Beef is, supposedly, in a bit of a shortage right now but that’s fine with me. When it comes to animal protein my flesh of choice comes from chickens. So…when I was patrolling the meat counter at ALbertson’s I saw this:
Hmm. $1.69 a pound is pretty good for boneless skinless. So I ask the guy behind the counter how the stuff is packaged in bulk. The answer is this:
Forty pound box. Okay, hook a brother up.
Of course, once you get a box of forty pounds of chicken breast you have a job in front of you. See, in the box is a big plastic bag full of loose chicken and about two gallons of the most disgusting, slimy, chicken funk you can imagine. Can’t just leave it like that for the cryo nap…nope…gotta repackage.
So, out comes the trusty vacuum sealer. Took a while, but the freezer is now full of lotsa animal protein. Did I buy it because I think there’s going to be some sort of chicken shortage? Heck no..how does the world run out of chickens??? No, this is simply because while I believe there’s always going to be chicken to buy I don’t believe I’ll always have money to buy it. Never know what the future holds, and only an idiot would assume that they’ll always have a job and always have money.
So, a happy little day of food security. Go me!
I buy the $1.69 or $1.98 per pound breasts from Sams. Trim off the bad stuff, chop em into 10ish ounce size, use the cut parts to bulk up smaller breasts, and freeze them. I try to keep a 3 month supply, maybe a 2 month supply.
Allowed me to survive the whole ‘No Meat’ portion of the Covidiocracy.
That, and a chub of ground beef hacked into 4oz packets, frozen.
Makes up about 95% of my meat needs.
Occasionally will buy a pork loin (when they’re cheap) and cut them into ‘boneless pork chops’ and package them 2 per, freeze.
Don’t understand people who pay full price for a single piece of meat.
I’d buy a half cow or half pig if I had the freezer space.
“only an idiot would assume that they’ll always have a job and always have money.”
Ya got that right!
Wise man say “Crap happens”.
How do you organize your deep freezer space to help with rotation?
I’m trying different ideas but nothing is coming out as stellar.
Steelheart
Plastic milk crates. It gives me modularity. One milk crate full of chicken, one full of soups, etc, etc. Then I just open the freezer, pull out the correct crate and set it aside, close the freezer, and sift through the crate as needed. Also, in winter, when its -5 outside, is when I do my freezer defrost and reorganization.
Brilliant! Milk crates! I purchased those handy bins specifically for freezers, and you cant get much of anything in them. My freezer is stocked full but it’s disorganized. I am getting those milk crates!!
We’re currently using dollar store bins for a similar system. The multiple smaller bins allow better rotation by date and give the ability to feed into a different, easier to access, freezer for ready use.
What I don’t know is how well these cheap bins will hold up to sub-zero temps. Milk crates don’t seem to care, even with years at those temps.
Steelheart
I got 20lbs chicken for 1.13 per lb that’s all they had I can’t see why y’all freeze constant power usage, if power fails constant gas usage and possible spoilage I can all my meat preps pints hold 1 lb quarts 2lbs the pints take 75 minutes at 10 lbs pressure quarts take 90minutes at 10 lbs. Just stick em in a cool dark closet and you’re done. Just had venison from 2009 and green beans from 2012 canning seems way more economical what say?
Finished m last “can” of 2011 tuna this year.
Here’s hoping for a good harvest this year.
Raw chicken jerky, made much like regular jerky no fat please. Dried until it snaps it shrinks a lot and kept in a recycled jar in a cool dry place good for years. I made the first for snacks for my hunting dogs and then because a bear got into my food one camping trip I cooked up a batch with some wild greens. Tasted pretty good with a dash of hot sauce and salt.
No power no freezer, chicken jerky NO Problem. Next I want to try a biltong version of it.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but 2 gallons of juices at 8lbs a gallon (assume water weight but chicken albumin is probably denser) is 16 lbs of wasted cost unless they gave you another 50% off.
Scheduled to butcher a calf in a couple of months. I was about study up on the Bearded Butchers YouTube channel and do the deed myself because in Central Texas custom butchers are backlogged until March or April 2021. Mid October I’ll replenish the beef supply
Small meat markets here in southern Minnesota were only taking names, not giving prices or anything similar, a couple months back. We haven’t wasted the time trying to follow up.
Steelheart
Supply chain issues are a real thing. TP is back on the shelves, but try finding isopropyl alcohol of any strength, pasta or beans — at least in the central Atlantic states. Beef or pork pries have nearly doubled, and finding a private butcher who will cut meat for you before summer of 2021 is impossible.
The “Second Wave” is coming, and the supply chain is in no ways ready to address it. Buy what you can, now, and stock as deep as you can, now.
“Did I buy it because I think there’s going to be some sort of chicken shortage? Heck no..how does the world run out of chickens???”. Well, there was, IIRC, the avian flu scare. Didn’t the Chinese have to kill millions of chickens and ducks a few years ago? Or am I thinking of something else? Still, always a good idea to stock up at reasonable prices.
As for alcohol, I picked up a handle of Everclear 190 proof, which is probably a safer alternative to isopropyl, a while ago. Rice, beans (dried & canned), and pasta all available here (CO). The looming issue here is that hunting licenses are selling fast. I have mine, but am not looking forward to sharing the woods with hordes of newbies. Looks like I’ll have to hike farther this year. It’s always something.
Used to transport those #40 boxes(regular/ kosher/halal) to specialty markets. That same box at the packing house outlet in Chicago would be about $.59-$.79@# not on sale. I prefer thighs/leg1/4s better flavor,cooks longer without drying out and much cheaper $.25-$.59@#. Neighbor just located a old school polish butcher for real kishka(blood sausage) and he arranged for deer butchering at a excellent price.