Where do I start?

[freemotion]

There is a lot you can do right now to prepare for having animals....did you say which critters you want to get? For dairy animals, you can start gathering cheesemaking equipment (much of which can be made for a fraction of the cost of buying it) and a couple of recipe books, even making a simple cheese or two. Also make yogurt and other dairy items so you are familiar with the process and it becomes second nature. You will appreciate that when you have seven gallons of milk in the fridge suddenly and you don't know what to do with it....ask me how I know.

For meat animals, you can buy in bulk right now and learn some new recipes, and different ways to put it up. I love pressure canning meat and soups, stews, chili, spaghetti sauce with meat, etc. You can make your own salt pork and discover the wonders of greens cooked with salt pork. Buy some larger or less common cuts of lamb or goat if that is a direction you may go in, and learn how to deal with that. Learn the cooking methods for grass-fed beef/goat/lamb/chicken/turkey, which can be very different from factory farmed versions.

That reminds me, I need to experiment with some sausage and hotdog recipes with purchased pork so I'll be ready for our first pigs, getting processed in a month or so!

Laying hens....research egg recipes like quiches, frittatas, custards, etc. and learn which ones you like and don't like.

 

[Bethanial]

Learn the cooking methods for grass-fed beef/goat/lamb/chicken/turkey, which can be very different from factory farmed versions.

'Splain please

Laying hens....research egg recipes like quiches, frittatas, custards, etc. and learn which ones you like and don't like.

LOVE me some egg custard pie!

 

[freemotion]

Learn the cooking methods for grass-fed beef/goat/lamb/chicken/turkey, which can be very different from factory farmed versions.

'Splain please

I find that for some of the meats, it is far better to use methods that involve long cooking times and braising, such as using the crock pot or Dutch oven. Also, the tenderness will improve if the meat sits in the fridge for a few days longer than you would ever consider with store bought meat of any kind.

If you left a store bought chicken or turkey, thawed and raw, in the fridge for a week, it would be slimy and probably smelly, too. Not so with a home-raised one, that is fresher and is not contaminated with who-knows-what nasty bacteria. We never eat chicken the day we process. My dad's parents used to say it was because the animal "wasn't dead yet" and he ignored that as an adult, thinking they were just being superstitious. And didn't understand why his chickens were so much tougher than his mother's! Now we let them age a bit and they are so much better, more tender.

Grass-fed (pastured) meat tends to be stringier and sometimes a bit tougher since the animals move around a lot more and are generally older by the time they are processed. But the meat is SO much more flavorful, as is the broth. There is no unpleasant smell when it is cooking....smells that I never noticed until I smelled REAL meat cooking and then went back to store bought!

It is the same with whole wheat flour that is home ground fresh, compared to natural food store ww flour, and comparing that to grocery store whole wheat flour. It is like they are completely different foods. Well, they are. We just had some homemade chili (canned) with some cornbread that I ground the wheat and corn for as I was measuring ingredients into the mixing bowl. To die for! Made with kefir from our goat's milk, eggs from our chickens, chicken fat from broth-making, sea salt that I made, and of course, the flour. It is like a completely different food.

When we eat out, it seems like the food has no flavor!

Anyways, I find that with pastured meats, you kinda have to think of them as a different meat altogether, and not deal with them in the exact same way or expect them to taste/feel/look exactly the same as CAFO meat. We can't even buy hamburger anymore...it seems so pale and flavorless. When we buy it, we buy pastured beef or bison or goat meat from the local dairy farmer.

 

[Bethanial]

Thanks, Free I was wondering if it was something like that - I know when somebody gets a deer, we always let it age a few days (unless it's going for jerky) before using it. The one I don't get though, is we can't do straight deer burgers from the ground meat; some reason, the gaminess really comes out. But if we mix them in a 1/2 and 1/2 (or even 2/3 venison with 1/3 beef) it mellows the flavors. And I love that deer cube steak cooks FASTER and is more tender than beef cube steak!