What do you eat at Christmas?

[blacknblue]

Corn fed venison... Corn fed ham...

Oh my....

[Mitchell]

Actually, in the winter time in a hard freeze it is pretty sanitary to butcher in the open air. Hang the carcass from a frame out in the open, away from any potential contamination sources, where the sun can shine on it but not heat it above freezing, and let the fresh air blow around it. By the time you get the sucker dismembered the meat is already pre-chilled for the freezer. You can keep jugs of distilled water handy for rinsing the meat and tools while you work. As long as you don't nick the intestines it is safe and sound. Actually, safer than most slaughterhouses and meat processing plants. I speak as one who knows. I used to inspect those places when I spent one brief year as a Sanitarian for a local health department (never again). After that experience, I can tell you that the vast majority of farmers who kill their own meat do it in a manner that is significantly cleaner and safer than most commercial establishments.

Thats what we do here. As long as the weather is some what normal that is.
Feild dress the deer, then hang them up on the silo for a day or two to freeze.
But I need a better place to do the butcherin then in my hay loft. I aint doing it out in the open, Ill hunt in the high winds on my farm, but not stand outside processing meat. Not to mention I need an electric hamburg grinder. The Hand crank one takes to dang long.
If I ever get a shop/garage built I think my butchering problems(among others) will get solved.

Past couple of years its been to warm, when ever Ive gotten a deer. An since freezer space is limited, an I cant store the meat in our cooler equiped Milkhouse, Ive had to get the deer up to my neighbors who converted his garage into a butcher shop for deer. Complete with a homemade walk in freezer.

[Entilzha]

I'm eating pork, blood sausage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerkraut(all nicely cooked in oven) and for dessert gingerbread cookieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread .

[TPoptarts]

Well there was no big Christmas dinner at the zoo this year so I just ate pasta. How festive :S

(Where's all my smileys??)

[evcake]

I gots no smileys either. And not may of the avatars or sigs.