Page 90 - Spring2020

Learning mal water rights, we raise three to five cows. butchery is one of the most powerful tools of

some level of This includes two milkers and a few calves or the subsistence homestead and is the key to
steers to sell or eat. Our daily milking in the abundance. We harvest and process all of the
small-scale first hours of the morning is a delight. We enjoy meat we eat. The journey of learning this potent
butchery spending time with Blossom and filling a bucket practice has given us access to a wide variety of
is one of with delicious creamy milk. nutrient-dense and delicious foods.
We started with chickens and turkeys,
Of all the animals I have mentioned so far,
the most the cow is the most significant to add to the fam- which initially went into bone broth and stews.
powerful ily homestead and would be difficult in a more Although we see lots of folks in our area rais-
tools of the suburban or urban setting. However, the sheer ing chickens, there is a point when no one is
quantity of food coming from a single cow (and willing to process their birds due to sentimental
subsistence yearly calf), plus the immense fertility from attachment. I find that chickens are actually the
homestead manure for the garden, make the cow an easy simplest first foray into animal processing, and
and is the addition to our life. Also, unlike goats, fencing it is how I got started. Learning to harvest the
cows is much easier and much less stressful. feet, livers, hearts and fat are great ways to begin
key to And every time we open a jar of ghee, stored for to add nutrient-dense foods to the diet. Fresh
abundance. months in our basement, I marvel at the alchemy liver is my children’s favorite, as well as the feet
that transformed sunlight into the miraculous we add to broth. With a couple of friends and
fat that feeds us daily. a little practice, processing five birds is a short
morning’s work. We have processed hundreds of
POULTRY: THE GATEWAY LIVESTOCK layers over our thirteen years of homesteading.
With more and more municipalities legaliz- Sheep and goats were the next port of call.
ing backyard flocks, poultry is the easiest entry These animals are manageable for a couple of
point into subsistence living. While chickens folks to do together, and the meat is delicious.
are most common, ducks, geese and turkeys are With our goats, we harvested every scrap of
all easy, producing delicious eggs and different bone for broth, while the meat went into deli-
meats to add variety. cious stews. We also made jerky for snacks.
Eggs are our “fast food” and a staple in our Harvesting our kunekune pigs changed our
kitchen. In the spring, when the birds are lay- whole diet. Suddenly, we had luscious leaf lard
ing like crazy, eggs feature in every meal, from for flaky crusts and long-fermented sourdough
quiches to custards, boiled eggs, frittatas and biscuits. I have also gone down the rabbit hole
more. Our chickens live in mobile houses that of curing pork, so now we eat slabs of bacon
move daily in the summer, following the cows (christened “steak-on” by a friend), coppa, lomo
onto fresh pasture. In winter, they still move but and salami. We work organs into paté or eat
less often, as we keep them in more protected them fresh, while our sausages feature beautiful
areas in the colder weather. herbs from the garden. The fatty pork mixed
Chickens have been the cornerstone of with our leaner grass-fed beef or wild game adds
our broth-making, especially before we started succulence to a variety of dishes.
raising larger animals. We simmer the carcasses
gently for twelve to twenty-four hours, and THE GARDEN: FOCUSING ON
after straining the delicious broth, pick off the CALORIE-DENSE FOODS
meat for tacos, soups and casseroles. Chickens When we shifted our mindset to growing
raised in this way are tougher than supermarket calories, our relationship to the garden and
chicken, to be sure, but deeply flavorful. preserving changed. Previously, we grew lots
of greens, and we vinegar-pickled jars and jars
BUTCHERY: THE KEY TO SUBSISTENCE of vegetables. At present, while we still grow
I often say that we eat the best food in the beautiful greens, we also have several beds of
world, and if there is anything that has made dry beans, potatoes, garlic and onions. We grow
this possible, it is learning the craft of butchery. corn for popcorn and polenta, and naked seed
I believe that learning some level of small-scale squash for seeds that we turn into pepitas for
90 Wise Traditions SPRING 2020