Making Ham and Bacon at Home, by Michele C.

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I’m one of those ‘tin-foil hat’ weirdo preppers and proud of it; especially in light of the recent lockdown orders that many states have unconstitutionally ordered in light of COVID-19. When everyone was on a wild grab for toilet paper and other things they thought they needed, emptying store shelves of everything; my family and I were sitting home comfortable and unstressed.

I am always teaching myself new things to make everything I need or want including making cured meats – in case it would no longer be available on supermarket shelves or in a SHTF situation. In the past three years, I have also taught myself to make bacon and ham at home and it has only been home-cured since then.

Making ham and bacon at home is really easy, tasty and satisfying. For both, you do not need to use the traditional cuts of meat, pork belly for bacon and leg and butt for ham. You can use any cut of fresh pork you like. I personally always like my bacon more meaty than I can find in the grocery store – I used to spend lots of time checking every single package of bacon and never finding something I was really satisfied with. Making it myself, I can use meatier cuts for my bacon (like pork loin) and I buy fresh pork shoulder for my ham which is usually so much cheaper and once you’ve cured it, tastes just the same as leg or butt.

I’ve used our own pork shoulder from the pigs we raised a few years ago, but the meat processing place froze everything before we got it back. You are not supposed to use frozen/thawed meats – they say that it alters the cellular structure and doesn’t cure as well. When I used it frozen/thawed I just gave my shoulder hams a little more time to cure and they worked out just fine. I baked them and used them right away but did not put them back in the freezer after baking them. We didn’t eat the whole ham for dinner (we are a family of five) so I cut the leftovers in small pieces and canned them (adding a little water) in ½ pint jars. I thought this might be nice to add to other dishes such as beans, pea soup or scalloped potatoes. I think home-canned ham in small pieces is a great item to have in my long term storage.Continue reading“Making Ham and Bacon at Home, by Michele C.”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 16, 2021

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February 16th is the anniversary of U.S. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s “Most daring act of the age” as British Admiral Horatio Nelson called it. The Muslim pirates from the Barbary states – Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripolitania, had been leading raids against U.S. flagged ships, stealing the cargo and ransoming the crew back to the U.S. at an exorbitant price. After two years of minor raids, President Thomas Jefferson ordered U.S. Navy vessels to the Mediterranean Sea to engage them. The U.S. frigate Philadelphia ran aground near Tripoli and was captured. On February 16th, 1804, Lt. Decatur led an expeditionary force into Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured American vessel before it could be used to the Tripolitan advantage. Seventy-four men, including nine U.S. Marines, sailed into the harbor, boarded the ship, attacked its crew, capturing or killing all but two, then set fire to the frigate and escaped without the loss of a single American. The Philadelphia subsequently exploded when its gunpowder reserve was lit by the spreading fire.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Small Batch Meat Canning Tips, by Tractorguy

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Introductory Proviso: This article assumes that the user is already familiar with safe practices to pressure-can meat. This article is NOT a comprehensive discussion of all the caveats and procedures necessary for safe canning. It is ONLY supplementary information for specific items and situations listed below. The correct procedures (times and pressures) for safely pressure-canning low-pH items like meats are available from the manufacturer of your pressure canner or from the USDA.

My wife and I enjoy pressure canning, and believe it to be the best procedure for storing small quantities of meat and other perishables for easy transportation and storage in a grid-down environment where refrigeration and cooking may be unavailable or problematic. Pressure-canned meat is moist (it is cooked during the canning process in its own juices), fork-tender, and delicious. It is already cooked and only requires warming — or if you’re really desperate, eaten cold. In addition, even in a non-emergency environment, we have found that it provides us with quick, pre-cooked meals for dinner when we are both tired from working all day and don’t want to spend a lot of time and effort making dinner.

We have found that most of the recipes for canning are for quantities in pints and quarts. My wife and I are both small people and don’t eat a lot. These quantities of food are just too big for us to use in a reasonable amount of time, and result in a quantity of perishable food after we open a jar that must be used quickly or it will spoil. We typically can meat in half-pint or quarter-pint jars, and soups or other complete meals in pints. Such quantities would also be desirable for a person living alone that would not be able to reliably refrigerate a partially used jar of food.

If you are into canning, or considering getting into canning, I strongly urge you to explore reusable canning lids like Tattler or Harvest Guard (an advertiser on the SurvivalBlog site). This reduces your consumables to near zero. Remember that when using reusable lids, you must retighten them when removing them from the canner. Put your hot mitts on and grab each jar after removing it from the canner and give it a twist to make sure the lid is tight.

The only downside to reusable lids is the unlikelihood of getting your reusable lids back if you give away any of your canned food. One admirable point that is stressed here at SurvivalBlog is the concept of Christian charity in difficult times. When canning, you might want to use a few metal lids for each batch, with those jars becoming your potential giveaway food – if you never see that person again, you only lost the jar, not the reusable lid.Continue reading“Small Batch Meat Canning Tips, by Tractorguy”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we have a lot of winter weather news for the region.

Region-Wide

First up, over at Redoubt News: Dam Removal Plan Would Devastate Agriculture

o  o  o

Frigid temperatures cloak the Inland Northwest

o  o  o

Regional Snow Analyses: Northern Rockies

Idaho

Here is a newly-listed retreat that I’ve personally visited and I really liked: Idaho Redoubt Clearwater Riverfront Property.

o  o  o

Idaho State House approves bill to hold gold as inflation, risk hedge. Here is an excerpt:

“Thursday, Idaho State House approved a bill that enables the State Treasurer to protect state reserve funds from inflation and financial risk by holding physical gold and silver.

House Bill 7, the Idaho Sound Money Reserves bill, found overwhelming support in the House, passing by a 51-19 vote. The bill will now head to the Idaho Senate for a hearing, which is expected to start as early as next week.

According to the bill, the proposed legislation would permit – but not require – the State Treasurer to hold some portion of state funds in physical gold and silver to help secure state assets against the risks of inflation and financial turmoil and/or to achieve capital gains as measured in Federal Reserve Notes.

The legislation was introduced by Rep Ron Nate (R-Rexburg) and Senator Steve Vick (R-Dalton Gardens)….”

o  o  o

Lori Isenberg murder trial set to begin in June 2021

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 15, 2021

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Today, I’d like to wish Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) a Happy Birthday!

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This is the birthday of gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away peacefully at home on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm patents.

—

As our feature article today, the following is a review written by our Redoubtable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Nutrient Survival Foods, by Pat Cascio

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I’m not sure how each of us, lists our priorities for survival. However, I believe we all can agree that, we need water, food, medical gear, and weapons/ammo – and how you prioritize your list, is a personal thing. When (not if) things go “bad” and they are going bad with each passing day – if you get your news off the ‘net, instead of the lamestream “news” media, you will readily recognize that things are going south, a little bit more with each passing day. Riots are a main focus – and much of the “news” media still continues to call these things “mostly peaceful protests” (if they are conducted by fellow liberals) all the while you can see they are riots. Wars and rumors or wars – going on all over the world, but the “news” doesn’t even report on any of this. Changing weather – tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding – take your choice. And, let’s not forget about political changes, especially all the talk about gun control now that Biden and Harris are in the White House.

Personally, I’m not sure how I place my priorities, I guess it depends on the day of the week. At times, guns and ammo are on the top of my list. Other days, we elect to add to our survival food supply. As to water, we have our own well, and two fast running creeks within a few hundred yards of our homestead. Still, you can’t live very long without water. I have several generators. However, none are big enough (watt rating) to start the pump in my well. I hope to correct that one day. So, as a last resort we can obtain water from a creek and treat it so that it is drinkable.

We have a good food supply, with a mix of frozen foods, canned foods, freeze-dried/dehydrated, etc., but we don’t depend on just one type of food for survival purposes. Plus, we have to take into consideration, special diets – I’m a diabetic, and I can’t just eat any old foods, or my blood sugar will soar out of sight. I also have hypertension – I have to watch to make sure I don’t eat foods with too much salt. So, we’re always on the lookout for types of food I can eat, on a regular basis.

Enter Nutrient Survival foods and they recently sent me a large selection of their survival goods to test for our readers. Now, keep in mind that, many freeze-dried or dehydrated foods lose some of their nutrients. This just happens in the process of preparing them for long-term storage use, and over time. Canned foods also lose some of their nutrient values as well – therefore in my family we all take a daily multiple vitamin to help offset this loss of nutrients in most of the foods that we consume. What is different about Nutrient Survival Foods is that they also contain supplemental nutrients of various types. Here’s an example…12-grams of G. Protein, 14 vitamins, 12 minerals, 509 MG Grams of Omega 3, along with 6-grams of fiber. And that’s just in one of their products – it varies with each product. Now, I’m no expert on nutrition, to be sure, however, I know that our bodies need certain things to function to their fullest.Continue reading“Nutrient Survival Foods, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Julienne Potato With Savory Sauce

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The following recipe for Julienne Potato With Savory Sauce is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book is one of the many bonus items included in the lastest edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This special 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick is now available for ordering, and selling rapidly.  (More than 700, in just the first few days.) Mailings of the USB sticks should begin in late February or early March.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups potato cut in strings
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
  • 2 tablespoons fat
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pepper
  • Grated cheese
Directions
  1. Cut the raw, pared potatoes into strings.
  2. Cook them in boiling water until tender.
  3. Brown the chopped onion and the herbs in the fat.
  4. Add the flour, stirring thoroughly, add the milk, salt, and pepper
  5. Cook in a double boiler for twenty minutes.
  6. Strain and pour over the cooked potato.
  7. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the ammunition feeding frenzy. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold price pressured by bearish outside markets

o  o  o

The Big Bluff in Silver – Weekly Wrap Up

Economy & Finance:

The top 5 internet companies are worth almost $8 trillion combined. Just 5 companies are worth more than half of the continent.

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: One Year After the Collapse of the Airline Business Began: What’s the Status Now?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The best good thing that politicians can do for the economy is to stop doing bad. In part, this can be achieved through reducing taxes and economic regulation, and staying out of our lives.” – The Late Dr. Walter E. Williams

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — February 14, 2021

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February 14, 1942 was the birthday of Prepper/Economist Dr. Gary North.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Fleecing of History – Part 4, by Lazer

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(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)

But What about Fascism?

Oh boy, could I fill the books out on this topic. However, I would like to focus more on the lead in to Nazi Germany than the results…because it re-enforces where my article will end.

Germany in the late 1920s through early 1930s was hit equally hard as America during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Even though the Nazi party had existed for quite some time, it did not see a popularity boost until a zealous young man gave it a face and a promise. The root problem they faced, was wartime reparations from WWI…it was strangling them financially from previous bad government and wartime action. The German people were desiring a way out, and were lulled into the promises of a mad-man.

The next learning is the frog in hot water analogy…a frog thrown into boiling water will jump out, but put into water that is slowly heated, the frog will cook without so much as a croak. This is the approach that the Nazis set up to seize power. Using communication as a weapon, and oh how they even put the commies to shame with how well they used the propaganda machine, Hitler swooned the country to recognize the Nazi party as a sincere and logical option to the ‘corruption’ and depression of the time.

In one final swoop, Hitler used the fear generated by the (supposed) communists setting the Reichstag fire of German parliament to legislate away every freedom that protects Western Civilization (Similar to our (un)Patriot Act). In one night, 4,000 people deemed a threat or conspirator were kidnapped, many never to be seen again. When you hand this kind of power to your government…it will eventually will be used against you – a hammer always yearns for a nail to hit.

Fascism is born in the same vein as communism, but focuses on strong national productive strength vs ‘everyone in the world should share’. Fascism recognizes what communism faltered with… private industry can make a great bed partner to the government. Make no mistake though, Hitler tried to encompass much of the world under his thumb regardless the difference. You should understand that Fascism, like Socialism and Communism, are illusions that feed off of your desire. They promise everything, but fail to deliver because they are not capable of creation of the thing they are proposing to share – only consumption of it. Though, in some cases, nationalism itself does produce well, it is usually not overly sustainable. Remember, once you start down the road of any of these paths, the longer you are on it, the harder it is to turn around.

What about today? Is there no hope?

I am happy to say to all of you still reading, that yes there is hope. Just like there was hope for the Jews that tomorrow someone would save them from the concentration camp, just like there was hope that the Berlin wall would not have someone shooting you for crossing it, just like there was hope that you could raise a family because you could finally have access to food. There is always hope, and there always will be…you just need to know evil’s playbook, acknowledge how it works and trust in Our Shepherd.Continue reading“The Fleecing of History – Part 4, by Lazer”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.

But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.” – Romans 10 (KJV)