akaShag

Yes Dan, it is pork belly (side) bacon that I have canned. I also make my own smoked and cured side (pork belly) bacon and back (loin) bacon. I also make bacon candy, which is bacon made with pork tenderloin. I have never canned my own bacon after doing the cure and smoke - it would have to be a huge batch of pork bellies to do a canner load! I think it would be very challenging to try to pressure can back bacon, it's too lean. I do pressure can ham, but for that I do a hot pack with broth from the roasting pan. BTW I see you live in London - I have bought side bacon from Krug's in Tavistock and canned that stuff. Heavenly! Doug

The canned item that still makes me giddy is canned side bacon. And it's AWESOME! The last time I used COSTCO maple flavoured bacon, the big double pack, and cut the slices in half to fit the jars. It worked well, and I needed less weight of raw bacon to make a canner load. And my recipe: CANNED BACON (February 2016) Buy premium bacon to make this. A 5 kg/11 lb box is about right for a canner load. Lay the strips of bacon on aluminum foil, or parchment paper, on cookie sheets in a single layer. Clean-up is about the same for foil and for parchment paper, but the latter is wider and covers larger pans better. Cook the bacon in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes per pan, until just about fully cooked but not crispy. Cooking bacon in the oven keeps the slices nice and flat. Drain the slices of bacon on paper towel and allow to cool. Take about 24” of parchment paper, cut off the top 2” or so, and lay bacon strips side by side (some overlap is OK) to about the 21” mark or so. The strips should be about ½” shorter than a 500 ml Mason jar, so trim to length with a knife. At this point, with the bacon laid out flat, you can brush it with maple syrup or other flavourings. Fold the parchment paper top and bottom over the bacon, then roll it tightly towards the paper end. It should fit snugly into the (wide mouth!) Mason jar – if it is too tight remove a slice or two, if it is too loose add a slice or two. Take the off-cuts and place them in a shallow jar like a salmon jar that will fit on top of the 500 ml jars in the canner. These pieces, NOT in parchment paper, will be used as bacon bits or whatever. Process the jars at 10 lb pressure for 90 minutes. The jars should seal with no problems, and when cooled off there will be a bit of bacon fat in the bottom of the jars. To use the bacon, open a jar and it can be eaten directly or warmed in the microwave for a few seconds and then eaten like regular cooked bacon. My first batch lasted just fine for over three years in my pantry. It’s DELICIOUS!

You pressure cook the turkey first, vs roasting? (PS to OP) Sorry for the temporary detour.................

Do you do a hot pack with the turkey? As in, boned-out cooked turkey with broth?

Sounds like a scumball. Too bad he didn't have to do jail time.

Yes, I have canned moose, deer, goose, etc etc etc for decades. They call it canning even though we use Mason jars. But in Newfoundland (and probably other places) they do call it (quite properly) bottled moose. Take raw moose, trim off fat and gristle, and cut it into cubes or chunks about 3/4". Smaller works fine, bigger not so much. Season it with your favourite seasonings - always seasoning salt and garlic, then whatever tickles your fancy. About a heaping tablespoon of raw onion is quite good. If you put onion in the jar, put it about half-way down in the meat. Pack the seasoned meat into clean Mason jars, probably 250 ml but possibly 500 ml or even 1 litre, but a litre of bottled moose is a hell of a lot of meat. Pack it in quite tightly to within about half an inch of the top, add a quarter teaspoon of seasoned salt on top, wipe the jar rims, and top with hot sealing lids. Tighten the sealing rings down snug but not over-tight. Process in a pressure canner for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure, and allow the pressure to drop to zero before opening the canner. Use jar tongs to remove the jars from the hot water, and place on a cookie sheet or similar, on a heat-proof surface, and allow them to cool. The lids should "pop" when they seal. Allow to cool completely and check that all of the jars did seal. If you have one that did not seal, put it in the fridge and eat it within a week or so. Take the sealed jars, tighten the sealing rings securely, and store in your pantry. It will keep for several years with no change in quality. This is the standard way to pressure can red meat. It sounds like the OP got some that was done in a hot pack, with liquid. DIFFERENT process entirely, starting with hot product and hot jars, but fill and process the same way. Doug

Well, back somewhere in the last 153 pages...............😉 I use this commercial product: https://www.stuffers.com/products/stuffers-bacon-dry-rub-cure-1kg Cut the t-loins into pieces about four inches long, and put the pieces Into a covered tupperware container. Sprinkle with the cure at about the amount suggested per kilo of meat. (Maybe a hair less) Turn the pieces with a fork so you get cure on all sides, cover, and into the fridge. Every 12 hours or so, rotate the pieces about a quarter-turn along the long axis. Leave in the cure for at least 48 hours, 72 is about right. Rinse the t-loin pieces with cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar, on all sides, pressing the brown sugar into the meat. Let it sit out about an hour to set up, then into the smoker for two pans of maple chips. Last time I was out of maple and used cherry, still turned out excellent. Slice it about 1/4 inch thick and pan-fry. Because it is VERY lean, I put a little bit of bacon fat or margarine in the pan when I cook it. It also freezes very well.

Pork t-loin makes the most excellent bacon, I call it bacon candy. "THEY" said you can't make bacon out of tenderloin, well you most certainly can! And it's delicious! Doug

Says the guy who is working 24 hour shifts right now............. a PICNIC? Maybe a picnic where you are attacked by a mother bear and her three yearlings..........😉

We were three, of whom one had no driver's licence and the second (as it turned out) was a TERRIBLE driver and was falling asleep after two hours in the saddle. Driving through the night would have killed all of us, I am sure. BTW I don't plan to go on a major fishing trip with either of those guys EVER AGAIN. 🙄

Pictures show a solid splashwell, yes, but methinks the outboard is going to wallow in the waves. That was on an 18 foot tiller model for sale by some marina. Funny enough, every once in a while I think I might let my beloved Sylvan go and get something newer. Stanley sure looks attractive, and thanks for that. Doug

Interesting boats, but they appear to have a very shallow transom? I'd be worried about waves coming in over the transom, especially if back-trolling? Doug

I wrote f a r t not jerk, BTW...

I was going to reply until I saw Bunk had done so already, with his in-depth review (and with which I agreed when I read it and probably still would). And yes, I have owned a pile of boats, various hulls and designs, and would not have a boat unless it was a tiller. But then again, I am an old cranky jerk like Fisherman..........😉 Doug

Three of us flew out of Nakina. We drove up from southeastern Ontario in my F250 diesel Super Duty extended cab with an 8 foot box. Lots of room for cargo, but........... I would NEVER make that drive again, unless I had a minimum of three days, preferably four. It's too hard on the body, and even with good buddies, all that time cooped up in a truck is hard on the nerves. And an extra night or two in a motel, with meals on the road, adds up as well. The extra few hundred bucks to fly would have been well worth it. Doug

WOO HOO!!!!! Anyways, I missed both...........

I missed those specials! What store was that, out of curiosity? Doug

Very cool, Dave, and thanks for sharing. Doug

Who knew that a tattoo parlour was such a lucrative business! 🙄 Or I suppose there are OTHER ways to finance such a boat................

tagged to see outcome............

Life is about sacrifices, for sure. But remember, vegetables are what FOOD eats! Doug

Amazing indeed. But WAYYYYYYYY too many veggies on that plate! 😉 Doug

So a number of weeks ago I decide to make pho with a couple wild turkey legs. I even remembered to take photos, and saw them today on my phone and hope I can transfer them here. It was a resounding success, even if I do say so myself. A lot of folks just breast out their wild turkey, but the legs make an exceptional soup, and with the spices like star anise make an excellent, flavourful pho. So I covered the legs with water and the various spices, then simmered them for a few hours. Then I let them cool and removed the meat from the bones and tendons. I added the rest of the ingredients except the rice noodles, then added the meat and the rice noodles and let the flavours all meld together. And it it was a real treat! It also freezes well, and I have had a couple servings since then. Nice and meaty, just the way I like it! Doug

I had bought a dozen of the 11" rolls. But the diameter of the roll is too big to fit in my Food Saver!!! So luckily I had kept an empty cardboard roll and rolled a bunch of the bag material onto it so it would fit....

Dan, that looks AWESOME!!!!! Doug