akaShag

OK some time ago I promised to write up a "how to" for canning your own side bacon. Here goes. First the recipe/instructions: 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. (Fist picture, below) 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. (Second picture) 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 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. (third picture) 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, (fourth picture) 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. (Last picture) 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! Now the pictures: ENJOY! Doug

So how come this is not a sticky yet? Is there a magic number of posts to a thread so we don't have to go looking for it? Just curious.................. Doug

Thanks! Some folks would also call that a loin chop. Like many meat cuts there is more than one name for lots of stuff. Next try for elk will be September in the Kootenays (in BC). Doug

Elk Loin Steak from the look of it, and yes elk is absolutely my favourite game meat. And shooting an elk is one of only two things on my "bucket list." Doug

Hey there OIM, when did you change the picture on your handle? I am going WAYYYY out on a limb here but I am guessing that is not YOU in the picture! Doug

I had numerous issues with this site until I finally, kicking and screaming, switched over to Mozilla Firefox as my browser. All of the issues went away. And I have Windows 10 too......... Doug

I am thinking, single siwash............. Nice lakers guys! Doug

Yes sir it is, and you could stand up a spoon in it, nice and thick! Before I added about a cup of cream I was worried the chowder was going to stick to the bottom of my pot............

Darn, I forgot all about taking a photo, made up a seafood chowder today. Started with cut up side bacon and some butter, then diced onions and celery, potatoes and water to cover them. Then a LOT of perch fillets, a couple cans of baby clams, a bunch of shrimp and a can of my own canned BC Sockeye, and some cream, seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper. I had three bowls for lunch! But now it is all put into containers.............well it just looked like a seafood chowder anyways! Doug

Tonight it was roast venison bottom round, a smallish roast, like half the bottom round off a medium sized deer. Took it out of the oven at 118 F, tented it with aluminum foil, and carved it at about 135, delicious! I considered doing up OIMs recipe with thin-sliced meat and mozza on crusty bread, but wifey is not really a bread enthusiast, and I got home late. Maybe next time............ Doug

No worries Dave, you are BUSY with this amazing project!!! Doug

This still an AWESOME project, with unbelievable progress being made. Well done Dave! Doug PS) Any luck on that licence plate?

VERY interesting indeed!

Avocado for you who like it, go for it. I'd just as soon eat bear snot. And the fresh crappies were FABULOUS!!!! <<<<<burp>>>>>>

Thanks for the recipe. I see it included a whole whack of stuff I just do NOT eat, like avocado and cabbage, yeeeeeshhhh!!!! Vegetables are what FOOD eats. But tonight it will be fresh caught crappies! First feed this year and I am surely looking forward to it! They will not go into tortillas, in fact it might just be pan-fried crappies and a fresh salad to keep my wife happy. Doug

and the recipe would be..........................????????????????

We were out on Thursday, drove all over the lake, not a bite. But the crappies have to turn on SOON!!!

Happy Birthday Brian, you young whippersnapper! Doug

And I completely apologize for hijacking this thread, which was about an AMAZING whitefish smack-down, and a very interesting way to catch them. Sorry I side-tracked it. Doug

You may wish to get the person's name if and when they reply................. If you do not get a reply, I have a couple people I know to whom I could direct this question. Both are area supervisors for COs in Northern Ontario. Doug

The issue is transport. If you process the fish for immediate consumption, ie where you are staying, you do not have to prove to a CO the species, size and numbers. If you transport jars of canned fish this is problematic. As for your jars of fish at your house, yes they are considered to be part of your possession limit, same as fish in your freezer. In practice it would be exceptionally unlikely that a CO would inspect your freezer. But last time I looked, the only peace officers that had the power to search without a warrant were COs. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has taken that "Charter of Rights and Freedoms" challenge to a court with jurisdiction. It is basically impossible that a Charter challenge would fail, provided appeals courts would give leave to appeal. That might cost the person who was charged an enormous amount in legal fees, of course....

Brian, you got those square noodles on your plate again, that don't seem to cook down like the rest. Maybe you should soak them in the Wiser's and soften them up a bit........ Doug

At this house, we fight over who gets the neck!

Not trying to be an asshat, just had a buddy with a bad experience. But NOT with canned fish, just fillets that could not be identified, and "transport" was the issue. Fillets we did not eat at camp, bringing them home rather than throwing them out (also an offence of course), and you can't put skin back ON to a skinned fillet.... the CO did not see things that way and my buddy paid a fine for half a dozen crappie fillets.

Yes I agree with you, any way to prepare whitefish is delicious. BBQ the big fillets, skin down, with a bit of a garlic butter glaze, yum yum!!!