The Extraordinary Venison Profusion of 2022 continues....
On Sunday, the outfitter that rents the farm called and wanted me to have the deer he shot. He even took it to the processor and paid for it for me! Handsome took a call on Monday evening, one of the out of town hunters didn't want his deer and left it behind; off to the processor. That makes 7 deer for our freezers/jars and less than $1000 in processing fees. Each deer has dressed out with anywhere from 75 to 100 pounds of meat. There's also been some folks that send us with ground venison that they've been given. I've got to make some room in these freezers so I can take advantage of sales.
When making and canning Cooked Meat Mix, I go half and half with ground beef and venison. When canning deer cubes, I fill a third of the jar with cut up beef roast and complete the rest of the jar with venison. The beef adds some fat and cuts the gamey flavor of the deer meat.
I'm a bargain shopper and today I found a DEAL. While I was running errands, I stopped by the outlet store for our local grocery reseller. I had to control myself, there were some really good sales. I took advantage of one deal and if I can, I will go back and get more. I found 20 pound boxes of beef strips (precooked, think fajitas) for $20. There were six and I bought 2. Yes, there's some commercial additives in them along with the seasoning. For $1 a pound for the beef, and no more than I will use in each jar, I didn't think it was worth worrying about the amount preservatives in the beef strips.
Both dishwashers are empty and ready to fill with jars in the morning!