn’t an option, either. Luckily, I’ve just discovered the Instant Pot. I know… Continue reading
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Mutton Dinner
We had some good friends over, so I made a special mutton leg roast for dinner. No spices necessary – just proper cooking. It came out wonderful, and we had a great time. Continue reading
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Hunting Season
Ken got a deer tag this year, and today, he got a nice buck out back in the cedars. We nicknamed the buck Trevor. It’s a rather long story, but it started after Bob and Carolyn shared the Australian poet Bill Kearns and his poem Entrapment with us. You can watch it here, but I’m… Continue reading
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Making Sausage
Bob and Carolyn are showing us how to make a special Boorvoorst sausage. We’re using a mix of our mutton, our beef, and pork from a neighbor’s pig. This recipe also uses cider vinegar made from our apples. Of course, I never did get a final picture of the product or us eating it, but… Continue reading
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Chicken Butcher Day
This past Saturday was chicken butcher day. We rented a trailer and hired additional help to process all of our birds. It went very well. We scalded the chickens first, then plucked them. Next, we went inside for gutting, chilling, and finally, packaging. We also hosted another person who had about 25 of their own… Continue reading
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Meat Chickens
Every year, we raise one batch of meat chickens for us and a few select customers who order them in advance. This year is no exception. We get just-hatched Label Rouge birds from a local hatchery. They are in our chicken barn and doing well. Continue reading