I bought my first canner in '74. Mother canned food on the farm when we were kids. The great advantage of canned meat is it doesn't need to thaw before you can prepare it for a meal. this link to the national center for home food preservation is the best I have found. I have a good recipe for veniso...

That is an interesting system but costly. I made a gas log fireplace with cement tile backer and ceramic tile. The outside of the fire box is insulated with fiberglass house insulation and it is housed in a plywood framework. It has been completely dependable for about ten years. Materials are inexp...

My wife and I have a good agreement I do all of the cooking and she does the clean-up. I try not to use all of the pots and pans for one meal. Our likes for food are comprehensive and smoked meat is a small part of our diet. This brings me to the question of the practical size of a smoker for occasi...

Poultry fat has a low melting point so it must be kept cold and it helps to keep the flour cold. The only fat I don't cook with is beef and lamb they are hard fats and high in saturated fats. Goose fat is choice if you can get it for pie crust.

Pressure canning has proven to be safe with glass jars but the precautions must be adhered to with an almost religous fervor. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can5_meat.html
This link is the best I have found.

The very best use of the cold fat is as shortening in the batch of baking powder biscuits that you take to eat with the chicken.

I am a home canner and as such have considerable interest in food safety. One incident of botulism poisoning involved sauteed onions at a grill in a park. It was reported that the onions had been sliced and sauteed and placed in a tub on the back of the grill for use when called for. Coated with fat...

When I joined a wooden boat forum I had a problem finding a user name that i was certain to remember. So I just spell my first and last names backwards. On the other hand my sailboat is named Bietzpadlin which is a totally made-up word because it really does beat paddling.

The welcome I have received is promicing of good things to come. My food preparation involves all of the cooking for my wife and me and sometimes a few friends. I buy most of my meats minimally processed. Poultry is either whole or just legs and always on sale. We eat almost anything and I am always...

Good points. It is probably better to go to a sawmill and get natural wood. I am open to any and all advise.

I have yet to build a smokehouse but I have in mind to use 3/4 inch plywood and cut 4- 2 feet by 4 feet panels. Hinge one and fasten the others with screws. Set it on a raised base and provide a vented cover. Supply smoke from an external fire. just have to figure out how to not set it on fire.