Butchering a Sika Deer

Thanks to the generosity of my boss we are in possession of another whole Sika stag. A whole deer is a windfall of quality meat and its always a pleasure to begin the process of butchering and bagging it all up for the freezer and feeds to give away. This one had been hanging in a chiller for 10 days so it doesnt really get any better than that, especially as we have no where we could hang a beast that big for so long, where it wouldnt get unwanted attention for the various pets and pests that are in the naborhood. So it was just a case of butchering into the various cuts and bagged up into meal sized bags.
If you havent done this befor its a bit of a mission but this youtube link is a start to finish look at how to butcher a whole deer into all the right cuts. The quality is pretty bad but he goes through the process slowly and methodically and its adsactaly what you need to know befor embarking on a task like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzYGBNDc_xU
Note there is part 2,3 and 4 to watch as well.

As you can see the deer was shot in the top shoulder  but there wasnt much meat damaged by the bullet. You have to cut away all the damaged meat as it will spoil other meat its in contact with and taints the flavour.

From that to this. I didnt weigh the animal befor I started but these bags of cuts, which only included the bone from the front legs, came to 22kg. The fillet steak is the easiest and most satisfying portion to take along with the loin. The front legs come of easily as well but then theres the task of cutting away the damaged meat from the bullet. I kept them on the bone for roasting joints. Then theres the back legs which have alot of prime rump and sirloin steak cuts. I dont have the butchery skills to get this part done perfectly but its a very satisfying job all the same.

Thanks to the old school mincer Dad found in Dunedin we are also in the business of making mince for burger patties. Theres alot of meat that comes off an animal that cant be used for much more than mincing so if your going to try this then you need a good mincer.

Welcome to our new Chickens

Weve been wanting chickens for a while now but not owning the property was always a problem. Now that we do, we have dedicated a decent area in the back yard for a chicken run.
Using pallets and recycled timbre we have made a good sized coop within an encloser, fenced off with wire fencing.
Ive always thought the portable chicken coops were very small and didnt give the animals enough space to roam. Our run is about 5x8 meters with trees and lots of under growth for the chickens to scratch around in. Ive also been throwing tree and lawn cuttings in there which have become a treasure trove of bugs that the chickens have to scratch around in to prize them out. Its a generous amount of space for three chickens but thats one of the reasons we wanted to do this. In a time where so many house holds eggs are coming from battery farms we wanted to make sure ours were coming from healthy and well looked after birds. The other reason was to convert house hold food scraps into a high ranking source of protein instead of just compost.
Weve had our three Hy-line birds for a few months now and its been one of the best decisions weve ever made. Apart form getting three fresh eggs most days of the week ( some times one of them takes a day off ) they have added a new dimension to our back yard. Its amazing how social they are, infact we have trouble keeping them out of the house, they love to work with us in the garden getting all the newly exposed grubs from the dirt.
In terms of economics they are paying themselves off very well, even with the extra feed we buy them. But what is priceless is the fact that they are a source of protien, on our property that doesnt rely on the energy hungry infrastructure that our nabourhoods are all dependant on 24hours a day. They should be a part of everyones earthquake kit, because the place they usually get their eggs ( the supermarket ) wont be providing much of anything after a decient earthquake.
The most important thing you ned to consider if youve never owned animals befor is that, like any livestock they need t be looked after. They need a clean coop, lots of fresh water and food and space to roam and live a happy life.
So lets stop buying eggs from cage reared birds and get into owning your own chickens. You wont look back.

Recycling Computers

Ive got a couple of obsolete desktop computers at home that the recyc ( dump shop ) arnt accepting. But I just clicked on a add for ITRECYCLA in wellington. Click here
They recycle computers for free!
Ill be going there this week.

Central Otago Rabbits

Being lucky enough to have 8 hectares in Central Otago, we have an on tap supply of rabbits. There actually a huge problem down there, eating their way through all of the availible vegetation. But this provides us with a great source of quality rabbit meat. With the price of meat in the suppermarket, it makes it worth while paying for excess bagage on the plane and taking a kilos of rabbit meat back home, which is adsactly what we have been doing. The humble rabbit makes great eating and its suprising how little its eatin in New Zealand considering that we have so many. I know that the food safety authority make it very hard for anyone to bring rabbit meat to martket with a stringent set of rules. It seams a whole resource is going to waiste and causing headachs for sheep farmers who need all the pasture they can get.
So in the name of getting rabbit back on the menu I'll post a few recipies to inspire.
The background on Rabbits
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/1

Under sized Paua

Its not unusual to find Paua shells up to 4 cm on the beach, as these smaller ones are prime targets for Crayfish, Blue Cod and any other fish that can prize them off a rock. But anything larger than that generally requires the strenth of a human carrying a Paua knife. So when I found several of these shells at Makara beach within a few meters of each other it looked like a case of someone taking undersized paua.
Its a real shame that people are still doing this as there only shooting themselves in the foot. If any fish doesn't get to maturity then it doesn't breed and that's the point of the minimum size rules. If every fish we take from the sea has at least had the chance to reproduce then we all get to go fishing tomorrow. Its that simple.

Winter Garden

Just befor we get to excited about Spring its worth just having a look back at the winter that has just been. For those of you how are familiar with Wellington, New Zealand you wont associate any of the photos below with that city. But this Winter we had a real treat in the form of a generous dump of snow.

Silver Beet and Chard were about the only things that were in the garden when it snowed and as you can see they coped with it quite well. 

 This shot was taken on the first night when the biggest dump happened. I love snow and having moved up from the South Island I thought we would see less of it but this snow storm was as good as any Ive had in Dunedin.

The weather pattern that lead to this was described as the "the perfect storm". There was basically a straight line of isobars leading up from Antarctica right into Wellington, it was as good as being a sub Antarctic island. 

But anyway it will probably be another 30 years befor that happens again so in the meantime its time to enjoy getting back in the garden and the renewed opportunity to grow some delicious food!

Bright Lights

We got a real surprise the first time we took a bunch of bright light seedlings ( Chard ) out of the yoghurt pot for the first time. They look impressive above ground but the root system is just as exciting as you can see in the picture. Its a pretty root bound seedling but it was worth seeing the result. Chard is our staple crop, providing us with a year round supply of leafy greens. Its easy to grow too.