# Hunting > Game Cooking and Recipes >  Getting back to living off the land.....

## bumblefoot

Finally have the chance to get back to my old lifestyle of trying to live off the land. Was away from home, or part time here for about 5-years due to family circumstances. So great to be doing it again.....  :Have A Nice Day:  


Pretty much everything off the property or hunted. Salad of; lettuce, purple mustard, broad bean shoots, nasturtium leaf, mint, spring onion, radish and borage flowers all of the property. The tomatoes, cheese, sunflower seeds, peanuts all bought. Salad dressing of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (grapefruit from Stratford Crop Swap) and bought sesame oil. Poached duck egg from my ducks and a loin off last week's hunted goat.


Last nnight's dinner; where everything except the spices, sunflower seeds and peanuts came off the property; or was hunted.. Dry-fried wild goat mince cooked with bought spices and home-grown bay, mint and oregano. Salad of; chickweed, lettuce, purple mustard, nasturtium leaves and flowers, broad bean tips, lemon balm, parsley, mint and borage flowers. Two Chinese-style black tea and soy cured duck eggs.

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## Dama dama

OMG, that looks delicious!  Nothing more satisfying than a plate full of tucker that you know exactly where it all came from.  A great reward for hard, but pleasurable work

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## bumblefoot

> OMG, that looks delicious!  Nothing more satisfying than a plate full of tucker that you know exactly where it all came from.  A great reward for hard, but pleasurable work


Thanks; it's been a long time away from it....

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## gonetropo

.if its green its mean !

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## Moa Hunter

You will live to be 100

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## southernman

Yea mate well done, looks tasty.

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## bumblefoot

> You will live to be 100


Ha ha; I wish...  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Scouser

Well done mate, a part of me would love to able to do that....then the rest of me kicks in....... :Zomg:

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## Dama dama

Anyone can do it to a certain extent if they really want.  My wife and I have fruit trees, nut trees, berries and vege plots. Also have a couple of chooks.  All this on standard 1/4 acre kiwi section.  Oh yeah, bee hive coming soon!  We still have to buy veges, fruit and eggs, especially this time of year. 

 She gives me a good kick in the arse when we are getting low on venison.  I need to do more in terms of getting kai moana...

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## bumblefoot

> Anyone can do it to a certain extent if they really want.  My wife and I have fruit trees, nut trees, berries and vege plots. Also have a couple of chooks.  All this on standard 1/4 acre kiwi section.  Oh yeah, bee hive coming soon!  We still have to buy veges, fruit and eggs, especially this time of year.  She gives me a good kick in the arse when we are getting low on venison.  I need to do more in terms of getting kai moana...


Yup anyone can do it. I work from home which does make it easier  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Kiwi Greg

I really love that Wilsonart Laminate top colour  :Thumbsup: 

Can't remember its name though  :Sad:

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## diana2

Great looking dishes, and no spuds to be seen, loving it! :Have A Nice Day:

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## Marty Henry

I pickle eggs for salads or general yummyness what's the go with the cured eggs? Are the hard boiled peeled then soaked in tea and soy I would have expected more colour.

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## bumblefoot

> I really love that Wilsonart Laminate top colour  Can't remember its name though


It's about 20-years old but seems to be back in fashion again now! ha ha

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## bumblefoot

> I pickle eggs for salads or general yummyness what's the go with the cured eggs? Are the hard boiled peeled then soaked in tea and soy I would have expected more colour.


Yup they are hard boiled but then you crack the shell for the marinade/cure to seep in and make a marble type pattern. These were duck eggs so the shells are rubbery and hard to cleanly crack. Next time I will peel them before soaking them. Chook eggs would show the pattern better as they crack easier

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## Marty Henry

Ah "tea eggs" I've done those they do look pretty incredible but it seemed to add no taste, soy however would.

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## bumblefoot

Last night's dinner of curried wild pork shoulder with couscous and salad. Everything except the spices, couscous and onion came off the property; or was hunted.. Diced shoulder of wild pork cooked with bought spices. Salad of; chickweed, lettuce, purple mustard, nasturtium leaves and flowers, broad bean tips, lemon balm and borage flowers.

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## Boaraxa

Looking at that is making me hungry , when the rain stops im off for a shot haven't shot a deer in months , I really like growing my own food as well though the only thing ready in the garden at the moment is some marris anchor spuds & 3 cabbages !! a green house would be the boars nuts.

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## bumblefoot

Back into baking my bread again too  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

2 wild goats from today hanging in the cool shade and breeze under the horse chestnut tree. That's the next month's meat form me and the cats sorted. As good as money in the bank

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## aetchell

> 2 wild goats from today hanging in the cool shade and breeze under the horse chestnut tree. That's the next month's meat form me and the cats sorted. As good as money in the bank 
> 
> Attachment 126537
> 
> Attachment 126538


Lovely pelt on that top one. I like to skin and ran goats, the black and white one you shot is my white whale. Never managed to retrieve a skin like that. 

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## bumblefoot

> Lovely pelt on that top one. I like to skin and ran goats, the black and white one you shot is my white whale. Never managed to retrieve a skin like that. 
> 
> Sent from my ELE-L09 using Tapatalk


They're a dime a dozen around here  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Moa Hunter

> 2 wild goats from today hanging in the cool shade and breeze under the horse chestnut tree. That's the next month's meat form me and the cats sorted. As good as money in the bank 
> 
> Attachment 126537
> 
> Attachment 126538


Muslim goats, full Burka ??

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## bumblefoot

Today's attempt... 2 loaves; 1 white and 1 wholemeal with oats and sunflower seeds.... And goat marinating for today's curry...

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## bumblefoot

2 goat legs and 2 rolled shoulders in the brine for hams. Too late for Xmas though. The larger goat was so fat that it was a waste to just mince it.....

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## bumblefoot

Slow cooked goat shanks in a tomato gravy.....



One of each today; a plain and raisin loaf.... Slowly getting it dialed in....

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## Moa Hunter

Nicely proved loaves bumblefoot, but crusts aren't as good as last time ( superb last time ) - crust appears over baked and loaf only just done ? Did you turn the temp down too late or put too much sugar in the mix and no shortening ??

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## bumblefoot

I tried a slightly different method. The first round loaves were meant to be cooked in a Dutch oven and the lid lifted for the last 10-mins. I haven't got a Dutch oven yet so used a casserole dish. but being glass meant that the bottom wasn't quite as well cooked as I'd like. so used a traditional loaf tin. It was cooked nicely; but the crust came out more crunchy. Was still really nice; just not a chewy crust like last time. 

The recipe is a no knead, long rise recipe that is just about full-proof and super easy. The key is the overnight rise; it makes it a bit sourdough-ish. And only having to fold the dough rather than kneading makes it really convenient! 

I used to use a recipe out of an 1898 house/farm encyclopedia (used to make bread every day about 20-years ago) It was a loose batter that rose overnight and you added flour and kneaded the next morning. It was a good recipe but the no-knead blows it out of the water! So far there hasn't been any inedible disasters! Touch wood.... It is very consistant and easy  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Buzo

Love what you are doing. You are doing it well. All the best for keeping it up.

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## bumblefoot

> Love what you are doing. You are doing it well. All the best for keeping it up.


Thank you. It's been a long time away from the lifestyle and I'm loving getting back into it  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Moa Hunter

> I tried a slightly different method. The first round loaves were meant to be cooked in a Dutch oven and the lid lifted for the last 10-mins. I haven't got a Dutch oven yet so used a casserole dish. but being glass meant that the bottom wasn't quite as well cooked as I'd like. so used a traditional loaf tin. It was cooked nicely; but the crust came out more crunchy. Was still really nice; just not a chewy crust like last time. 
> 
> The recipe is a no knead, long rise recipe that is just about full-proof and super easy. The key is the overnight rise; it makes it a bit sourdough-ish. And only having to fold the dough rather than kneading makes it really convenient! 
> 
> I used to use a recipe out of an 1898 house/farm encyclopedia (used to make bread every day about 20-years ago) It was a loose batter that rose overnight and you added flour and kneaded the next morning. It was a good recipe but the no-knead blows it out of the water! So far there hasn't been any inedible disasters! Touch wood.... It is very consistant and easy


The chunk that you are holding doesn't look like it was proved and baked in a tin ?? Anyway, would this work as a solution to no dutch oven - put the two tins of dough in a roasting dish with warm water an inch deep around the tins and the lid on to prove. When ready to bake, tip nearly all or all of the water out and bake with the lid on the roasting dish at 200 ish then turn down with lid off to finish ??

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## GSP HUNTER

> I tried a slightly different method. The first round loaves were meant to be cooked in a Dutch oven and the lid lifted for the last 10-mins. I haven't got a Dutch oven yet so used a casserole dish. but being glass meant that the bottom wasn't quite as well cooked as I'd like. so used a traditional loaf tin. It was cooked nicely; but the crust came out more crunchy. Was still really nice; just not a chewy crust like last time. 
> 
> The recipe is a no knead, long rise recipe that is just about full-proof and super easy. The key is the overnight rise; it makes it a bit sourdough-ish. And only having to fold the dough rather than kneading makes it really convenient! 
> 
> I used to use a recipe out of an 1898 house/farm encyclopedia (used to make bread every day about 20-years ago) It was a loose batter that rose overnight and you added flour and kneaded the next morning. It was a good recipe but the no-knead blows it out of the water! So far there hasn't been any inedible disasters! Touch wood.... It is very consistant and easy


Hi Bumblefoot, inspiring. I'm with you, so much pleasure and goodness from making and growing your own food. Its next level and infinitely better on wallet and health.
I'm keen cook and just started making bread myself. I'd be keen on 
No knead long rise recipe if you felt posting it. I'll crack too and post a few of my cooking efforts too. Cheers,

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## bumblefoot

I use a combination of 2 recipes. The ingredients of the first one and the folding etc of the second one

https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes...-knead-bread/?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8Rf2LBgmsc

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## GSP HUNTER

> I use a combination of 2 recipes. The ingredients of the first one and the folding etc of the second one
> 
> https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes...-knead-bread/?
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8Rf2LBgmsc


Beauty, thanks mate. I'll give it a whirl.

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## Moa Hunter

> I use a combination of 2 recipes. The ingredients of the first one and the folding etc of the second one
> 
> https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes...-knead-bread/?
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8Rf2LBgmsc


Have you dyed your gloves pink in accordance with the instructions bumblefoot ??

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## grandpamac

Greetings again Bumblefoot,
I was poking around the non firearms sections of the Forum when I spotted your thread, you might say I bumbled into it. I am impressed! We live on a small block, 8 hectares, and like to think we live off the land to a small extent. About half our meat comes from farm kill beef, winter heating including hot water comes from on site fire wood and we have a small vegetable garden. I have done most of the things that you are doing at various times in the past but currently not so much. We are both retired so there is no work pressure so can offer no excuses. I am both impressed and inspired by what you can achieve on a quarter acre and resolve to do better, perhaps a small glass house. We will see.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

I've got just under 3 acres here. But it could be done on a 1/4 acre. I work from home which also simplifies things. But really; the no knead bread is so simple to do it's no hassle to make. I really like the fact that if I have a bag of flour, some yeast and salt in the pantry I have a loaf of bread there.  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

[QUOTE=Moa Hunter;940703]Have you dyed your gloves pink in accordance with the instructions bumblefoot ??[/QUO

No; but as a kid I was caught red-handed with my hand in the chocky bicky tin.....  :Wink:

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## bumblefoot

Another attempt to dial it in right! The thing I like about no-knead bread is that the long fermenting time (24-hours in this case) makes a very "sourdough-like" bread. And there is no kneading except from folding the dough. Has a bit of the sourdough flavour and the honeycomb-like interior without all the fart-arsing around! "Poor Man's Sourdough"! And it seems very reliable; no inedible disasters yet (touch wood!).....

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## Moa Hunter

That one looks good !! On the subject of sourdough, have you thought of trying a sourdough (bacterial) starter instead of yeast ?
The ultimate even better than sourdough bread from a health perspective, would be made by sprouting the grain first and then giving it a spin in the 'kitchen whizz' then using this wet mix. The lectins in the grain would be broken down by sprouting. I have not done this yet, but should do. Barley would be the go, cheap, easy to sprout and low glycemic index 
The other thing to consider is Green banana flour instead of grain flour.

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## hotbarrels

> Another attempt to dial it in right! The thing I like about no-knead bread is that the long fermenting time (24-hours in this case) makes a very "sourdough-like" bread. And there is no kneading except from folding the dough. Has a bit of the sourdough flavour and the honeycomb-like interior without all the fart-arsing around! "Poor Man's Sourdough"! And it seems very reliable; no inedible disasters yet (touch wood!).....
> 
> Attachment 127990


I like the long ferments as well when doing pizza dough - up to three days in the fridge.  The longer your ferment, the less yeast you need to put in at the start otherwise you will over proof - typically 0.25% by weight of flour or less.

I have found that different yeast strains behave differently as well, so pick a yeast that you can get time and time again and get to know it well.  Changing yeasts while experimenting can lead to frustration.

One of the secrets of the no kneed bread is the very high hydration (78% for the dough in the video you linked).  As a comparison, high hydration pizza dough is around 60-63%.
One tip I picked up a month back is to only mix about 70% of the flour with the water, salt and yeast and let it sit for 1/2 hour, then mix in the remaining flour.  Seems to proof better, but I am machine mixing - not sure if it will make any difference with the higher hydration or not.
Another key is timing - when to put the dough in the oven.  It needs to be as the dough is on the rise, not once it has peaked.  This ensures you get a good 'spring' before the heat of the oven kills off the yeast, and the rest is done as a result of the high moisture content of the dough expanding and venting off as steam.

I wish fresh bread and butter was less fattening and better for you ……...

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## bumblefoot

This is that loaf cut into. I fold the dough in the morning and let it rise again for about an hour before baking it.

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## johnd

Check out no need turbo bread with Steve on you tube

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## Jhon

> Check out no need turbo bread with Steve on you tube


Good thread thks..I hunt goats for meat close to Stratford. Unfortunately we are semi-locked into the big smoke and grow nothing much edible except spuds in bags. Countdown is us...My last goat dish was a beaut Vindaloo. Hoping to go get venison next month on a paid meat hunt. Better than nothing but would be nice to get onto some bush pig etc. I get rabbits from time to time and an occasional hare. Yum. Takes me back to growing up on a farm with a .22. Yell if you want a great Vindaloo recipe, genuine grind yer own spice  one.

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## bumblefoot

> Check out no need turbo bread with Steve on you tube


Thanks; I've seen that one and it's basically the same recipe and technique  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

> Yell if you want a great Vindaloo recipe, genuine grind yer own spice  one.


Thanks; always looking for recipes!

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## bumblefoot

A busy morning of baking bread; plain white and a sultana and cranberry, picking Shiro plums and cooking a cured (unsmoked) goat ham. The reason the ham isn't pink is that no nitrites were used in my brine to keep the pinkness.

Also; made up another batch of Chinese tea eggs. They last for about a week in the fridge, super handy for a healthy snack. 

The Shiro plums were loaded in only their second season (The Warehouse bargain bin trees). But the birds beat me to a lot of them. An awesome plum; lots of flavour and as juicy as a golden queen peach.

So a lazy tea of home cured goat ham, home baked bread and plums for dessert....

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## Moa Hunter

> My dinner tonight courtesy of my darling wife Sharon.
> 
> Attachment 128849
> 
> It has been a bountiful summer. The dinner does not have the same presentation as other pictures on this thread, but all from our own piece of land none the less.
> Peas, potatoes, silverbeet, pumpkin and onions all from our garden. The meat is a bit of rolled hogget - one of our seven - that I butchered yesterday. Makes a change from venison which has been our staple meat over the last 12 months.  Oh, and an old Plonker in behind it all is her husband......poor girl.
> 
> Cheers
> Phil


Good effort Phil. How do you have Pumpkins and onions ready now ??

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## Tahr

> My dinner tonight courtesy of my darling wife Sharon.
> 
> Attachment 128849
> 
> It has been a bountiful summer. The dinner does not have the same presentation as other pictures on this thread, but all from our own piece of land none the less.
> Peas, potatoes, silverbeet, pumpkin and onions all from our garden. The meat is a bit of rolled hogget - one of our seven - that I butchered yesterday. Makes a change from venison which has been our staple meat over the last 12 months.  Oh, and an old Plonker in behind it all is her husband......poor girl.
> 
> Cheers
> Phil


Good on you. You are eating that hogget pretty fresh - was it tough? I have always hung my meat for at least a few days.

I like what you are doing.

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## Tahr

> No not tough at all. I hang them in the winter but this week the wool shed was in use so I had to use an implement shed. The flies were horrendous so I actually delivered the carcass onto the kitchen table still warm. Sharon had him in the freezer within the hour. The local farm manager showed me how he does it. He claims the secret is not to stress them at all. Put out some sheep nuts and let them feed away merrily and then from a distance put a bullet in the head. They drop without even knowing what has happened. Then go and slit their throat, hang them immediately and let them bleed out. I use the 10/22 which is my possum gun set up with a red dot. It always drops them on the spot but often they are not dead but just unconscious, hence why I cut their throat straight away. But it seems to work, no stress and the meat is vastly different to animals that have the adrenaline running high through their system.
> 
> Cheers
> Phil


Good. This Sharon - she sounds very handy.  :Thumbsup:

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## Coote

Great thread thank you.

We live on a small section at the outskirts of the city, although we have a rural outlook and rural postal delivery.  We don't have much garden space so we don't grow potatoes or corn, but we always try to have greens, especially silver beet (a very reliable cropper), and herbs.  During the season we might plant beans, carrots, parsnips etc.

For a long time I grew garlic every year.  The last few seasons we've had rust which really munts the garlic.  I have some perennial Egyptian Walking Onions which don't seem to get affected by the rust though, and these are handy to have.  These actually might be better classified as shallots.  You can eat the green tops... or the relatively small mature bulbs... or the crazy little bulbs that grow from the flower heads.  These onions 'walk' and replicate themselves as the top bulbs grow and cause the plants to bend over until the top bulbs reach the ground and take root.    Our garlic chives also seem to survive the rust quite well.   I'm hoping I will overcome the rust problem with the garlic though... maybe someone will come up with a resistant variety.

Another standby perennial I grow is Jerusalem Artichoke.  I enjoy the flavour of these (especially when roasted), although we don't eat many at a time as they can be rocket fuel for your farter.

We grow quite a bit of fruit.  I figure if you are going to have trees or shrubs on your property you may as well be producing fruit.  I've trained several trees as espaliers, and I've grafted my apple trees to have more than one variety on them.   My best 'keeper' apple is Court Pendu Plat.  Another good disease resistant variety is Liberty.  Our favourite cooker which explodes into a gelatinous pulp is Monty's Surprise.   The apples have quite a few codlin moth holes in them this year but, while undesirable, they don't wreck the whole apple and they can still be eaten or processed.  I don't like codlin moth, but I don't like insecticides (or 1080) either.  We have a wonderful French Sugar Fig which has already produced its first crop, an Omega Plum with a heavy crop that is just about ready, some excellent grapes, citrus and feijoas.

We discovered the flavour of kaffir lime in recent years, so we planted a tree.  We also have a bay tree which we have to keep trimmed.

I love growing tomatoes.  I have a mission to find the variety (or method of growing) that works best for my area.  So far my most successful variety seems to be Stupice.  I tend to grow the early maturing varieties so that I can get a crop before the dry weather and psyllids arrive.  I make tomato sauce, and I dry slices of tomato which we like to use on pizza throughout the year.

We make bread too.  I think my favourite bread is a simple flat or naan bread.  I love the texture.  We quite often make 'wraps' .... our recipe is based on Annabel Langbein's Chicken Tex Mex Wrap recipe.  I buy the 500 gram packets of Bakels instant dried yeast.  This yeast is meant to be used within a few days of opening the packet, but I keep it in a plastic jar in the freezer and I find that it will keep and work well for months once opened.

We do buy a bit of meat, but we also eat a lot of game.... and fish when we can get it.  

Here are some of this year's tomatoes...  Tangella, Moonglow, Azoychka, Bloody Butcher and Black Krim.  Out of all these it appears that Bloody Butcher are the earliest and probably the most prolific.  The Tangella and Moonglow are meant to be varieties from which you can absorb a lot of beneficial lycopene if you eat them raw and it is said that people who are allergic to tomatoes may be able to eat Tangella without a reaction.  Moonglow has a dense texture and is quite attractive.  I kept seeds and may grow it again.  I'm only interested in growing open pollenated varieties so that I can select seeds from my best plants.



And here is some bread with a texture that I like.... stringy and soft.   We eat all sorts of bread though, including the no-knead variety with its relatively coarse texture.

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## Coote

I also have enjoyed gathering mushrooms.  Recently I have done some research to try to learn what else can be eaten besides the common field mushroom (which is still my favourite).  As a result I've eaten giant puffballs ... which are OK, but don't have much flavour, pine boletes (pictured below) and birch boletes (gathered from under silver birch trees).  The birch boletes are pretty good if not too old.

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## gonetropo

i have just made "manchester eggs"
should have taken a photo before i ate them but basically its like a scotch egg but you pickle the egg, and the coating is 1/2 sausage meat 1/2 black pudding.  then crumbed and baked.
tasty but good job i have a dog i could blame the farts on

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## Coote

I went for a hunt today, but didn't see any fresh sign... except maybe for what may have been a little bit of pig digging in a nearly dry creek bed.  There is quite a bit of Himalayan Honeysuckle growing in this particular area, and now there are quite a few ripe brown berries.  I dunno how the berries can be so juicy in our dry summer months.  There were also a few blackberries around.

Some people may regard the Himalayan Honeysuckle berries as not edible, and I have read that the plant may be the cause of some problems with cattle.  But people, including me, do eat the berries.  I don't eat many in one sitting though.

In the picture below, the ripe berries are the brown ones at the top of the cluster.  They are sweet with quite a unique taste that could be described as 'chocolately' or like burned sugar.

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## ROKTOY

> ...I have some perennial Egyptian Walking Onions...
> ....I figure if you are going to have trees or shrubs on your property you may as well be producing fruit.  I've trained several trees as espaliers, and I've grafted my apple trees to have more than one variety on them.   My best 'keeper' apple is Court Pendu Plat.


Coote, We grow the walking onions, they are a great grower for us too, I like them fried next to my steak.
Would you be interested in sharing a piece of your Court Pendu Plat tree, I would love to add it to my apple tree.

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## Coote

I'd be delighted to give you some Court Pendu Plat cuttings.  I just have to remember to cut them in July or early August.  If you want to PM me your contact details I will make a note.  Feel free to remind me nearer the time.

I've also got Blenheim Orange which was fairly rare for a while, but it has been shared around a bit now and I think I've even seen nursery trees labelled as Blenheim Orange.

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## ROKTOY

> I'd be delighted to give you some Court Pendu Plat cuttings.  I just have to remember to cut them in July or early August.  If you want to PM me your contact details I will make a note.  Feel free to remind me nearer the time.
> 
> I've also got Blenheim Orange which was fairly rare for a while, but it has been shared around a bit now and I think I've even seen nursery trees labelled as Blenheim Orange.


Thank you, I will flick you a message.
I used to have a good collection of older and heritage apples, but have sadly lost access to a lot of them, Time to start again.

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## bumblefoot

Some local Taranaki doofus is on Radio NZ.....
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/progr...arden-of-eatin

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## Coote

So that's you Bumblefoot !  Now I know somebody famous !!  I look forward to listening to the talk.  The written introduction really grabbed my attention.  Thanks for sharing.

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## Moa Hunter

Is that a bunch of 'Fartichoke greens in you arms Bumblefoot ?

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## Coote

That was a great interview.  Hopefully it will inspire someone, somewhere to grow some veggies or to learn more about hunting.  The world needs more of this down-to-earth approach to living.

We've got quite a bit in common... you are the first person I've come across who eats broad bean greens (other than my wife and I).... and I once had the hots for Felicity Kendall.

Your warmth and enthusiasm are obvious.  Folks like you must be helping to make the world a better place. Good on you.

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## bumblefoot

> Is that a bunch of 'Fartichoke greens in you arms Bumblefoot ?


Sure are; the pigs and ducks love the leafy tops

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## bumblefoot

Thanks for the kind words Coote. I just bumble and fumble my way through life. At my age not so much of the fumbling!  :Wink:

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## HOO

Is the no knead bread similar to a Boule? Its a French style bread I used to make a lot of. Leave it overnight and make rolled balls into gluten cloaks I think they were called. Was beautiful bread. I should get back into making it 


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## HOO

https://www.hummingbirdhigh.com/2013...boule.html?m=1

Pretty sure this was the recipe I used to make 


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## bumblefoot

I needed a new chainsaw a while ago. I use my dad's old Jonserad, brilliant chainsaw but too heavy and dicey to use if you're limbing up a ladder etc. I asked the guy in the repair place what he recommended as a good smaller saw. He is super straight up and honest. 

He recommended the Japanese Shindaiwa. He used to sell them and reckoned they fly under the radar, he said that even the good brands build their smaller chainsaws to a lesser standard; and their really wasn't much difference between them and the el cheapo Bunnings chainsaws. Whereas Shindaiwa always build them to the same specs as their big ones. 
Gotta say it punches well above it's weight. Chews through stuff and uses bugger all gas. I'm really pleased with it.

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## bumblefoot

Tony, the repairer has just retired.......  :Oh Noes:  He was a great service man. I bought the Sbindaiwa on special; was around the $390-400 mark. He used to sharpen the chain for $10..... Replaced my lawnmower engine with a good, more powerful motor when the old one crapped out, and serviced it for $120!

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## grandpamac

Greetings,
Totally agree Bumblefoot. I have 2 Shindaiwa chainsaws that are great. The 18 inch one replaced my old Husky when it crapped out. the chainsaw chap recommended Shindaiwa ahead of the cheaper Husqvavarna saws. It really made cutting up the trunks of some big trees we had had felled easy. Later I was at the chainsaw place for something else but came home with a top handle Shindaiwa with a 10 inch bar. Man is it great for cutting up the smaller stuff especially for us older codgers who do not bend in the middle as much as we used to. These days it does more than 50% of the work.
Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

I find that hanging   bucket inside a rubbish bin works best as that way the chooks get all the maggots. Any that drop out during the night wriggle away to pupate  :Have A Nice Day:  I find that a hare or possum is used up in about 7-days in summer. All that's left is fur and bones. Here's a vid of it

https://www.facebook.com/ross.nolly/...85514844824227

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## Coote

You guys....  I'm impressed.  Pity I don't have chooks.  Its fantastic that you fool the flies into breeding, yet they will not be contributing to a growth in the fly population.   Nice video Bumblefoot.... and one of the cleanest and tidiest hen houses I've seen in my life.  Also, please compliment your rooster on his good manners.

A man could set one of these buckets up at the end of a wharf or over a pond to feed and attract fish.... and to help thwart the fly population.

----------


## bumblefoot

Yup; it's done a lot in Asia. I've also seen people make a fake small island in their pond with a solar light on it. The moths are attracted and a fair percentage end up in the drink; fish food

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## Coote

Well, dang.  I didn't know that.  Makes perfect sense though.  It is kinda win-win unless you are a maggot or a moth.

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## Coote

If you lived at the North Pole you'd stand vertically.  At the South Pole you'd be upside down.  But you live in between... thus you are horizontal.

----------


## Coote

We are currently picking our second crop of French Sugar figs.  We have to pick them a bit early if we want to minimise bird damage.   Unfortunately the tree is located in an area where it is too dangerous to shoot into it, so I don't.... much as I'd love to.  Danged sparrows in particular get into our fruit and greens.

We've eaten a lot of figs now, so I think it is time to dehydrate some.  While these would keep well for when the fig season is finished, it is unlikely that we will be unable to resist eating them more or less immediately.

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## gonetropo

i planted 10 tomato plants for the mrs, got bugga all off them this year (well enough to keep her happy). chili plants failed miserably too. interestingly the neighbours plants plants across his back fence had similar issues. 
at least i got a sack of spuds out of the patch this year so that keeps me happy.

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## Coote

I have an NZ made electric dehydrator.  I just cut the figs into relatively thin portions and spread them out on the trays.   I can't remember how long they took to dry last time.   I have read that if you dry things above a certain temperature they will lose some nutritional value.  But lately I've cranked up the heat to get the job done.  I figure that I could eat supermarket confectionery after dinner.... or I could eat hastily dried fruit.  No matter how quick I dry it, it still tastes pretty good and it is natural.

I will possibly dry some apples this year as well.   One of my favourite dried fruits is pear.  The flavour gets concentrated nicely.  Unfortunately I don't have a pear tree.

I dry tomatoes.  These are excellent to put on the pizzas we make during the year.  And we might toss a few small bits into salads.   Canned tomatoes are cheap, so it is a waste to use the dried ones in casseroles etc.  I also make tomato sauce.

My tomato crop wasn't wonderful this year.... and once again the peppers didn't produce.  I have a friend who got some decent peppers, but his were grown in a glasshouse .... even though, in my mind, they should flourish well outdoors in 'sunny Nelson'.  But I've never grown a decent crop of peppers outdoors.

I am on a quest to find the open pollinated variety of tomato that does the best in my area.  The first quality I seek is reliability... closely followed by flavour.   I've grown many heirloom varieties.  This year the best and earliest producer was Bloody Butcher.   I've found psyllids on my tomatoes every season for about the last four years.  And later in the season the stink beetles/vegetable bugs climb all over the fruit and I suspect they are often the reason that the quality of the fruit deteriorates around this time.  So my current philosophy is to grow early varieties that will give me a crop before the psyllid and vege bugs arrive in big numbers.

I think the best variety of tomato I've grown is Stupice.  They are a potato leafed type which aren't overly vigorous. They produce early with comparatively good crops.  They can be a bit bland when eaten raw, but they are fantastic cooked or dried.  I think I will go back to growing them next season.  I save my own seeds and I keep the seed in the fridge where it seems to stay viable for several years.  I look forward to planting my seeds in the first week of September.   I place the seeds in a multi-folded wet paper towel which I keep in a plastic bag on top of my fridge.  The seeds generally start to sprout in about three to five days.  Before the sprouts get too long I plant them into pots which I keep under a plastic cloche.   Starting the seeds in the paper lets me know ASAP whether I have good seeds or not.  I also think I save a little growing time.

I'm always happy to share seeds if I have a surplus.

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## norsk

> i planted 10 tomato plants for the mrs, got bugga all off them this year (well enough to keep her happy). chili plants failed miserably too. interestingly the neighbours plants plants across his back fence had similar issues. 
> at least i got a sack of spuds out of the patch this year so that keeps me happy.


The soil is very hungry where you live.You might be best putting in some raised beds and growing in fresh topsoil rather than trying to improve what you have.

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## gonetropo

> The soil is very hungry where you live.You might be best putting in some raised beds and growing in fresh topsoil rather than trying to improve what you have.


they are in raised beds and the soil came from a garden center, had good result last year but this year was abysmal
now the wife wants me to extend the vege patch and she's the only one that eats the stuff !!!

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## Max Headroom

A very relevant thread right now...does anybody have a toilet paper tree I can take a cutting from, ?also a paracetamol tree would be good as well. thanx.

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## gonetropo

> A very relevant thread right now...does anybody have a toilet paper tree I can take a cutting from, ?also a paracetamol tree would be good as well. thanx.


dont be silly, there are no painkillers in the jungle cos the parrots eat em all

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## Max Headroom

> dont be silly, there are no painkillers in the jungle cos the parrots eat em all


I wondered why they got so pop eyed and screeched a lot. Junkies.

----------


## Coote

I suppose I should try and put some netting over my fig tree like you did Phil.  I'd have to buy more though, and it is a fairly big tree.  Currently all my netting is in use on my grapes.  I used to hang old CD discs in the fruit trees and vines, and I think it helped in the early stages.  Now, it seems, when the birds see the discs it is like a visual dinner gong for them.  'Whoo-hoo ....  Stephen is telling us the fruit is ready.  Bring a friend'.

Got the figs sliced and in the dryer.

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## Dicko

There is a organic insecticide called Entrust that is very good on caterpillars and Syllids if you want to go that way.

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## Bill999

figs are so simple to clone my solution to not getting enough because of birds or nabours is to plant a dozen of their cuttings in places where you want them to grow

----------


## Coote

Thanks for telling me about Entrust.  Never heard of it till now.  I was using neem oil and diatomaceous earth powder but I'm unsure how effective these were.  

Figs certainly do seem to grow well from cuttings... and sometimes shoots that come from the base of the tree form their own roots.  There is a trend down here to plant 'edibles' in parks, and the guy in charge of planting in our local park is really keen on figs.  He propagates a lot of them, and the variety he seems to favour is 'Brown Turkey'.

The trays on the dryer are around 38 cm in diameter.  I have seven stackable trays, but I could buy more and stack them higher.   In the past I've tried drying in a home made 'solar' dryer.  I also dried a fair bit of stuff over a home-made wood-fired cookstove back when such things were possible.  An electric dryer costs a bit to purchase and to operate, but it is very convenient and not dependent on the weather.  We don't have a woodstove in our current home, so that isn't an option at present.  I haven't kept records of drying times, but if I run it fairly warm I think a batch of tomato slices will dry overnight.  I like to dry apples at a cooler temperature in the hope more nutritional value will be retained... so these might take 24 to 36 hours I suppose depending on how thick I've cut them.  But I'm just guessing really.  I should pay more attention.

I've occasionally dried strips of venison offcuts for dog tucker just by hanging them from a rope.  It is good stuff to have on hand and the dog enjoyed it.  I also made a few batches of biltong and I dried these by hanging the meat indoors.   I didn't really like the finished product though.  It was edible, but damn it got hard unless I was prepared to put it in the fridge or freezer once it got to the right consistency. I prefer fried steak.

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## Moa Hunter

> A very relevant thread right now...does anybody have a toilet paper tree I can take a cutting from, ?also a paracetamol tree would be good as well. thanx.


Not a tree, but you could plant a row of 'Flannel Leaf' plenty in wet high country areas

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
I believe that Rangiora leaves, which have a soft downy underside, were known as bushman's toilet paper in earlier times. Probably best picked as required though with a short use by date if hoarded.
Grandpamac.

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## Coote

Waterblaster.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
I believe that Rangiora leaves, which have a soft downy underside, were known as bushman's toilet paper in earlier times. Probably best picked as required though with a short use by date if hoarded.
Grandpamac.

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## grandpamac

For headaches and fever Hildreth's book How to Survive suggests a decoction of Mingi mingi leaves and the inner bark of Totara respectively. You will have to Google what a decoction is exactly. I think it is boiling in water and leaving to cool but probably best not to try this at home anyway.
All sorted Max Headroom?
Grandpamac.

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## Coote

I got a copy of Hildreth's book as a gift from my uncle when I was quite young.  I think it had a huge influence on me.

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## Kiwi Sapper

> A very relevant thread right now...does anybody have a toilet paper tree I can take a cutting from, ?also a paracetamol tree would be good as well. thanx.


 Bearing in mind that our lav paper is made here in NZ, it is unlikely that we will ever run out UNLESS OF COURSE Labour gets back in September as a pseudo Government and then as we will all have severe cases of the shits, there may be a nationwide shortage. 

The bark of the Willow plant contains Salicylic acid which is related to acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) and the bark of the Cinchona bush ( not o be found in the Southern Hemisphere, is the original source of the chemicals that were used to make Quinine and Paracetamol. BUT, the Aspirin and Paracetamol we consume  are not those actually found in these plants but are chemically  derived from the natural plant.

----------


## grandpamac

Greetings Coote,
I got a copy about 1965 and carried it around in my pack for years until it disintegrated. Never saw another one until my dearly beloved brought me back a discarded Library copy about 10 years ago. A great little book, delightfully non PC by today's standards, but well worth reading and hanging onto. There is a whole chapter on Living of the Land. Bumblefoot would likely approve.
Grandpamac.

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## Moa Hunter

> Greetings All,
> I believe that Rangiora leaves, which have a soft downy underside, were known as bushman's toilet paper in earlier times. Probably best picked as required though with a short use by date if hoarded.
> Grandpamac.


I live 20 mins from Rangiora and have always considered it a bit of a shit hole - so even if it isn't that, it's close by being a dunny roll !

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## Coote

Good on you Grandpamac

I think I might still have my original copy somewhere, but I found another at the local Founders Book Fair

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## grandpamac

Greetings Coote,
I see yours is an early copy probably the same as my first copy. After yours was printed there were 5 more reprints before a limited revision in 1978. The revision seems to be limited to the replacement of the section on Mountain and Bush Huts with one on exposure and the addition of one on Helicopters. A little bit of useless information for the Trivia minded.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
We all know the tags we use to describe our favored sport ie Armed Tramping, Tea Drinking etc. Perhaps for a more PC version of hunting we could use Armed Social Distancing or Social Distancing and Forest Bathing with a Rifle or some such. What do you think? 
Regards Grandpamac.

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## grandpamac

Greetings Max and Phil,
Iv'e just been up at my Social Distancing Bench Rest behind the house to check the zero on a couple of rifles. Later I may prep some cases at my Self Isolation Loading Bench. I imagine if I leave the door open that would be a Social Distancing Loading Bench. Thanks for your suggestion of Naked Hunter Phil. My distant ancestors used to hunt wearing a couple of metres of tartan cloth, a belt and little of anything else. I suppose that would be a Semi Naked Tartan Wearing Hunter. Our Clan has a rather nice dark green hunting tartan and I always thought about having a kilt made in it for hunting. I don't think I would go as far as my ancestors. As you said social distancing would not have been a problem for them.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
Well it has happened. 11:59 PM tonight the drawbridge will be pulled up and the Good Ship New Zealand will bob along by itself in the South Pacific isolated to an extent from the rest of the planet. Based on what I have read on the Forum and especially this thread I think that hunters and outdoor people are in pretty good shape to make the best of it. Meat in the freezer and some vegetables in the garden means we are insulated to an extent from the effects of the numb scull panic buyers. Consuming interest in our sport and hobbies means we are unlikely to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves and we all know what to do with an unexpected day off. As a Government certified old bastard I have seen a few tough periods including being laid off at one time and it always gets better. This one may be the toughest any of us have seen to date but it too will end. Just keep calm and carry on hunting and gardening and making sausages and, well you know the rest.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Coote

Yep Grandpamac, this too shall pass.

I stopped regularly reading the news and watching the TV many years ago.   I may sometimes scan the headlines on the internet, but I find it best not to become immersed in world thought.  I firmly believe that our thinking affects/creates the 'reality' that we experience.   What we focus on grows in our experience.  What we resist, persists.

You seem to have a good sense of humour.  That is so important for your own well-being, and for the upliftment and encouragement of those around you.

Keep posting !!!

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## Finnwolf

> Good on you Grandpamac
> 
> I think I might still have my original copy somewhere, but I found another at the local Founders Book Fair


Still carry mine in the top pocket of my pack, got it as a birthday present in 1966  while living in Nelson (from memory.) and it looks just like the one in your picture.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
Well here we are, confined to barracks by order of the PM due to being an old codger. Sitting here on our small holding (8 ha) with a rifle cupboard full of unfinished let alone yet to be started projects plenty of components. I am interpreting the 50 km to the Lakes Road car park as not amounting to travel within NZ, week days of course. I think I am looking forward to it. How about you?
Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

Went into Lockdown Level 4 Nanna Mode yesterday..... 8 jars of apple/chilli chutney, started 2 more jars of apple cider vinegar and strained off the elderflower, garlic, thyme and peppercorn infused apple cider vinegar I made in December... Fencing and writing today....... Oh; and a sumac seasoned goat leg in the slow cooker.... 

Lockdown is pretty much just another day for me. Work-wise; I can still do interviews for my articles but they have to be phone or video and I have to ask the farmers to supply the photos.


The start of apple cider vinegar


Sumac seasoned goat leg in the slow cooker

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## bumblefoot

After 4 days the first batch of apple cider vinegar is beginning to ferment  :-)

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## johnd

This thread will be a god send to some folk on here, in the coming months.
Set forth and bottled the neighbors apple tree, today. ( being sure to keep social distancing rules in force of course.)
So we have 10 kg of fresh apples in the fridge for immediate use and a dozen jars that usually keep us going through the winter, Fejoas are coming along and there  is a plethora of recipes out there for chutney's and bottling.
We did have the intention to make apple cider ( me and the neighbor ) but i will have to leave that to him now, hopefully in 3 or 4 weeks there will be a bunch of bottles sitting on my door step.
I must search out my little orange book too!
 Good work on the apple cider vinegar i hadnt factored that in, I could make some from the peelings from the preserving today!

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## bumblefoot

I remember hearing on TV; either river Cottage or Jamie Oliver, that 85% of the UK's food is imported. That's an amazing lack of food security..... I've always said that it will only take a ruckus between North Korea and the US, a pandemic or a flare-up in Saudi Arabia to send us into this sort of situation. 

I'm no prepper or conspiracy theorist, but have always seen how fragile our society is. Especially so with the amount of debt people need to take on to buy a house. And of course the "I must have the latest and greatest/annual overseas holiday" mentality that prevails......

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## Coote

Bumblefoot... have you ever tried to test how strong your vinegar is?   I've made it too, but I haven't been confident about using it for preserving as I don't know how 'acidic' it is compared to shop-bought vinegar.  I asked a chemist once about testing vinegar, and he didn't come up with any simple tests that I could readily use.

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## Russian 22.

Litmus paper?

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## Coote

I don't know enough about testing for acid.  Litmus paper would show that acid is present, but is the acid percentage enough to penetrate all the food in the jar and be effective at preventing the growth of organisms?   We use plenty of store-bought vinegar, but it would be great to experiment with using our own.

We use cheap white vinegar for a lot of the cleaning around the house.  I especially like using it 'before and after' to clean the kitchen bench when processing an animal.   We keep a spray bottle of undiluted white vinegar for such purposes.

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## johnd

I did a quick bit of research about making cider vinegar, the most discussed facet was not using it for preserving as the level of acidity was hard to gauge.
I now have a jar brewing in the hot water cupboard!

I am not a prepper either, but get great satisfaction from any thing I can DIY .... we were all once a bunch of talented people that could manage most things, it just got easier along the way to "get an expert" and the "I dont have time" excuse isnt valid at the moment.

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## bumblefoot

I use it for cooking, salads and take it 3x a day with lemon juice and water as a tonic. Been doing keto to lose weight etc for the last 2 months but had a craving for bread so today is a cheat day. a new loaf in the oven......   :Wink:

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## grandpamac

Greetings All and Especially Johnd and Bumblefoot,
While neither of you are preppers in the US meaning of buying heaps of firearms, shit loads of ammunition and truck loads of canned food that their kids would rather starve to death than eat you are preppers in the wider meaning of building resilience to survive in hard times. I also remember growing up in the 1950's and early 1960's. We had chooks and dad had a stupendous garden and although there was not much money we lived well on eggs, poultry, vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables cheap cuts of meat like hearts, liver and thirty bob ($3.00) sides of blue stripe mutton. There was also the odd leg of venison that my Uncle Hec dropped off This was a bit like how my dads parents had survived the depression with five adults and two children on one small income. My father talked of one meat meal per week and vegetables with left over gravy for the rest. I used to watch the Doomsday Preppers TV programs a bit, best comedy on TV at the time. With a few exceptions they all would have been dead in a fortnight. Preparing by building resilience is however something quite different.
Regards and Keep it Up, Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

My life hasn't changed that much. Living out of the freezer and garden. Work-wise it's still a bit up in the air.... I work as a freelance mag writer/photographer so things are still in a state of flux. Most of my work recently has been for Dairy Farmer mag. Dairy Exporter, Farmers Weekly and Countrywide are now classed as essential and we are still waiting for confirmation whether DF will be too. I also work for the other 3 mags. I also work for Lifestyle Block; they have pulled the plug on the next issue and stopped accepting stories so oh well; whatever happens, happens..... Could be worse; could be a Bauer Media staffer.....

This is my latest piece.....  https://farmersweekly.co.nz/section/...boosts-charity

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## Coote

I like your succinct paragraphs Bumblefoot... and the way you start some sentences with 'But'.

It is interesting Grandpamac.  Since I was quite young, I've had an interest in 'survival'.  I've killed game with my home-made bows and arrows, I can light a fire without matches etc etc.  Even wrote a book on it.  Dunno why so many of us seem to have sporadic visits of thoughts related to disaster.  Perhaps I picked up on the vibe of my parents and grandparents who lived through wars and the great depression.

While I don't think the current situation is right up there with the worst of the fantasies (fears?) that I may have entertained over the years, I may have once seen this scenario as my cue to grab my gear and head for a remote lair.   My younger self would be interested to see that I have chosen to stay in civilisation to weather it out with the majority of the population.... while helping out my elderly Mum etc.

My interest in growing food, hunting and primitive technology have done me no harm though.  I've learned a bit and I've had a lot of fun and satisfaction.  And maybe some of my enthusiasm has rubbed off on to others.

I believe that people who are interested in these types of things are likely to have a good appreciation for what our planet provides, and thus make good neighbours and citizens.

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## Dicko

> My life hasn't changed that much. Living out of the freezer and garden. Work-wise it's still a bit up in the air.... I work as a freelance mag writer/photographer so things are still in a state of flux. Most of my work recently has been for Dairy Farmer mag. Dairy Exporter, Farmers Weekly and Countrywide are now classed as essential and we are still waiting for confirmation whether DF will be too. I also work for the other 3 mags. I also work for Lifestyle Block; they have pulled the plug on the next issue and stopped accepting stories so oh well; whatever happens, happens..... Could be worse; could be a Bauer Media staffer.....
> 
> This is my latest piece.....  https://farmersweekly.co.nz/section/...boosts-charity


Bumblefoot,

Given your own experience and what you have observed writing for Lifestyle magazine would you be interested in starting a new thread on how you would approach setting your self up to be significantly self sufficient on a small block?

I like many on this site have or would like to work for another 5-7 years before retirement. At this stage I will be 60-62 years old, and with good health and fitness.  While I have saved well for retirement Id like to not touch to much of it straight up and allow it have 7-10 years to enable one more cycle of increase. Ive separately put aside some savings to buy a small block or a good deposit on one with this in mind. 

I think with the market crash many people due to retire may be thinking this way? Its how retirees did things when I was younger particularly ex farmers as the scaled down to small blocks on retiring .

Perhaps you have covered this in a magazine article?

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## grandpamac

Greetings to You Bumblefoot, Coote, Dicko, Johnd and Others.
Recent posts on moving to self sufficiency in adversity and transitioning to retirement have struck a chord with me. I thought I should share some of my experiences of working toward retirement for what they may be worth. I've always tended to over think things and as a result have a tendency toward anxiety. Not far short of my 60th birthday I realized that retiring cold turkey on my 65th or any other birthday for that matter was not the best option for me. We had previously bought a small block (8 hectares) in 1992 and moved onto it about 8 years later. There was still much to do and to my mind trading some more days off now for a few worked after my 65th birthday seemed like a good deal. My job as a Property Asset Management Planner for the local Council had no public contact and only long term objectives so after a bit of dithering by my employer I went to a four day week (32 hours) late in 2009 and a 3 day week (24 hours) in about 2013. I retired in 2015 not long after my 66th birthday but continued doing casual property field data collection until 2018 when I finally pulled the pin. I was lucky to have been able to make the transition in this way as it has worked for me. My dearly beloved on the other hand retired cold turkey on her 65th birthday and never looked back. Your needs may be somewhere in the middle.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Dicko

Grandpa Mac,

Yes that is a great way to transition to start getting setup while you have good cash flow and more youth. Also lets you buy in earlier and that can have benefits.

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## Coote

Heh.  I started practicing for retirement when I first started work.

I served my time as a fitter, turner and machinist with the Ministry of Works in Nelson.  It was a great job with a good variety, plus they were a good employer.   I've worked as a fitter, safety coordinator, purchasing officer, recruitment coordinator, salesperson, customer services officer and security officer.

Back when I was about 53 I married for a second time.  My new wife is a glass artist, having worked a lot with stained glass (leadlight windows etc) and more lately with fused glass.  She also paints like a genius.  It didn't take long before I became her assistant (although I did a few odd jobs for employers here and there after this time).  We made jewellery from dichroic glass and our biggest outlet for this was at the Nelson Saturday Market, although we did go to a few other markets and events.  Some years we made a really good living at this.

We still make a few jewellery pieces, but we gave up the market.  Sales dropped there... possibly because our stuff had lost some of its novelty value, and another factor was all the cheap factory-made jewellery coming in from overseas, which enabled a lot of people to get more bling for their buck.

One day we were asked if we could produce a wall hanging using metal and a certain colour of glass.  We did that, and the customer seemed pleased with it.  So then we started making wall hangings from stainless steel and glass, and sales of these have provided the bulk of our living for several years.  I started getting NZ Super last month, but we still intend to continue with the artwork for now.

We currently live on a fairly small section in a semi-rural area.  We grow fruit and vegetables (but generally not things like potatoes and corn).   I have owned a larger lifestyle block where we had a pig, a calf, sheep, chickens and rabbits along with fruit and veg.  It is a lot of work though, especially if key people in the family like things to be perfectly tidy.  I don't want to spend all my time dealing with weeds etc.

I am so blessed to have friends with lifestyle blocks who give me access to their place.  It is wandering around in the scrub in my own neighbourhood which gives me the majority of my 'outdoor' pleasure and satisfaction.  I am content now to have a smaller, more manageable property and the freedom to hunt and explore elsewhere.

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## johnd

In the interest of continuity to the last few posts.
 I have been kind of self isolated for the last 4 months. An injury to the shoulder has seen me on the ACC shelf, So I have been living at 80% income for quite some time. My wife works part time, we have always been low to middle income and as such always strived to stretch as much out of every penny.
Growing up in the '60's we were a single income family typical of the era. Large 1/4 section with a big vege garden, my farther hunted pigs with a passion, being small town he would come home with mutton and beef as well (swapped for wild pork ).
We were always a family of foragers, preserving, blanching, harvesting, storing, the crops of the season.
Blackberry picking and wild mushrooms, tomatoes to be made into sauce. Crab apples, quinces, all made their way into our jars. I can still recall going to the  railway goods shed to pick up the delivery of peaches / apples etc by the case. 
I learnt at an early age how to break down an animal, and to utilise as much as possible, liver and kidneys was always a big hit, but I never got the handle on tripe? Even now the thought of it makes me shudder, I am not a fussy eater by any stretch of the imagination, and usually go back for seconds on camp oven cooked bulls balls. 
Making the most of autumn harvest seems just natural to me, but with the advent of the internet there is so much more at your finger tips. Through the web I have learnt so much so easily. What would have taken many trips to the library can now be so easily gleaned from a few simple googles.
A heart attack and consequent triple bypass in 2012 at the age of 51 has seen me cherish and respect much simpler ideals. It was this event that caused me to start back onto hunting, and harvesting much more.
I sought out low fat meats and reducing salt and sugar intakes saw me googling like mad to come up with suitable alternatives to store shelf products, when I hunt the supermarket I stick to the boundary fence and dont venture into the middle much at all ( thats where all the crap lives ).

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## grandpamac

Greetings Again All,
I have always been conscious of the need to make the the management of our small block as low input as possible. I was 50 and my wife a couple of years less when we moved out here. I will be 71 next Sunday and we hope to be able to stay here for years yet. Eventually though we both know that we will have to move back into town. I haven't given it much thought (and probably shouldn't given my tendency to over think things) but it did occur to me that my late father had provided me with some guidance. Dad moved into a flat in town in his late 70's. He was finding his house and section too much to handle and scoured the market for a flat with a bit of ground around it nice and close to the Supermarket, Library and Doctors. Eventually he found one, moved in, dug up half the lawn and converted it into raised beds. Planting then began in earnest. In his younger years Dad had gardened to keep us fed, now he gardened to keep himself active and sane. As he got older and ate less supply of vegetables far exceeded supply. My mother had passed away in 1990 and dad was quite deaf, even with a hearing aid, and not a social animal at all, so he came up with a plan. He made it known to the lady in the front flat that he would be putting any surplus produce outside his gate on Tuesday mornings and that she and any one else could help themselves. Worked a treat. After depositing his weekly offerings dad went inside and made a cup of coffee. There was never as much as a leaf left by the time he had finished it. After Dad died in 2011 there was a row of giant leeks ready. My son took some, the Land Agent took some and there were plenty left for the new owner. Something to aspire to.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
Thanks Mimms2 for reminding me about John Seymour's books. I used to get these and books on Permaculture out of the library on a regular basis. Permaculture for the few that may not be familiar with the  term Permaculture is a system of permanent and self sustaining low input gardening. I will certainly read more on these over the cooler months. Thanks again.
My dearly beloved and self appointed designated shopper returned from town this morning more than a little grumpy. The two magazines she gets each week are no more due to the Bauer collapse. Worse there was a NZ Hunter and a Rifle mag in the box for me. I offered first read of one of my magazines which didn't seem to help much. Worse was to follow. A therapeutic bike ride was canceled after the front tire was found to be flat and the substituted walk needed to be done without an iPod which seems to have given up the ghost. Thank heavens that is three things.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

I used to be a permaculture advocate. I believe in permaculture; but not permaculturists. They tend to sit back and whine and moan without getting off their arses and doing stuff.... Usually farmer haters; yet know nothing of farming. When challenged as to why don't they become real farmers and be a model of how things should be done they make every excuse under the sky as to why they can't.

Most want to whinge about how small farms can feed the world; but haven't the balls to do it. They still want a town lifestyle and an annual overseas holiday. You have to sell a f***-tonne of organic cabbages to pay for their lifestyles..... And.... those that do buy "farms" (usually a couple of acres) make their money running permaculture design courses or doing "consultancy". Basically farming people/students etc because once again you have to sell a f***-tonne of organic cabbages etc etc etc......

And then; they can't "farm" their small properties without using cheap foreign labour (WWOOFERs). Oh; they absolutely LOVE you calling WWOOFERs "cheap foreign labour.... Light the fuse and stand well back....  :Wink:  Then just mention "no different to big corporates using cheap or slave labour" and stand even further back.....

I do practice permaculture but now call it "sustainable natural gardening" rather than permaculture..... Just to distance myself from their stupid antics..... Permies often ask me how I've manged to get so much done on my place even though I was living fulltime with my parents, caregiving (55kms away) them. My answer was simple "I get off my arse and actually do stuff"..... 

Right; off my soapbox.... I hope it didn't come across that I am disillusioned with permaculturists?   :Have A Nice Day:   :Have A Nice Day:   :Have A Nice Day:   :Have A Nice Day:   :Have A Nice Day:

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## grandpamac

Greetings Bumblefoot,
Thanks for your post on sustainable natural gardening. Being a bit of a hermit and living in Hawkes Bay I had not come across the darker side of some  people using permaculture as a fig leaf for their profligate consumption. I think that many people intuitively adopt many of the principles of sustainable natural gardening on their blocks and farms without even realising it. About 6.5 of our 8 hectares is pretty much a blank canvas having only been used for grazing to date. My thoughts of what to do with it will certainly changed on my wanders around it over the coming weeks and months.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

I often broadcast vege seeds and plant vege seedlings in shelterbelts, all over the place really. Let veges self seed. So as well as the formal vege patches I can sorta forage wild veges too.... I was going to whinge to a mate about getting tired of eating venison mince during lockdown; but thought it was a bit "1st world problem-ish"  :Grin:

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## bumblefoot

> Greetings Bumblefoot,I had not come across the darker side of some  people using permaculture as a fig leaf for their profligate consumption.


And their virtue signalling wokeness..... Like one person here; moans about fuel exploration etc etc etc and then flies on a holiday to France and off to Scotland to take part in a climate change conference..... Two overseas trips in 6-months....

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## gonetropo

things are getting bad, no meat pies at all at the supermarket !!!!
so today i made manchester eggs. its a pickled hard boiled egg wrapped in a ix of sausage meat and black pudding filling then crumbed and baked.
tonight i am giving the dog a run for the money on toxic farts !!!

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## bumblefoot

> i am giving the dog a run for the money on toxic farts !!!


Releasing toxic farts is a highly underrated passtime.....  :Wink:

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## bumblefoot

I had to go to NW; bought some bacon and forgot to buy eggs..... Yes; buy eggs........    First time in 5-years when I do buy some.... They decided to moult just on lockdown.... It's like WW2 rationing here for eggs Freeloading slackers ha ha  :Wink:  At least the ducks are starting up again! They usually only go off the lay for about 3-weeks in mid winter and take up the chooks slack...

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## Coote

Eggs would be one of the last food items i'd ever want to give up.  I never grow tired of them. And duck eggs are something I've really enjoyed... apart from the odd one gathered from an outside nest that didn't have a use-by date stamped on it.

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## Moa Hunter

> Grandpa Mac,
> 
> Yes that is a great way to transition to start getting setup while you have good cash flow and more youth. Also lets you buy in earlier and that can have benefits.


Where are you planning to retire Dicko ? I think the first thing is to buy land with good soil, then get planting fruit trees, they need time to get fruiting. I have 40 + fruit trees. Is it a place with late frost some springs ? if so plant the trees in circles where a sprinkler can be put on a pole in the centre. Is there slope with good aspect etc. Is there a creek where you can plant both sides. All these things need considered and a picture of what is needed worked out. Good Dirt is Always Cheap and Poor Dirt is always Too Dear !

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## bumblefoot

Speaking of living off the land.... This gave me a giggle.....

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## Dicko

Moa, 

Where to retire is a great question and I would like to find an answer! 

I have worked in agriculture for 35 years. In that time Ive lived and worked in the 3 eastern Ozzie states, Christchurch and New Plymouth, and mid west Us. Travelled a lot to the Ag areas of s lot of countries. Around ANZ I always used to look for areas of good country with good community. Eventually it wore me out. Too many good places.

In retirement I want to spent more time H&F and would like a small rural block/ Farm. 

We may, stock market correcting itself have enough for a holiday home/Bach. 

At the end of the day I guess my wife will get a big say in the plan. She will want to stay in Sydney or go back to Queensland. Probably Noosa way. Close to the kids who could go anywhere.

Im thinking a place in a small North Canterbury village for half the year might be workable for the first 10-15 years as part of the plan. 

I agree with your comments around soil. 
You need to be a good farmer to manhattans be profitable on poor souls. Good soils tolerate poor farmers and flatter them in the medium term.

----------


## grandpamac

Firewood 2021
Greetings All,
We have had some cooler days, there has been some snow on the Kaweka Tops and I lit the fire for the first time this week.
Consequently it is now time to gather firewood for the 2021 winter.
Firewood gathering in progress.
Fortunately our firewood supply is within our bubble, about 60 metres from the house. Because I am old and somewhat feeble I practice low input firewood gathering techniques. Firewood is felled, ringed and split close to the stump. Next it is transported to the drying stack in the firewood transport device next to the stump. After drying and the wood shed is largely empty the firewood is transported in the bulk firewood carrier (rear of shot) to the wood shed.
Others technique and results may differ.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## NRT

> Firewood 2021
> Greetings All,
> We have had some cooler days, there has been some snow on the Kaweka Tops and I lit the fire for the first time this week.
> Consequently it is now time to gather firewood for the 2021 winter.Attachment 136522
> Firewood gathering in progress.
> Fortunately our firewood supply is within our bubble, about 60 metres from the house. Because I am old and somewhat feeble I practice low input firewood gathering techniques. Firewood is felled, ringed and split close to the stump. Next it is transported to the drying stack in the firewood transport device next to the stump. After drying and the wood shed is largely empty the firewood is transported in the bulk firewood carrier (rear of shot) to the wood shed.
> Others technique and results may differ.
> Regards Grandpamac.


Looks a nice deal ,way easy then what I'm doing .

Sent from my TA-1025 using Tapatalk

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## Flyblown

This lockdown period has been extremely fulfilling in the culinary sense, as we have been able to prepare a square evening meal for four every night, exclusively with food produced directly from our small block, or hunted by me elsewhere. We made it an objective at the beginning of the lockdown to eat well with what we had, and rely only on bought food for breakfast and a light lunch. 

Despite the horrendous drought here the vegetable crop has been outstanding, all the more surprising that we were away for six weeks during December and January and only got the garden watered once, with according to the Met service only two brief showers in addition to that. This has really made us wonder whether we have historically overwatered our vege gardens, considering that many of the vegetables we grow are essentially Mediterranean in origin.

All the beef is homegrown and killed on the block, supplemented by venison, pig and goat. The kids get to eat oxtail, tongue, heart and sweetbreads and generally dont complain, I like testing them to guide them away from fussiness. We eat a lot of venison mince that we blend with beef mince in a roughly 50-50 mix. We dont keep chickens unfortunately due to their attractiveness to Staffordshire bull terriers and a very bad stoat and ferret problem which weve now pretty much got on top of. The lack of chickens is going to have to change though, and I am thinking about how we can constrain chickens and stop them becoming feathered snacks. Our dogs have a very high prey drive and cannot resist free ranging chickens, as I found out to the dismay of my one mate at his home this past February...

The fruit & vegetables we grow are two varieties of butternuts, gem squash, potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, cucumbers (which are fast pickled), various beans and beetroots. Relishes are made from sub-standard fruit and the one variety of butternut, lots of vege soups, tomato sauces made and frozen for use as a base in spag bol etc. All the herbs are homegrown. 

Highlights are always the venison backstraps and goat curry. Lowlights are generally wild pig - dont know why but the pigs I have access to are often too gamey even for me. Have been wondering how much this is pig diet related. In the past the Kaimai pigs were excellent, but these Ruapehu pigs are a bit iffy. So if theres one thing weve decided to process as dog meat, its the current pork stock.

We bake our own bread, cakes and biscuits. We had a fantastic supply of fresh milk from one of our neighbours as their house cow was producing far too much for just them, so we made butter and various milk based dishes like paneer (Indian) and melk-kos (Afrikaans). 

Unfortunately were heading into winter without as much stored vegetables as I would like, as weve never been very good at growing winter veg. But the veg gardens are all freshly cleaned up and tilled, fertilised with cow pats and compost, ready to go. Ive got my wife to thank for the green fingers, shes a wonder at getting things going and set up for a long production period, tying the plants up, making wind breaks, keeping everything strong. Im more of an operations bloke, spade work, weeding, occasional watering. The simple stuff. 

Next up is homebrew. Its something Ive never done and the info on here in the homebrew thread has got me excited. If I succeed in brewing a palatable pale ale, Im gonna award myself a medal.

----------


## Coote

Good post thanks Flyblown.

Do the pigs in your area spend a lot of time in bracken?

Broad beans are one of our favourites to have emerging from the ground this time of the year.  The greens are excellent in salads.  Tatsoi grows pretty quickly and might be good to try.  Right now we've got a whole lot of freckles lettuce and rocket that have come up all over the place.  Another feral green that shows up reliably from now on during the cooler months is Miners lettuce.

----------


## Flyblown

@Coote, yes the pigs will spend time in bracken for sure, it’s a dominant plant species in areas of abandoned farmland adjacent to the native blocks, and I frequently see pigs in there. But do they eat bracken? Haven’t a clue. I guess that might affect their flavour. 

Of concern to me is the amount of dead animal they get to eat - pig hunters’ livestock dumps which get a steady resupply of sheep, cattle and horses, all the goats we flatten from long range, the deer we cull to waste as well. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of dead ungulates, and they sure don’t last long, a day or two tops for a yearling Angus steer when the pigs are around, for example... It is quite something to watch them demolish a red deer in 6-7 hours. And they like it rotten as...

Kinda puts me off wild pork to be honest. 

Whereas the pigs I used to shoot off North Waikato farmland came straight out of the native and onto pasture, they were excellent eating.

----------


## Coote

I have heard that bracken will affect pork quality.  The roots can be starchy and I've certainly seen pig rooting in bracken patches.  The content of some of the stomachs of pigs I've gutted looked like it could have included bracken roots/rhizomes whatever they are called.

I seldom eat pig's liver nowadays.  I believe that is where any toxins are likely to be in their highest concentration.  And I figure that some pigs may have eaten poisoned possums... or even directly consumed a sub-lethal dose of poisoned bait.  I don't eat possum livers for the same reason.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
In line with my low input block maintenance regime grass maintenance in the open and treed areas has been delegated to an itinerant landscape specialists. They operate from late winter to early summer and have provided excellent service to date. Early last summer, after negotiations, I extended their contract to include some of the areas closer to the house. Below is a photo of the team enjoying their smoko break. A more permanent arrangement will be organised before they return in a few months.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## poodle

Salad is what food eats..  :Wink:

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## gonetropo

> This lockdown period has been extremely fulfilling in the culinary sense, as we have been able to prepare a square evening meal for four every night, exclusively with food produced directly from our small block, or hunted by me elsewhere. We made it an objective at the beginning of the lockdown to eat well with what we had, and rely only on bought food for breakfast and a light lunch. 
> 
> Despite the horrendous drought here the vegetable crop has been outstanding, all the more surprising that we were away for six weeks during December and January and only got the garden watered once, with according to the Met service only two brief showers in addition to that. This has really made us wonder whether we have historically overwatered our vege gardens, considering that many of the vegetables we grow are essentially Mediterranean in origin.
> 
> All the beef is homegrown and killed on the block, supplemented by venison, pig and goat. The kids get to eat oxtail, tongue, heart and sweetbreads and generally don’t complain, I like testing them to guide them away from fussiness. We eat a lot of venison mince that we blend with beef mince in a roughly 50-50 mix. We don’t keep chickens unfortunately due to their attractiveness to Staffordshire bull terriers and a very bad stoat and ferret problem which we’ve now pretty much got on top of. The lack of chickens is going to have to change though, and I am thinking about how we can constrain chickens and stop them becoming feathered snacks. Our dogs have a very high prey drive and cannot resist free ranging chickens, as I found out to the dismay of my one mate at his home this past February...
> 
> The fruit & vegetables we grow are two varieties of butternuts, gem squash, potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, cucumbers (which are “fast” pickled), various beans and beetroots. Relishes are made from sub-standard fruit and the one variety of butternut, lots of vege soups, tomato sauces made and frozen for use as a base in spag bol etc. All the herbs are homegrown. 
> 
> Highlights are always the venison backstraps and goat curry. Lowlights are generally wild pig - don’t know why but the pigs I have access to are often too “gamey” even for me. Have been wondering how much this is pig diet related. In the past the Kaimai pigs were excellent, but these Ruapehu pigs are a bit iffy. So if there’s one thing we’ve decided to process as dog meat, it’s the current pork stock.
> ...


i used to brew beer then i found distilling much more fun. outlay is higher but an 1125ml bottle of rum for $4 makes up for it.

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## outlander

> i used to brew beer then i found distilling much more fun. outlay is higher but an 1125ml bottle of rum for $4 makes up for it.


I'd never have the restraint required at 4 bucks a bottle.

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## gonetropo

> I'd never have the restraint required at 4 bucks a bottle.


well whisky works out about $7 so maybe go for that instead  :Psmiley:

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## Jhon

Good post Gonetropo. I'm interested in the comment re feral pork.  Ive had some amazing "gifted" wild pork and like you some that the dogs had to be persuaded to even nose. I'm thinking that diet is everything.  I love my goat currys - they only eat green stuff.  Pigs will scavenge anything so I'm guessing there will be times of the year when the meat will be great perhaps when greens and roots are bountiful and times when it reflects whatever else they get into, like carrion maybe. More research required...

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## bumblefoot

Last night was my first night at home since busting my ankle. Today I felt like baking so went into full Nigella mode. Flicked my hair around, puffed out my chest and tried to look seductive. That was an epic failure so just baked a loaf of sultana bread and my first bacon and egg pie in about 25-years. I bought the pastry; turns out I wasn't in 100% Nigella mode after all...... 
 :Wink: 




Oh; and the reason why I won't be doing some hunting for another few months.....

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## Coote

Nice looking texture in that loaf.   Do you include any sort of oil in your dough mix?   Any lecithin or any other additive?

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## bumblefoot

Nope. It's a no knead loaf. You just 3 cups of high grade flour, 1 tsp dried yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1/3-1/2 cup sultanas 1 3/4 cups water (1 1/2 if no sultanas because they  absorb some water). Folded over itself a few times every 20-30mins (3 separate foldings). Left overnight in a bowl with a damp towel overnight. Next morning turn out onto a floured board. fold it half a dozen times, shape it and put it on some baking paper for half an hour or so. Pre-heat the oven at around 220C with a lidded casserole dish/Dutch or camp oven. when hot, take the oven out and put the dough in on the paper. Put the lid on the cooking vessel and bake for 30-mins. Then take the vessel out, remove the lid, take out the paper and put the loaf in for another 10-20mins (no lid) to finish. It's practically fullproof! Having the lid on emulates a bakers steam oven and makes a primo crust

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## Coote

Thanks for that Bumblefoot.  I think I'd better try it.  Maybe when the grandkids are over for a meal.  Much appreciated.

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## grandpamac

Greetings Bumblefoot,
That looks like a pretty sturdy repair. Take the time needed for your recovery,
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac Thank you; I am. It is healing very well though. But I'm being careful; even though it is damn frustrating! Was in a cast for 6 weeks and then a moon boot for just under 2. They thought it may take 6-weeks but it's making good progress.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
I was walking through Mitre 10 the other day. I had gone in to get a few odds and ends including some climbing sugar snap pea seeds, a favourite in this house. I walked past the table full of seed potatoes and decided I should grow some this year so a bag was added to the cart. This morning I was planting them where could shoehorn them in to my garden. I was looking for something to put the sprouted spuds in and remembered that we used to use a dipper for this. I also realised that I had followed my late father's planting system. So for the three of you that may be interested here it is.
First the seed potatoes were placed in a seed tray, rose end up, to sprout and put in a dim part of the shed. The rose end of the spud is the end where the eyes are and where the sprouts will develop. It takes a couple of weeks for this to happen so this gives you time to finish preparing the ground for them. The sprouted spuds are easy to damage so enough for each row were transferred from the seed tray into the dipper for their trip to the garden. What is a dipper you ask? A dipper was an implement like a wok but about half the size. They were used for emptying the copper. What is a copper? A copper was used for heating water for washing clothes up until about 1950. It was a copper bowl with a fire box below heated with wood or if you were flash gas. Most had no outlet so they had to be emptied with the dipper. By the mid to late 1950's when I was "helping" my father planting the spuds most of the coppers had been replaced with agitator washing machines but you still saw the from time to time. The dippers survived. I found an ice cream container almost as good.
Well we got a bit of track there but hopefully there are a few old fudd's that have their memory jogged.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Coote

Heh.  Well I certainly know what a 'copper' is, but I have never been aware of a 'dipper'.  Thanks for that.

Coppers were a common thing when I was a kid.  I seem to recall one in the family home... and I saw them at other people's places.   The copper bowl, removed from the refractory body, was a very handy thing.  Before plastic containers we used to use one as a water reservoir when mixing concrete, and another was used for stock to drink out of.  I have an idea that my elders used to boil freshly caught crayfish in a copper.   The outer refractory housing was useful as an outdoor incinerator when the copper bowl was removed.  We aren't allowed incinerators now.

I don't ever remember my parents using a copper for cleaning laundry.   I guess by the time I was aware of 'doing the washing' they had a washing machine.

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## Coote

Here is an early colour photo showing my young sister cooling off in the copper bowl we had in the paddock for the horse to drink from.

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## gonetropo

i built the mrs 3 vege gardens and a greenhouse. got 1/2 of one garden full of spuds and the rest is for what she wants to plant and eat as i believe vege is evil !!

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## grandpamac

Greetings Moa Hunter, Coote and Gone Tropo,
The first house I bought still had the original gas copper and kauri tubs installed. My father had a enormous vegetable garden with heaps of spuds. It was meat, spuds and 3 veg in our house, plus heaps of eggs from our chooks. I used to grow heaps of spuds while the kids were at home but these days I am the only regular spud eater. I was pleased to see that the two spud varieties that my father grew in the 1950's, Ilam Hardy and Rua are still available but I chose another favourite Desiree to plant.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Moa Hunter

I still have a copper, set up with an outside bathtub

----------


## Ackley

2 years ago we renovated my family home built in 1960. Part of the reno was to remove the old copper stand from the laundry so have lived with one in the house for most of 60yrs. Don't remember it being use though except to dip fruit for drying

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## Moa Hunter

> i built the mrs 3 vege gardens and a greenhouse. got 1/2 of one garden full of spuds and the rest is for what she wants to plant and eat as i believe vege is evil !!


Do you eat spuds gt ?

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## gonetropo

> Do you eat spuds gt ?


spuds, kumara, onions, garlic and really hot chillis.ok ketchup  
no fruit or salad, dont ever even put a strand of greenery in my burger!!! or mixed vege in my meat pies!!!

----------


## Moa Hunter

> spuds, kumara, onions, garlic and really hot chillis.ok ketchup  
> no fruit or salad, dont ever even put a strand of greenery in my burger!!! or mixed vege in my meat pies!!!


Well give me strength, what would Carl Linnaeus say to that ?? Spuds, Kumera, onions, Garlic, tomatoes are actually VEGE !!

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## Ftx325

I would probably be vegetarian if they were more fun to hunt...

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## gonetropo

> Well give me strength, what would Carl Linnaeus say to that ?? Spuds, Kumera, onions, Garlic, tomatoes are actually VEGE !!


tomatoes are actually a fruit of the nightshade family   :Psmiley:

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## gonetropo

> I would probably be vegetarian if they were more fun to hunt...

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## Moa Hunter

> tomatoes are actually a fruit of the nightshade family


Vege denier / denialist

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## gonetropo

hey if i could afford to eat  a full meat diet  i would do, well that and massive amounts of dairy. hell i must drink/use 6-8 litres of moo juice a week

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## Dicko

Fun fact: tomato, potato, gooseberry, tobacco, nightshade, devils trumpet, datura etc.... are members of the Solanum (Solanaceae) family. 
Which explains why their can be a certain toxic and hallucinogen properties around some of them at times.

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## gonetropo

> Fun fact: tomato, potato, gooseberry, tobacco, nightshade, devils trumpet, datura etc.... are members of the Solanum (Solanaceae) family. 
> Which explains why their can be a certain toxic and hallucinogen properties around some of them at times.


smoke gunpowder and blow your mind !!   :Psmiley:   :Psmiley:

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## grandpamac

> tomatoes are actually a fruit of the nightshade family


Hate to have to tell you this gonetropo but potatoes and peppers are part of the nightshade family as well. Hope you will still eat them.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## vulcannz

and Cucumbers are fruit... mind ... blown.

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## gonetropo

> and Cucumbers are fruit... mind ... blown.


frute/vege same thing
both evil

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## Moa Hunter

> frute/vege same thing
> both evil


You are not anti vege it seems just antigreen which may not be so bad after all. As for the 'frute' above do you mean 'jobby jabbers'?

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## ghosts

We've had our spuds decimated by the deer, well at least the foliage. Always thought deer wouldn't eat such things. The rhubarb gets hammered to.

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## XR500

If those Stewart Island Whitetail eat seaweed, its possible they'll eat anything :Zomg:

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## bumblefoot

I hate to sound like one of those tossers who starts and then spams a thread with self promotion. but....... I have just started a YouTube channel looking at self sufficiency, gardening, some hunting and fishing, cooking and interviews with interesting people in the rural sector and those living self sufficient lifestyles. I will also be embarking on a weight loss journey and documenting it. The channel will show the successes as well as the failures; warts and all..... 

I am a qualified butcher and have worked as a freelance photojournalist since 2006. So there will be butchery tips as well as photography tips if viewers would like them. Anyway; that's the first and only time I'll spam this thread! And of course; feel free to subscribe!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4H...kFDd_koBfOOSdg

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## MSL

What a tosser...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Coote

Good on you.  Your useful and wholesome content will do a lot of good.

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## grandpamac

> I hate to sound like one of those tossers who starts and then spams a thread with self promotion. but....... I have just started a YouTube channel looking at self sufficiency, gardening, some hunting and fishing, cooking and interviews with interesting people in the rural sector and those living self sufficient lifestyles. I will also be embarking on a weight loss journey and documenting it. The channel will show the successes as well as the failures; warts and all..... 
> 
> I am a qualified butcher and have worked as a freelance photojournalist since 2006. So there will be butchery tips as well as photography tips if viewers would like them. Anyway; that's the first and only time I'll spam this thread! And of course; feel free to subscribe!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4H...kFDd_koBfOOSdg


Greetings Bumblefoot,
Ticks all the boxes for me, including the weight loss. My garden looks a bit like yours but without the livestock. There are Californian Quail and Hares though. Must give some of Phil's recipes a go.
Keep it up Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

I've only got the 2 pigs to eat the grass at the moment. I dropped all the front perimeter fences to build new sheep-proof ones and a week later broke the ankle. I've only just getting back to getting posts in the ground; but can still only do a few hours work on the ankle per day. I did 4 days hard fencing; digging posts and strainers in, putting up rails and netting; and needed 3 days to recover. It's amazing how much fitness and muscle tone I've lost since doing the ankle. 7-weeks of sitting around and about 8-weeks of being able to do little on it! After the fencing I walked along as though I was the hunchback of Notre Dame impersonating Charlie Chaplin who had just peed his pants!  :Grin:

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## bumblefoot

Well got put for my first hunt yesterday since breaking the ankle in late July. A decent pair of boots this time; no 4x4 gummies! It was just a practice run to see how it held up while I went out to get a goat. Only took a nanny as that's all I could comfortably carry out as balance (and confidence on it) still isn't great. Sure; it's not 12-point red stag, but it's the first step to getting back  to living off the land  :Have A Nice Day: 





The goat hanging in the cool of the chestnut tree. It's hanging on the eastern side in the shade and the cooling breeze pretty much makes it a meat safe/chiller. It's now wrapped in a sheet to keep the flies off. I also kept the kidneys, liver and heart

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## bumblefoot

Went out for a hunt last Friday; 4 days after my last hunt. The goal was to help a friend get her first goat. She eats meat and wanted to be able to harvest her own. She has shot rats and a rabbit with her scoped air rifle. I was going to take her out last year; but Covid and then the busted ankle put paid to that idea. So we finally got out and she got her goat with my 223. 

It really surprised me how stressed I was! It wasn't until she'd dropped the goat that I noticed how relieved I was. I wanted it to go well; clinically and clean. And that was exactly how it happened. Her range of emotions was amazing. Really nervous about doing it right, the shakes before the shot, absolute calm taking the shot, and then shaking like a leaf and nearly crying from relief after pulling it off extremely well. Also the realisation of what she'd done; a tad sorry for the goat, proud that she'd done it, relief etc etc.... 

Now she can't wait to go again, she loved it! A couple of days later she came back to learn how to skin it and cut it up. She cooked heart and liver the day after the hunt. She first never thought she'd eat them, but decided to try it. The next evening I had a txt come through that said "Heart and liver are yum! Even the kids loved it"..... We are going to tan the skin too. 

She triumphantly dragged it all the way to the car. She was absolutely determined to get it out; and was fuelled by adrenalin! It's the easiest carry I've ever done  :Wink: 

I loved the entire experience and am still on a bit of a high over it.

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## Tahr

> Went out for a hunt last Friday; 4 days after my last hunt. The goal was to help a friend get her first goat. She eats meat and wanted to be able to harvest her own. She has shot rats and a rabbit with her scoped air rifle. I was going to take her out last year; but Covid and then the busted ankle put paid to that idea. So we finally got out and she got her goat with my 223. 
> 
> It really surprised me how stressed I was! It wasn't until she'd dropped the goat that I noticed how relieved I was. I wanted it to go well; clinically and clean. And that was exactly how it happened. Her range of emotions was amazing. Really nervous about doing it right, the shakes before the shot, absolute calm taking the shot, and then shaking like a leaf and nearly crying from relief after pulling it off extremely well. Also the realisation of what she'd done; a tad sorry for the goat, proud that she'd done it, relief etc etc.... 
> 
> Now she can't wait to go again, she loved it! A couple of days later she came back to learn how to skin it and cut it up. She cooked heart and liver the day after the hunt. She first never thought she'd eat them, but decided to try it. The next evening I had a txt come through that said "Heart and liver are yum! Even the kids loved it"..... We are going to tan the skin too. 
> 
> She triumphantly dragged it all the way to the car. She was absolutely determined to get it out; and was fuelled by adrenalin! It's the easiest carry I've ever done 
> 
> I loved the entire experience and am still on a bit of a high over it.  
> ...


That was great. You really captured the emotion and what its all about. Damn well done.

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## Coote

Well done.  The more people that harvest their own meat the better.  It is a natural activity.... something that our species has done for thousands of years.

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## bumblefoot

The new pig shelter under the chestnut tree has just been finished. It's one of the first jobs I've been able to do since breaking the ankle. It’ll allow me to rotate the kune kune pics around the property. It may seem overbuilt but the video shows how much strain a scratching pig will put on a structure! 

The open front (facing north for all day sun) allows plenty of ventilation. There’s an old farming saying that says “Animal houses need 3 things, ventilation, ventilation and more ventilation”…..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbHJSZn_x0A

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## bumblefoot

Went for a last minute goat hunt yesterday afternoon. Shot a little 'un, but will be tasty cos they sure are in good nick at the moment. Didn't leave home til 4. There were about a dozen goats in the clearing, but I only wanted one. Wanted to test what I could carry out on the old ankle. The goat only weighed about 12kg and fitted in the day pack. The ankle held up well. Hung it under the tree last night to cool overnight skinning it and breaking it into 3 to put in the fridge for a few days. 



Free range, organic, sustainably harvested meat.  The meat is all for human consumption, as is the liver. Rowdy; my cat, ate the heart last night. The bones will be used for stock. The feet and any offcuts will feed friend's dogs and the eels in the creek. I feed the eels once or twice a week. It's pretty cool seeing them cruise about after the meat.   The skin has been put at the base of a "Ya" pear tree to supress the weeds and to provide fertiliser. 



Tomorrow I'm off for my first deer hunt since breaking my ankle in late July. Looking forward to it. When I get back I'll be putting sleepers around my new kitchen vege garden. Life is slowly getting back to the way I want it to be

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## Coote

Nice clean-looking carcass.

I haven't seen any goats in my area for quite a while.  I wonder if they go back further into the bush during the hotter weather.  I never really noticed what happened last summer.   I'm hoping to see one soon as the free meat supply has dwindled and I have a new .357 magnum load to try with a heavy, flat bullet.

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## bumblefoot

I had to use 3-wheel drive a few times, but made the ridge top! And best of all the ankle held up really. Also managed to climb to the top of a damn steep Parapara ridge (trying to head off a buck) without any hassles. So another step towards getting back to living off the land!

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## Coote

Well done.  Nice photo.

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## bumblefoot

Wild rabbit and cherry tomato pie and rabbit soup in the slow cooker for tomorrow

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## Coote

That looks very good.  Particularly the glutinous-looking dollops of gravy in amongst the other tasty-looking tidbits.   I have often found rabbit to be 'dry' in texture.  That meat doesn't look dry.  How was it?

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## bumblefoot

It was moist as. I used this recipe for the legs etc and did them in the crockpot until the meat fell off the bones. I used some of the cooking liquor and thickened it with cornflour and mixed it in with the meet and cherry toms in the pie

https://www.krumpli.co.uk/slow-cooked-rabbit/

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## bumblefoot

A bowl of wild rabbit, tomato, leek and watercress soup for lunch. Trying to use up everything and waste as little as possible

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## Flyblown

Everything on these plates was produced off our wee Waikato block, with the exception of the cheese which was made by our very cheese-iferous expert neighbour.

Beef, salad & veg, spuds. Nowt more required.

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## bumblefoot

A couple of days ago I too my mate Beth out for her second hunt. She'd already shot her first goat (about 10-days earlier) and this time nailed a 25" billy for her second goat and first billy! I couldn't believe it as goats over 23-ish inches are hard to find in Taranaki; especially on DOC land. It's really blown me away to see the reactions of a new hunter. Here's a super quick vid of her reaction to shooting it. I'll write a proper hunt report soon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65WkFb9gbUM

Oh and a fun quick video of us trying the fillets off the old billy, One of my friends often jokes that I’m a “hard up hua” for eating goat. Here, for a laugh, we try eating the fillets of a 7 or 8-year old billy goat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gdiiRIjet8&t=5s

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## dannyb

Awesome, my first goat was as 29" billy (South Otago), have never seen a bigger one.
We didn't take any meat off him just the head, stunk to high heaven  :Sick: 
We were fortunate to be able to clean up several young nannies for tucker which was really good eating

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## bumblefoot

Otago has way better heads than Taranaki, here they tend to be scrubby things. As a youngster we would trophy shoot nearly every weekend. We'd walk for 2-3 hours into DOC blocks and only look for trophy billies and it was super difficult to break out of the 25" range. I eventually got a 29" after about 5 years of trophy hunting. And about 6 years ago shot a 31" head.

Beth used the meat off this billy for her dogs. I showed her how to cut it up yesterday. She is absolutely hooked on hunting!

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## Coote

Your hunting mate is a lot tidier than any of mine.   A lot less facial hair.   You are doing good work.

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## Tahr

> Everything on these plates was produced off our wee Waikato block, with the exception of the cheese which was made by our very cheese-iferous expert neighbour.
> 
> Beef, salad & veg, spuds. Nowt more required. 
> 
> Attachment 160704


We had a pig that kept getting into the garden. It was a bugger of a thing and would even push under an electric wire. So in the end I killed it for pork instead of growing it out for bacon.
My wife took great pride in her garden and the abundant veggies. One evening when we were having a pork dinner wife said to the kids "everything on your plate is out of the garden!".
"Yes" 4 year old replied "even the pig".  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

@CheekiBreeki Yup; east Taranaki

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## bumblefoot

The best thing about being able to go hunting on a regular basis again is that I've been able to give so much meat away to the people that have helped me out over the last few years; very satisfying  

Venison Scotch fillet seasoned with pepper, rosemary and thyme searing in the frying pan.

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## Coote

Good on you.  Sharing the catch is great public relations for all hunters in general.  Thank you.

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## bumblefoot

> Good on you.  Sharing the catch is great public relations for all hunters in general.  Thank you.


It is. I gave 2 back legs and 10kgs of mince away from those 2 deer we got a couple of weeks ago. And from the little goat I shot 3 weeks ago gave away the back legs and made up a big curry to take to friends with everything else bar the loins and fillets. Goat gone; but replaced yesterday..... ;-)

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## Coote

I give away meat too.  Some folks give feedback, but I don't hear anything back from others.  I get the occasional deer, but mostly it has been pigs, possums and goats.  I often cut up the 2nd grade meat and boil up these chunks for people's pets.

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## bumblefoot

The goat above today.... All the goats are in beautiful condition at the moment. Mind you, they tend to be in good nick in the valley I hunt. The shoulders will be used for curry tomorrow night

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## veitnamcam

Nice tidy skinning job. :Thumbsup:

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## Micky Duck

punched more than knived by the looks of it...very tidy job indeed.
if you put a small slit/cut up by rib cage and poke end of forelegs through it it does two things...helps to spread cavity open and makes your forequarter roast compact enough to fit in Mums meat dish,also makes it slide into bag easier to keep flies off,without forelegs sticking out.

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## bumblefoot

Yup; punched. It's in the fridge now. I tightly wrap it in sheets and held in place with clothes pegs and hung the night in a tree (skin on). It's like my meat safe. One of the joys of being a qualified butcher is that it's easier to do it all yourself  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

If you punch it off from the back through to the front and incision you leave all the belly skin (aka bark) on the carcass. The trick is to get behind the bark from the legs down the back and punch towards the belly

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## bumblefoot

One shoulder is now in the crockpot for curry....

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## JessicaChen

That looks like a nice proper homemade spice paste, way better than the jars of tasteless bland premade sauce crap at the supermarket.

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## bumblefoot

@JessicaChen The homemade spice mix makes it completely different. When my mum was ill in Middlemore Hospital we had a goat curry at a local Fiji Indian takeaway; it was absolutely delicious! I've tried to replicate it, and gotta say; it's pretty close now. The major difference is probably that they used meat on the bone. So I now cut through a few legbones and throw them in too. Also; using  mutton masala mix from the local Indian greengrocer/spice shop makes a difference too. The little boxes og supermarket garam masala are crap. 

I only do a curry once a week or 10-days and take it to friends for a regular curry night. I always get fed up when you mention goat meat to hunters and they always say "It makes a good curry"..... When there is so much else that can be done with it. It's so limiting to think that it's only good for a curry

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## JessicaChen

> @JessicaChen The homemade spice mix makes it completely different. When my mum was ill in Middlemore Hospital we had a goat curry at a local Fiji Indian takeaway; it was absolutely delicious! I've tried to replicate it, and gotta say; it's pretty close now. The major difference is probably that they used meat on the bone. So I now cut through a few legbones and throw them in too. Also; using  mutton masala mix from the local Indian greengrocer/spice shop makes a difference too. The little boxes og supermarket garam masala are crap. 
> 
> I only do a curry once a week or 10-days and take it to friends for a regular curry night. I always get fed up when you mention goat meat to hunters and they always say "It makes a good curry"..... When there is so much else that can be done with it. It's so limiting to think that it's only good for a curry


I do rendang curry most of the time for goat (being half malaysian chinese does that) but there are plenty of other great dishes. Sup Kambing (goat soup) is also great and also utilizes the bones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sup_kambing. Also nice in a spicy korean stew.
Tenderloin and backstrap is good for almost anything (and just eaten on its own) as they dont need to be cooked as long. Might try some in a chinese style stir fried noodle next time I get another goat. Also after seeing your excellent job skinning that goat I feel like becoming an intern at a butchery just to learn from the best.

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## bumblefoot

I often do the spare ribs. Put the seasoned ribs in the crockpot on low just before going to sleep. Just before lunch brush them with a 50/50 soy sauce, chilli sauce and grill them in the oven for about 15-minutes. Even had an ex-vegan (but still partial vegetarian) go back for seconds!

I often brown the legs or shoulders and then slow cook them in the crockpot. Next day I use the cooking liquor as the stock base for soup  :Have A Nice Day:

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## HOO

> One shoulder is now in the crockpot for curry....
> 
> Attachment 161465
> Attachment 161466
> Attachment 161467
> Attachment 161468
> Attachment 161469


Shit that looks good. Do you follow a recipe or just wing it? 


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## bumblefoot

I basically use this recipe  

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/eatwell/r...QVXQKDIBXTPMY/

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## bumblefoot

Slow cooked wild goat shoulder,  seasoned with salt and pepper, sumac, cinnamon stick, star anise, cumin and coriander seed and bay leaves. Slow cooking on top of a bed of leeks and onions.

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## grandpamac

> Slow cooked wild goat shoulder,  seasoned with salt and pepper, sumac, cinnamon stick, star anise, cumin and coriander seed and bay leaves. Slow cooking on top of a bed of leeks and onions.
> 
> Attachment 161542


I'm sure I can smell that from here.
Grandpamac.

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## HOO

> I basically use this recipe  
> 
> https://www.nzherald.co.nz/eatwell/r...QVXQKDIBXTPMY/


Might have to give it a crack 


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## bumblefoot

The beginning of another wild rabbit pie!

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## JessicaChen

What do you put in your rabbit pie? 
Ive been eating rabbits + their hearts/livers for the last two weeks. Havent needed to buy any chicken which is great. Been watching some youtube videos by clay tall stories and his rabbit pies and rabbit cream sauces had me drooling. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPXd-zWmVPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQgFSPPaKNw
Long videos but not bad to relax to when there is nothing else to do. 
This quick video by gordon ramsay has TERRIBLE video movement but the dish is delicious. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMbl-30B5FQ

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## bumblefoot

@JessicaChen   I use the slow cooker recipe above to cook the rabbit and then shred it when cooked. I use some of the cooking liquor thickened with cornflour for gravy. I usually fry up some mushrooms to put in the pie and also put some halved cherry tomatoes (not pre-cooked) into the pie too. But really; whatever I have hanging about. I usually put a leek and onions in the slow cooker when I cook the rabbit so use that in the gravy too.

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## bumblefoot

The cherry tomatoes are a game changer. Not trying to sound all Masterchef w$nky, but.... the hit of acidity in the pie is primo!

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## JessicaChen

That sounds great. Ive got some cherry tomato plants still trying their best to produce fruit, so I will likely try your style soon. Mushrooms are also always a must have.

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## bumblefoot

The next step towards a wild rabbit pie... I'll make it up tomorrow. The stock is flavoured with bay leaves, thyme, Worstershire sauce, cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, ground cloves and a star anise pod. Being cooked on a bed of onions and leeks

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## bumblefoot

Wild rabbit, bacon, mushroom, leek, onion, cherry tomato and chickweed pie at my mate's place tonight. I shot the rabbit from their property.

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## bumblefoot

Went for a spur if the moment hunt this arvo and shot a horse of a goat. What a big bugger to drag out! Bloody near killed me ha ha.  About 5-years old I'd say. Fat as mud, and really stocky. Was a pain in the proverbial to drag the 1/2km out of the bush. Especially down and up the stream and through the blackberry! And; it wasn't the biggest bodied one there. Again; I only took the one; so I could use everything. A ton of mince there! And one less wild goat to eat the native bush... 

The meat will be minced, the skin will be weed mat and fertiliser around my fruit trees, the bones and feet will be for dogs, the liver, heart and kidneys will be for Rowdy, as will some of the mince. I saved the lungs to feed the eels. Waste not, want not.... Oh; and there is a big boar hanging out around the gully, so may go for a nosey again.....


Those are 120-litre bins behind for size reference

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## Coote

That veranda roof is handy

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## bumblefoot

@Coote Especially when it's teeming down. Usually it would have gone under the horse chestnut tree.

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## bumblefoot

I use it as a burglar warning. Hang a sign on it saying "This is the last burglar who tried to break in".... It's wrapped in a sheet now so more convincing .....  :Wink:

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## gonetropo

i used to have a sign on the front door " tonight's burglar is tomorrows dogshit"
might have to get another one made up

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## Ftx325

mine on the gate says  'bugger the dog - beware of the 12 gauge'

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## bumblefoot

2 legs from that big billy in the fridge and a bucket load of meat for mincing. Took a couple of fillets to my friend's place for a taste test. Too gamey and it will be mince for my cat. It was lovely tasting and tender!!!!

I think the key is to not take them during the rutting season; which is just common sense. Also; I always have a bucket of soapy water and a bucket of plain water to keep hands scrupulously clean when skinning every animal. It keeps the meat clean, and prevents any chance of transferring any hair/scent/dirt etc to the meat.

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## Coote

You are fortunate to have such a great resource nearby.

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## bumblefoot

> You are fortunate to have such a great resource nearby.


I'm amazed how good these older billies are! I think they get a bad reputation due to people smelling p%ssed up rutting billies and skinning them and transferring the smell to the meat. These ones are all in good nick and on good tucker though.

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## Coote

I have permission to hunt on a narrow strip of land that reaches the skyline at the top of our valley.  Most days I scan the area with my binoculars to look for the tell-tale white patches in the scrub that indicates that the local mob of (maybe nine) goats are in the 'permitted' zone.  Haven't seen them there for ages.  But I'm ready.  Hopefully I will get some meat that looks as nice as the stuff in your photo.... if not, the family dog will get all that I carry home.

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## bumblefoot

A new garden going into the old duck enclosure; that was always going to be a berry cage. The ducks were in there for over 12 months so the nitrogen levels will be through the roof. 
The idea is to plant it up with leafy green veges for quite some time to suck as much up as possible. Cardboard down over the bare earth to suppress any weeds and straw on top. I'd prefer to use compost; but when breaking in a new garden straw is cheaper.

Straw can harbour slugs, whereas compost doesn't, but I don't want to add more fertility and hopefully the carbon from the straw will help with the nitrogen.
I'll make "pockets" in the straw, pierce the cardboard with a knife to allow the plant roots to penetrate the cardboard at the bottom of the pocket, fill the pocket with potting mix and plant the vege seedling

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## grandpamac

> A new garden going into the old duck enclosure; that was always going to be a berry cage. The ducks were in there for over 12 months so the nitrogen levels will be through the roof. 
> The idea is to plant it up with leafy green veges for quite some time to suck as much up as possible. Cardboard down over the bare earth to suppress any weeds and straw on top. I'd prefer to use compost; but when breaking in a new garden straw is cheaper.
> 
> Straw can harbour slugs, whereas compost doesn't, but I don't want to add more fertility and hopefully the carbon from the straw will help with the nitrogen.
> I'll make "pockets" in the straw, pierce the cardboard with a knife to allow the plant roots to penetrate the cardboard at the bottom of the pocket, fill the pocket with potting mix and plant the vege seedling
> 
> Attachment 165923
> 
> Attachment 165924
> ...


Greetings Bumblefoot,
In the 1970's I planted cabbages in the floor of what had been an old chook house. From distant memory they were OS cross or Jubilee Hybrid. They were the largest I have ever grown. Our family of four scarcely put a dent in them so the balance were spread around the neighborhood.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## gonetropo

i just planted 10 broccoli plants, needless to say the mrs and her family will be the ones eating them !!

remember the golden rule " if its green its mean"

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## bumblefoot

Roast goat, leek, onion, garlic, ginger, Jerusalem artichoke, mushroom, spinach, capsicum and tomato soup for lunch... I used the leftover slow cooker liquor for the base of the soup; it packs tons of flavour!

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## HOO

Anyone have any experience keeping ducks in the vege garden? About to move into a new place with a massive vege garden and Ive read that keeping ducks in near the veges keeps the snails and catterpillars off them? 


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## bumblefoot

I think it depends how resilient your garden is. I've heard the same as you about ducks in the vege patch; but my ducks were beside the veges. I gave them greens each day; but they still reached between the wooden fence slats to eat all the veges. I had to put some mesh on the fence. They use them a lot in Asia; but it mostly seems in rice paddies or forest gardens,

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## JessicaChen

> Roast goat, leek, onion, garlic, ginger, Jerusalem artichoke, mushroom, spinach, capsicum and tomato soup for lunch... I used the leftover slow cooker liquor for the base of the soup; it packs tons of flavour!
> 
> Attachment 165995


Perfect for the upcoming cold evenings. Getting real chilly.

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## MB

We had goat shanks in the crock pot the other night. Unbelievably good!

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## sore head stoat

This is a great thread, I appreciate all the ideas. Thank you to all the contributors especially bumblefoot .

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## bumblefoot

> We had goat shanks in the crock pot the other night. Unbelievably good!


I'm about to upload a short video of a slow cooked leg off a billy that was at least 5-years old! After 3-hours in the crockpot it was super tender and when we tried it there was no gamey taste. I've been a butcher since I was 16 (58 now!) and I would never have thought that would be the case! It just goes to show how much of the "all billy goats are stinky/gamey is a load of tosh. 

Having said that; it wasn't rutting; so had no "goaty" smell. also; when I skin them I always have 2 buckets of water beside me; 1 soapy and 1 fresh. I ALWAYS frequently wash hands when skinning them; especially my left hand that touches the skin and meat. It minimises the chances of transferring hair, dirt, smell to the meat

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## gonetropo

> I'm about to upload a short video of a slow cooked leg off a billy that was at least 5-years old! After 3-hours in the crockpot it was super tender and when we tried it there was no gamey taste. I've been a butcher since I was 16 (58 now!) and I would never have thought that would be the case! It just goes to show how much of the "all billy goats are stinky/gamey is a load of tosh. 
> 
> Having said that; it wasn't rutting; so had no "goaty" smell. also; when I skin them I always have 2 buckets of water beside me; 1 soapy and 1 fresh. I ALWAYS frequently wash hands when skinning them; especially my left hand that touches the skin and meat. It minimises the chances of transferring hair, dirt, smell to the meat


and make sure its cold water for washing, otherwise your skin pores open and the stink gets in. also a cold shower before the warm one

----------


## gonetropo

> I'm about to upload a short video of a slow cooked leg off a billy that was at least 5-years old! After 3-hours in the crockpot it was super tender and when we tried it there was no gamey taste. I've been a butcher since I was 16 (58 now!) and I would never have thought that would be the case! It just goes to show how much of the "all billy goats are stinky/gamey is a load of tosh. 
> 
> Having said that; it wasn't rutting; so had no "goaty" smell. also; when I skin them I always have 2 buckets of water beside me; 1 soapy and 1 fresh. I ALWAYS frequently wash hands when skinning them; especially my left hand that touches the skin and meat. It minimises the chances of transferring hair, dirt, smell to the meat


and make sure its cold water for washing, otherwise your skin pores open and the stink gets in. also a cold shower before the warm one

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## bumblefoot

I just make sure I don't shoot them when they are stinky 🙂

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## bumblefoot

Goat loin stir fry marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, mint, garlic, salt and pepper...

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## MB

> Goat loin stir fry marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, mint, garlic, salt and pepper...
> 
> Attachment 166144


Classic Mediterranean flavours. Works very with goat for obvious reasons. We did something similar with goat backstraps recently.

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## bumblefoot

I've been experimenting with cooking older wild goats. This goat was probably over 5-years old; an age where if it is not rutting I'd mince the meat. After taste testing the fillets and finding them to be tender and very mild, I decided to slow cook the leg. Here is the verdict about the meat tenderness      

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4

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## MB

The last goat I shot was mid-size. Did the back legs in the crockpot with those Mediterranean flavours and swimming in olive oil, no water. Threw a few potatoes in as a well. Quick sear of the meat at the end in a hot frying pan to add a little extra flavour. Obviously not a recipe for someone who doesn't like oily food, but that's how the Greeks do it and I think it's bloody good!

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## tamamutu

Yes, you have described my situation perfectly


> like your goat recipes just dont have any goat to try them.

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## Flyblown

This evening’s contribution.

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## Russian 22.

> The last goat I shot was mid-size. Did the back legs in the crockpot with those Mediterranean flavours and swimming in olive oil, no water. Threw a few potatoes in as a well. Quick sear of the meat at the end in a hot frying pan to add a little extra flavour. Obviously not a recipe for someone who doesn't like oily food, but that's how the Greeks do it and I think it's bloody good!


By swimming you mean that you used an unholy amount of oil to cover the leg?

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## MB

> By swimming you mean that you used an unholy amount of oil to cover the leg?


Pretty much. It's the secret to my mum's great cooking. That and salt by the metric ton!

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## grandpamac

> I've been experimenting with cooking older wild goats. This goat was probably over 5-years old; an age where if it is not rutting I'd mince the meat. After taste testing the fillets and finding them to be tender and very mild, I decided to slow cook the leg. Here is the verdict about the meat tenderness      
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4


Greetings Bumblefoot,
Long ago, before the days of slow cookers we ate a lot of goat. Over time we grew to prefer the meat of the billy goats as it seemed to have more structure and flavour. This did not extend to the rutting billy goats though which could be detected by smell evens from several paces. Your carving fork also brought back memories as my parents had one just like it.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac That fork is my gran's (she was born in 1902)   :Have A Nice Day:  Mum passed away about 18-months ago and I have a lot of her kitchen stuff here. The billy leg was as nice as hogget; albeit, leaner. I'm a qualified butcher (did my time from 79-83) and eating these older billies has blown away my preconceptions about eating their meat. As long as it's not rutting and piss covered; you're pretty good to go.

You also have to be careful skinning them. I always have 2 buckets of water; 1 soapy and 1 clear; to keep my hands and knife scrupulously clean when skinning. I think the "myth" of not eating older goats comes from people eating stinky rutting billies and passing judgement on that. And of course it becomes a "true fact" after years of re-telling.

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## bumblefoot

Oh; next one I'll try on a low heat in an oven bag in the oven and try that

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## Flyblown

Processing time. Gotta love the vacuum pack.

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## Russian 22.

> Pretty much. It's the secret to my mum's great cooking. That and salt by the metric ton!


Interesting. Surprised you're not a fatty who's had 2 heart attacks by now

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## MB

> Interesting. Surprised you're not a fatty who's had 2 heart attacks by now


Haha! I'm not overly convinced by the dangers of (some) fats or salt. There's lots of talk about the Mediterranean diet and longevity and guess what, there's lots of oil/fat and salt in the real deal (rather than the trendy version in lifestyle magazines). I'm not an expert by any means and not giving dietary advice, just some observations.

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## Micky Duck

> Processing time. Gotta love the vacuum pack.
> 
> Attachment 167543


interesting...the Mrs makes same shape bags for us...but they have opening on narrow end...work great for lb of mince ,slide it in and seal the end...the vac pac does seem to keep the meat a bit longer without freezer burn.

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## bumblefoot

Wild pork, mushroom  leek, onion  tomato and capsicum casserole started. That's dinner sorted...

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## bumblefoot

Finished wild pork casserole

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## Micky Duck

I see onions...my arse is burning already...other than that YUMMMMMM

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## bumblefoot

Experimenting with a goat shoulder slow roasted in the oven on top of quince, turnips and onions. Seasoned with lemongrass, cardamom, star anise and cinnamon...

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## Coote

Looks very appealing.

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## bumblefoot

> Looks very appealing.


Thanks; hope so. It's an experiment. I'm cooking it at 150C in the oven rather than the slowcooker. Also; be interested to see how the quince works. Well it's the Chinese false quince;  (Pseudocydonia sinensis)

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## bumblefoot

Just out of the oven, slow-roasted young wild goat shoulder.... The roasted quince (no added sugar) is amazing with it

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## bumblefoot

This is cool! Makes my efforts with goat seem pretty paltry..... The Chinese way of barbequing an entire goat. The goat is scalded as you would a pig instead of being skinned. Not too sure about the soup though  :Wink: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxk01f73368

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## Happy Jack

Anyone cook up young roosters Cleaned up 2 today and have 2 more to do tomorrow. My plan is just to do them the same as chicken as in roasted.

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## Chelsea

Bumblefoot looks like your doing quiet well for yourself living off the land. We are going to spend the next year trying to become a little more self sufficient in terms of food. We (2 adults and 1 child) spend at least $12,000 a year on food despite having unlimited milk, chickens for eggs, and more than enough meat available from the farm and hunting. We are going to wait until the spring to get our garden up and going. My biggest worry is making the change from convenience foods, we live such a busy lifestyle and everyone loves their grab and go snacks and if there isn’t 100 options available or if anyone has to “make” something to eat they think they are going to starve. Not sure how I’m going to break that habit with hubby and our son. They love their snacks! That’s probably easily 1/3 of our food bill. 
What’s been the most difficult for you trying to live off the land? Any tips for making things easier?

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## XR500

The only way to wean them off snacks, is for them to get involved in making your own snacks, and freezing/storing them for later use.  An old possum tapper I knew of would set aside half of every Sunday to make his week's food and freeze it all. That way during the week he could devote every waking moment to  hunting possums. (Back in the late 1970's when a good one was worth $25!!!!)

YT is your friend. There's millions of recipes and neat ways of making your own snacks, chewy bars etc etc. A dehydrator could be useful come Autumn, and cheap fruits abound that you can dry and store for later use in making fruit and nut bars.

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## Chelsea

> The only way to wean them off snacks, is for them to get involved in making your own snacks, and freezing/storing them for later use.  An old possum tapper I knew of would set aside half of every Sunday to make his week's food and freeze it all. That way during the week he could devote every waking moment to  hunting possums. (Back in the late 1970's when a good one was worth $25!!!!)
> 
> YT is your friend. There's millions of recipes and neat ways of making your own snacks, chewy bars etc etc. A dehydrator could be useful come Autumn, and cheap fruits abound that you can dry and store for later use in making fruit and nut bars.


Thanks. A dehydrator is a good idea, I have been thinking one could be useful. I plan on setting aside some time to do a big bake up before the calves start hitting the ground next week.

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## Chelsea

> Yep, dehydrate fruit chips - wifey does them for the sprogs and they love them.  Cooking up spare fruit in the season like apples and pears etc, and keeping it for deserts and on cereal in the AM.  Rest of it is a LOT of shooping around, certain things can be had in bulk for not a lot more per pack than a supermarket, we go to Gilmores and things like 1Kg dates high grade at the supermarket are the same price as a 2.5Kg of 'cooking' grade (designed to be baked so identical in every respect other than appearance) as an example.


Do you still have to have an account or business to shop at Gilmores? I think we have one over in Rotorua but last time I tried to shop at Gilmores about 6 years ago we had to have a business account.
The fruit idea is good. I have tonnes of fejoas to collect off the lawn tomorrow and we have a few fruit trees but they are still a good year or two away.

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## HOO

> Bumblefoot looks like your doing quiet well for yourself living off the land. We are going to spend the next year trying to become a little more self sufficient in terms of food. We (2 adults and 1 child) spend at least $12,000 a year on food despite having unlimited milk, chickens for eggs, and more than enough meat available from the farm and hunting. We are going to wait until the spring to get our garden up and going. My biggest worry is making the change from convenience foods, we live such a busy lifestyle and everyone loves their grab and go snacks and if there isnt 100 options available or if anyone has to make something to eat they think they are going to starve. Not sure how Im going to break that habit with hubby and our son. They love their snacks! Thats probably easily 1/3 of our food bill. 
> Whats been the most difficult for you trying to live off the land? Any tips for making things easier?


Weve recently moved from Lower Hutt to a pretty rural spot half an hour from shops and our budget has gone up a bit but our actual spending  (coffees, snacks, dinners out etc.) has dropped significantly. We were shocked at how much we are saving simply by not being around places to spend money. It helps massively we both work from home so I can spend more time tending the vege garden and making meals but not having places to spend the money is whats done it for us I think 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## XR500

> Do you still have to have an account or business to shop at Gilmore’s? I think we have one over in Rotorua but last time I tried to shop at Gilmore’s about 6 years ago we had to have a business account.
> The fruit idea is good. I have tonnes of fejoas to collect off the lawn tomorrow and we have a few fruit trees but they are still a good year or two away.


The Rotorua one closed about 4 years ago. Closest to us now is Hamilton. Pays to do your diligence before you go there. Some stuff is a great bargain, but mixed in between it all is stuff in bulk that's more expensive than the 500gm packets in Pacnsave.

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## Moa Hunter

> Bumblefoot looks like your doing quiet well for yourself living off the land. We are going to spend the next year trying to become a little more self sufficient in terms of food. We (2 adults and 1 child) spend at least $12,000 a year on food despite having unlimited milk, chickens for eggs, and more than enough meat available from the farm and hunting. We are going to wait until the spring to get our garden up and going. My biggest worry is making the change from convenience foods, we live such a busy lifestyle and everyone loves their grab and go snacks and if there isnt 100 options available or if anyone has to make something to eat they think they are going to starve. Not sure how Im going to break that habit with hubby and our son. They love their snacks! Thats probably easily 1/3 of our food bill. 
> Whats been the most difficult for you trying to live off the land? Any tips for making things easier?


If you want to get a vege garden going then now is the time to get it ready. Clean up the area, dig, rotary hoe or maxitill etc and cover with a heavy layer of weed seed free mulch like old baleage. In spring just make a hole through the mulch to plant

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## Moa Hunter

> Just out of the oven, slow-roasted young wild goat shoulder.... The roasted quince (no added sugar) is amazing with it
> 
> Attachment 168802


Did you eat that false quince or were they there just for flavour ?

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## Chelsea

Thanks all. I’m actually in the process of making the challenge that I have to make, hunt or raise everything we eat. So I should hopefully only need to buy the basics such as flour, sugar and some dried herbs etc. 
we have got the chooks in the garden at the moment letting them destroy the lot because the potato seeds from a few years ago took off and smothered a lot of the stuff we grew. We are in south Waikato and it gets pretty frosty here so we can’t plant much until closer to spring. We will spray it out and run The rotary hoe through it later in winter. I might get some seeds started that I can get using indoors like herbs and maybe a couple of lettuces. We have a few broken troughs out the back I might fill with soil and plant some vine plants in those when the times right.

----------


## HOO

Good stuff Chelsea, we are in pretty much the same position. Have planted out a bunch of garlic, spring onions, spinach and cabbages. Hoping to get a few animals in the paddock but never done it before so trying to research as much as I can. Were in a new area so still getting to know the hunting spots too. Good luck! Hope it all goes well for you 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Moa Hunter

> Thanks all. I’m actually in the process of making the challenge that I have to make, hunt or raise everything we eat. So I should hopefully only need to buy the basics such as flour, sugar and some dried herbs etc. 
> we have got the chooks in the garden at the moment letting them destroy the lot because the potato seeds from a few years ago took off and smothered a lot of the stuff we grew. We are in south Waikato and it gets pretty frosty here so we can’t plant much until closer to spring. We will spray it out and run The rotary hoe through it later in winter. I might get some seeds started that I can get using indoors like herbs and maybe a couple of lettuces. We have a few broken troughs out the back I might fill with soil and plant some vine plants in those when the times right.


If you are starting with a clean slate vege wise, the ultimate system I have seen is to fence an area twice the size needed and have chooks on one half one year and the other half or side the next. Breaks the cycle of any plant diseases and the chooks eat the scraps and dung the soil. The chook house is in the centre at one end and has a door to each side of the garden

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## bumblefoot

> Did you eat that false quince or were they there just for flavour ?


They are edible and were nice and tart beside the roast meat  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

@Chelsea I grow as many greens as possible as I reckon they give you the best bang for buck. I eat sorta Keto-ish so don't eat a lot of carbs but will be putting a few spuds in. I just try to grow the easier veges. Here's a quick tour of my place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkINzQHjFM&t=450s

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## bumblefoot

As for getting gardens started; I try to go non-dig as it saves a shit ton of work. The Geoff Lawton vid below is a great starting point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wgHQtxgJw

And; Charles Dowding's no-dig YT channel is brilliant (link below). No dig has saved me a huge amount of work. Especially last year when I broke my ankle and couldn't get into the garden properly for a few months
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wgHQtxgJw

And.... If you have a lazy 15-mins.... Here's an interview Radio NZ did with me about my lifestyle. Hopefully the info will be helpful 
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/progr...arden-of-eatin

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## Chelsea

Thanks all, love the tips and tricks. I tried to make a go of it many years ago but didn’t have the same resources and opportunities to make it work. 
I will have a look later tonight bumblefoot, will be good to see what you have set up. I’m going to get some greens going this weekend even if I have to grow a couple inside where it’s warm. Lettuce at the moment is close to $5 which I just cannot justify. 
We have started the journey this week to become more self sufficient and hubby is on board so far, he was pretty happy with a big steak lunch as opposed to noodles and chicken chips which is his usual quick go to.

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## gonetropo

> @Chelsea I grow as many greens as possible as I reckon they give you the best bang for buck. I eat sorta Keto-ish so don't eat a lot of carbs but will be putting a few spuds in. I just try to grow the easier veges. Here's a quick tour of my place
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkINzQHjFM&t=450s


rule #1 : if its green its mean! ..................eeuwwwww  :Sick:

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## Chelsea

> rule #1 : if its green its mean! ..................eeuwwwww


Hahahahaha I used to live by this after I choked on a spinach leaf. Then you have kids and apparently greens are good.

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## gonetropo

> Hahahahaha I used to live by this after I choked on a spinach leaf. Then you have kids and apparently greens are good.


nope no kids, i got fixed when i was in my early 20's to avoid any accidents.
therefore vege is still evil  :Have A Nice Day:

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## MB

> nope no kids, i got fixed when i was in my early 20's to avoid any accidents.


Smart move.

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## bumblefoot

@Chelsea The best bit of advice is to go slowly and chip away at your gardening/self sufficiency goals, The biggest mistake is to go too big; everything gets away, and you become disillusioned

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## Marty Henry

> They are edible and were nice and tart beside the roast meat


Japonica  also make an incredible pink jelly, not quite like the real Quince one but bloody nice with cheese or game meat

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## Moa Hunter

> They are edible and were nice and tart beside the roast meat


I picked some from a tree at Southern woods nursery and tried cooking them at home. They looked great but I couldnt make anything useful of them, so its interesting that you cracked it. I have plenty of regular quinces but those falses do look good

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## bumblefoot

@Moa Hunter "Normal" quinces make a fantastic jelly!  This was the result of a good day foraging, hunter/gathering.... One goat, two barrels of comfrey to plant; 5kg (black bag) coffee grounds for the garden, 5kg quinces (I made into quince jelly) and two bags of quince cuttings to propagate.... Couldn't get the quince cuttings to take though

----------


## Moa Hunter

> @Moa Hunter "Normal" quinces make a fantastic jelly!  This was the result of a good day foraging, hunter/gathering.... One goat, two barrels of comfrey to plant; 5kg (black bag) coffee grounds for the garden, 5kg quinces (I made into quince jelly) and two bags of quince cuttings to propagate.... Couldn't get the quince cuttings to take though
> 
> Attachment 171770


Often there are 'suckers' around the base of Quince trees, inspect below ground for roots and then tear them off the tree if they are rooted. They can be layered if they dont have roots. I have some here ready to graft pears onto. I like quince stewed with apple or in mixed fruit pies

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## XR500

> @Moa Hunter "Normal" quinces make a fantastic jelly!  This was the result of a good day foraging, hunter/gathering.... One goat, two barrels of comfrey to plant; 5kg (black bag) coffee grounds for the garden, 5kg quinces (I made into quince jelly) and two bags of quince cuttings to propagate.... Couldn't get the quince cuttings to take though
> 
> Attachment 171770


OMG!!! You shot Barefoot's 'Bouncy"!!!

(over on trailcam pics thread)

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## bumblefoot

Roast venison neck straight out of the oven ready to go in the crockpot to cook overnight for soup... 


The end result of a deer neck cooked overnight in the crockpot?  Half a bowl of stock ready to be made into soup


A tip from a butcher (me!) on how to upgrade a soup on a budget. Get a small pack of sausages (pork in this case), slit the skins and fold the sausage meat out using wet hands. Make the meat into small meatballs,  fry them  and biff them in the soup. Use wet hands to roll out the meatballs in the palms of your hands


Venison, pork meatball, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, leek, mizuna, purple mustard, kale soup. Flavoured with, star anise, cinnamon stick, Sichuan pepper, bay leaves, lemongrass and cardamom.

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## bumblefoot

Venison for dinner!

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## Coote

Thanks for all the interesting posts and great photos.  Nice to browse through....

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## bumblefoot

The deer was in helluva good nick...

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## Coote

Good gracious.... it appears to have some fat on it !!  I'm envious.  The deer and pigs I get are generally fairly lean.

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## Chelsea

How are we all managing so far with this lock down? 
Well..... after my last comment and getting all ready to get set up for becoming mostly self sufficient I bloody burnt my leg rather badly at work and spent a couple of weeks feeling really awful and sore. Then iv just done 8 weeks solid of work and look set to continue on for another few weeks at least until level 2 so my plans have gone out the window and I have had to rely of the supermarket and takeout a lot! Hopefully work eases off soon and I can get the garden sorted and get back on track. Have to order some sausage casings and mix so we can get some meat in the freezer. We have a pretty big feral pig problem at the moment and I just cannot bring myself to buy what we can make.

----------


## Coote

We are eating quite well while confined to quarters.  Calzone has become one of our favourites.  Here is the recipe:

The dough uses a standard recipe that I use for everything.... pizzas, loaves, my style of naan. Our best calzone outers have been made using high-grade flour, but I often use standard flour for the flat bread etc.

I start with a water ratio of 100 mls of water per one metric cup of flour. This works out most of the time using cheap standard flour, but today the mixture was a bit wet and sticky using the high grade (strong) flour. So I added another handful or two of flour. Once I know how much flour is required (two cups will make four modest calzone) I put the corresponding amount of water into a pyrex measuring jug with a tiny pinch of sugar and give it a quick blat in the microwave to warm it a little. I then add granular instant yeast to the water and stir it in. (I use maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon to a full teaspoon of the yeast for each cup of flour... I use more yeast if I'm in a hurry).

While the yeast is beginning to fizz and foam in the warm water, I mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Just flour and a pinch of salt. I like to use non-iodised salt where beneficial microorganisms are doing their thing (even though I will eventually kill them all in an oven).

When it looks like the yeast is definitely working, I tip it into the bowl on top of the flour. Before I mix in the liquid, I add a decent glug of olive oil (or any oil, but we buy Aussie olive oil in 3 litre cans). Initially I use a spoon to mix everything, but eventually I use my hands. I scrape the dough from the bowl and tip it on the bench top and knead it for ten minutes or so. I don't have a fancy kneading pattern (maybe I should) I just keep squashing it down, rolling it under my palm, and maybe folding it over on itself. I have a plastic dough scraper which I use to keep things together. I don't generally flour the bench. I tend to have a slightly wet, sticky dough most times (probably because I like moist naan bread) and it seems to have worked well. I often just use one hand so that the other hand remains clean for selecting new stuff to listen to on the iPad. I might listen to three decent Handel arias in one kneading session.

Once kneaded, I leave the dough ball to rise in the bowl I initially mixed it in. Doesn't matter if it has dough stuck to the sides. I cover the bowl, generally with a large wooden chopping board. I think you can use the dough after it has visibly risen to any degree, but in a warm room it might only need an hour and a half to double in size. Sometimes when I'm in a hurry to make pizza or naan, the dough gets used after a very short rise time.

I use a half-round plastic dough scraper to get the dough out of the bowl. I sprinkle flour over all the surfaces of the dough as I coax it out of the bowl. I roll it into a 'log' on the bench and cut it into portion sizes with my dough scraper.

Jackie has impressed upon me that I should not use a rolling pin to flatten the dough... and she seems to be right. So we just press it out flat with our hands, trying to ensure it doesn't get so thin that it might allow the contents to leak. While pressing it flat, it is best to lift and turn the dough often .... ensuring that enough flour is sprinkled on it to stop it sticking to the bench.

You can fill your calzone with whatever takes your fancy. We precook our onion slices, bacon and mushrooms. The crust cooks relatively quickly so you need to be sure that if the filling needs to be cooked properly for gastronomic or safety reasons... you should cook it before wrapping dough around it. Jackie cooks the onion, bacon and semi-dried chilli flakes together in a little oil... then when they are nearly cooked she adds the sliced mushrooms with a bit of water. When the mushrooms soften we add salt, pepper, oregano or basil, and a good squirt of tomato paste. You want the mix to be juicy but not too runny. The filling can be prepared at any time and can be used cold.

Cut some slices of cheese (we like mozzarella) and maybe grate some pecorino. Spoon some of the cooked mix on to one side of the dough sheet you've pressed flat, but keep it away from the edges. Lay some cheese on top of the mix. Lift the uncovered side of the dough and fold it over the mix... lining up the edges of the dough as best you can. Press down on the edges to weld them together. I like to lift the outer centimetre of the edge after this and fold it over again on itself... pressing my finger into it to form a pattern.

Carefully lift the filled calzone and place it on an oven tray. This is where you may regret having not used enough flour to stop it sticking to the bench. You might like to put a smear of tomato paste on top... or perhaps brush it with egg yolk or milk. Bake for maybe eight to fifteen minutes in a very hot oven.... depending on your oven and the thickness of the dough etc.

We keep a stock of Bakels instant active dried yeast. It comes in a big packet and theoretically you are meant to use it within just a few days of opening. However, we tip ours into a plastic jar and store it in the freezer. It seems to remain active until we use it all.... many months or even a year later. 

I should add that if I am making naan (flatbread) dough, I don't knead it for a full ten minutes. I just ensure that everything is mixed well and then knead it for a minute or two in the bowl. I let it rise before pressing it down and dividing it into lumps to roll out into flatbreads which we cook in a frypan. Sometimes I think that fresh flatbread is my favourite form of bread.

----------


## Chelsea

> We are eating quite well while confined to quarters.  Calzone has become one of our favourites.  Here is the recipe:
> 
> The dough uses a standard recipe that I use for everything.... pizzas, loaves, my style of naan. Our best calzone outers have been made using high-grade flour, but I often use standard flour for the flat bread etc.
> 
> I start with a water ratio of 100 mls of water per one metric cup of flour. This works out most of the time using cheap standard flour, but today the mixture was a bit wet and sticky using the high grade (strong) flour. So I added another handful or two of flour. Once I know how much flour is required (two cups will make four modest calzone) I put the corresponding amount of water into a pyrex measuring jug with a tiny pinch of sugar and give it a quick blat in the microwave to warm it a little. I then add granular instant yeast to the water and stir it in. (I use maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon to a full teaspoon of the yeast for each cup of flour... I use more yeast if I'm in a hurry).
> 
> While the yeast is beginning to fizz and foam in the warm water, I mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Just flour and a pinch of salt. I like to use non-iodised salt where beneficial microorganisms are doing their thing (even though I will eventually kill them all in an oven).
> 
> When it looks like the yeast is definitely working, I tip it into the bowl on top of the flour. Before I mix in the liquid, I add a decent glug of olive oil (or any oil, but we buy Aussie olive oil in 3 litre cans). Initially I use a spoon to mix everything, but eventually I use my hands. I scrape the dough from the bowl and tip it on the bench top and knead it for ten minutes or so. I don't have a fancy kneading pattern (maybe I should) I just keep squashing it down, rolling it under my palm, and maybe folding it over on itself. I have a plastic dough scraper which I use to keep things together. I don't generally flour the bench. I tend to have a slightly wet, sticky dough most times (probably because I like moist naan bread) and it seems to have worked well. I often just use one hand so that the other hand remains clean for selecting new stuff to listen to on the iPad. I might listen to three decent Handel arias in one kneading session.
> ...


This has made me so hungry! I was looking up a recipe similar to this today that used pulled beef or venison and it looked
So good! I’ll be stealing your recipe and giving it a go when I have a quiet day.

----------


## hotbarrels

So what do they look like when you cut them open?

----------


## Coote

I wish I'd taken a picture.  Imagine a pizza - with plenty of topping - folded over so that the topping is captured in the inside.

----------


## Coote

Here.... let Gennaro Contaldo show you how to make genuine _calzone_ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AAUu2L6RQo&t=171s

----------


## bumblefoot

Just beat the hawk from stealing my duck eggs  again this morning. It was here by 6.50am. Stoked to get 8 eggs from 8 ducks. If you want consistent eggs you should look at ducks. They out-lay chooks, usually stop laying for a shorter period over winter,  you don't need flash housing or high fences to keep them in, no mites to worry about. You only need a kid's clamshell paddling pool for a pond. and the water is an amazing nitrogenous fertiliser for green veges. Downsides? They can be noisy, they are messy, often the females are useless mum's. they eat about 1/2 as much again as chooks.

----------


## Trout

Only good ducks are dead ducks,greys,mallards and paries.Sorry ducks and bumblefoot, yrs looked like familly pets being good layers.They are messy noisey buggers around the house thats for sure.

----------


## Coote

An elderly friend had ducks (pets) on her rural property.  They were wandering to the neighbours place and making a mess.  I offered to thin the population and shot quite a few.  I was anticipating a lot of enjoyable meals, but the stuff I did eat did not taste good.  I am very open-minded about food  (for instance I eat possums which can be very good) and I'm generally interested to try all sorts of things provided I don't feel there is a contamination issue.   So dunno what was wrong with those ducks.  From memory I'd compare the experience to eating a rank bit of cat.   I am now reluctant to eat any duck, but because some folks think they are good tucker I guess I should have another try.

----------


## Finnwolf

Wondered why our egg count didnt match our chook count anymore.
 Weve been letting them out of their run to fossick in our flowerbeds etc.

Well last night the headcount of chooks returning to their run was one chook short.

Weve got an outside bush bath be the hedge ( oh no, its lpg heated, what will Jacinda say!?) and way under it was the missing chook in a place you couldnt imagine.

Also there was 14 eggs!! :Wtfsmilie: 

It will be Omelette City Arizona ( if youve watched The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin youll know where I got that expression!)

----------


## Jhon

> Just beat the hawk from stealing my duck eggs  again this morning. It was here by 6.50am. Stoked to get 8 eggs from 8 ducks. If you want consistent eggs you should look at ducks. They out-lay chooks, usually stop laying for a shorter period over winter,  you don't need flash housing or high fences to keep them in, no mites to worry about. You only need a kid's clamshell paddling pool for a pond. and the water is an amazing nitrogenous fertiliser for green veges. Downsides? They can be noisy, they are messy, often the females are useless mum's. they eat about 1/2 as much again as chooks.
> 
> Attachment 176258


My parents used to raise ducks when I was a youngster, both for the eggs and meat and for sale. These days I only get to eat store bought duck,  delicious but very pricey.  The issue with duck eggs, as I remember, especially free range, is that, unlike hen eggs, they are much more likely to carry disease such as salmonella. Consequence of diet. So the eggs are never eaten other than well cooked. We ate them hard boiled or in cakes which they are superb for. Never as runny yolk breakfast eggs

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## Jhon

> I'm about to upload a short video of a slow cooked leg off a billy that was at least 5-years old! After 3-hours in the crockpot it was super tender and when we tried it there was no gamey taste. I've been a butcher since I was 16 (58 now!) and I would never have thought that would be the case! It just goes to show how much of the "all billy goats are stinky/gamey is a load of tosh. 
> 
> Having said that; it wasn't rutting; so had no "goaty" smell. also; when I skin them I always have 2 buckets of water beside me; 1 soapy and 1 fresh. I ALWAYS frequently wash hands when skinning them; especially my left hand that touches the skin and meat. It minimises the chances of transferring hair, dirt, smell to the meat


I do a fair bit of goat shooting for meat in Taranaki. Billy's around October seem to be a couple of months past the rutting season and getting some condition back from spring growth. Last one my mate shot and ate was around 3 years and a big goat. I read somewhere ages ago that the very first thing you do after shooting it is whip its balls off with a sharp knife. Like, completely remove them. Even if you do nothing else before you get to field dress it. I've always followed that advice and had some great eating. This 3 yr old was fat and my mates first. He took it home and dined off it for weeks. Raved about it. Slightly gamey but entirely acceptable. For me I don't bother with the older ones, bigger horn spreads. But "spikers"  I'm very happy to take for meat. They are however capable of breeding I think from around 8 mths. And their nuts are well developed by that stage. So get them off as fast as you can lol

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## bumblefoot

@Jhon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4

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## bumblefoot

I eat the drakes that I breed and they are lovely. The Buff Orpington ducks I raise are a dual purpose breed. They're not the heaviest meat breed or best layers, but are good meat and good layers. Re the salmonella in eggs: I think it's a bit overstated. Collecting them every day is a key and also rinsing them straight away as the dirty little duckers drop them anywhere. That's why the hawks find them easy to spot.

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## Jhon

> @Jhon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4


Thats a decent "old" Billy for sure. I confess I would have left him other than for dog tucker. Great job on the slow cooked leg, I reckon I could taste it from here  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

@Jhon Wrong again ha ha  :Have A Nice Day:  Took it to friends and they reckoned it was as good as hogget. And I agreed it was super mild

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## Jhon

> @Jhon Wrong again ha ha  Took it to friends and they reckoned it was as good as hogget. And I agreed it was super mild


Yup, always try it out on friends first, what they're for lol

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## bumblefoot

Not exactly living off the land because I just love seeing the eels about, But the property is also providing me with free entertainment. I often think that as we age we return to the pursuits that we enjoyed as kids..... You can have food for the tummy and food for the soul off the same property. Both are pretty important....

Feeding the eels in my creek. It's the simple things that are the most fun. I love going down the creek once every 10-days or so and feed the eels. Love watching their gracefulness.... And the thought that if I fell in and drowned, the same would happen to me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct3kNzCQZ_U

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## Jhon

> Not exactly living off the land because I just love seeing the eels about, But the property is also providing me with free entertainment. I often think that as we age we return to the pursuits that we enjoyed as kids..... You can have food for the tummy and food for the soul off the same property. Both are pretty important....
> 
> Feeding the eels in my creek. It's the simple things that are the most fun. I love going down the creek once every 10-days or so and feed the eels. Love watching their gracefulness.... And the thought that if I fell in and drowned, the same would happen to me!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct3kNzCQZ_U


Our "pet" eel, Muriel. Tap your foot on the little jetty and out from the lily pads she comes. 2-3 pint size ones so inhabit the pond which has a small stream running thru it. Muriel is known to beat the smaller eels up, protecting her turf. Many an eel died on the end of my home-made spear as a kid. Happy to share space with this one and admire her grace. We toss the odd bit of meat to her but not so much as to make her dependent.

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## bumblefoot

I only feed mine once every 10-days at the maximum. Often only once a month so I don't make them dependent too  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

Making up a brine today to cure and smoke some goat legs

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## bumblefoot

Three wild goat legs a brine to make smoked goat hams. Brine of salt, raw sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, whole allspice, bay leaves, ground ginger, thyme. They'll now cure in the fridge for 10-days. 
Some say that meat should be dry cured and not brined. That's rubbish, but the hams must be left to thoroughly drain for a time before smoking

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## Jhon

> Three wild goat legs a brine to make smoked goat hams. Brine of salt, raw sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, whole allspice, bay leaves, ground ginger, thyme. They'll now cure in the fridge for 10-days. 
> Some say that meat should be dry cured and not brined. That's rubbish, but the hams must be left to thoroughly drain for a time before smoking
> 
> Attachment 179263


I think I'm going to have to make your acquaintance Sir!

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## bumblefoot

The 3 wild goat hams are starting to take on the brine colour after 1 day of curing

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## Coote

Great !  I will be interested in your published report after you've eaten some.  It has a real 'ham' or 'corned' look about it.   I have a prejudice about such things in that I think copious fat is essential for full enjoyment.  Maybe I should set my old ideas aside and try it.

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## bumblefoot

I've made heaps of them; they're nice. As for fat; you're pushing the proverbial uphill with a stick to get too much on a wild goat!  :Wink:

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## Micky Duck

eels are neat critters....still give me the heebee geebees if encounter them while in water fishing.....used to gut rabbits at same wee bridge and after a week the eels would be waiting when I came back from shooting.... Ive pulled eels in on line and they were longer than fence post,not stressed at all so I cut line happily...no way was I putting hand near that mouth. Ive tried some smoked and its good...but I just cant get past the slimey eel thing...same with possum...

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## Coote

Maybe I've missed seeing the info somewhere.... so forgive me.  But how will you cook the hams?  Will you boil or roast them whole?

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## bumblefoot

Just a slow simmer; just below boiling

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## Jhon

> eels are neat critters....still give me the heebee geebees if encounter them while in water fishing.....used to gut rabbits at same wee bridge and after a week the eels would be waiting when I came back from shooting.... Ive pulled eels in on line and they were longer than fence post,not stressed at all so I cut line happily...no way was I putting hand near that mouth. Ive tried some smoked and its good...but I just cant get past the slimey eel thing...same with possum...


Unfortunately as a youngster me and my mate decimated them with line and spear and gay abandon. I console myself that we did no where near as much damage as the blokes who trapped the waterways clean to send containers of live NZ eels to Asia.  We did occasionally eat them. Over a camp fire wrapped in wild mint or skinned and pan fried at home. We should have filleted them for pan frying but instead steaked them with bone in.  Too much bone .  Over the camp fire the slime simply cooks off with the crackled skin.  The meat was a bit earthy tasting but delicious.  I learned as an adult fly-fisherman cooking brown trout in particular that to avoid the muddy taste you either fillet before cooking or you dry bake. If you wet cook them with the skin on that is where the muddy taste comes from and it pervades the flesh.

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## bumblefoot

Wild goat leg just going into the oven to be slow-roasted at 140°C. Salt, pepper, dried thyme and coated with olive oil with butter on top to baste the leg

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## bumblefoot

3-hour slow roasted goat leg...

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## grandpamac

> 3-hour slow roasted goat leg...
> 
> Attachment 179526


I bet you had to be quick with the camera to get that snap.
GPM

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac It was pretty bloody good! Even if that does sound a tad immodest....

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## bumblefoot

Food security is: a wild goat chilling in the shade of a tree, a garden of veges, and fresh chook and duck eggs.

Yesterday's goat hanging in the cool shade of the big horse chestnut. The trick in summer is to go on afternoon hunts. That way you hang the goat, wrapped in a sheet to keep flies out, and it gets chilled quickly during the evening/night.  There is a constant breeze under this tree so after cooling quickly overnight, the breeze keeps it cool in the heavy shade.  It acts as an old time meat safe.

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## MB

> Food security is: a wild goat chilling in the shade of a tree, a garden of veges, and fresh chook and duck eggs.
> 
> Yesterday's goat hanging in the cool shade of the big horse chestnut. The trick in summer is to go on afternoon hunts. That way you hang the goat, wrapped in a sheet to keep flies out, and it gets chilled quickly during the evening/night.  There is a constant breeze under this tree so after cooling quickly overnight, the breeze keeps it cool in the heavy shade.  It acts as an old time meat safe.
> 
> Attachment 185597


Nice, but it's been around 20 degrees overnight here in the last week. Don't think that's ideal chilling temperature  :Grin:

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## bumblefoot

It's down to about 10C here at night. But the shade and wind cools it down to around 7-ish which is about the max temp you want a fridge at. If i shot it earlier in the day I'd skin it, and take of the forequarters, legs and loins and put them in the fridge overnight

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## rugerman

Yeah that's what I found with hanging lambs in summer too MB. My trick ( although only really doable at home of course) is to freeze a few 2L coke bottles full of water and hang them in the body cavity before I wrap it in a sheet.
Or you can wet the sheet to add to the evaporative cooling as well

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## bumblefoot

Last summer was really strange here. Really hot days but the nights were autumnal chilly and usually down to about 8C! First time I've seen it like that. But it did make chilling afternoon/evening shot game simple. Once the night had dragged the temp down; the shade and wind kept it low. I suppose because the thermal mass of cooled carcase took longer to warm up. One goat I shot was hanging for 2 days and nights and was still fine. Leaving the skin on seems to help too, maybe it also helps keep the cool "in the carcase" through its insulation preventing it warming up so fast?

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## bumblefoot

100% organic and the most sustainable meat available!  :Wink:   And one less feral goat eating the native bush. Now safely chilling in the fridge for a few days. The little 10cm, NZ-made Victory drop point hunter is a cracking wee knife  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Marty Henry

You obviously head shoot to avoid wasteage. Nice goat is so underrated 😆

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## bumblefoot

@Marty Henry This one was head shot; but I usually neck shoot at the head/neck junction so as not to waste meat

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## Coote

I share your appreciation for those blue-handled Victory knives Bumblefoot.  Not just for the knife, but also the convenient and hygienic sheath which is relatively easy to wash.

When I was growing up, game was hung for convenience or necessity (with the lack of refrigeration) and I was unaware of any talk of hanging it to make it more tender or tasty.   I do recall sheep being hung to allow the meat and fat to 'set' before being cut up.

If a deer was shot at the beginning of (or on the way to) a hunting trip, it might get hung in a tree in the shade for two or three days.

It was comparatively recently when I started hanging game in an attempt to increase tenderness.  I don't have a chiller, and my options for hanging locations at home are limited.  I have a lean-to roof on the south side of a garden shed which gets used a lot.  I also have a sturdy bracket mounted to the wall of my garage.  Now that our big hungry dog has gone to the happy hunting ground, I generally hang animals from the garden shed roof.  I may even do it for a day or two in mid-summer.

I'm fairly convinced that hanging does make meat more tender, although I've eaten meat that wasn't hung and it has been good too.  Without a few trials of hanging half the animal and immediately processing and freezing the other half, I don't like to make definite statements.

While I like to hang game, it is a hassle to get rid of the bones and offcuts if I process it at home.  I like the idea of the waste being left on the ground (or buried) to help feed the soil.  And while I've buried a fair bit of offal in my yard, my options are limited in a fully planted garden on a tiny section.   So I have often butchered game on the hillside to ensure that only a minimum of waste has to be dumped at home.  A good compromise is to just hang legs and put the small bits in the fridge.  I like to hang with the skin on, but I've also hung skinned meat.  I use cotton sheets to keep the flies away.  I have a sheet which has been sewn to form a bag, but quite often I will just drape a sheet around the carcass and keep it in place with clothes pegs.  I try to keep the cover loose to help air to circulate.

I'm not convinced that hanging pork leads to a better eating experience, and I'd love to hear what others think.   I seem to have an instinct that tells me that venison and hare are OK to hang for ages and should improve over time, but I'm unsure about pork despite the fact that I've brought home dozens of pigs.  Maybe I've eaten too much wild pork.  In recent years we've stopped roasting big legs.... we keep the more tender cuts for oily baked dishes and I've often boiled up the rest for the various dogs in our life.  I have given a lot of pork away too....  I don't like a crowded freezer.  There always has to be room for the next hunt.

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## Micky Duck

> Unfortunately as a youngster me and my mate decimated them with line and spear and gay abandon. I console myself that we did no where near as much damage as the blokes who trapped the waterways clean to send containers of live NZ eels to Asia.  We did occasionally eat them. Over a camp fire wrapped in wild mint or skinned and pan fried at home. We should have filleted them for pan frying but instead steaked them with bone in.  Too much bone .  Over the camp fire the slime simply cooks off with the crackled skin.  The meat was a bit earthy tasting but delicious.  I learned as an adult fly-fisherman cooking brown trout in particular that to avoid the muddy taste you either fillet before cooking or you dry bake. If you wet cook them with the skin on that is where the muddy taste comes from and it pervades the flesh.


also with browns (one of my favourite table fish) bleed,gut n gill ASAP and dont forget to remove all of the blood/kidney line along sharpside of gut cavity...the black bit up in against spine.....and I mean all of it,teaspoon works well,blade of spinner at a pinch,or a knife if really have nothing else.... same goes for kawhawai ...

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## Micky Duck

if you like them wee blue knives...well the mighty bacho will be right up your alley.never fails to amaze me just how good they are.

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## bumblefoot

I've got a couple here  :Wink:  Also sent a few to Cay Tall Stories to give to his boys. They're only $11.01 (incl GST) at George Henry at the moment. 

https://www.georgehenry.co.nz/shop/C...n+Holster.html

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## grandpamac

Greetings @bumblefoot, @Coote and all,
I noted with interest the colour of the pegs used to secure the shrouds on the respective carcases and would like to pick your brains on the matter. I have noticed that my dearly beloved uses the same colour pegs for each laundry item, evidently believing that this aids drying. I on the other hand ensure that pegs are random perhaps for no other reason than contraryness. So bumblefoot and Coote perhaps you may like to share with us your opinion on the effacasy, or otherwise, of using odd or even coloured pegs in improving the flavour and tenderness of the hung carcase.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Coote

Well, @grandpamac, you have raised an idea worth investigating.   It may well be that purple-peg meat tenderises in a shorter time than pink.  I'd never contemplated that, and I am indebted to you for sparking me on to a new line of research.  Could be a game-changer.

I generally go for random colours.   The pegs inevitably break, or fly free in a big wind, and it is fun finding a variety of bits of plastic in the garden or shooting out from under a lawnmower.

But seriously folks, we now have some excellent pegs that promise to give long service.  I bought the last lot from a New World supermarket.

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac  :Grin:   :Grin:   :Grin:

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## grandpamac

> Well, @grandpamac, you have raised an idea worth investigating.   It may well be that purple-peg meat tenderises in a shorter time than pink.  I'd never contemplated that, and I am indebted to you for sparking me on to a new line of research.  Could be a game-changer.
> 
> I generally go for random colours.   The pegs inevitably break, or fly free in a big wind, and it is fun finding a variety of bits of plastic in the garden or shooting out from under a lawnmower.
> 
> But seriously folks, we now have some excellent pegs that promise to give long service.  I bought the last lot from a New World supermarket.


Thank you for your wisdom @Coote,
I had never considered that the colour of the pegs could also be a factor. As you say this adds a new rabbit hole (avenue of research) to consider.
Many thanks Grandpamac.

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## XR500

Nice pegs!!! May even last more than one season.

New World you say? Thanks a bunch.

Oh, and I thought I was the only one that color coded pegs when protecting a carcass with sheets :Zomg:

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## Coote

If you don't find the pegs at your New World supermarket,  you can Google 'stainless steel clothes pegs' and should find a convenient source.  I like using pegs for holding targets on a backing board, and for keeping bags closed in the pantry.  I've also got some holding shade cloth in place over my glasshouse.

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## bumblefoot

Two wild goat legs in an oven bag ready to go in the oven later. Aged for a week in the fridge seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, bunches of fresh mint and lots of olive oil.

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## Coote

Hmmm.  Looks very good.  Never thought of using mint that way, although I make a great mint sauce by reducing the brown sugar mix before adding the chopped mint to the thickened liquid.

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## Micky Duck

I use mint in spuds at Christmas dinner.....or to keep flies off carcass but very seldom use it otherwise...a sprig or two in doorways helps to keep pesky flies away.

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## Coote

Thanks Micky....  you've got me wondering if mint might help deter crotch crickets...

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## Micky Duck

"dirty womans fleas" ....yeah nah never had need to find out myself....might make you smell tad fresher all the same.

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## tamamutu

Having a living off the land kind of day today. Slow cooked venison neckchops are on the old Lady Kitchener fire place outside. Bit hot for cooking inside at the moment. Some of Lake Taupo's finest are in the smoker with some Kanuka being used as the smoking agent. This should keep me busy all day long.

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## Coote

Very nice.  Is that fat I see on a neck chop?

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## tamamutu

You have good eyes there Coote, that deer was in superb condition.

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## Coote

Fat is one of Mother Earth's greatest gifts to us, and it has been fairly rare on game animals in our neighbourhood over the years.  Having said that though, the last deer I shot on the edge of farmland may have been the fattest deer of my whole hunting career.  Enjoy that good tucker !

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## JLF

A magnificent post. Being able to relive what Mother Nature gives us is the best thing a man can do.
I thank whoever originated the post.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
I was runnaging through my old photo's over the last few days and found the following.

This was taken in the late 1980's probably by my daugher. At the time I used to shoot a lot of goats for the pot. This together with a decent vegetable garden provided a lot of of our food. The bearded gentleman in the photo is of course your humble correspondent although I don't recall my hair and beard ever being that dark or substantial. I have just spotted, in the top left of the photo, the antlers of the first of pitifully few deer I harvested. It is just as well that we liked goat.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Coote

Geez Grandpamac, that is a lot of goat meat to deal with in one session.  Did you have a big freezer?

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## grandpamac

> Geez Grandpamac, that is a lot of goat meat to deal with in one session.  Did you have a big freezer?


Yes we did. You can see it in the background. It took longer to break down the meat for freezing than it did to go out and shoot it. We seldom had to walk that far.
GPM.

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## bumblefoot

From bush to plate.... The good old 303 provides again.... Diced wild goat leg and leek hotpot. With spuds, onion, butter and cream. Flavoured with mint, rosemary and thyme  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Micky Duck

grandpamac.....are you sure they arent woolie pigs??? the hind quarters look bigger than most goats,might have had a muttonish flavour perhaps???

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## grandpamac

> grandpamac.....are you sure they arent woolie pigs??? the hind quarters look bigger than most goats,might have had a muttonish flavour perhaps???


Greetings @Micky Duck,
Yes I can assure you that they were all goats. In fact as the farmer liked seeing the white goats we regarded them as honarary sheep. Early on I decided that the younger goats tasted a bit bland so I mostly shot nannys and young billies. Most were also neck shot with my .223. One of the biggest taken was a barren doe that was half as big again as the others and had a covering of fat over the carcase and the loins were worth cutting into chops.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Coote

All good stuff.   Wholesome, traditional and interesting.   This forum is a peaceful haven on an internet where there is so much political discussion.    I am strongly in favour of political discussion and free speech.... and I participate myself.  But I can see why forums think it best to limit discussion on religion and politics. 

Last night I went to a friend's farm to help protect his trees and crops.  I got hare number 29 from this small block, along with possums numbered 14, 15, 16.  There seems to be a constant trickle of furry immigrants.   One of the possums had a lovely layer of fat, but I couldn't be bothered taking the time to separate if hygienically for human consumption so I threw the meat in the dog tucker bag.   The dog will show his appreciation by releasing the unique digestive gasses in the living room.

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## bumblefoot

> All good stuff.   Wholesome, traditional and interesting.   This forum is a peaceful haven on an internet where there is so much political discussion.    I am strongly in favour of political discussion and free speech.... and I participate myself.  But I can see why forums think it best to limit discussion on religion and politics.


  @Coote That's one of the reasons why I started the thread  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

Stir fried wild goat liver.  Using onions, salt, pepper, dark soy sauce,  oyster sauce, garlic, ginger and Sichuan pepper

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## bumblefoot

Waste not, want not. I try to use as much as possible off the goats I shoot. Here are the skins and feet placed around an "Alphonse Karr" clumping bamboo. The skins will fertilise the plant and suppress the weeds  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Coote

I like a good feed of liver, and the plate full in your picture looks delicious.  Mostly I fry the liver and scoff it down when my wife isn't going to be home for a meal.  It doesn't seem to appeal to her, but over the years I've noticed that she now eats things that she once seemed reluctant about.   Occasionally I've made paté from liver, which I really like..  and my wife will eat a bit of that.

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## Coote

I enjoy liver, and that plateful in the photo looks delicious.  I sometimes make paté which can be a treat when I'm in the mood for it.

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## grandpamac

> Waste not, want not. I try to use as much as possible off the goats I shoot. Here are the skins and feet placed around an "Alphonse Karr" clumping bamboo. The skins will fertilise the plant and suppress the weeds 
> 
> Attachment 190869


Greetings @bumblefoot.
Alphonse Karr was one of the bamboos my father planted at Taradale about 60 years ago. A nice bamboo and not too big. The only one that can hack the conditions here is Nigra, a running type, that I use for bean and pea frames. With you on the liver as well. I always took the liver, after trimming the gall bladder of off course.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac I bought the Alphonse Karr specifically because it is a clumper, not a runner. Yeah, the gall bladder would be pretty nasty alright! I always take the heart, lung and kidneys to eat, however my little cat tends to get the heart and kidneys as a treat. I also take the lungs to feed the eels and any internal fat for the chooks. 

It was nice taking the old 303 out. I have the Howa 308 and 223, but there's something special to me about using the three-oh. The 223 is what pretty much keeps the freezer full though

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## grandpamac

> @grandpamac I bought the Alphonse Karr specifically because it is a clumper, not a runner. Yeah, the gall bladder would be pretty nasty alright! I always take the heart, lung and kidneys to eat, however my little cat tends to get the heart and kidneys as a treat. I also take the lungs to feed the eels and any internal fat for the chooks. 
> 
> It was nice taking the old 303 out. I have the Howa 308 and 223, but there's something special to me about using the three-oh. The 223 is what pretty much keeps the freezer full though


Greetings Again @bumblefoot,
Dad planted a hedge of Oldhamii across the back of our section. Oldhamii is a clump type with thick culms. Last time I looked it was still there. The modern cartridges still do the heavy lifting but it is nice to take something old and unusual out for a spin. As mentioned elsewhere I am going to use my old soldiers in some of the shoots this year. I think it will be the M38 6.5 next time. I went up to Taupo on Satutrday to shoot the NZDA Wilkinson Postal shoot and was delighted to find that I could shoot kneeling again, not well you understand but possible. The pool, walking, weight loss and stretching must be paying off.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

Put this fat bugger in the fridge today. It was a horse of a buck! It'll be primo eating  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Coote

That meat looks great.

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## bumblefoot

He's so fat! Looks like a fat ewe with an over-developed neck!  :Grin:

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## bumblefoot

Steaks chilling and aging in the fridge and nearly two 20 litre buckets of trim at the butchers in town ready to be minced tomorrow

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## bumblefoot

Around 25kg of freshly minced venison ready to bag and freeze

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## Moa Hunter

> Around 25kg of freshly minced venison ready to bag and freeze ��
> 
> Attachment 193090


Whats your reasoning for putting it through a fine plate ? I do mine through an 8mm plate for better mouth feel and texture. makes it more versatile IMO

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## bumblefoot

Because I prefer it that way  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

Thought I'd do some venison spare ribs (from the fatty buck in the pics above...) for tea. Cooked in the crockpot all day, seasoned with salt,  pepper, garam masala, cardamom, cloves and garlic. When cooked, I'll glaze them with a 50/50 mix of soy and sweet chilli sauce and give them 15 mins under the grill to glaze. I haven't tried this on venison before, but it works really well for goat spare ribs

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## tamamutu

Looks pretty good. I like fat venison.

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## MB

Looks great. We have goat ribs for dinner. From young animals, so will cook hot and fast with a piripiri rub.

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## bumblefoot

@MB  A while ago I did some goat ribs this way for a friend who ate little meat, was a vegan for part of her life, and she'd even lived in a vegan commune in Northland for a while. Seeing her go back for seconds was the best recommendation I could have for how good those ribs were  :Have A Nice Day:

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## MB

> @MB  A while ago I did some goat ribs this way for a friend who ate little meat, was a vegan for part of her life, and she'd even lived in a vegan commune in Northland for a while. Seeing her go back for seconds was the best recommendation I could have for how good those ribs were


Good one. We regularly feed our "vegetarian" friend with goat. She's a principled girl, but a bit of ethically sourced wild game is OK.

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## bumblefoot

> Good one. We regularly feed our "vegetarian" friend with goat. She's a principled girl, but a bit of ethically sourced wild game is OK.


My mate is the same. She is mostly anti the way pigs and chickens are farmed; not so much beef and sheep

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## bumblefoot

The finished product. Sweet chilli and dark soy sauce glazed venison ribs

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## tamamutu

Mate that looks awesome, a person with Chinese ethnicity would be drooling as well I reckon.

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## bumblefoot

I think I've finally got the wasabi ticking over nicely. It's a long term luxury crop, but I like something a little different!

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## bumblefoot

I made this short vid a week or 2 ago which sorta explains why I enjoy the simple things like living off the land as much as is practicable... "Appreciating The Simple Things In Life...."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouzII9CmEnU&t=5s

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## XR500

Very good :Have A Nice Day: 

We easily forget that we rural Kiwis can live a life only 1-2 % of the worlds population can enjoy. Plenty of the world's population live rurally, but almost none with our relative wealth and technological advantages.

As an aside, how long do plum trees like those take to start producing?? I MUST get around to putting in  some fruit trees :Grin:

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## bumblefoot

@ XR500    I hope I didn't sound like a Pollyanna, But I find that enjoying what's around you makes life easier because you're not always trying to keep up with the Jones's.... And; I didn't use the over-used word "mindfulness"...  :Thumbsup: 

Those plums have been in for about 8 years, but the first 2 summers were droughts which slowed them down. I find you start getting a few after about the 3rd year. I always take any off the tree for the first couple of years to allow the tree to put its energy into growing. The yellow plum in the thumbnail is Luisa; its a fantastic plum. Big, and as juicy as a Golden Queen peach! I've found that Shiro is another fantastic early plum.

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## JessicaChen

Have you ever thought of trying to grow and use the worlds most expensive spice, saffron? Honestly not sure if it even has a noticeable flavor or which dishes it would be great in. All I know is that it is expensive and has a good color.

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## bumblefoot

> Have you ever thought of trying to grow and use the worlds most expensive spice, saffron? Honestly not sure if it even has a noticeable flavor or which dishes it would be great in. All I know is that it is expensive and has a good color.


I have thought about it. But I've been that flat out fencing and getting the property infrastructure sorted as well as the day job of magazine writing/photography, that I'm just going for the bigger easy wins lately!  :Have A Nice Day:  I'm actually finishing a short deadline story that was thrown to me by an editor now!

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## Dicko

JChen, i think most saffron is grown in Spain where you have a climate that is so far removed from hat of Taranaki, warm dry summer. It might be quite a challenge growing on on the foot steps of Mt Egmont.

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## bumblefoot

Saffron is grown in the cold snowy European areas too; it's a type of crocus  :Have A Nice Day:

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## ROKTOY

I have Saffron growing here in Nelson. I haven't done anything with it, I just wanted to the them flower.

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## grandpamac

Greetings @bumblefoot and All,
A nice little Vid which has reminded me to plant some fruit trees. While watching it I spotted your birthday hunt video and watched that as well. The second video crystalised a thought that had been buzzing around in my head for a while. I have been doing my mid week grandpa walks (both in the pool and in the bush) to build up strength and mobility. The last few months have been difficult due to a bit of a flare up in the arthritis and progress has been slow to non existant. This, together with your video, has prompted me to focus my bush walks more on hunting and set some much more short term goals for the future. After almost 60 years of pottering around in the Kawekas, often wondering what is off the track, it is time to look harder at the easier stuff. I will let you know how it goes.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## Andygr

> I have Saffron growing here in Nelson. I haven't done anything with it, I just wanted to the them flower.


This sounds like an interesting project. where would I get some seeds to start ? Would you consider selling some ?

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## ROKTOY

> This sounds like an interesting project. where would I get some seeds to start ? Would you consider selling some ?


I haven't enough to part with sorty.
There is someone selling the bulbs on trade me. I cant recall where mine came from originally.


Sent from my SM-G990E using Tapatalk

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac I know many hunters look down their noses at those who hunt goats. I've had more than my fair share of passive aggressive and snide comments but it's like water off a duck's back. I do hunt deer, but I can easily keep the freezer full with lovely goat meat. And; if you're trying to grow/farm/hunt as much as possible you go for the easiest source of protein. 

Yes I hunt deer too; have a lot of venison in the freezer. But I'm also thinking of the future. I'll be 60 next year and eventually I'll be too old to climb the steep hills to hunt deer, but I could quite possibly be able to hunt the gentler country for goats. If I can get enjoyment from hunting goats then I can continue hunting and not be an old moany codger sitting around bemoaning the fact tat I can't hunt deer anymore. 

Actually; I derive a lot of pleasure out of making nice food from an animal that so many hunters just blow away for the sheer hell of it.... So all hail the mighty goat!  :Wink:

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## XR500

A salutary point to remember: More people on this earth eat goat than eat lamb/hogget/ewe

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## grandpamac

> @grandpamac I know many hunters look down their noses at those who hunt goats. I've had more than my fair share of passive aggressive and snide comments but it's like water off a duck's back. I do hunt deer, but I can easily keep the freezer full with lovely goat meat. And; if you're trying to grow/farm/hunt as much as possible you go for the easiest source of protein. 
> 
> Yes I hunt deer too; have a lot of venison in the freezer. But I'm also thinking of the future. I'll be 60 next year and eventually I'll be too old to climb the steep hills to hunt deer, but I could quite possibly be able to hunt the gentler country for goats. If I can get enjoyment from hunting goats then I can continue hunting and not be an old moany codger sitting around bemoaning the fact tat I can't hunt deer anymore. 
> 
> Actually; I derive a lot of pleasure out of making nice food from an animal that so many hunters just blow away for the sheer hell of it.... So all hail the mighty goat!


You will get no arguments from me @bumblefoot. I shot an awful lot of goats when the family was young and we lived in town and it was our staple meat. These days a grazing arangement keeps the freezer filled and the nearest part of the Kawekas is less than 40 km away so that is where I go mostly. I found the easiest way for me to carry goats was to tie the legs together and hook one over each shoulder and cart them back to the Landrover. I posted a picture a while back that showed the next step.
Talking about getting older I am about 14 years ahead of you on that front and am needing to think more of the future and how I might manage it. I have a bench here for sighting in and checking zero and had been thinking of some improvements. This has now morphed into a portable bench that is not tied to our current property. A bit of seated F class shooting may be in the future.
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

"I found the easiest way for me to carry goats was to tie the legs together and hook one over each shoulder and cart them back to the Landrover." 

Thanks @grandpamac  I hadn't thought of that!

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## Micky Duck

lookup th alex gale carry belt method...8feet of seat belt works great and you just tie it in a knot in front of you....do first goat as per normal method and hook 2nd one on just one side...Ive crried two ???2 year old goats easy and 2 pigs adding up to 130ish pounds no big deal either, the beauty of this way is the wide belt is pushing down on top of shoulders,the weight is down across your kidney region....and if you fall arse over tit and end up under the load,you untie strap and wiggle out...try that with old school backpack method!!!

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## Zedrex

good spread of nosebag right there.
Me and Mrs are slowly working our way to being self sufficient, planted a butt load of fruit trees, the veggie garden will be prepped this spring and currently finding different ways to cook possum whilst waiting on my FAL, after which wallaby and veni will be on t he menu, love putting food on the table through our own efforts

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## Coote

Good on you Zedrex.  I've eaten quite a bit of possum and it can be good.  I currently have a wee bit of possum in the fridge and I'm trying to cure it like bacon.  Actually, the meat is from the back legs so you might call it 'poss-ham'.  Dunno how it will turn out, but I figure it is worth a try.

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## Zedrex

We noticed there's a background taste when used in stew but the pie we made with the leftover stew was our preference, having given it some thought, I think that bleeding the possum as soon as it's shot could change the flavour, currently we're skinning and curing the pelts of the latest batch, as a test bed for curing wallaby hides....... I'd be interested to hear how the possum ham turns out

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## Coote

Possum meat often tastes a bit 'neutral' to me, and if I didn't know it was possum, i'd have difficulty telling you what it was.   Some are tougher than others.    I enjoy a bit of tender, fried possum.

I'm guessing you will have noticed the gooey scent glands at the base of the tail...   and I imagine if this stuff got on the meat your food would taste distinctively possumey.   I think that if a possum is not gutted fairly quickly, then there is likely to be a distinctive, 'gamey' gut taint in the meat.  This may be to some folks liking, but I think it is best avoided.   Possums which die in a kill trap when caught in the evening, may have significant gut taint when collected the next morning.

I cooked some possum bacon / ham this morning.   I cut some thin slices from the slab, then soaked them in hot water to remove some salt.   I dabbed the slices dry with a paper towel then fried them in oil.   They browned nicely and went crisp.   To be honest, if I didn't know what it was I could have believed it was lean supermarket bacon.  It was a bit too salty still for my liking, so I will try to remedy that in the next batch.  I hope I get a fatter possum next time.

How are you curing your hides.... with a store-bought kit or a home-brew recipe?

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## Inder

> @Coote That's one of the reasons why I started the thread


That looks delicious. you got me hankering for liver fry ....  :Psmiley: . Off to order some

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## bumblefoot

Some nice yearling fallow venison in the fridge....  :Have A Nice Day:  Courtesy of the old 303  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Coote

Nice.  Looks like you have a devoted follower there who might dispose of any bits you drop.

Seems like you have some productive spots to hunt.

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## bumblefoot

> Nice.  Looks like you have a devoted follower there who might dispose of any bits you drop. Seems like you have some productive spots to hunt.


This was the 2nd time there. Took my new rifle out; a 106 year old 303  :Have A Nice Day:

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## muzza

Im 64 this year and am finding the hills are getting tougher. A life of physical effort has worn out my knees and  I cant carry stuff like I used .....

Goats are an easier option for freezer filling - shoot the ones above the track so you can roll them down to the 4-wheeler... ;-)

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## bumblefoot

Yup; I agree. Got plenty of goat in the freezer. It's so underrated

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## Coote

When I was still living at home, my Dad bought an old rifle from the rifle club.  It had been re-barrelled I think.... and the wood had been reduced....but it was a military Lee-Enfield with '1897' stamped on it.   I remember thinking that I would live to see it turn 100 years old.   The foresight seemed to be on a bit of a lean, and toward the end of the time that I had it in my possession I had a couple of misfires that seemed to be caused by too weak a strike.  But I scored some good hits with it, nearly always with military mk vii ammunition.  As I recall, a lot of the ammo was stamped 1954, but it went 'bang' and performed well enough at rifle club shoots.  I don't ever recall losing a deer that I shot with this fully jacketed 'army' ammo.

One day Dad informed me that he'd given the rifle (or probably sold it) to someone else.   And this was before 1997, so I never did hunt with a hundred year old rifle.   I have some new rifles now, but I'm no happier.  It is nice, however, not to have to clean them straight after I've fired them.... whereas it was important to clean the old .303 after using military ammo with corrosive primers.  I take out my .223 regularly looking for long-range 'varmints'.  I haven't cleaned the bore for months, although I keep an eye on it.

What sort of ammo are you using in that .303 Bumblefoot?

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## MB

We're having goat for dinner tonight. It''s the third time this week and it's only Wednesday!

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## bumblefoot

@Coote Just PPU 180 grain at the moment, but I'll start reloading soon. I've only had this 303 for a couple of weeks. It's a 106-year old (World War 1) BSA 1916 .303 SHTLE III* (FTR)  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Coote

Ah.  What a nice rifle.   Good to see the open sights.  If your scope ever fogs up, you can smash it off the mounts with a rock and use the reliable irons.

Seems like your current ammo does the job, although it is nice to have the sense of abundance that reloading can help you attain.

A couple of my relatives have 7mm-08 rifles.  They'd like some more ammo.  I did a quick Google and saw that one retailer is offering various packets of 20 cartridges from $69 to $99 each.  That is gob-smacking.   Back in the early days of my rifle club experience, we could buy a case of 750 cartridges of .303Br for around forty dollars.   I think we were limited to one case each though. (and I was able to buy a fully-wooded surplus Number 4 .303 coated with grease for $11).

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## bumblefoot

This rifle is an FTR (FTR is the Brit's code for Factory Thorough Repair) and to be honest; I don't think it was used much after that. I wouldn't know when it was repaired. It's in beautiful condition for it's age. Crazy to think it was used when my grandfather was fighting in France during WW1

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## Coote

There'd be a lot of old servicemen and hunters who would smile with satisfaction knowing that you appreciated this rifle.  It is part of our heritage.

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## bumblefoot

I love the 303's military history as well as its culling heritage.

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## grandpamac

Greetings All,
Like many of my age I have been having a poke around in the ancestral cupboard and have discovered NZ ancestors or close relations who have served in conflicts from the Land Wars to Korea. In all but the first they would have been familiar with the Lee Enfield in it's variations. A good case can be made for the Lee Enfield as the best of all of the bolt action battle rifles. Some may bag the Lee Enfield for its cock on closing action and moderate accuracy but its smooth short stroke action and 10 shot mag more than made up for that with its fire power. Fortunately heaps of them were made so all of us that wish to can own one without breaking the bank. 
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

I spent $500 on the one in the pic above. Expensive? Maybe. But it was in such good condition I feel it was worth it. One thing I have noticed on TM that people are starting to want good money for old sh%tter rifles! So I feel that $500 was well spent.

It probably sounds stupid... But who knows? Someone may have walked past my grandad with it in WW1. Or someone in his unit may have had it. Hugely doubtful I know. I know it's millions to one that it happened, but stranger coincidences have occurred. He passed away in 1968 from a stroke from a blood clot caused by a WW1 shrapnel wound. My last memory of him was going to his bed on my 5th birthday and he gave me a leather school satchel with a bag of hard jube lollies in it. He passed away 3 days later....

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## bumblefoot

As an aside; here's part of his war records and he enlisted under a false name. So maybe under age?

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## grandpamac

> I spent $500 on the one in the pic above. Expensive? Maybe. But it was in such good condition I feel it was worth it. One thing I have noticed on TM that people are starting to want good money for old sh%tter rifles! So I feel that $500 was well spent.
> 
> It probably sounds stupid... But who knows? Someone may have walked past my grandad with it in WW1. Or someone in his unit may have had it. Hugely doubtful I know. I know it's millions to one that it happened, but stranger coincidences have occurred. He passed away in 1968 from a stroke from a blood clot caused by a WW1 shrapnel wound. My last memory of him was going to his bed on my 5th birthday and he gave me a leather school satchel with a bag of hard jube lollies in it. He passed away 3 days later....


Greetings,
$500.00 is by no means expensive for a .303 Lee Enfield in good condition with a minimal conversion to a sporter. With the right bits these can be converted back to original and command many times the price or they can just be used and enjoyed as they are. 
Regards Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

@grandpamac I think it was good value considering the lovely condition and the age of the old girl. Sure I could have bought a scoped, new Howa for $899, but there's something about the character, and NZ history of the old girl. There are some absolute crappy, cut down 303 rifles out there that people want $400+ for. As soon as I saw the old girl on TM I was pretty certain that I'd buy it. It sounds silly, but I had a real gut feeling about it. One thing I've learnt over the years is that gut feelings are often right! 

I was a bit uncertain about the police form process, but that went sweet as. The only hassle was that the South Island H&F store wanted the police form to come direct to them rather than via the vendor. Central Districts police firearms dept had never had a store want that but they presumed it was because H&F were being ultra cautious. Anyway, a quick phone call to the CD police and the re-emailed it wile I was on the phone. Full kudos for their snappy service. I suppose I was a bit more nervous about buying on TM compared to using the forum buy/sell

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## grandpamac

> @grandpamac I think it was good value considering the lovely condition and the age of the old girl. Sure I could have bought a scoped, new Howa for $899, but there's something about the character, and NZ history of the old girl. There are some absolute crappy, cut down 303 rifles out there that people want $400+ for. As soon as I saw the old girl on TM I was pretty certain that I'd buy it. It sounds silly, but I had a real gut feeling about it. One thing I've learnt over the years is that gut feelings are often right! 
> 
> I was a bit uncertain about the police form process, but that went sweet as. The only hassle was that the South Island H&F store wanted the police form to come direct to them rather than via the vendor. Central Districts police firearms dept had never had a store want that but they presumed it was because H&F were being ultra cautious. Anyway, a quick phone call to the CD police and the re-emailed it wile I was on the phone. Full kudos for their snappy service. I suppose I was a bit more nervous about buying on TM compared to using the forum buy/sell


The rifle remins me of my first one. It was a Parker Hale conversion of a No 1 about the same age as yours. The fore end was cut down but otherwise it was standard. In the late 1960's it cost me $29.00 of which I paid an extra two dollars to have a new rather than used barrel. It was sold about 10 years later to finance a new Remington 700 which I still have.
Grandpamac.

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## bumblefoot

One leg from last week's deer cut into steaks... Aged for 10 days in the fridge... 



Venison bones in the crockpot for a soup. Add cold water, a little vinegar (to extract calcium from the bones) and slow cook for 24hrs... Trying to use as much as possible from the deer. The blood that drained from the deer into a bucket when it was hung overnight was diluted with water and given to the wasabi plants as fertiliser

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## bumblefoot

A venison shoulder about to go on the oven to slow cook at 150°C for about 3 hours. Flavoured with garlic cloves, salt, pepper, smoked paprika,  cinnamon and olive oil. A little butter on top and  1/2 a cup of water to stop it drying out. Sitting on onions and leeks...

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## bumblefoot

Venison stock that has been cooked for 36 hours to release the collagen and chondroitin from the bones. It's now been strained twice and ready to be made into soup  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

I was away from my property caring for ill parents for about 6 years. Used to travel back and forth from New Plymouth each day. Now I've finally got the boundary fence secured and am able to let the pigs into the front paddock to clear the convolvulus that has gone nuts in it. Hopefully I'll be getting some sheep soon, so will have another supply of meat. 

"Using pigs to help clear convolvulus"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTvnTSgNkfA

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## Moa Hunter

> Venison stock that has been cooked for 36 hours to release the collagen and chondroitin from the bones. It's now been strained twice and ready to be made into soup 
> 
> Attachment 199556


How well do you think the collagen hydrolizes ? It is not really possible to mimic the industrial process at home. I have not tried acetic acid (vinegar) myself - good idea

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## bumblefoot

I can only go by what I've read. But it sure makes good stock. I often simmer the bones for 36 hours; then throw them to the chooks. The bones crumble like chalk

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## Tahr

> I was away from my property caring for ill parents for about 6 years. Used to travel back and forth from New Plymouth each day. Now I've finally got the boundary fence secured and am able to let the pigs into the front paddock to clear the convolvulus that has gone nuts in it. Hopefully I'll be getting some sheep soon, so will have another supply of meat. 
> 
> "Using pigs to help clear convolvulus"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTvnTSgNkfA


Post another vid once they have finished in there. I would like to see how well they clean it up. Cheers.

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## bumblefoot

@Tahr  I'm still going to have to selectively spot spray the new growth with Banvine as the roots will still be there. But the mass growth has ben knocked down. It'll be interesting to see how much sprouts in spring

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## bumblefoot

Now that the chooks are producing again it's time to make some Chinese tea marinated marbled eggs  https://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-tea-eggs/

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## Coote

Wow.  Never come across this before.  Are they cooked eggs with a crack in the shells?   Good stuff Bumblefoot.

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## bumblefoot

> Wow.  Never come across this before.  Are they cooked eggs with a crack in the shells?   Good stuff Bumblefoot.


Yup; they're really nice for a snack or to put into a salad. I put the recipe link in the post  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Coote

Thanks.   Eggs would be one of the last foods I'd ever want to give up.  Love them.

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## Moa Hunter

> @Tahr  I'm still going to have to selectively spot spray the new growth with Banvine as the roots will still be there. But the mass growth has ben knocked down. It'll be interesting to see how much sprouts in spring


Perhaps Kuni's aren't the best choice alone and they need the company of another breed that will dig up the roots? I did read that pigs love the roots

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## bumblefoot

> Perhaps Kuni's aren't the best choice alone and they need the company of another breed that will dig up the roots? I did read that pigs love the roots


Possibly, but you only need one minute piece of root for it to regrow. Many if the roots come from behind the fence and amongst fruit trees etc that would be ruined by pigs

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## bumblefoot

Everything except the hummus, tomatoes and peanuts off the property or hunted  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Coote

Another great photo.

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## Micky Duck

update on the pigs vs schrubbery ???????
 funny the Mrs has allowed our four chooks into the vege garden for a few hours each day to get rid of weeds etc before we have another go at planting it... oxyalis and cooch/twitch are a right mongrel to get rid of...have though we had it beaten twice only for it to come back.... my roundup gardening skills dont have a place in the vege garden so anything to keep the manual side of the labour down is good.
speaking of chooks.... they go nuts over lawn clippings,the mower comes out and they start pacing waiting for some clippings,there just has to be a marraige made in heaven..commercial lawn mowing contractors and the guys with thousands of free range chooks..... rather than paying to dump green waste/clippings,wouldnt it be great if could turn up however often and tip trailer load in paddock for the chooks... it would be mayhem..feathers flying everywhere as they got it for a good scoff session.

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## bumblefoot

The convolvuls hasn't sprouted yet. This is an interesting vid on raising chooks on compost

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWChH9MHkHg

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## RUMPY

> Everything except the hummus, tomatoes and peanuts off the property or hunted 
> 
> Attachment 206524


Always a good feeling making a whole feed from home grown and hunted produce. Last summer I did veni steak, home grown potato wedges and a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots and parsley all from the garden.

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## bumblefoot

Took the old 1916 .303 out for a walk today to take a young goat for the freezer. Saw quite a few, but only took a 12 month old billy. I don't take nannies at this time of year as they have young kids with them. Could have taken more, but only needed one. Nice that the 106 year old rifle is still filling the freezer

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## bumblefoot

And now chilling in the fridge  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

2 young wild goat legs (minus the shanks); aged for 8 days in the fridge. Seasoned with lemon pepper, bay, cinnamon and star anise ready for roasting on a bed of leeks and onions

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## bumblefoot

Roast goat and spuds, roasted leeks and onions, stir fried puha, Russian kale, parsley and beet leaves... Only the spuds and mint sauce weren't off the property or hunted :-) And of course; fresh mint tea...

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## Mohawk .308

I like your style bumblefoot  :Thumbsup:

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## bumblefoot

Not exactly living off the land re food. But the first steps in tanning a skin off one of yesterday's goats. Spread the skin out and salt every exposed piece of skin with non-ionized salt. Roll it up flesh side to flesh side and sit it on an upturned plant pot in a bucket to drain overnight. Tomorrow I'll repeat the process

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## bumblefoot

Sorry; goats AGAIN..... This nanny was in primo nick....

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## Coote

I always enjoy looking at your posts Bumblefoot.   I will be interested to learn more about your skin curing process.

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## bumblefoot

I'm just going to use a Leder's Tan for them. I am going to brain tan some, but head shot the 2 goats...  :Wink:

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## bumblefoot

I hope I don't bore people with goat posts. but if you want to be self sufficient then you shouldn't forget that goats are on your doorstep and a reliable source of protein. I used the 223 this time instead of the old 303; it felt like I was cheating on the missus leaving the three oh at home...

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## Coote

Heh.... brain shot = no brains.  With a body shot you have the brains but holes in the skin.   Some folks have talked about using egg yolk for the fat instead of using brains.

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## bumblefoot

Yup you can. But I want t try a different way...

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## 308

> I hope I don't bore people with goat posts. but if you want to be self sufficient then you shouldn't forget that goats are on your doorstep and a reliable source of protein. I used the 223 this time instead of the old 303; it felt like I was cheating on the missus leaving the three oh at home...


I look forward to your posts about living the more self-sufficient life, I think a lot of people aspire to do things more like your way

If anyone in Wgtn is keen on goats, I drive the Akatarawa Rd (back road Upper Hutt to Waikanae) fairly regularly and met half a mob there tonight between the summit and Staglands (Hutt side of summit) around 630pm towards 7

There's plenty of meat running around in the hills

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## MarkN

> I hope I don't bore people with goat posts. but if you want to be self sufficient then you shouldn't forget that goats are on your doorstep and a reliable source of protein.


If I could get a goat or two I'd be a happy gourmet.

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## kruza

man I haven't got a goat since I cleaned out the mob on river a few years back. Goat is a great lean meat. Looking at some of the dishes I've seen here make my primitive roast and bbq goat look shameful.
 Seeing posts on other ppl hunts and recipes never gets boring.

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## MarkN

A simple goat curry:

Go to an Asian food shop, anywhere.

Get some Thai red (or green or other) curry paste in a plastic sachet or jar. Also get a can of coconut milk/cream.

For 1~1.5 kg diced meat,

fry a couple or 3 tbsp, of the curry paste, in a little oil, to bring up the flavour, about 2 mins.

Add the meat in batches and fry a while ~ if you put it all in at once, a lot of water/juice, will come out and it's better, if it doesn't, a handful at a time, lightly browning the meat as you go, is good.

After say, 30~45 minutes of frying, add the coconut milk cream, all of it, or half of it, you choose. Heat to nearly, but not boiling, salt to taste and serve.

You can fancify it with capsicum-chilli-herbs and so on if you want.

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## Coote

Looks good MarkN.   I like to have plenty of fluid in my curries.  It soaks into the rice we serve it with and it can really 'stretch' a small curry into a big feed.

The 'handy' goats near home are fairly scarce now, and the few in the area seem to be wise enough to stay off the property where I have permission to hunt.  But I'm always keeping an eye out for them.   My current preference is to get the white ones first, hoping that the darker ones will breed up and not look so obvious on the hillsides.  If people don't notice them, they are less likely to get worked up into an anti-pest fervour.

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## bumblefoot

The trials and tribulations of trying to live off the land... Well over the last few days I noticed that my white Orp rooster has been picking on my favourite old chicken. She's been able to keep away from him by going into a pen he can't fit into.

Today I was going to move her but couldn't find her. Anyway, this evening I had a funny feeling something was wrong and went out to check. The bastard was standing on top of her bashing the hell out of her. I think he may have killed my other old girl a week or 2 ago... 

So... I grabbed her and put her in her other pen. And him? He's in a plastic bag and will be soup tomorrow. He won't bash any of my girls again... I checked on her and she's ok. Another 10 mins and I'd probably have had a dead chook. He was the last rooster in my line of white Orps. But no arsehole roosters last long here. There are plenty of good ones...

The old hen is at least 8 years old and nicknamed the "Dog-Chicken" because she's like a pet dog. I got her when she was about 2 years old, about 7 years ago and she was a proper mess. she'd been poorly cared for. She's a lovely bird

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## Coote

That's an appropriate bag for the rooster.   You've given me a business idea.  Pre-printing coffins with emojis and words that express our feelings about the passing of the occupant.

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## bumblefoot

Yeah; I wasn't happy doing it. Especially as he's the last rooster from  my own line. I couldn't breed for  few years while I looked after he folks so only have 2 of my own hens left... I have some birds from bought in eggs; but it's not the same as your own line...

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## Moa Hunter

Is she a cross with a silver laced winedot ?

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## kotuku

> That's an appropriate bag for the rooster.   You've given me a business idea.  Pre-printing coffins with emojis and words that express our feelings about the passing of the occupant.


bravo -that would suit mew down to the ground .ya know" in life he was a real bastard ,now hes lyin here whats changed???" lifes a series of leg ups -im here cause me wife saw me gettin  the wrong leg up!

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## bumblefoot

@Moa Hunter 


> Is she a cross with a silver laced winedot ?


I'm not sure; but has the wrong body shape. She has got Dorking in her though and looks very much like the Dark Dorking. She has 5 toes on one foot; so Dorking in her somewhere. I started a project to breed a Dark Dorking (there are none in NZ) but after putting my pure Dorking rooster over her I caught a bad case of lepto and gave the offspring to a friend who was keen. I was too crook for too long to continue the project.

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## Coote

I wonder if you had some eggs that hadn't been refrigerated... and had been fertilised by your rooster.... maybe you could stick them under a broody bantam

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## Micky Duck

> @Moa Hunter 
> 
> I'm not sure; but has the wrong body shape. She has got Dorking in her though and looks very much like the Dark Dorking. She has 5 toes on one foot; so Dorking in her somewhere. I started a project to breed a Dark Dorking (there are none in NZ) but after putting my pure Dorking rooster over her I caught a bad case of lepto and gave the offspring to a friend who was keen. I was too crook for too long to continue the project.


get in touch with said friend and get some fertilized eggs to incubate...

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## bumblefoot

@Coote The old white hen only lays every 2 days and she's been sneaky and stopped laying in the nest box. Typical! I'm not sure whether him or her were fertile (she is old) as I had no fertile eggs from them. I have 5 roosters and 5 hens from bought in eggs from a  Rare Breeds Assn member from last year. But typically for Rare Breeds (people who try to make as much as possible from their birds and are economical with the truth...) only 3 hens and 2 roosters have the correct coloured white legs. I wondered why they always fudged around answering my questions about leg colour.... 

I have one other hen from my strain; but am not sure whether she is an egg eater or not. I had 2 other hens; her and a second one. One only laid pullet sized eggs and one was potentially an egg eater... One died a week or so ago without me discovering which was which. I'll put that remaining hen and the other old girl in separate pens. That way I'll get eggs from the old girl and hopefully discover if the other is the egg eater. 

It was so disheartening to not be able to breed for those years. As the numbers dwindled. I will put a rooster from those bought in eggs and try to hatch any eggs. And if she is still laying now they maybe fertile to my (now departed) rooster. It's not quite the same having someone else's strain in your birds; or losing your strain completely. Most breeders off any livestock would know the feeling. But looking after the folks was more important in those years. But I lost 6 years of breeding... 
 @Micky Duck  I'm sweet for Dorkings. I have my old boy and his 2 sons. One of the sons is an absolute stunner... I've only got 3 hens but am going to put eggs in the incubator this week. It was the white Orpingtons that I'm in the shit with a bit. Good ones are like hen's teeth and I had developed a cracker strain over about 5 years of intensive breeding. Most whites have the awful grey legs, but I'd eliminated that and they were looking like Cook's original Orpingtons; not the powder puff show birds... 

These are the Dorkings  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1mUY4HotbI

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## Micky Duck

well I love my rhode island reds..but we bought 4 rescue hens...having done one season on big farm,they were $5 each and we get 2 eggs on bad day and 3 most days,havent had four in a day yet so not entirely sure that there isnt a freeloader among them...I have my suspisions as one has comb thats not as bright as the other 3... decent pullets cost an arm n leg that is for sure.

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## bumblefoot

@Micky Duck  Rhodies are nice birds. It's funny how people have preferences. I went through the breed books and the birds I kept coming back to were the White Orpingtons and Dorkings. Yet there is a white Dorking in Europe; but I didn't like them; yet I like the white Orps. Weird eh?

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## bumblefoot

Browning off some goat neck chops before they go in the crockpot. Seasoned with bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, black peppercorns, lemon pepper, garlic, onions and tomato paste. Cooked in stock in the slow cooker for about 5 hours

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## bumblefoot

The slow cooked wild goat neck chops.... Soooooooo tasty...... Definitely doing that recipe again.... it's nice when a plan comes together....

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## bumblefoot

Wild nanny goat shoulder after 4 hours in the crockpot. Super tender..... Was cooked on halved onions and stock. Flavoured with salt   pepper, cinnamon, chilli flakes and thyme...

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## bumblefoot

Slow cooked wild goat shoulder and onions with roast spuds, puha and gravy...

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## Marty Henry

I've been driving past a nice patch of watercress for the last day or so. That photo makes me think some pork bone boilup might be on next week's menu

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## bumblefoot

Every few days I kick over the old weed piles in the duck pen so the ducks can eat the worms and bugs. The ducks are far better layers than chickens..

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## bumblefoot

Growing your own also applies to animals. I just thought I'd post this because it's pretty cool... Candling a Dorking egg from the incubator with a torch on Day 12 to see if it is fertile. The embryo and veins are clearly showing in it. The eggs take 21 days to incubate. It's pretty amazing to think that it will go from this to hatching in 9 more days! Nature is pretty wonderful...

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## Coote

great photos thanks.   Interesting that the ducks are better layers.  Duck eggs are certainly good to eat and I've heard they can be better for baking.  What about pavlovas I wonder?

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## bumblefoot

I'm not sure; never made a pav! 

Pro's....The ducks are far more reliable layers. Plus the infrastructure is simpler. You only need a standard 1.2m fence because they don't fly, they don't get mites, and you don't need a flash house. I just screw 2 pallets together to form an A-frame and cable tie a tarp over it. Plus their paddling water is fantastic fertiliser. They only need a clam shell type paddling pool to splash around in. I bail the water every few days and put it into plastic rubbish bins to use as fertiliser on the veges. I get 5-8 eggs per day from the 8 ducks. Usually 6+

Cons... They are noisy and messy. And they eat about 50% more than chooks.

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## Bill999

> great photos thanks.   Interesting that the ducks are better layers.  Duck eggs are certainly good to eat and I've heard they can be better for baking.  What about pavlovas I wonder?


i think its the yolk to white ratio
more yolk less white 

if you are short on eggs when baking, blood can also make a suitable substitute

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## bumblefoot

> i think its the yolk to white ratio more yolk less white if you are short on eggs when baking, blood can also make a suitable substitute


Yeah; it's called a black pudding....  :Grin:

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## Coote

"if you are short on eggs when baking, blood can also make a suitable substitute".    Heh... dunno how well that would be accepted in my household.  And I imagine that pavlovas would look a little less traditional.  It would be nutritious though.  Hmmmm.....  Might have to replace my pig knife with a sharp tube and a hose attached to a CamelBak pack.

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## bumblefoot

Just a short wild rabbit pie slideshow and video 

Braised wild rabbit, bacon, mushroom, leek, onion, cherry tomato and chickweed pie - (catch and cook)

The stock was flavoured with bay leaves, thyme, Worstershire sauce, cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, ground cloves and a star anise pod. Being cooked on a bed of onions and leeks. 
The pie made with; wild rabbit, bacon, mushroom, leek, onion, cherry tomato and chickweed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq6sFgT3zRQ

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## Moa Hunter

> Just a short wild rabbit pie slideshow and video 
> 
> Braised wild rabbit, bacon, mushroom, leek, onion, cherry tomato and chickweed pie - (catch and cook)
> 
> The stock was flavoured with bay leaves, thyme, Worstershire sauce, cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, ground cloves and a star anise pod. Being cooked on a bed of onions and leeks. 
> The pie made with; wild rabbit, bacon, mushroom, leek, onion, cherry tomato and chickweed.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq6sFgT3zRQ


That's one classy pie !

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## Sidetrack

Thank you for the great thread bumlefoot. Nice to see it continue as an inspiration to us all. 
By the end of next year we should have our place sorted as best we can but even at the stage we’re at now has seen us get through the last three years without so much as a twitch. I’ll be much happier when the permanent gardens and tunnel houses are in but some more building work needs to be completed first. 
A coastal aspect has its challenges, still a great growing area, just needs adequate wind protection. Trying to decide on the right fruit trees for the environment has taken a bit of research but managed to narrow it down to a good handful. It will be a plant and see I think. Anyway, keeps me busy and frankly, don’t know how I ever had time for work :Grin: 

I reckon the best part of being a bit more self sufficient, which anyone can do anywhere, is that you gain a sense of control over your life and the great deal of self satisfaction in doing shit for yourself and/or family. Carry on the good work.
Cheers, Sidetrack

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## bumblefoot

@Sidetrack Thanks for the kind words. As an aside; I see you live down the Catlins. Used to visit the Catlins twice a year when I was doing nature photography. Very nearly moved there!  :Have A Nice Day:

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## bumblefoot

Yes I know; just another goat.... But they keep the freezer full and it's a beautifully fat goat. All the goats from this valley always seem to be as fat as mud. Took a mate and his stepson out for their first goat hunt yesterday. Missed an absolute sitter... It's bad enough doing a duff shot, let alone making a duff shot in front of others!  :Grin:  Redeemed myself in the next spot... Phew..... The little Howa Mini 223 keeping the freezer full as usual  :Have A Nice Day:

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## No good names left

> Yes I know; just another goat.... But they keep the freezer full and it's a beautifully fat goat. All the goats from this valley always seem to be as fat as mud. Took a mate and his stepson out for their first goat hunt yesterday. Missed an absolute sitter... It's bad enough doing a duff shot, let alone making a duff shot in front of others!  Redeemed myself in the next spot... Phew..... The little Howa Mini 223 keeping the freezer full as usual  
> 
> Attachment 214146


That's a lovely looking few meals there.  Haven't had it for years but I used to enjoy a roast leg of goat and think they'd be great in a salami

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## Sidetrack

Been awhile since I’ve had goat as well. It’s really great eating and you’re correct, it makes beautiful salami.

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## No good names left

> Been awhile since I’ve had goat as well. It’s really great eating and you’re correct, *it makes beautiful salami*.


Great !   Now I just gotta get off my ass and find some to put in the freezer

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## Micky Duck

> great photos thanks.   Interesting that the ducks are better layers.  Duck eggs are certainly good to eat and I've heard they can be better for baking.  What about pavlovas I wonder?


famous for trifle spongue as give it wonderful yellow colour

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## bumblefoot

Lazy tea tonight... Fresh goat liver seasoned with salt, pepper thyme and chilli flakes, stir fry pak choy with garlic and chilli flakes and a (poorly) poached duck egg.... First feed from yesterday's goat...

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## MB

Well done bumblefoot. You almost inspired me to get out for a goat hunt tomorrow, but we're having some rough weather at the moment, so it can wait a few days.

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## bumblefoot

@MB It's such a reliable protein source. I get a bit of shit for mostly hunting goats from the "if you shoot anything other than deer or pigs your willy will shrink" types. But I don't care. I'm not into that macho hunter bollocks  :Have A Nice Day:

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## MB

> @MB It's such a reliable protein source. I get a bit of shit for mostly hunting goats from the "if you shoot anything other than deer or pigs your willy will shrink" types. But I don't care. I'm not into that macho hunter bollocks


Due to geography, being limited to public land and no dogs, goats are now the only animal I can realistically hunt apart from ducks. I must have a very small penis  :Grin:

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## StrikerNZ

Roast goat is fantastic eating. (Rank old billy goats excluded..)

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## No good names left

> @MB It's such a reliable protein source. I get a bit of shit for mostly hunting goats from the "if you shoot anything other than deer or pigs your willy will shrink" types. But I don't care. I'm not into that macho hunter bollocks


Just reply with you'll never notice the difference but they better get more deer/pigs  :Yaeh Am Not Durnk:

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## bumblefoot

@StrikerNZ  I'm beginning to change my mind about older billies; as long as it's not breeding season. Heres  couple of super short vids I did abut eating billies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gdiiRIjet8&t=37s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4

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## grandpamac

> @StrikerNZ  I'm beginning to change my mind about older billies; as long as it's not breeding season. Heres  couple of super short vids I did abut eating billies...
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gdiiRIjet8&t=37s
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5rJdcZEyB4


Greetings @bumblefoot,
Eons ago I made the same transition in thinking. Any goat that passed the smell test went in the freezer. Any that did not were bypassed. To me the billies had more flavour than the rest.
Regards Grandpamac,
PS Went back and added the last two words to the first sentence to save any confusion.

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## Tahr

Right from when I was a kid (pun intended) I haven't liked goat meat. I shot one when I was about 15 and was very proud so Mum cooked it up nicely - but I couldn't eat it. No prejudice. Just don't like it. A friend tried to pass expensive bought goat off as lamb not long ago - I could tell with the first mouth full. Forced it down 'cos I'm polite.

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## Nathan F

> Right from when I was a kid (pun intended) I haven't liked goat meat. I shot one when I was about 15 and was very proud so Mum cooked it up nicely - but I couldn't eat it. No prejudice. Just don't like it. A friend tried to pass expensive bought goat off as lamb not long ago - I could tell with the first mouth full. Forced it down 'cos I'm polite.


Im with you. Goat is foul. Best kicked down into the scrub after being shot .

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## Barry the hunter

> Wild rabbit, bacon, mushroom, leek, onion, cherry tomato and chickweed pie at my mate's place tonight. I shot the rabbit from their property.
> 
> Attachment 163720


ya bloody legend   restaurant next ??

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## bumblefoot

@Barry the hunter Nah I'm just a knock about cook!

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## Barry the hunter

> @Barry the hunter Nah I'm just a knock about cook!


ya might be- but you may also inspire new hunters to try and use the meat they shoot - when I think back on my early goat shooting days on east coast we would should 50-80 in a day - none came back with us - but then we were encouraged by the station owners to lower numbers and we took to it with a vengeance - I would visit my Full bore club secretary and armorer - he would sell us two cartons of .303  75rounds in each and we would shoot them all of in a day  - no bloody wonder now rather deaf

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## Makros

Really enjoy this thread and love a bit of goat meat and go goat hunting regularly always have some in the freezer for a nice stew or curry. I find it more mild than most venison. 
We are very picky about the ones that come home with us though, younger nannies generally. Older nannies go to the dog as it can be a bit tough/dry. Billies, almost without exception are left on the hill.
Have shot some goat off spring pasture last year that was as fatty as any lamb and was excellent eating.
We've been trying to eat more wild game lately and the freezer is full of goat, rabbit, hare, and venison. I have recently become a bit fond of hare as a meat after being put off from it for a few years.

Freezer even has a drawer of possum hind legs, which I give to a work mate for their dogs. Takes no time to whip the back legs off and throwing them into a bucket as I'm going around shooting them. 
I would feed it to our dog but he has regular supply of goat and I don't like the smell of possum which stays on your hands after having to skin them.

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## Barry the hunter

> Really enjoy this thread and love a bit of goat meat and go goat hunting regularly always have some in the freezer for a nice stew or curry. I find it more mild than most venison. 
> We are very picky about the ones that come home with us though, younger nannies generally. Older nannies go to the dog as it can be a bit tough/dry. Billies, almost without exception are left on the hill.
> Have shot some goat off spring pasture last year that was as fatty as any lamb and was excellent eating.
> We've been trying to eat more wild game lately and the freezer is full of goat, rabbit, hare, and venison. I have recently become a bit fond of hare as a meat after being put off from it for a few years.
> 
> Freezer even has a drawer of possum hind legs, which I give to a work mate for their dogs. Takes no time to whip the back legs off and throwing them into a bucket as I'm going around shooting them. 
> I would feed it to our dog but he has regular supply of goat and I don't like the smell of possum which stays on your hands after having to skin them.


I rate hare highly -  I dont know if you have tried it this way but I  soak in salty water overnight and then simmer it in milky water for a few hours before a slow roast  bloody delicious

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## Makros

> I rate hare highly -  I dont know if you have tried it this way but I  soak in salty water overnight and then simmer it in milky water for a few hours before a slow roast  bloody delicious


No I haven't tried hare like that but that sounds exactly like what a German friend did with some rabbits I gave them. I was sent pictures and it looked delicious!

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## Barry the hunter

> No I haven't tried hare like that but that sounds exactly like what a German friend did with some rabbits I gave them. I was sent pictures and it looked delicious!


yeah works with rabbit - hare- canadas - and paradise  - takes away gamy smell -but not tame geese they are inedible any which way  --was told once with tame geese boil in milky water and very long (10hrs ) slow roast -nah bloody awfull  - and yet Poms rate them - no accounting for taste -

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## XR500

> I rate hare highly -  I dont know if you have tried it this way but I  soak in salty water overnight and then simmer it in milky water for a few hours before a slow roast  bloody delicious


Got dozens of the buggers, so will have to try this approach thanks :Thumbsup:

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## bumblefoot

A leg of goat going into the oven to slow roast. Seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, chilli flakes, cinnamon stick, fresh mint, bay leaves, and garlic cloves pushed into cuts in the meat. Olive oil and butter on the leg and a cup of water to prevent it drying out. 150°C for about 2 hours

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## MB

Re: eating goat, if you don't like it, bumblefoot's excellent thread probably won't hold much interest for you. I wouldn't try and persuade someone to eat something they just don't like. Everyone tells me how good kahawai sashimi can be, yet I can't stand it. Last time I tried, I was literally gagging and I'm a lover of raw fish. Despite eating goat 2-3 times per week, I'm not overly keen on European-style recipes where goat is substituted for lamb. Goat goes well with South Asian and Middle Eastern flavours to my mind. If that isn't to your tase, I can see the problem. Yes, goat curry may be a boring cliche, but it works. Last night's batch was as good as anything I've had in an Indian restaurant and I made it with goat shanks. Easy too!

https://myheartbeets.com/slow-cooker-goat-curry-indian/

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## bumblefoot

@MB Interestingly I'e found that goat is fine roasted etc. I've given roast goat leg or slow cooker shoulders to friends and they all said that they would have thought it was lamb/hogget.The big thing I've found with roasting is to be super careful that it doesn't dry out. Hence the oven bag, cup of water in the bag, and butter and oil. Goat doesn't have the fat to keep it moist like lamb does. The other thing is that when frying goat steak; if you like it medium rare you need to take it when rare; in contrast to lamb/beef etc. The goat seems to keep on cooking for a few minutes when taken off the heat.

I had a goat curry from a Fijian Indian place in Papatoetoe a few time a few years back. Holy hell it was stunning. I've been trying to get mine to that level, and (not trying to be a blow arse), have nearly cracked it. The only difference now is that that they use bone-in goat, whereas I don't. But I do usually cut a couple of goat shank bones in half and throw them in.

But everyone's tastes are different. As a butcher I do believe that carcass care is incredibly important. Especially when skinning goats. I always have a couple of buckets of water, one soapy, one plain, to continually wash my hands and knives, especially the hand that punches the skin off. 

I used to chuckle when pig hunters (and not ragging on them, because I hunted pigs with dogs for many years) would come into the shop and say "You can't buy meat like this!". And I'd feel like answering... "No; we wouldn't come to your place to process your steer, chase it with dogs for half an hour, let the dogs hold it for a while, kill it and then take hours to get it to a chiller  :Wink:  

The other meat care trend that I find weird is the recent trend to "shoot it and leave it to the next day to retrieve it.." So it hasn't been bled out properly, has sat with its guts in all night etc.... I know there are occasions when that can happen; but the amount of times I see it; especially on NZ hunting programmes (one in particular), and US hunting shows amazes me. Maybe ok when it's in tahr country and freezing cold weather. Not ideal, but probably ok. But it's amazing how many vids I've watched where people do it in warm/warmish weather.... Or; they shoot one the night before; go hunting the next day and leave the animal until later in that day. Then do the big "We harvest the best meat/you can't get meat like this in a shop" yada yada.... 

Right; I'm off my soapbox now..... Spleen vented....  :Grin:   :Grin:   :Grin:

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