Groan, this meant we had to clean out the freezer. You know how it is, a chest freezer is such a handy spot to stick anything. Stuff lands up in there even when there's an excellent chance we'll never use it. Plus it was disorganized.
So we began by emptying it.
Then Don took a rubber mallet and banged off all the ice that had accumulated inside.
He used a square shovel to scoop all the ice out.
After that we only put back what we knew we'd use. Now we had lots more room.
So yesterday I drove down to pick up the meat. I gassed up on the way out of town and noticed prices had jumped once again.
The butchers were located an hour's drive south, and it's a lovely drive. Even though it rained the whole way, the Palouse looked beautiful...
...though I was sad to see this crumbling barn.
Potlatch Pack is located in a very no-nonsense building.
But inside, everything is very clean and sanitary.
The meat is stored in a freezer unit until we pick it up.
Altogether we got about 225 lbs. of meat from Pearly, enough to last us a long time.
I feel your freezer pain :-)
ReplyDeleteWe just did two light steers and I was filling the freezer and doing a meat inventory yesterday.
If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious about the Idaho vs. western Pennsylvania price difference (if any) ...how much do you pay there for the kill, cut and wrap?
I paid $20 for the kill, $20 for the cutting and .40 per pound for the wrap. Thanks.
225 pounds of meat..that would keep us supplied for a few years! I bet it tastes better than what we get at the market.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, your gas prices are about 10 cents a gallon higher than Phoenix, but once they pass $3.50 what's the difference!
That's a lot meat and it's good that it'll last you a while. I hate cleaning out chest freezers--LOL--your husband had a good idea using a shovel. Your gas prices are about 15¢ cheaper than ours up here in Massachusetts. I paid $3.97 to fill my tank up the other day. Can you say OUCH!
ReplyDeleteI used to buy a quarter beef from a butcher when my kids were living at home. Now there is just my wife and I up here, and we don't eat enough meat to make it worthwhile. Probably I should fill up the freezer anyway though, since we'd have a lot of younger people here should things go sour. My dad raised beef cattle, he never named them. I always hated to see them killed but it never stopped me from eating the beef.
ReplyDeleteBoy I'd love those gas prices -- $4.19 in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteOur chest freezers have a hole in the bottom with an adapter for a hose. There is a plastic cap covering the drain. I hook up the drain hose and then use another to melt/wash the ice free from the freezer. I throw the big pieces away once they release; the water drains. Then I wipe the sides and bottom and its ready to go. Takes about a half hour total (not counting what to do with the stuff we forgot was there. This avoids damage to the freezer. Maybe yours is different, but thought I'd throw in my two cents. Nice day today in Hauser, but a bit windy. Probably cooler in your part of the Panhandle. Sorry about Pearly, but she'll taste good this winter (and maybe before).
ReplyDeleteThat is why my husband wont let me have a chest freezer. He says, " I know you, stuff wont get rotated, you will forget what you have in the bottom and then it will get freezer burned and have to be fed to the dogs". That is ok though, we have to up right freezers so I am not broken hearted about the chest freezer. When one of mine has to be defrosted, I unplug it, clean every thing out of it, hook on to it with the dolly, take it outside and hit it with the garden hose, dry it out and put it back inside. The whole process takes under an hour. My kind of chore. LOL
ReplyDeleteDawn
I have half a steer in my freezer (upright) and I prefer to pay a few cents extra to get the meat shrink wrapped. Its so much easier to defrost (no leak), I can see what the meat is and there is no freezer burn.
ReplyDelete--K in OK <><
Pearly was a real nice girley to provide you with protein and all the rest. The beast lived out her natural time and then gave it up for everybody's good. It's all natural.
ReplyDeleteAfter being $3.79 for weeks, our gas suddenly dropped to $3.54 for a day or two. We filled one of our gas cans. Then it was back up to $3.73 for a while and now is $3.71. Across town it's down to $3.63. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteHey my very first comment on your site. ,I have been reading your blog for a while and thought I would completely pop in and drop a friendly note. . It is great stuff indeed.
ReplyDeleteFreezers