Obsession with Meat

The scent of smoke is beginning to disappear in our home after 3 days of lingering in the air.  This time the smoke is a welcome scent not to be associated with smoky burnt food or from the wood stove.   For a week Chad cured bacon and then smoked it for several hours.  Because of the chilly weather he could not finish smoking the bacon outside, so he got it all smoky and then brought it inside to heat in the oven.  Hence the rich smoky scent all over the house.    This is just one more skill Chad is adding to being self sufficient.  For two weekends he was busy making bratwursts and Italian Sausage; grinding pork, seasoning, and stuffing in sausage casings.  This weekend he will be smoking Canadian Bacon.   He has enjoyed being the king of meat, and he is looking for more things to add to his list. 
 
And… pork was on sale this week at Safeway.  The magic word, sale.  So today the kids helped me bottle pork.  Have you ever tried bottled meat?  I love my home bottled meat, it makes my good food, fast convenience food.  I have been out of pork for a while and we have really missed it.  Monday night is usually taco night, and after making tortillas I can open a bottle of pork, add the seasoning, and by the time the table is set dinner is ready.  It is awesome, and tastes great!   So today we tried to restock the shelves.   Connor and Sam helped cube the pork and did a great job of trimming off the fat.  Alyssa worked at browning the cubed meat to get it ready for the jars. 
     
While we worked we talked about where our food comes from.  I was so glad to hear them say a farm.  Connor had started out saying the store but pointed out it was grown on a farm.   We also talked about how making our own food was better than buying processed food because we know what is in it.   They would never get all of this experience in a public school, another reason I am so glad we made the decision to home school.   And look at what we accomplished in a few hours. 
 
There is still more to pack in bottles tomorrow, and I am feeling better to have bottled meat back in my pantry.