Posted on 02/26/2018 12:12:20 PM PST by CottonBall
I’ve been missing the vast amount of information on prepping, survival, camping, simple cooking, the old ways of doing just about everything – all the things nw_arizona_granny knew so much about and shared with us, along with numerous other posters with a vast array of skills and knowledge.
We have our various related-threads here, a recipe thread, a gardening thread, and even a prepper thread. They are all great and I don’t mean to take anything away from those and the hard work their owners put in.
But I was missing a place to talk about ALL those things, to get the camaraderie that we used to have on granny’s thread.
I learned how to can on those threads! The pressure canner was not my friend, I thought, but I bought one and stared at it for a month, intimidated. Then I read the directions for another month. But with the help and encouragement of posters on granny’s threads, I jumped in and now have my very own food storage room in the basement with lovely jars of shelf-stable meats, vegetables, and fruit. When we moved, I fashioned my food storage room – and insisted upon having a basement – from what I learned on her threads. Getting started gardening was from her threads. Making my own cleaning products….the list is endless.
So I thought I would take the chance and start another comprehensive prepper thread and see how it goes. I used to have granny’s ping list since I made one of the threads for her, but alas, with numerous computer changes, I cannot find it. So please pass this onto any posters you think might be interested.
We’ll just keep it running until..whenever. Granny created a new thread at 10,000 posts or so. I do like the idea of having ONE thread to go to – because often I cannot find or keep track of the weekly threads. I won’t be posting lots of recipes or tidbits myself – to any mods concerned about the size of this thread. I’d just like a place to chat, post questions, post ideas, make new prepping friends.
Here are granny’s threads, if anyone wants to peruse them:
nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #1
“guess that’s why they want you to brown it—to get some of the liquid out?”
That could be why. Although it said to Brown the outside but keep the inside rare. So there would still be some moisture that would seep out.
There was one thing I can, raw packed, that didn’t turn out appetizing and I can’t remember what it was. I think maybe some type of sausage. But other than that I’ve done trials where I do half Browned and half Raw pack and they end up looking identical. So why do all the work!
I’ve never used Tattler lids, I just re-use the Ball or Kerr ones until they are no good. :-) But I don’t do pressure canning, just water bath.
I make lots of stuff that most people buy, is that useful? Tooth powder, facial scrub, deoderant, hand/thing sanitizer, cough syrup, face moisturize, soothing dry skin balm, “Dragon balm (like Tiger balm but all natural and better), etcetc.
“I’ve never used Tattler lids, I just re-use the Ball or Kerr ones until they are no good. :-) But I don’t do pressure canning, just water bath.”
That’s neat, how often can you reuse them.? And is there a way to tell before you use them and the seal fails that they are beyond their useful life?
That’s what I’m wondering about the Rings for the tattlers. I look at them before I use them and have no idea if they’ll be okay or not.
“I make lots of stuff that most people buy, is that useful? Tooth powder, facial scrub, deoderant, hand/thing sanitizer, cough syrup, face moisturize, soothing dry skin balm, “Dragon balm (like Tiger balm but all natural and better), etcetc.”
Are you kidding! That would be fantastic! That’s the sort of skills very few have. But will be incredibly useful when we need it.
Do it however is easiest for you. You can write up the whole thing and I will post it to the group or you can just send me a list of recipes you have in a word file if you prefer, and I’ll write it to post.
The only thing I’ve done is make laundry soap. I made a liquid version that was disgusting, kind of like Snot. I couldn’t stand to use it so I made a powdered version and it doesn’t dissolve all that well in cooler temperatures. So I quit.
I figured that adding some liquid would be the way to go cause I suspected that the meat did not produce enough on it’s own.
I think people brown the meat because it gives it a different flavor.
No, the recipes are just all my recipes, not specifically for canning.
I’m not the creative type either as far as canning.
Mostly tomatoes, some jams with a low sugar pectin I found that allows for BIG batches, and then pressure canning the meat.
I get the meat on sale and so take advantage of that. Also, on occasion I have scrap pieces of beef, sometimes fat and bones I cut off the beef and I freeze that until I have enough to make broth with and then pressure can the broth for extra.
I appreciate the suggestion of using vinegar to wipe the rim of the jar with. I have had grease get on it and am always concerned that I didn’t get it all off and it would affect the seal.
Turkey grease is especially tenacious. That’s the only downside I’ve found with turkey and preparing it.
I don’t do anything different than disposable lids. I only do water bath canning these days so I never did use tattlers for pressure canning. I use Ball lids when I might be giving jars away. I have a pretty good stockpile of Ball lids so I use them quite a bit too.
That’s a great idea, to freeze bones and fat until you have enough. I’m going to have to remember to do that more often.
I have been waiting since last year for a good sale on Boston butt. I finally gave up and bought a bunch at a mediocre sale. But yeah I love it when they’re having a drastic sale, like everything will expire in the next day or two. Then it’s perfect to go home and can it all right away.
I’m glad that helped.
When I can stock I like to put a little bit of fat in it just to keep that richness and flavor in it. But I always worry of course that that grease is going to make it not seal.
I once canned all my applesauce using tattlers. A couple years ago. I have some friends that love getting applesauce and then I realized that it would cost me quite a bit to be giving those away! The next year I did it 50/50.
We had a prime rib roast for Christmas with family one year and when they ordered the roast, the guy asked them if they wanted it boned and to keep the bones.
They gave them to me for making soup with.
WOW!!!!
That’s when I decided to start doing that.
Now when we get strip steaks and they have all the fat on the end mixed with a little meat that nobody eats anyways, I trim that off and save that too. Nobody misses it and it doesn’t go to waste.
Sausage and hot dogs are not so great.
That’s a great idea! I rarely get to make beef stock.
Yeah they just looked pale and split apart. When I opened it they weren’t even edible, just soft and gushy.
Boston Butt. Ha. that reminds me. I bought 2 whole pork butts one time. What a bear that was to cut up—hubby said don’t do it again, unless you get yourself a butcher’s kit for game or something.
Anyway, I took all that glorious fat and put it into a crock pot to render. Beautiful lard without additives. I just wanted to see if it was doable.
I thought of making laundry soap but after hearing from actual people I knew who tried it, didn’t bother. It apparently does not work in hard water, either, and my water is very hard, minerally well water. Delicious for drinking, but minerally.
It took me 2 hours to cut up two of them. I could have just left more of the fat on them but , I don’t know I didn’t want to I guess. The second set took a less time, by that time I didn’t care what was going into the jars.
I think I ruined my one good knife too. At one point I had five knives out, cuz I couldn’t figure out which one work best.
Sorry, I forgot to ping you!
I still have a large tub of the powdered stuff. I can’t bear to throw things away. If I did, that’s when things would all fall apart. Lol! Maybe I’ll try using it the next time I wash in hot water. Just to use it up.
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