Thursday, August 18, 2011

Stocking up...

I just turned 8 pounds of beef round into 4 pounds of shredded barbecue for sandwiches, and 4 pounds of spicy beef for tacos and burritos. Packaged into 1 pound portions and vac-packed in FoodSaver bags for freezing.

Beef is relatively cheap right now (easier/cheaper to slaughter than to feed...), so I am taking advantage while I can. The really nice thing about storing it this way is you can toss it into a pot of boiling water (like when camping), cut the top, and serve directly from the bag.

How are your preps going?

Newbius

7 comments:

North said...

Tunnel to your freezer 30% complete.

:-P

Jake (formerly Riposte3) said...

Stocking up on beef now is a pretty good idea. Rumor is, prices will go up significantly next year, because the ranchers have been selling off parts of next year's cattle this year due to the drought. They just can't afford to keep them.

Bubblehead Les. said...

Drought looks like it's going to be going for another year, and from what Farmer Frank's been writing, Corn ain't going to be so hot, either. But my freezer is getting stocked with "Weekly Specials" and trips to the Wholesale Clubs. Plus Canned Veggies with Long Term Expiration dates (2+ years) are on my shelves in Case Lots (rotated, of course). Amazing how much money there is for "Beans, Bullets and Band Aids" when one gives up extraneous things like HBO and the latest cell phone, isn't it?

Sarah The Cranky said...

I have a Death Ray. Please switch to pork, as I like it more than beef.

:)

Really, though, last week and this one have both been mostly about improving water storage. Can't have too good a plan for that, I don't think.

Anonymous said...

Not sure how that freezer storage is going to work IF there's NO POWER but guess it's better than nothing.

I'm sticking with dry and canned storage items.

Newbius said...

I have plenty of dry and canned items. Vacuum-packed does pretty well, and I have power-generation capability to last a while (and I rotate my gasoline supply, use Sta-Bil, and many other tricks).

However, most incidents we prepare for are of the "30 days or less" scenario. We can go longer than that, but the fresh/frozen will be the first items used. Anything longer than a 30-day disruption in food/power/order means complete societal breakdown. Very few people are ready for that one. I am not there yet, but getting closer every day.

Ruth said...

I need a vacuum packager....