Hillbilly prepping

[gregintenn]

The weather outside is frightful, so we’re canning pinto beans today. I think we’re the missing link between hillbilly and prepper.

Anybody got any innovative canning ideas?

[Alleycat72]

I started making wine and mead, because the barter system. 

[gregintenn]

49 minutes ago, Alleycat72 said:

I started making wine and mead, because the barter system. 

Good call. Bad comes to worse, you can at least sit back and enjoy TEOTWAWKI!

[Alleycat72]

My best friend that is a lieutenant colonel. A couple of years ago he texted out of the blue asking is I was prepared. This was when BLM and antifa was hot and heavy. We worked together some in non-related areas so I got the message. We have encrypted messaging. He has not sent a message about the border. I'm just some guy on the internet so.....

[papa61]

1 hour ago, Alleycat72 said:

My best friend that is a lieutenant colonel. A couple of years ago he texted out of the blue asking is I was prepared. This was when BLM and antifa was hot and heavy. We worked together some in non-related areas so I got the message. We have encrypted messaging. He has not sent a message about the border. I'm just some guy on the internet so.....

I have a friend like that. Been Radio silence lately.

Good for you Greg, Have yet to learn canning.

 

Edited January 27 by papa61

[gregintenn]

Lol! This led to building mama more shelves to store canned goods. A trophy husband’s job is never done!

[papa61]

2 hours ago, gregintenn said:

Lol! This led to building mama more shelves to store canned goods. A trophy husband’s job is never done!

I don't do that either, me and wood do not get along. I just go to Home Depot and buy them or pick something up from marketplace/craigslist. I mean, I measure 3 times and use a square and still can't make a 90 deg corner. If I went to a barn raising I'd have to cook.

[NoBanStan]

On 1/27/2024 at 10:42 PM, papa61 said:

I don't do that either, me and wood do not get along. I just go to Home Depot and buy them or pick something up from marketplace/craigslist. I mean, I measure 3 times and use a square and still can't make a 90 deg corner. If I went to a barn raising I'd have to cook.

This is me. My construction ability can be best described as "janky"

[gregintenn]

On 2/1/2024 at 12:30 PM, NoBanStan said:

This is me. My construction ability can be best described as "janky"

Mine too, but I can measure and saw 2x4s and screw them together. They are in the basement, so the don’t have to look pretty.

[NoBanStan]

30 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Mine too, but I can measure and saw 2x4s and screw them together. They are in the basement, so the don’t have to look pretty.

I just got in my crawlspace today and did some work. Which reminds me, I should thank the TGO'ers who gave me some ideas on how to fix it... more in another thread

[Jeb48]

My grandparents raised 3 kids during the Great Depression and had a very large garden until they were too old to take care of it anymore. Had what I guess would be consider a root cellar, that was about 15X10 that was floor to ceiling shelves that by Winter was full of canned vegetables, fruit and meat.  My grandfather hunted and fished for much of the meat on the table again till he couldn't anymore.  Never forgot the hard times. Grandma cooked on an old wood cook stove till the late 50s burning wood scrapts that grandpa got from the ladder factory he worked at. 

We tried to have a similar cellar when we were in our 30s and with less than a tenth of the shelving at a garden maybe a quarter of the size, gave up on the idea  after a couple of years as to much work.  They were hardier stock,

We're prepared to last a month or so in a SHTF situation, after that at out age I guess we die.  I have told a few friends if the SHTF, to load up all their food, ammo and guns and come on out we have a more defendable spot than any of them.

[gregintenn]

We canned some red beans n rice yesterday. We plan to can a round of beef stew tomorrow.

[Jamie Jackson]

Canning is an excellent and imho, necessary skill.

I taught myself to pressure cans meats first as I figured everything else should be fairly easy.

I too can dried beans as the beans can get hard over time and wind up crunchy, even after soaking overnight and a long crock pot cook.

I use a ratio of 60/40 (40% dried beans to 60% water). I put a small amount of canning salt (it doesn't could up like iodized salt does). I just bear in mind seasonings are enhanced during the canning process and I figure I can always add additional seasoning after opening.

I have home canned pinto beans, black beans, and black eyed peas in my basement pantry as I type this.

Oh, dried beans. In my experience they start getting hard/tough after about 5-7 years...even in Mylar bags with o2 absorbers. YYMV

I've read many warnings over the years about being really cautious including rice or pasta in the canning process as their absorption rate can negatively impact the safety of the process. Again YMMV

I have canned gumbo using a small amount of rice and survived it. I've also canned Swedish meatballs in gravy and that went well.

Back in the actual paper magazine days I subscribed to Back Homes magazine. I have several books I purchased through them and my most used are the Jackie Clay books.

"Growing and Canning Your Own Food" is excellent imho. I think I bought mine in 2009. I know it didn't initially include a Table of Contents and Ms. Clay mailed it to me later on. 

I've even had email discussions with Ms. Clay when I was experimenting with various canning projects. Nice lady.

https://www.backwoodshome.com/shop/product/growing-and-canning-your-own-food-2/

Back when bacon was semi affordable I gave a try at canning bacon using parchment paper, laying the bacon out on the paper and rolling it up. Worked great!

I've also canned "Hot Wings" and spicy chicken legs and thighs. Great for a quick addition to a meal after a long days work.  

 

Thanks for starting this thread @gregintenn. Interesting stuff and an encouragement to do some more.

 

[gregintenn]

I didn’t actually put rice in the red beans and sausage. It did turn out good. Instead of beef, I got a deer roast out of the freezer and we canned venison stew. It turned out really good as well. So far, we’ve batted 1000 on the canning. Everything had been good. Green beans, pintos, purple hills, tomato sauce, various pickles, deer roast, etc. My wife wants to try breakfast sausage next. Her grandmother canned it and she always liked it.

[OldIronFan]

Back when I had a decent salsa garden (tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic, multiple peppers) I made upwards of 100 pints of salsa every year. Some went to family but we tended to go through at least a jar a week in our house alone. 
Since I had the water bath canning setup I threw cucumbers into the mix and made ~20 or so jars of pickles annually.
I ended up getting pretty good with jams and jellies as well. Friends and family always wanted my jars of pepper jelly and Blackberry jam for Christmas every year instead of gift cards or a bottle of wine.

I never got setup to pressure can so I never did try low acid veggies or meats. 

Now I do not have a garden and the new house is not conducive to starting one. No fences and hordes of deer, rabbit, armadillo, opossum, and skunks make it nearly impossible to keep plants alive that are not right up against the house. 

If they ever develop the land behind me and I have to put up a fence I might try again. I adopted the square foot gardening raised bed method for my last garden and had some great success with it. Efficient and easy maintenance as well. 

[gregintenn]

I ground and froze 20 pounds of breakfast sausage today. I’d rather grind an elephant than clean up afterword.

[papa61]

3 hours ago, gregintenn said:

I ground and froze 20 pounds of breakfast sausage today. I’d rather grind an elephant than clean up afterword.

Bet you have an electric grinder. Cast iron hand crank is easy to clean, hard to crank though.

[gregintenn]

13 hours ago, papa61 said:

Bet you have an electric grinder. Cast iron hand crank is easy to clean, hard to crank though.

Only way to go.