I was thinking about how much I use my slow cooker. Almost every day! It just makes life so easy. I throw in organ meats like beef heart, kidneys, sweetbreads, tongue, oxtail, roasts, briskets, even whole pounds of ground beef or lamb. I also throw pigs feet/shanks in there. I put them in an empty slow cooker, with no water, nothing but the meat. I set it on low. Then 12 hours later, I have perfect food that needs no other preparation and can be eaten cold in slices for days afterward! So easy! So delectable!
As for the cooking juices, I pour them into a different container and set it in the refrigerator. You could drink these as a broth, but I don't. I just pull the fat which has coagulated on the top and toss that in the garbage to keep the drains from clogging, then pour the liquid juices down the drain. If I had a dog, I would feed all those great juices to them!
I am trying to clear out my freezer in preparation for a move. I have gone through most of the gourmet pork I had purchased. I really enjoyed the Mangalitsa pork belly for making chicharrones. I also really enjoyed the acorn-fed Iberico pigs feet/shanks. The Mangalitsa pigs feet was no good since the skin was too tough to eat. But the Iberico pig skin was delectable! Sticky and collagen-y and tasty and wonderful!
I had also purchased some Mangalitsa pork jowl. I gave some to a friend to make home-cured bacon. Here are pics of his bacon!
In other news, I am still pining away on my dream of having a fully self-sufficient grassfed sheep homestead. I want 20-40 acres of pasture, a small flock of maybe 10-12 sheep, some electric fencing, a donkey for protection and possibly transportation, a hard-sided yurt, solar cells for radiant floor heat and slow cooker and meat freezer, a well and pump for water, a composting toilet, and some basic butcher/slaughter equipment and shed for the sheep. I found a great property in Texas to do this and I can afford it. But it's just a matter of actually taking the plunge, quitting the day job, and doing it. Maybe first it would be smart to do a weekend on a working sheep farm as an apprenticeship!
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