Getting Off The Grid - How To Stockpile Meat Cheaply

Getting off the Grid does not mean you have to live in the woods without anything but nature to depend on, Killing your own animals for meat and growing your own potatoes for fries.

You can live in the city, grown your own vegetables and fruits and home can it! Your homestead can be anywhere.

As far as meat is concerned you can buy the meat or trade with a farmer for meat.

When you find meat deals at the grocery store, stock up if possible. If your family is like ours we use a lot of ground beef, (hamburger meat) for making single dish meals like spaghetti and chili or we have hamburger and French fry night.

A few days ago I was in Aldi`s grocery store and I seen that they did have a wonderful sale on ground beef at $1.99 per pound, that is stock up price around here so I got a family pack, 5 pounds to be exact.

The first day I brought it home I made two meals and on day two I made two meals. Later in the evening of day two I cooked the rest of the package and then I home canned it, six pints and each pint will feed two people. With this one package of ground beef each serving is around .63, Or you could make it go further by having a pot of soup for a crowd, now that is having a cheap meal with meat.

This is how I Home Canned the Ground Beef :

First we always, I mean always, wash and sterilize the jars. And always use new seals, you may reuse the rings but not the seals.

Next take out your Pressure canner, fill with 3 quarts of water and a couple tablespoons of vinegar. Set aside.

Put on 2 quarts of water to boil.

Brown the ground beef till its medium well. Drain as much of the grease off as possible.

Put the pressure canner on the stove eye and set at medium high.

Fill each pint jar 3/4 with the ground beef.

Next fill each pint with the boiling water, leaving 1 inch head space.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean cloth , making sure its clean and no meat or grease can interfere with the sealing process. Apply the lid, tight but not super tight.

Put into the pressure canner and process 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

Remove from the canner after it has cooled down, set each jar on a towel and allow to cool and you will hear the seals "pop" as they seal. After completely cool remove lids, label and put in a cool place for storage. 

There is nothing wrong with stockpiling meat when it is cheap, you are providing for your family to have meals in the future. I try to buy and home can one meat a month, usually the meat is what is on sale the week I do go shopping. 

By learning to home can everything, when it is time to get off the grid and depend more on myself, I will know what to do and how to do it. Plus if I have a month or so that my payday is low or not at all, I will have dinner on the table every night, because I stockpiled when it was dirt cheap to buy.

You might also like : How to home can Mushrooms Or How Much food is needed 

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry