Preserving Fat For Cooking

Discussion in 'Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep' started by poltiregist, Sep 25, 2020.

0/5, 0 votes

  1. poltiregist

    poltiregist Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    This is actually a question . Several years back I was in a pawn shop browsing when I saw a old cast iron lard press that was likely made about 100 years ago . My prepper instinct kicked in and I bought it . It works great but I have never found a use for it . Now with the supply chain likely to break in about a month , I figure the time of using it may be near . --- My question is after fat is pressed and squeezed out , how well will the lard keep ? Does it require any other processing to preserve the lard for cooking ?
     
    Caribou, TMT Tactical and randyt like this.
  2. Rebecca

    Rebecca Master Survivalist
      315/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I actually don't know anything about a lard press but if you render the lard on the stove and then pressure can it, it should keep "indefinitely " is the term I have seen used.

    If you don't pressure can it should keep for a few weeks on the counter or again the "indefinitely " in the freezer.
     
    Caribou, TMT Tactical and poltiregist like this.
  3. randyt

    randyt Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I don't know but have a story about some deer tallow. Years ago when I was a small child my father rendered some tallow from a whitetail deer. Anyhoo 20 years later I bought the farm from my parents. I was cleaning out the barn and thee was a open pot hanging on a hook. In this pot there was chunks of tallow from that deer. The tallow appeared in good shape, it was dirty, dusty. It didn't smell bad. I often wondered how long properly processed tallow would last if kept dry and in the dark.

    Also there is a way of preserving sausage patties. Patties are cooked up and then stacked in a mason jar. The jar is then filled with lard and capped. Pretty sure it is meant to be consumed that season.
     
  4. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    c41ebdca70dd2f3360d4d9716db1d8b3.jpeg

    How to stockpile lard:

    https://www.askaprepper.com/how-to-...e-rich-survival-food-of-the-great-depression/

    I've never heard of nor seen a lard-press. Were I attacked by someone wielding a lard press, I'd have to tell the sheriff, "That madman was attacking me with some metal tool I didn't recognize. But sheriff, that man had murder burning in his eyes and metal clutched in his hands, so I had therefore to shoot him!"

    Are lard presses large? I know that lard comes in bricks. Does a lard press form lard into bricks? The universe is fraught with conundrums.

    How long will lard last? I'd say that if you are rendering pork and do pour the fat straight into jars, it would last dang near forever if immediately sealed. In the skillet, you've added salt.

    When a lad, I ate more than my fair share of streaked meat. The molten fat was poured into jars and we'd eat the cracklings left in the pan. I've watched my grandma pressure cook enough food for mighty armies, however not once did I ever see her put back lard to last for however long. We were perpetually awash in needed grease & lard. The lard from the back of a hog is hard and very different than the belly fat, then there's the fat from around the kidneys. Each has its purpose.

    I will allow the experts to speak; the esoterica of lard:

    https://www.leaf.tv/articles/difference-between-fatback-salt-pork/

    Leaf lard rendering


    You got cracklin cornbread and soup-beans for to eat, you'll not die. Berry jams and jellies added, you'll live even more healthy.

    https://southernhomeexpress.com/cracklin-cornbread/

    ==========================
    What now follows is a light treatise on lard, Southern Appalachia, and the Gates of Heaven.

    If you are patient and you are into historic types of stories, you may find benefit within the following read. Otherwise, you'd best spare yourself and read no further. You have been warned.

    A body first gotta know that they'z yer hawgs, then there's yer groundhawgs. Groundhawgs are fat, but they'll fight you like seven devils to stay alive and keep their fat. "Well hell you old geezer, groundhawgs they jist ain't that varry big!" Skeezicks, you go wrestle one and I'll watch. Knew a fellow who shot one with his rifle and that sure didn't kill it. He said that the little hellion came straight for him and didn't stop untill he'd emptied his .38 revolver into it. I've eaten groundhog and trust me, it is gamey. Be a very good shot, or don't hunt them. Head shots are the best shots on such critters, so you yourself be the best shot to make the head shots.



    My folk slaughtered hogs, what they raised and what they hunted-down. Wild hogs are more lean, but they're more mean. You got your rendering hog breeds and then you got your bacon hog breeds. Rendering hogs aren't just fat, they are whoppers, they look like mutants, mishapenly fat.

    American Chestnut blight of 1917 was a killer. Changed how people lived. Chestnuts fattened-up the wild hogs. And too, cabins were built of chestnut logs -- takes forever to rot. People used to set-out hogs to feed on the chestnuts then come fall, it was time hog-slaughtering in preparation for winter. This is also canning season for the vegetables coming in from harvest season.

    The men of my mom's family set out to hunt wild hogs at this time. My dad's lot were valley people (sort'a-kind'a) and thus could feed their hogs with the corn they grew. My dad's dad killed hogs by slamming them in the head with the flat side of an axe knock'em out, hang'em up by their back legs, and run a long knife into their throat to bleed them out.

    Dad's lot: Money from working the iron mines allowed people to buy farming equipment -- some men in a family worked the mines & some family men worked the farms. Understand that clans, composed of several families (sometimes LOTS of families), stuck together (they had to). If they were members of multiple churches, the churches had the same beliefs. Mess with any one amongst a clan and you've invoked an army -- an army of people who weekly killed to put meat on the table. The women could "part the hair of your head", so don't mess with Betsy! Need I speak of poor girls such as Annie Oakley? I think not. Watch out, Jack!

    Can't grow much corn up in the mountains. The chestnut blight had a horrible impact on the mountain folk. Sure there's the chickens, squirrels and the occasional deer (lean, too lean), but pork is decidedly precious in keeping people alive during bad winters. "Why would anyone want to kill a bear?" Number one, they are in the mountains. Number two, their meat can be salted / turned to jerky and their fat (bears readying for hybernation are FAT) can be rendered into ceramic pots for to store during winter. I have heard it said by more than one person that when frying up bear, all the dogs in the holler would go to howling.

    Ceramic pots, jars, and jugs was what you had up in the hills. The valley folk had glass jars which, though fragile, were super-handy and had sealing lids. My dad's family had things a whole lot better than my mom's family. Mom's clan was "some people didn't make it" poor.

    Winters at 3000 ft /4000ft up in the mountains of Appalachia are not happy winters. Any person with some fat on them were better insulated / body temps not dropping and thus didn't catch some fever and die. Having a working immune system and staying reasonably warm are good things. Lean may be good and all, however if you are not near where you can get antibiotics you'd better have some extra weight on you to see you through to the other side of a nasty fever.

    My grandparents had all weathered scarlet fever and typhoid to live on into their 90s. My dad's mom would slam me with poultices laden with kerosene and menthol plus God only knows what else on my chest to "break loose" the crud in my chest. Other kids took a week or better till they could stand straight and run, me I'd be better in three days. Yes, it DID mean that I'd have to suffer the poultices, the hacking up mass quantities of phlegm, but Mamaw beat the hell out of fevers.

    Churches and family clans took care of the lame and the elderly -- it's what you did. This was done. There was no thinking put to this. There was no, "Oh I'm being a good person for performing this charity!" This is that which is done. Zero variation. Deacons went on the "visitations", which on Sunday was determined who would be visiting which shut-ins with what provisions.

    "How you'a doin' this hyar week, Miss Yates?!" She's 94 yr old and still keeping house. "Now if'n you be in need'a anythin'what's'ever, you jist ring ussin's up awn that thar fancy telephone a'yorn. Taylor hyar has done brought you communion. We awl miss you s'much down at Church, but then, we awl know jist how much that thar hip goes t'hurtin' awn ya. So what's say we awl have us a prayer to our dear Lord right about now!"



     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2020
  5. poltiregist

    poltiregist Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I have learned a lot from you guys today on rendering lard . The only old time hog butchering that I have been to was in a place called the " devils back bone " and I was around 6 or 7 years old at that time . Now that was primitive old fashion hog butchering . So my knowledge on turning fat into lard was limited . --- If I could I would send you guys a picture of the lard press but will give a brief description . It looks to be able to hold one to two gallons of fat with one very strong gear press that when hand cranked sends down a press into the rendered fat . Under the fat is a metal grate for the squeezing's to go through and a exit spout below the grate for the liquified remains to flow out and into a catch basin . --- Actually I didn't know how this press fit into the scheme of lard making until I watched Old Geezer's video . That is when I figured it out . The press is so old that when it was first being used it may have been as what was considered for commercial use . I am fairly sure it is at least 100 years old but being made of cast iron is just as serviceable as it was the day it was first used . Thanks for the help .
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2020
    TMT Tactical, Caribou and Rebecca like this.
  6. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    One thing I know is that the hardness of lard varies greatly. Each type has its use. That stuff, I don't know; however, were you to ask a baker, they'd likely talk your ears off.

    Eating "high on the hog":

    https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/phrases/high-on-the-hog/

    It's not just that the meat is better high on a hawg, the lard cut off the top of a hawg is harder / higher quality.

    Sounds like a press you have. I reckon that the press, like you said, separated the harder lard from the regular renderings. This is just me guessing, but likely some lard was put into the press at temperature, but certainly not in any melted state. The whole process at completion left a brick of harder lard for the commercial market or for use in certain types of baking -- for frying, it just wouldn't matter that much, would it?; you could have a bucket of frying grease at little cost.

    In times past, I've priced bricks of lard and it isn't exactly cheap. I'd thought, like you, that maybe I could put back some of this for storage. Whatever I found out about it back then, led me to the belief that lard bricks weren't how I wanted to store lard.

    But with your press, think about this, you'd know the state of your lard from beginning to the end of the brick formation. Were the lard previously salted and had by your hand been brought to bacteria-killing-temperatures and time therein, your bricks would be at end of process, pristine. With these still very warm bricks, you could then seal them in the fashion of your choice. And when I say "seal", you'd best do it very right lest it be lost to going rancid. I have NO idea of how to seal lard bricks.

    Some folk used to, still do, can lard (pressure-cook it in jars), but like I said, I've never ever been near the process. As a boy, my mom and everybody else near there, knew personally the butcher at a country store. Need lard or specific cuts of meat, he'd slice it in front of you. The owner of that store got paralyzed in a plane crash up in Alaska. He'd roll about the store in his wheelchair, white apron. Mornings, he'd get out his car, roll across the road with a 6" barrelled revolver in his lap. I didn't mess with him. Theoretically he could smile. I never saw him smile, save to his women customers. Even then, it appeared to me that it tested his hardened heart to do so.

    Mom's dad, my mountain man Pap, eventually got a small town job (not one you'd wanna work) and moved his family out the mountains. In town, he didn't fit in ... ever. Yet this, his painful action for himself, saved his kids from a harder life. It's a beautiful thing living within nature, but it's too hard'a thing to watch the weaker children die. "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

    Mom's Pap wasn't involved in the moonshining business ... save to be a consumer of product. As to my dad's side of the family ...
    .
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2020
    Rebecca, poltiregist and TMT Tactical like this.
  7. Caribou

    Caribou Master Survivalist
      410/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
  8. Pragmatist

    Pragmatist Master Survivalist
      485/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Good morning Old Geezer,

    There goes America's contemporary Oberammergau Passion Play; women were "kept down", "nearly useless", "always children" from 1776 ... wait, since 1607 ... until Ruth Bader Ginsberg came alone for the rescue.

    The mention of Annie Oakley - far from a rich girl, grew up in poverty as we'd call it now - refutes the femininist official history of repression.

    Forgot specifics but after getting famous with Buffalo Bill's show, she offered President McKinley to provide a company of lady sharpshooters for the Spanish-American war. The actual history quotes her with word "lady" sharpshooters.

    She retired to a couple of places, one being in Maryland and one somewhere in North Carolina.
     
    Caribou and TMT Tactical like this.
  9. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Ruth Bader Ginsberg was our latter day Margaret Sanger, the person who kept the minority populations down using abortion.

    Diana was the goddess of the hunt. The women of my Appalachian remembrances were strong. They could shoot. They could take care of themselves. Men who abused women got a visitation at night by the local vigilance committees. As a boy, I knew men who served therein. I've taught some decidedly female humans (the whole XX thingy) in marksmanship who, if memory serves, became experts in marksmanship themselves.

    Appalachia, come to think of it, was a lesson in true feminism. The women were, in and of themselves capable. They did NOT whine and demand that any accolade be bestowed upon them without having themselves become the person of respect, the person of honor, deserving of such.

    Most of the "feminism" I witness today is an overt disrespect of truly noble women.

    No screamer deserves any respect. Losing control of one's emotions, especially in public, betrays the critical immaturity lying within the person having the fit.

    The things asked of feminists in the early parts of the 1900s, have been granted. These ordinances can be enforced, can be brought to trial and have been. That which is being asked now among these screamers is that they be granted revenge.

    If one wishes to defeat a man, then defeat him. Become better than your opponent.
    Become the person who cannot be dismissed. Make the lot of your enemy come to respect you more than him. You may not kill him in a day, but you will wear him into the grave long before his time.
    .
     
    Caribou and TMT Tactical like this.
  10. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    Fat is one of the hardest things to come by in nature. That is why the whales were so sought and hunted nearly into extinction. In order to put fat on cattle and hogs, you have to pen them up and feed them lots of grains and high-calorie food. When we butchered the hogs the rendering of the lard was always a big deal. you did a lot more with that than just fry in it. We made some of the best lye soap ever with rendered almost snow-white lard. I remember when you washed with soap that you grated and used to hand wash your clothes. My grandmother on my Mama's side never owned a washing machine. When her kids tried to get her to let them buy her one she would just laugh and tell them that hot and cold running water made washing clothes about as simple as she could imagine. No firs to build and no soap to make and grate. To the day she died, she used rub boards and a clothesline. Her sheets were ironed and smelled like heaven.

    Without soap, all that you can do is rinse clothes off and that isn't clean. Clothes that are not kept clean don't last as long. Abrasion wears down the fibers and dirt and sand is like little knives as you move about.

    People now accept so many things as just given. You just go and buy soap and have all the different types for different uses. Even among those of us that are preppers we didn't live that life and will not realize what ALL we have lost until it happens and like when the last bar of store-bought soap is gone for most soap will be a thing of the past until they find someone that learned when they were a kid or something.

    Writing is going to be lost. We don't know how to make a pencil, Styluses (How many people these days even know what a stylus is and why the graphite in pencils is called lead?), paper pens and ink. THINK for a bit what it will be like to not have a decent way to write and keep records. Needles and thread??? You had better have LOTS of them. How long will it be before we will have access to cloth again?
     
    Caribou, TMT Tactical and poltiregist like this.
    1. Dalewick
      Ink isn't that hard to make actually and if you have a small supply of gum Arabic and thyme oil (which you can render) on hand.
      Black Walnut Ink
      • 1/2 cup dried walnut hulls
      • 1 cup water
      • 1/2 tsp. gum Arabic
      • 3 drops thyme essential oil
      Boil the walnut hulls with water for 30 minutes. Strain out the hulls and whisk in the gum Arabic. Cool and pour into a small bottle. Add the thyme essential oil and shake to combine.

      If you don't have gum Arabic you can use pine resin and a sugar and oil of cloves to prevent molding. As a kid I made ink for a school project out of maple bark (Boiled down), pine resin, honey and oil of cloves and wrote on handmade paper with a turkey quill. The ink was a cool looking brown color. Paper is simple to make from either old paper or winter collected hornets nest. Guess it will depend on how bad you need to write something.
       
      Dalewick, Sep 26, 2020
  11. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I remember rendering lard or tallow as being a yearly thing. I do remember my granny going on about a tin (mason jar) of lard that was good after 3 years but it seems like most was used up within the year. I know it will last indefinitely frozen, but you can't exactly count on a freezer after a SHTF event. I also remember bear fat being rendered the same way and all of it being used for making soap. I also remember it being mixed with bee's wax and linen seed oil to make cloth water proof.

    I also remember that they used a pressure canner to can fat and they only did that when they had to.

    I've always wondered how old the bacon grease mom and granny kept beside the stove was. I don't ever remember it being empty or mom emptying it out to clean it, though she probably did and I just didn't notice as a kid. I've kept bacon grease for 4 months without it going rancid while sitting on the counter top.

    Some of the best lard my wife has ever used came from a hog that had fattened on white oak acorns. he was good.

    Dale
     
    DirtDiva, Rebecca, Caribou and 2 others like this.
  12. Pragmatist

    Pragmatist Master Survivalist
      485/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Good morning TexDanm,

    I'm one of the few who know what a stylus is. Went to a meeting with a clipboard and Streamlight brand high-intensity light attached to board. Also carried a quill - think of picture of those signing the Declaration of Independence - and a pen knife.

    For other meetings, especially inventory control of anything, sometimes, based on my mood, will carry an abacus.
     
    Caribou and TMT Tactical like this.
  13. Caribou

    Caribou Master Survivalist
      410/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Dale, properly canned fat will keep indefinitely.

    I remember my mom cleaning the bacon grease. There were always a ton of bacon bits on the bottom of the crock she kept the grease in.
     
    poltiregist, TMT Tactical and Rebecca like this.
  14. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    It was probably more that it only lasted a year. With the size of my family it was no wonder they needed a hog and cow each year for fat and meat. My Mom's side had 12 kids including my mom and my Dad's side had 14 brothers and sisters. That meat and fat always got substituted with wild game. During the years long before I showed up there wasn't much game in West Virginia. The depression had come close to decimating game populations here. Even when I was a young man it was unusual to even see a deer and you had to go to the national forest for animals like bear and turkey. Wildlife management is why WV has abundant game now.

    I've heard others talk about using fat years after canning, it just never lasted long enough for me to find out. LOL!

    Dale
     
    poltiregist, Rebecca and TMT Tactical like this.
  15. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    poltiregist likes this.
  16. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    My eldest ( the hog hunter) brought me a gift of leaf lard. I rendered down and put in mason jars along with cracklins for cornbread.

    [​IMG]
     
    Dalewick, randyt and TMT Tactical like this.
  17. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Food City on clearance whipping cream $0.89 a half gallon marked down due to getting ready to expire. Bought 12 and came home and made butter. 6 gallons of cream made 17 pounds of butter. So for 10.68 I got 17 pounds of butter at an average of $0.63 a pound.

    [​IMG]

    Used my butter mold to make 1 pound bricks to freeze for now.

    [​IMG]

    Sliced some into sticks for holiday baking and such

    [​IMG]

    In the days and weeks to come I will render further down into ghee making it shelf stable.
    It is somewhat of a time consuming effort.

    [​IMG]

    And 3 gallons of fresh buttermilk so I baked buttermilk cornbread for my Cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving so I can premake my stuffing. I also made several large batches of buttermilk blueberry pancakes to freeze for easy breakfasts. With the rest of the buttermilk I am going to make ricotta cheese to make a couple lasagnas to freeze.
     
    1. TMT Tactical
      More great posts. Please keep them coming.
       
      TMT Tactical, Nov 20, 2021
      DirtDiva likes this.
  18. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Uuuhhhh, DirtDiva, we have a problem here.

    Here you are brazenly posting photos of corn pone bread.

    It's nearing supper here. I'm more than a bit peckish -- not much for lunch -- now you post this corn pone pornography. Have you no shame?!

    I could die. :(

    I could just shrivel-up and die.

    If I die of hunger, it's on you EvilDiva!

    upload_2021-11-20_17-56-45.png
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
    1. DirtDiva
      Hmmmm EvilDiva I like it :po_O:D:cool:
       
      DirtDiva, Nov 22, 2021
  19. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    if cooking a game stew it is normal to add something like a lump of pork fat to the lean contents, for general cooking my parents always used butter before modern margerines or cooking oils became available.
    when cooking chips/french fries in the old days we used to use Beef Dripping, great on toast.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  20. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Dirt Diva, great post as usual and I'm also a fan of Ghee.
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
  21. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Asian/Indian cooking, I'm in favour of more traditional English fare.
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
  22. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Way more to it than that LW, where will you get butter or fat from if it hits the fan or oil for that matter. Canned ghee lasts for years.

    You can use ghee in bread and pastry making, spread it on bread with your morning marmalade or marmite.

    When your down to your last bags of rice and pulses you'll wish you'd looked into Indian cookery more, using asian herbs and spices transforms plain food/vegetable dishes. Lot more to Indian food than a vindaloo or chickpea curry and its a fact that when your under stress/hungry /cold you crave more intense flavours.
     
    DirtDiva likes this.
  23. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    WHEN it hits the fan Max we wont be eating the same meals as we would in the good times, not just me I mean everyone, it'll probably be one pan cooking once the power goes out.
     
    randyt and TMT Tactical like this.
  24. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    A one pot meal still benefits from herbs/spices/fat etc, bad planning if you don't have a stock of all three
     
    DirtDiva and Dalewick like this.
  25. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    depends on what we are cooking, not everything needs fat in it and food can be over spiced, we grow herbs in the garden, I like to taste my food not the additives.
    thats the problem with a lot of food these days it is so over spiced and peppered people have dulled their taste buds and they need it heavily spiced to get any taste from it. one reason we dont eat out anymore.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  26. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    how do you feel about Thai, Japanese or other Asian or Latin American foods. Some of us really dislike curry spiced dishes.

    I also grow my own herbs and lots of peppers. Onions and garlic go a long ways to. I wish I could successfully grow vanilla orchids and real cinnamon.

    Dale
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
    1. Old Geezer
      I bet cinnamon sticks would keep for a long time -- especially if one were to put oxygen-absorbers into the jar and seal the lid very well. I love pepper and have jars of the pods. I grind it when putting it on a dish.
       
      Old Geezer, Nov 29, 2021
      DirtDiva and Dalewick like this.
  27. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I remember my mother saving meat juices in a little pot on the kitchen window sill and being amazed as a child when it set hard.
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
  28. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Ghee does not have to be used in just Indian dishes. The main benefit of ghee is that it is a fat that can be made shelf stable for years.

    I also have seen some homesteaders can butter but I have never done that myself and have heard that it changes the texture and taste. I again have not tried it.

    I personally grow herbs as most of you here. Not only seasonings such as onions, chives and garlic but also herbs used for my homemade soaps and salves, medicinal teas and even herbs as pollinator attractors for my garden.

    I think that lard rendered from animal fat can be very useful as well. Lard not only makes wonderful flaky biscuits and pie crusts but I have also used mine in making homemade soaps. If kept cool it can be shelf stable for quite some time as well.
     
    Dalewick and TMT Tactical like this.
  29. arctic bill

    arctic bill Master Survivalist
      360/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I have been saving my grease fat in jars for a couple of years now. I have four large pickle jars
    full with all sort of fat, bacon, hamburger, chicken pork roast, pork chops , sausages ect .
    My intent was to make soap with the ashes from my wood stove in the spring. there are some very good web pages on how to do this. Also as a retired plumber it is much better to clean the grease off you dishes than to let it do down the drain.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  30. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    when I lived in the suburbs the old couple next door (both passed now) used to flush all their grease down the sink and block the adjoining main drains on a regular basis, rented apartments so the landlord (Housing Association) had to get it sorted each time(and pay for it).
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  31. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    As an experienced soap maker making with wood ash may be the way to go. I had always used store bought lye but since lye is a main ingredient in making the street drug meth many stores no longer carry it and several stores require ID when purchasing. Purchase too much and you get a visit from law enforcement I guess. Since you are a plumber some drain cleaners are pure lye if you can find one with no additives it can be used also. Lots of alternatives.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  32. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    My mother my entire life had a grease pot next to her stove for grease and pan drippings made of aluminum. I now own it. A grease pot is very useful for bacon and sausage drippings. Most have a strainer in the top of the pot under the lid. You can simply pour your hot pan drippings in and they run through the strainer catching any bits of meat and having clean drippings underneath thus keeping it from going ransid. Grease pots are still available today and make collecting animal fat easy. I sometimes put a dollop of bacon fat on the top of my homemade buttermilk biscuits before baking.

    [​IMG]
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  33. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  34. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Problem with a lot of asian food cooked for westerners is that they often over use chili thinking for some reason that we love the stuff. Eat a curry cooked by an Indian and its very rare you'll find it overpowered with hot chili, spicy yes, burning hot no.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
    1. DirtDiva
      Max I grew up on cajun food and find the same occurrence with that. People I think do not understand the difference between spicy and hot with it either.
       
      DirtDiva, Dec 7, 2021
      TMT Tactical and Dalewick like this.
  35. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    your talking about restaurant food I think. most if not all Asian food sold to Westerners is nothing like is eaten by ordinary people in their home countries, its been spiced up and altered to suit western palates.
    personally nothing compares to home cooked food, at least I know whats in it.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  36. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Max, it's actually not the peppers in curry that I dislike. It's the overall flavor with turmeric, cumin, ginger, etc. that I dislike. I love peppery hot food. Always have. I was dumb enough to try pepper soup in Thailand many years ago and finally found something to hot for me. I've had several Indian dishes prepared by several very nice Indian ladies over the years. Always with the same outcome, me trying to like the dishes, but not. Some Thai dishes that use ginger and turmeric are not palatable to me either. That's how I figured out which spices I didn't like. I think it's just personal preference but I guess it could be something like how some people love cilantro and to the rest of us it taste like soap.

    Dale
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
  37. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    these days we have to be careful what we eat, unless we prepare it ourselves we dont know what goes into it and there are some very unhealthy additives included in food these days, like Palm Oil for instance, some instances of contaminated food that was bleached and washed then used for human meals has been well documented in the UK in the past.
    everybody should be taught from a young age how to cook for themselves good quality food then we would not have all this current problems with Obesity and Gastric Bands fitted on the NHS.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  38. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Coriander is a central component to many Indian dishes, I love the stuff, its also common in Greek food and I make Cypriot style lamb/garlic/coriander burgers from time to time...lovely :)

    At least you've tried but don't like it so good on you, though you might like curry dishes from the south like Sri Lanka which tend to be milder and a little 'sweeter' with the use of things like sweeter bell capsicum and coconut plus the use of a lot more fish instead of meat.

    Anyone here keep a few bottles of liquid smoke in their food stock? I 'discovered' it on a trip to the US years ago and it was only available online in the UK but I noticed two of the major supermarket chains are stocking it now; I find it handy to have, yes its cheating but it can liven what otherwise could be a dull dish.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  39. DirtDiva

    DirtDiva Master Survivalist
      285/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I always have a few bottles of liquid smoke on hand and my other cheat is Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  40. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    wife has Liquid Smoke in the kitchen cupboard, I just spoke to her about this post and she said "good reminder, I must get some more!"!!!!
     
    TMT Tactical and DirtDiva like this.
  41. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    The liquid smoke in Tesco is made by Knorr and it good stuff. Few drops of that, tom ketchup, olive oil, tom puree, paprika, garlic salt and you have a quick BBQ sauce. I dread to think whats in it but I don't care, tastes good :)
     
    TMT Tactical and DirtDiva like this.
  42. arctic bill

    arctic bill Master Survivalist
      360/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    thanks. I will be attempting soap in the spring. I made some lye this years but it was not strong enough to float an egg,
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
  43. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Yes, we keep liquid smoke in the house, both hickory and mesquite flavors. There great when you don't have time to actually smoke something.

    Dale
     
    DirtDiva and TMT Tactical like this.
  44. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I'm looking at building a 'proper' smoker at the home in Spain but its not high on my list...but I will have one. A common wood in my area of Spain is Olive which is a good dense hard wood and works well I'm told on a BBQ or smoker so look forward to trying that in the coming months.
     
    TMT Tactical and DirtDiva like this.
  45. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    In some cultures Olive Wood is considered Holy and has other religious significance.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  46. poltiregist

    poltiregist Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Yesterday I spent my day rendering lard . This was a first time experience for me . I decided to share my findings of this chore . My son showed up with 7 pounds of beef fat wanting to make lard as he deemed it was higher in omega 3 than salmon and we are always looking at perfecting new survival strategies . We fired up the cast iron wood fueled stove that sits in my outside cook house . Fat was sliced up thin and put in a cast iron dutch oven and sat on the stove and heated up , which we occasionally stirred to prevent scorching fat pieces near the bottom of the pot . After about a hour of cooking the fat was poured into the lard press that I posted about on the opening thread of this link . Much of the liquid immediately came out of the presses bottom spout with no need for pressing . By using the press however we doubled the amount of liquid from the fat . Back on the wood cook stove went the cast iron pot and we cooked the same fat for a second time and then repeated the same process with the press which yielded about as much lard as the first pressing . We jarred up the lard in mason jars . The end results from 7 pounds of fat we had about 1 and 3/4 quarters of lard . --- My conclusion , cooking fat outdoors is highly recommended as it produces an unpleasant smell that might leave a odor in your house " if it is done indoors " . -- When obtaining fat is limited a lard press is extremely valuable as it will double the amount of lard you can extract . --- For our members I would think obtaining a lard press these days would be very difficult but if you were lucky enough to find a functioning lard press , it would up your survival capabilities considerably if you could purchase it .
     
    Old Geezer, TMT Tactical and DirtDiva like this.
  47. poltiregist

    poltiregist Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    A quick check on E Bay showed they do have lard presses for sale ranging in price from around $200.00 and up . I paid $100,00 for mine at a pawn shop years ago . It appears that I got a good deal . With every thing falling apart with the crises created by the agenda 31 enthusiast this is a item likely destined to become a future non- attainable item .
     
    TMT Tactical and DirtDiva like this.
  48. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Pemmican

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican
    ----

    Folk have posted their recipes for pemmican on this site before; but while we're on the topic of storing lard for long-term storage, we should ask the experts, the most wise -- which is to say the First People in North America. I tried to find-out if there was a version of pemmican made by the ancient tribes of Europe. I didn't find info for this in a quick search, but no doubt they too came up with a similar long-storage lard product. What we do know is that N.Am. aboriginals sure did have great recipes to create a product that could be stored for a long time and was filled with life-sustaining calories. Long harsh winters are the source of the evolution of smart people -- either you are very smart, or you are very dead.

    https://www.woolsleepingbag.com/pemmican/

    "When the white men set out across North America, a reliable supply of
    portable provisions was one of the major problems. Lacking the skills
    of the native hunters, it was doubtful that they could live off the
    country. They knew something about preserving food, a necessity for
    sailing ships, but it was limited to salting and pickling. The
    resultant salt pork and hardtack were unappetizing fare but they kept
    life in a man.

    "The Plains Indians had a better solution to the problem, and one on
    which the fur traders and explorers came to depend. The answer was
    pemmican. The Cree word Pimikan meant, roughly, manufactured grease,
    but there was a lot more than that to it."

    -----------------------------

    Seems like everybody and their brother has a recipe for pemmican. Here is a search link for "how-to" videos:

    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=making+pemmican&t=newext&atb=v1-1&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos

    ----------------------------------------------

    Storage life

    https://www.offthegridnews.com/extreme-survival/10-foods-you-can-store-for-100-years/

    Quotes in color blue:

    2. Pemmican

    Shelf-life: Indefinite

    Pemmican was first made by Native-Americans and later by European fur traders and settlers. It was made from meat of large game like buffalo, bison, elk or deer. The lean meat was cut into small pieces and dried by putting it over an open fire. Then it was mixed with fat and pressed into little cakes. Sometimes, berries were tossed in for extra flavor. Pemmican makes a great survival food. In fact, it was given in rations and used by British soldiers during the Second Boer War (1899-1902).


    9. Bouillon

    Shelf Life: Indefinite

    Because bouillon has large amounts of salt, it can last a long time. However, over time, the taste of the bouillon can be altered. So if storing bouillon cubes, it’s best to use a food sealer or seal in Mylar bags. It makes a great survival food used in broth or soup to deliver much-needed electrolytes to the body. I use it often in soups and stews; it’s a great way to save money and keep food costs low.

    ---------------------

    In my storage containers, I pair bouillon cubes with dried rice -- they are in separate jars, but in the same buckets.

    .
     
    poltiregist and TMT Tactical like this.
  49. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I think pemmican was primarily a north American dish that perhaps suited the more nomadic lifestyle of the native tribes. In Europe fixed communities with farming has been in place for an awful long time so perhaps the need for something like pemmican was not really needed over here. Farming was established, butter would be made year round, air drying and smoking was practiced all over Europe together will well established trading routes in place, commerce is nothing new.

    North American fry bread came from Bannock bread bought in by Scottish settlers and fried flatbread started off in the the middle east and travelled west as the trade routes opened up.

    I've seen cans of French butter and Spanish margarine on sale in shops here, not something you see in the UK, in fact there is a lot more canned and jarred food on sale in Spanish stores compared to the UK, much broader range of all sorts of goodies.

    Re: bouillon cubes, dried oxtail or chicken soup make a good base for soups/stews/gravies and lasts for years whether cup 'o'soup, packet or catering tubs and the large catering tubs are easy to repack in to vac pack bags, I've done this myself in the past.

    I start a new contract in two weeks time but I've had a blast here the last three months and bit the bullet and ended up getting contractors in for much of the work on the house. Its cost me but they've done in ten weeks what would have taken me two years so money well spent; I've a 'new' beautiful Spanish Finca and the furniture starts arriving from Wednesday. Still a lot to do with the outbuildings/drive/fences/garden but the home is pretty much done and I'm chilling out with my lad who arrived today.

    Keep safe one and all, we live in dangerous times.
     
    poltiregist and TMT Tactical like this.
  50. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Buying provisions today. What to do for lunch. German kippered herring has shelf life out to 2025; however, this ain't gonna last that long. I'll have eaten it all ... by May of this year, 2022. Buy & eat the stuff perpetually. Love fish w/ club crackers.

    Noticed canned corned beef; plenty on the shelf (NOT corned beef hash). Expiration dates were in 2026. Wifer isn't keen on this. I freaking love it. Just now, bringing up the topic, my salivary glands are firing fonts.

    Corned beef cans have a key on the side for opening them. Corned beef is loaded with calories, fat and protein.

    https://www.stilltasty.com/Fooditems/index/18762

    Corned beef hash:
    https://www.eatthismuch.com/food/nutrition/corned-beef-hash,138543/

    https://www.stilltasty.com/Fooditems/index/16969

    Is corned beef a healthy food? Who the hell cares! It'll keep you alive. Sodium? Who the hell cares!

    Survival is a week-to-week phenomenon. Worried about you cholesterol? Uhhhhh, no. Worry about your ammo supplies.
    .
     
    poltiregist and TMT Tactical like this.
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Leather Maintenance; Preserving, Protecting Survival Gear Oct 4, 2020
Represerving Water Finding, Purifying, and Storing Water Aug 26, 2019
What's Your Plan For Preserving Meat Or Fish? Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep Feb 21, 2019
Tomatoes From Garden To Table & Preserving 1 Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep Mar 31, 2018
Tomatoes From Garden To Table & Preserving 2 Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep Mar 31, 2018
Harvesting. Picking & Preserving Tomatoes. Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep Mar 26, 2018
Preserving Summer Squash Into Winter Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep Aug 3, 2017
Preserving Embers In Ash All Resources About Fire Jul 12, 2017
Preserving Embers In Ash All Resources About Fire Jul 12, 2017
Making Salt Pork 18th Century Style For Preserving. Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep Aug 13, 2016

Share This Page