Cooking with Chef Jo: Grilled Spatchcock Chicken

I had to opportunity to butcher some chickens with a neighboring homesteader recently. Since this neighbor was new to butchering animals, my payment for teaching them the ins and outs of the techniques was half a dozen legs and thighs out of the forty they were butchering.

Homesteaders can spend a small fortune on specialty butchering products like propane fired deep kettles for scalding the birds, butchering tables, assorted special knives, a plucker, etc. We set the date for a weekend after the chickens were 12-weeks old. Like most folks coming off the government lockdown, money was tight.

The husband asked, "What do we need?"

The wife grabbed her notebook to write it all down. 

The husband was ready to mentally tabulate what they'd have to spend.

I rattled off my list. "Your water bath canner pot, a couple really sharp knives, a sharp pair of garden shears or kitchen shears, a work table, a meat thermometer, a couple 5-gallon bucket, and an ice cooler. Oh, and some clothes you don't  mind getting dirty in."

They smiled and answered back immediately, "We got all of that! Except a worktable."

"No worries. You still got that old door in the barn, two empty trash cans, and an old tarp? 

They nodded. 

"Clean 'em up with bleach, and then we got us a worktable!"

When I asked them how they were going to use the chickens (the chef in me snuck out), About half  were going to be cut into pieces for frying and about 15 birds would be left whole for roasting. The wife, being a city girl, had no idea how to cut up a chicken, but she'd watch others do it.

They had been on YouTube watching videos of people butchering chickens. They saw all the equipment, the dollar signs were rolling into a tidy sum equaling a house payment and they were worried. 

This was their first venture into raising their own meat. They didn't even know if they wanted to do this yet. Some people like my roommate, find the process distasteful. They'll do anything else to homestead but leaves the butchering to someone else. Me, I don't feel that way. I believe God populated the Earth with animals to help, feed, and clothe us. They should be cared for and respected throughout their lives until that time comes. The fact is, you can get it if you want it, but you DON'T HAVE TO HAVE IT. I teach the basics first. Remember my old chef's motto, Have knife and I'll cook? Well, it's the same for butchering.

Butchering day came. The night before I went over and helped them setup because we'd start at 8AM. I arrived an found the couple, his tween son from another marriage, and one and half sets of parents. Her father had to work. I started the class, "I didn't know we'd have so many hands today. Welcome to how to butcher a chicken 101. "

My teaching method is is simple; see one, do one, show one to teach one, and pass it on. The site I chose was close to the house and a faucet. I'd instructed hubby dearest to start a fire in the fire pit and to put the kettle on to heat by 7:30. I checked the temperature with the thermometer. It was right at 140 degrees and I poked the wood some. "You want to the temperature at 150-160 degrees before you butcher your first chicken."

I won't bored you readers with the slaughter and butchering process except to tell you how to spatchcock a chicken. There's just three steps:

1. Cut along either side of the back bone and place spine aside, 

1. Remove the chicken innards and turn the chicken breast side up.

1. Press hard on the center of the breast until you hear it crack. You will notice that the chicken now lays flat.

Congratulations! You've just spatchcocked your first chicken.

Now what can you do with it? Quite a bit. Spatchcocking a chicken is the first step of a partially deboned chicken, you can grill it in less time, it makes it easier to cut into pieces, roast it, you can do almost anything to it. I rarely hear at the dinner table, "I want the back pieces, please."

By Spatchcocking a chicken before you cut it up into pieces, it's easier to see where the cuts are for leg, thighs, wings. and breasts. I was teaching our homestead newbie wife how to cut up a chicken too. I was horrified to learn that they only wanted the breast meat and only a little bit of dark meat. That's our favorite part. We saved the back, hearts, livers, gizzards, and feet of the birds for broth, and the organs for pet food. The heads and other innards went to another homesteader's hogs. The feather went into the compost pile. Nothing was wasted. With so many hands working all forty chickens were in the cooler full of salted ice water for the night by early afternoon. Waste not want not.

What?! Is that it? No recipe?!
Now, would I do that to you after you patiently read through the story?

Grilled Chicken with Wild Rice Stuffing
Serves 8

What you'll need

2 chickens shown here

1 Spatchcocked chicken, raw
3TBS honey
1 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tsp fresh, finely chopped*
2 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tsp garlic powder*
1 tsp onion powder, or 2TBS minced fresh onion*
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground rosemary, or 2 tsp fresh minced*
3 TBS oil
1 tsp sage, dried and ground or 2 tsp fresh minced*

Notes-* I prefer using dried herbs when grilling. Fresh herbs tend to leave a charred flavor.

Wild Rice Stuffing
If you like Uncle Ben's, this is similar without the chunky bits
Serves 8- 1 cup servings

What you'll need

2 tsp salt
4 c water
4 cup chicken stock
4 c long grain rice
2/3 c dry wild rice
1/2 c mushrooms, chopped
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c dried raisins
1/2 c toasted pecan, chopped
half stick of butter
1/2 medium onion, small dice
1 rib of celery, small dice
1 tsp parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp turmeric, ground
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp black pepper

Putting it all together
Spatchcocked Chicken

• Blend honey and oil together until combined well.
• Dry entire surface of the chicken with paper towels.
• Coat entire surface of the chicken, front and back with honey mixture.
• Blend remaining herbs and spices, and sprinkle on both sides of the chicken slightly pressing the herbs into it.
• Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• After the marinade time is done grill over hot coals. Approximately 20 minutes each side. Until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. 
• Set aside 10 minutes to seal juices in under a foil tent.

Wild Rice Stuffing

• In a cast iron Dutch oven pot, melt butter over medium coals.
• Add onions, celery, cranberries, rices, mushrooms, salt, and raisins to the melted butter. Cook while stirring until the onions are translucent. 
• Add broth, herbs and spices, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil.
• Stir at a boil for 2 minutes, and cover the pot. 
• Move pot so that the temperature simmers the rice mixture. 
• Once the liquid is all absorbed, the stuffing is done.

Serving suggestions- A green tossed salad comes to mind as an additional side. Place a cup worth of
stuffing onto a plate. Cut the the chicken into portions and place on top of the rice stuffing. This will allow any meat juices to run onto the stuffing. With a tossed salad, you've got a plate full over yumminess that can't be beat. The fruity, nuttiness of the dressing compliments the savory sweetness of the chicken. The sweetness of the honey has caramelized onto the skin of the chicken giving  it a crispy texture compared to the juicy savory meat.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo                                                       

Giving Up on the Garden for This Year, Sort of

The heat and no rain has killed my Roma tomatoes...ARGH! It didn't matter how much I watered them. Same was true for most of my summer garden. About the only plants that are doing fairly well is Mel's experiment bucket garden. My straight neck squash and zucchini finally put on some female and male flowers respectively. The only problem is they have no counterparts. I've never had such a bad gardening year. It only took three weeks of blistering heat and weed growth to do it.

But I have a plan for a better spring next year. What I don't plant in the fall will get a new foot of hay, a layer of compost, and at least 6" of fallen leaves (when they drop). I'll sprinkle the whole thing with nitrogen rich blood meal and let it cook for fall and winter. I'll do the same for the fall garden when I finish harvesting it and it will cook all winter. There should be very little of the weeds left by spring also. I hadn't planned building 8" more inches of soil but I gotta do something. Short of spraying an herbicide on it, I can't think of a better solution. Besides, the worms and other beneficial organism will love it. I'll be hitting up the orchard after the trees and bushes go dormant. I'll spike them with Jobe's Organic fertilizer stakes this year too for good measure. I want to sow amaranths and millet around where Mel has planned the new coops and runs for extra goodies for the chickens. We just love our chickens. It's also a good shield from predators.

I ain't tilling no more.  Uh, uh, no way, no how. I'll be saving pennies all fall and winter to afford more of the landscape fabric and pins. We'll also be investing (Haha! They're free) in more five gallon buckets to make Mel's experiment a reality in a big way for all my tomatoes and pepper plants. I'm thinking 40 more buckets and two more stands to start with. So we'll both have a busy winter projects. I'll probably splurge and buy a couple 1"x 10' PVC pipes even though we probably have something that we can make do with here, but I'm not sure if we have enough to do 40 pots. I've got to get another 1/2" PVC pipe for another quail triplex watering system anyhow.

This time, I plan on spreading the landscape fabric underneath the bucket benches. I sure got tired of pulling the weeds that kept growing up between the wire shelving, because we didn't do it in the spring.  Lesson learned. Isn't it amazing how we keep learning as we go in homesteading?! Even when we think we know it all we are still learning. That's what I love about this lifestyle.

So it's back to the drawing board for our organic garden, sort of, to get the weeds under control again. Honestly, it was time to pile on a fresh layer. It should be done every year and we skipped last year because I wasn't able to do it. Usually it's about 6" worth not 18", but it's been a couple of years. All that composting being done shrinks with time. Healthy, nutrient rich soil equals better produce, Over the winter, I'll also be sprinkling wood ash too.

Yes, next spring will begin a great gardening year, starting with revitalized soil and less weeds.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: My NOT Pasta Roni Angel Hair Pasta Sauce for Stores

I made my copycat version of Pasta Roni Garlic and Herb Pasta Sauce with some angel hair pasta last night to go with the succulent lamb chops with roasted asparagus for dinner. We were celebrating the final completion of laying of the foundation of the new chicken coop and feed/straw storage building. It took Mel three weeks to level and complete it. The first week was clearing the weeds for the 6'x 16' foundation. The second week was spent nursing pulled muscles in her back from zigging instead of zagging emptying the dish washer. The third week was laying all the sand and cap bricks into place level. Yes, Mel actually used a 6' level.

Anyhow I digress. As I was making the pasta sauce, I thought how easy it would be to make it in bulk in a powdered variety so I can make with other forms of pasta in short order. It would be a handy thing to have around. All the fresh stuff you'd need is water, butter, Parmesan cheese, (but I could dehydrate this too) and olive oil. It would be as easy to make as the boxed stuff without the preservatives except what was in the dehydrated milk.

I calculated how much I'd need for ten four-servings pouches like you'd get in a boxed package. When I calculated the costs, it was less than $0.50 a box. I haven't seen boxed that low in the grocery stores in about 20 years so the cost savings was fabulous also.  I'll give you the recipe for one four- serving box amount and you can multiply it by how many you'll think you'll need. I put mine in a quart canning jar and vacuum sealed it. I'll just scoop out 1/2 cup of mix for each four serving.

Jo's NOT Pasta Roni Garlic and Herb Pasta Sauce

What you'll need
3 TBS dehydrated whole milk powder*
1 1/2 chicken bouillon cubes, crushed or equivalent powder
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 TBS dried parsley
2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning
1 dash of white pepper
                                                             1 tsp onion powder
                                                             2 TBS dehydrated Parmesan cheese

Notes-* For my dry milk, 3 TBS of powder reconstitutes to 1 cup. My calculation reconstitutes to 1/2 cup of milk equivalent so the consistency is thicker like half and half or cream.

Putting it together

• In a lidded saucepan, place 1 3/4 cup water, 1 TBS butter and 1 TBS Olive oil
• Bring to a boil.
• Stir in 1/2 cup sauce mix.
• When dissolved, stir in 1 1/4 c of pasta of your choice.
• Boil for two minutes.
• Reduce heat to a low simmer and put the lid on the pot.
• Simmer for 10 minutes adding some more water if needed for bigger and thicker pasta. I usually use angel hair or medium egg noodles. 
• After time is up and the pasta is cooked, there will be some liquid in the pan. It will thicken as it cools.
• Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.

For service- For angel hair, linguini, or spaghetti, twirl the pasta servings into a bee hive formation.
The Parmesan cheese will continue to thicken as it cools to hold it together. You can sprinkle fresh grated Romano or Parmesan cheese on top with a pinch of fresh chopped parsley for a festive presentation. For egg noodles or rotini, scoop two scoops per serving with an ice cream scoop. Again, it will hold together as it cools or use a biscuit cutter and make rounds. Remove the forms used before service. Enjoy!

Y'all Have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Is This Corn?

It's a little over my 5' waist in height. It's about 3' high at the most. It has tassels and silks. If it had been 6' or 7' tall I would have believed it to be corn. But. I dunno. I'm talking about my five lone plants in my corn patch. These are the five planted corn seeds that survived the chickens and the dogs out of twenty seeds that sprouted.

Getting them to grow to this stage has been a constant battle. The have been knocked over by the animals and storms repeatedly this growing season. I dutifully propped them back up trying to will them to survive. It's April's and May's unseasonable cold spell that I blame the stunted growth on. I've never seen corn so short. It will be amazing if the ears fully form. I did my usual bag pollination as soon as I notice the pollen falling to enhance a possible yield. There's only one ear per stalk though so I'm not holding my breath. It remains to be seen.

My straight neck yellow squash has put off showy male blossoms but no female flowers yet. Watch them be sterile. Now my zucchini is just the opposite, all female and no males. I've watched the fruits go unpollinated, turn brown and fall off the stems. The good news is that everything has survived the onslaught of Japanese beetles and so far, no sign of aphids nor squash beetles. But then, I've seen great flurries of ladybugs and lacy wings. I've even seen a few praying mantes. They have to be eating something. Since we've not been able to keep the grass mowed, I figure there's an abundance of food for them in the weeds. So far nothing has touched my tomato plants.

I had to water the plants this week for the first time in months. We've actually had a dry spell of dour days without rain! Although the ground is still moist a couple inches below the live ground cover (clover) they were a little thirsty and limp so I gave them some out of the rain barrel. With barely a cup and a half per plant, they stood taller and happier. The thunder rolling off in the distance tells me I won't have to worry about it tomorrow.

The heat index is in the 90s finally with the lows in the low 70s. It's definitely summer. I think I'm going to plant some more cucumber seeds tomorrow. It looked like stem rot or cut worms are nibbling the bases of my six plants.

Mel lost interest in her experimental garden when it didn't instantly didn't take off and it developed weeds. Sigh! I pulled the weeds, scratched in some bone and blood meal, and then added some organic 4-4-4 fertilizer to each bucket she planted. There's no such thing as a "no work" garden. It needs love and attention. The added boost has produced about a foot of growth in her experiment. She had planted wild flower seeds with the cucumbers and the have robust growth. 

In Mel's partial defense, she has building the new coop and run in the orchard. First she had to cut down the 5' weeds in the spot she wanted to place it into. No mean feat with only a hand sickle and no power tools. She picked up the wrong canisters at Lowes for our weed eater. She has since rectified it so the second coop and run will be easier. But loading sand and concrete cap blocks have to be done manually down to the second terraced level one load a a time in the cart. The cap blocks are the flooring for the 4'x8'coop and 4'x8'feed/straw storage building. Some 40 blocks later, they are all leveled and sanded in. The walls and the rest of the coop is just wood working, and for Mel, a piece of cake. She's definitely getting her exercise going up and down the 6' drop between tiers with first the blocks and bags of sand, and then the cut lumber. After the building goes up, she'll be digging the post holes for the 2x3 fencing for the run. It will be covered on five sides for the ultimate predator protection. We've got enough lumber and fencing around the homestead for the first one and egg sale money for the second one. The chickens are now laying an average a dozen eggs a day. We've set

aside monies for the next purchase of breed specific15 chickens for the coop nearest the house for a grow out area until they start laying. Then, the second chickens will go into the the coop and run on the third tier. By keeping two roosters with the 13 hens, we should have a good fertilization ratio to let the first batch of hens go broody. For of them have already tried to brood some eggs, but with no rooster with them, it was a wasted effort. The coop and run nearest the house will become the brooding/chick house. The chicks will either be sold or allowed to become layers. That's the plan, anyhow. So Mel's Poultry Farm is finally on it's way, and will continue to grow a bit smaller than she first thought, but it's going.

That's our update for the week...

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: Canning Bourbon Chicken

It's really hard being half Asian, who grew up with tons of Asian foods, and living with a roommate who really doesn't like Asian food. Well, to be honest she likes egg rolls, lo mein, my pot stickers, and my bourbon chicken. The last two I tried out on her and she liked them. I'll serve Chinese food once or twice a month although I could eat it everyday. It's all about compromises when you live with someone else. But I still get my Asian food in my diet without cooking two meals for one dinner which I occasional do.

I'll can up my bourbon chicken into pint jars and keep it in my food storage building for quick dinner nights. All I have to do is cook two cups of rice, steam some broccoli or asparagus, and dinner's on. I make a 12-pint jar (2 servings per jar) recipe for year's worth, so I cook once and serve many times. If you want less divide ingredients by whatever number of serving you want. Have a large family, double or triple this recipe for canning in quart jars.

Chef Jo's Bourbon Chicken
12 Pint jars or 24 servings

Did you know...
This is not a true Asian dish, but a Cajun/Asian hybrid dish. It's just sold in Chinese restaurants. Make it with or without the Bourbon, it's delicious both ways.

What you'll need

12lbs lbs. boneless chicken breast or thighs
1 1/2 cups apple or pineapple juice, I use pineapple
2 cups low sodium soy sauce 1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 2 1/4 - 3 cups chicken stock 3/4 cup bourbon* (optional), if omitting use
1 cup chicken broth 2 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed* 3 tsp red pepper flakes 2" grated ginger or 3 tsp ground ginger 1/2 cup onion, minced, or 2 tsp each of onion powder
2 TBS minced garlic, or 2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Clear-Jel

Notes-*If using bourbon in this recipe, buy a good quality bourbon...not the cheapest. I only use a bourbon aged no less than 10 years for cooking. It's pricey but I use so little of it at a time. In the US, it Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon about $40 a bottle.
* We like our bourbon chicken not as sweet as the restaurant's, so I reduced the brown sugar by half. If you like the restaurant version double this amount.

Putting it all together

• Grill chicken thigh/breast over hot coals to color and get grill marks on the chicken. You are NOT cooking the chicken fully. Total cooking time is 5 minutes each side.
• Remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces, about 1"-1 1/2" pieces.
• Mix Clear-Jel and chicken broth.
• In a sauce pan, pour pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce vinegar, ginger, onions, garlic, bourbon, and ketchup heat until it comes to a boil. 
• Cook 10 minutes at a simmer.
• Stir in chicken broth mix and bring to a boil again stirring constantly.
• Stir in the chicken pieces and whatever juices drain off the chicken. Turn off the heat.
• Ladle into hot pint jars.
• Wipe rims, lid, and ring the jars.
• Pressure can 75 minutes for pints or 90 minutes for quarts. Pressure based on your altitude.
• The sauce will continue to thicken as it cans and cools

Serving suggestions- Serve over a bowl or plate of cooked rice with your choice of vegetables. I'll steam broccoli or asparagus, or make terriyaki stir fried onions and zucchini. Are you still using bottled terriyaki sauce? What?! 😲Let me give you my recipe for that too while I'm thinking about it. It's very simple and if you make making this...you already have the ingredients on hand.

Terriyaki Marinade/Sauce
Makes 1 cup

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 TBS brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp ginger, minced

For glaze or sauce
1/2 TBS cornstarch/clear-Jel
1 TBS water

Put ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil stirring until all sugar are dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool for marinade. If making a glaze or sauce, Stir water into cornstarch. When all the sugars are dissolved, stir in the slurry and cook to desired thickness. You really like terriyaki sauce and want to can it? You can make however many cups you want and water bath can it. Use the Clear-Jel instead of cornstarch. 1/2 pints jars for 25 minutes, pints for 30 minutes, and quarts for 45 minutes. There' enough sugar, salt, and vinegar to water bath can it.

I make mine with bourbon chicken with bourbon, because of the flavor bourbon gives to the dish. The alcohol burns off during cooking and canning. I also grill my chicken for the slight smoky flavor it gives this main dish. I also raised the amount of pepper flakes to offset the overall sweetness of it. All these changes elevates this chicken recipe to the next level to bump it up a notch or two. They do not use bourbon, nor grill the chicken is the restaurant version. I know because I've worked in several Chinese restaurants over the years. Y'all enjoy!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Green Beans Avalanche in my Homesteading Kitchen!

I'm up to my knees in baskets of picked green beans in my kitchen right now. I'm picking almost 20 lbs of them every other day. I'm not complaining mind you. I'm loving it! Last week I planted the final succession planting of bush green beans for the season. They'll be harvestable in early September. As one planting rotation peters out, the next one is ready to be harvested.

A 20lbs harvest will only fill 15 pint jars which means I'll be 4 jars short of a full load. I hate wasting the energy to can without a full canner load, but then I could use my smaller canner and just do multiple batches too which cuts into my time for other things. What I'll usually do is can a smaller load and save the unused green beans to can with the next 20 lb harvest. So every other batch is a small canner load. With the larger canner every third rotation uses every green bean for 19 full jars (a full big canner load) with no beans leftover. After so many years of doing this, I've got the math down pat. 😀

We need them to be able to eat greens beans twice a week until next harvest. This doesn't includes beans added into soups and casseroles. I calculated 104 pint jars for the two of us. We will eat one full jar in one meal unlike other vegetables that can be stretched over two meals. There's 3/4 of a pound of beans in each jar (1/2 a lb serving equals a little over 1/2 a cup for me and a 1/4 of a cup for Mel). We'd need a minimum of 78 lbs to fill 104 jars as just a side dish. But I need extra green beans for beef and chicken vegetables soups, fried green beans, green bean casseroles, etc.

I calculated 6 gallon bags of fried green beans are needed to go with sandwich type dinners. A one gallon bag makes four servings for us. I'll need five lbs for each of dozen jars of beef and chicken vegetable soups I can of which I'll make a total of 24 jars of each for stores. I'll need another 5 lbs for the vegetable based mixed vegetables jars for pot pies and the like. It's these little things that bring the total pounds needed to well over 100 lbs of this one vegetable and every other vegetable in the mix.

Sounds insane for only two people, doesn't it? But take a look at your consumption and you'll soon realize this is what it takes to feed someone for a year. In the mean time, there's the fresh eating of green beans twice a week while the harvest is ongoing too. We'll have almost six months of this going into the stores after the beans are all harvested and the plants are pulled for composting. We will have a six month worth of just in case like last year's garden failure. Keep in mind I'm also saving seed for the next planting too.

I read about the Ruth Stout method of gardening. I wish I knew someone who had horses. Manure and old hay would be a godsend for completing the orchard planting area. The expense of hay is one I'd like to do without, plus we don't have a truck to haul it anymore. I know people have them because I've seen them. We'd have to get a hitch and a trailer to be able to get it. Right now with the months of rain we've had, the main drive in of the driveway is washed out very badly. Nobody wants to chance messing up their trucks even attempting to come down it even with 4 wheel drive. And yet, we go up and down it in Mel's Blazer and the neighbor farther up the hill does too. Of course, we have no choice either if we have to leave. Sigh! It's always something.

Well, I've had enough resting of my foot. It's time to start canning again.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Cooking with Chef Jo: My Personal Position on Preserving Food

I make no secret that I don't follow every recommendation or guideline that is currently enforce while preserving my food stuff. Even Ball and the FDA has changed their own rules over the years on what is safe or unsafe to home can. I suggest you do your own research and make an informed decision based on what you learned. Don't take just a dozen 'notable' canner's word for it, myself included.

I am not paid or endorsed by anyone but me. Unlike to afore mentioned entities. Yes, what I do at home is different than what I did as a professional chef. There are standards for everything even for chefs. For chefs there's a test every five years called ServSafe. It's a huge test! Since my strokes and not being allowed in professional kitchens as a chief cook, bottle washer, macro and micro manager for taste, overseer of preparation and
service...otherwise known as an executive chef, I've let my license lapse. That's not to say that I've forgotten what I practiced for almost fifteen years full time and over 30 years part-time.

Now that this disclaimer is out of the way, let me tell you how I preserve food for my household. It's a multitiered approach. Part is from a grandmother-mother's knee approach. Part of my knowledge was garnered from others. I used to love hearing old timers' stories and how they did things in their time. Now, I'm getting to be the old timer. Some things I've watched videos and then researched it. Lastly, the Federal site and the Ball Canning book among other authorities.

For water bath canning my grandmother held firm to a 10% rule. Ninety percent or more of the food prepared has to be high acid. No more than 10% of low acid food added to the high acid is safe to water bath can. This is different than any guideline I've read. But, the food in question must not contain meat or meat byproducts. The exception is using already processed meat byproducts like shelf stable broths. They've already been processed at the higher temperatures to make them safe. But the 10% rule still stands. Did I confuse you?

For example, onions, peppers, herbs, and garlic added to a tomato based pasta sauce is okay to water bath can based on my experience (my mother's, grandmother's, and their descendants). The low acid foods are right at or below the 10% mark and fully cooked before canning. This is calculated by weight. In my case, there's more than 200 years of processing history behind this decision. Of course, each jar when opened is tested, if the product was still sealed and the contents haven't spoiled before being consumed.

Opening Jars Sealed Since 1999
The same goes for the age of home canned food. When I moved here five years ago, A case of various pickles and jams dated 1999 came with me. I cautiously checked the seals even though it survived being transported in a moving truck almost 600 miles. If you've every had a jar or seal explode on you, you'll understand my care. It doesn't happen very often but it can happen especially with old jars and some of my jars have been in use since the 1970s. The seals were still good. I popped open each jar expecting a foul odor. There was none. I carefully scooped out the contents onto a small plate and examined it. The texture was off so I trashed the lot. Technically, I could have tasted it. The aroma was true on all items. But texture, flavor, and presentation is a big thing with me. Push come to shove, I would have eaten it if I had to and been safe...probably.

Whether to use a home canned product boils down to common sense. I love myself too much to poison myself, or anyone else for that matter. If the seal is broken, it's bad even if it smells okay and there's no evidence of decay (mold or bad smell). It goes into the trash. If in doubt, throw it out is a good motto to have. That's common sense, isn't it? It applies to commercially canned food stuff too. I can't count how many times I've gotten food poisoning from a commercially canned product or restaurant in my over half century on Earth. Even once is too many times. My nephew and brother in law ended up hospitalized for over a week because of contaminated canned, name brand tuna. My sister is a stickler like I am said the tuna smelled alright in the can too. Even being careful doesn't always mean you are safe.

Cleanliness is next to godliness as far as home preservation of food stuff is concerned. It's my rule and I stick to it. How many folks wash their sink before preparing food? Even if they don't plan on using it? How many folks add a teaspoon of bleach to their washing and rinsing water pan when hand washing dishes? How many folks spray their clean plates and silverware with hot water or place the plates in the oven to warm before service for each meal? I'm guilty on all counts.

True confession time, I'm a slob except for when food prep and preservation is concerned. I really don't care if my hands are soft with manicured nails. If I have stains or rips in my clothes, at least they are clean. I rarely sweep, dust, or vacuum unless I can no longer stand it.  I don't care if my clothes are folded, properly, wrinkled, or put away. I will make my bed once a week because I've got to change the sheets. But my kitchen, that's another story. I need it organized just so, the floors are swept and mopped, the counters are wiped down with soapy bleach water before anything is made. As for the aftermath of cooking, I tend to clean as I go along, but the rest is up to Mel. I cook and she cleans up. The only exception was last week. She threw her back out by zigging when she should have zagged.

I'm a firm believer if it ain't broke, it doesn't need fixin'. I look at food preservation the same way. If its been canned, dehydrated, and put food by for a half century or more a particular way and it ain't broke (make me or anyone ill, or puts us in danger) why change because regulations change over the years? And, there have been many changes. Ball's Canning Book used to have recipes with milk and cheese, and how to can them. The same thing goes for vegetables like squash.  I even have a canning book on how to can a lot of no nos today. Yes, I understand that knowledge of food preservation grows with the time. There are also a lot of lobbyists paying out tons of money influences changes also. Sure cheese has a density issue, as most dairy products, but there are ways around it like heating products before they are pressure canned to name one technique. But then again, I have books and knowledge that stretches back to the 1700s too. I use my brain and research something on everything if I'm in doubt. I never take things at face value.

I will follow guidelines set aside for certification for cottage industries when making thing for sale because it's the law. DOH! But when it comes to home use, that's my position on food preservation. As always, do your own research and follow what you believe is best for you and your loved ones.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo

Garden Update for Beginning of Summer

We are almost a week into summer and I thought I'd give you an over all update on the garden. I'm loving the weather now finally. It seems like summers of five years ago though not as hot. On average, from 7AM to 5PM it sunny and breezy. From about 6PM to 7AM it rains. My gardens are loving it too.

I'm two weeks into the green bean harvesting of the first planting of this vegetable and the second planting of four 4'x10' rows is just starting to come to size for picking. Since I'm planting the bush variety, they tend to all ripen within two to three weeks of each other. They'll get another burst of flowers but the harvest will be smaller. I planted my fourth succession planting two weeks ago and they are already ankle high. This will give me a continuous harvest until fall.

My sweet, bi-colored corn that I planted the beginning of spring is over waist high and doing wonderful. Unfortunately the dogs and chickens have wrecked so much havoc upon them only five out of twelve survived.  But that's okay. I filled in the spaces with baby, green limas and pumpkins to make it into another three sister grouping. I still have my three sisters sweet corn (30) that are doing well. If you remember two years ago, I got 30 ears of corn to can and freeze whole. I just pulled the last jar I canned. So even if I only get one savable ear plant I'll have plenty. The limas are putting out stringer towards the corn and are flowering. The squash is developing flowers too.

The temperature seems to have settled down again, although the nighttime lows are still in the 50s, I finally feel it's safe enough to plant my Roma tomatoes in the garden. While Mel planted heirloom Beefsteak tomatoes in her bucket garden experiment a couple months ago, They've just come out with their third set of true leaves. The weather really delayed them. Meanwhile, my Romas have had the  benefits of inside temperatures of 70+ degrees to grow in so they are bigger. No, they do not have tomatoes nor flowers on them yet. They have been on the porch steps for a week now so they are ready to go into the ground. I'll have to burn holes in the weed cloth a little bigger for them to fit and run the fence between the rows. None of my marigolds sprouted.😒 I guess the seeds were duds. I'll have to go to the garden store and purchase some to go around the tomatoes.

On Mel's experimental garden, only the green beans did not come up. I've replanted them with an extra yellow squash and two basil plants in the two empty buckets. As I said above, the growth was stunted somewhat because of the weather but they are doing well. The cucumbers are almost a foot tall and I gave them each a 5' stake to climb up. She planted wild flowers in the buckets also. I harvested some nasturtiums for some peppery high notes in our salads.

I split my rosemary plants between four truck tires along the front of the garden. They reseed or propagate themselves over time. I gave each plant a severe "haircut." Some I brought in to root to propagate and the rest I dehydrated. My stores needed the boost. So far I've dehydrate 5 lbs to fill a quart jar full. It always amazes me how little there is left after dehydrating. Next week, I'll be clipping some more for skewers for my grilled chicken. Yes, it will have grown long enough again to do this with by then.

I'm still cutting and replanting oregano into new spots. So far, I've harvested 8 lbs all from six little oregano plug packs three years ago. Of course, this herb reseeded and propagated itself many times over the years. I love perennial herbs for this very reason. I hardly do anything for them either. In early winter, before the first frost, I'll clip it all back to about 3" lengths, throw some well rotted compost on them, and cover them with straw. In the spring, I'll leave only a thin layer of straw on them, water them in well, and leave them alone. Soon, green stems and leaves begin forming again. It's instant oregano! Just add water and give them space to grow. It's so thick that it blocks most weed growth.

So the race is on to grow, harvest and stock the stores building out building again before the first freeze. I don't know if we'll make self-sufficiency levels because everything got such a late start, but I'm trying. All I know is canning season has begun for me with the green beans. May it continue for the next 4 or 5 months.

Our fruit trees are heavy with fruit even with the squirrels and birds. Our harvest season for the fruit trees are about a month behind the usual harvest seasons. The early fruit drops were minimal. Our peaches and apples are almost the size of baseballs now. I'm honestly looking forward to getting a harvest. The cherries should be ready next month, if the birds will leave them alone. We loped the middle trunks of each to five foot during the early dormant season last year. The blue berries are ripening so Mel and I grab a few ripe ones when we work on the new chicken coop and run in part of the orchard tiers. The raspberries, I'm sad to report, died back in winter and did not return. I'll need to replant them later in the summer or early fall. The grapes are having a slower start this year. Although I'll have grape leaves for pickles, they haven't even flowered yet. It's doubtful as to whether we get enough grapes to make Mel's (and Whirling Dervish's) wine ration this year, but there's still time.

Well, there's my beginning of summer garden update.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

 

Cooking with Chef Jo: Canning French Onion and Mushroom Soup

I've had two six packs of Yuengling beer sitting in my refrigerator forever just taking up space. I know one six-pack has been in there for five years because it was in the refrigerator when I got here. The second one was purchased by a friend of Mel's over a year ago. I don't know how long beer keeps but it still fizzed so I figured I'd use them. Of course, I'd asked Mel before I did. She said she didn't.  I could hear her now, "Soup is such a waste of good wine." Now, I haven't drank alcohol in 35+ years so I wasn't going to drink it.  Would you chance drinking it? I also had a surplus of onions that was starting to go soft that I had to deal with. I was thinking of dehydrating them or freezing them, but what I decided to do was a good way to use them too.

There are several recipes I could have made with the beer like beer battered fish or onion rings, but I couldn't use that much to empty my refrigerator of the beer. Unless I fried them and put them in the freezer. But, I was looking forward to a bumper crop of tomatoes too that would eat into my freezer space. My other one was filling fast with meat, a side at a time. I guess I could always can the meat to free up some space too.

I took one bottle and tried it making my French Onion and Mushroom Soup, instead of red wine, with it and it turned out fabulous. It went into a 8-serving batch. It cooked for hours at a simmer, so any possible alcohol that was left in it was a moot point. After dinner, I asked Mel if this was another recipe I could can up? Basically did she like it well enough and she gave a definite affirmative answer. To reinforce the affirmative answer, she added, "I could stomach having it at least once a month or more." I knew I had the answer for the 11 bottles of beer left in my refrigerator. It turned out so well that I thought I'd share the recipe with y'all.

I created a concentrated recipe so you'll have to add a half or full jar of water when you make it for a two servings depending on how much water you add of my canned soup recipe. I have to conserve space in my storage pantry out building. So one pint will make about four servings of soup or two very large servings. I also did the conversion for roast beef 'Better Than Bouillon' instead of beef bone broth for you if you didn't can your own because honestly, I debated whether to use my own bone broth or use the store bought version. 😄 Homemade beef bone broth, while healthier, would be expensive and could be used for other things.

Jo's French Onions and Mushroom Soup
Makes 16 pints or 8 quarts
What you'll need

10 lbs of onions, diced into 1/2" pieces*
4 lbs of mushrooms, I use a combination of baby bellas and white, shaved*
4TBS butter*
2TBS olive oil*
1 whole garlic bud, smashed and minced
12 bottles of lager type beer
2 TBS dried thyme*
3 Medium Bay leaves, or 2 large, or 6 small
4 qts water + 1-3.5oz  container of Better Than Bouillon roast beef
                                                                       OR
                                                             4 qts beef stock or beef bone broth
                                                             1/4 cup + 1TBS Worcestershire sauce, 5 ozs.
                                                             1 qt of water, divided
                                                             1 cup Clear-Jel
                                                             1 1/2 TBS noniodized salt*
                                                             2 TBS black pepper

Notes- * Most standard recipes for this soup calls for the onions to be thinly sliced, but I prefer dicing the onions so you get onions with every bite to the last drop of broth.
*To shave mushrooms either 1) use a mandolin, or use a knife, slicing the mushrooms paper thin. A food processor doesn't cut them thin enough for what I wanted.
*Use dried thyme for this recipe. With fresh thyme, first you'd need 4 TBS and when canned and stored the thyme breaks down to mush in over a year.
* Salt to taste or just below. Salt tends to intensifies while canning. Remember there is salt in the broth too.
*Oils and butter tend to be a no no when canning, but you will find very little of these left after the onions caramelize. Be sure to wipe your rims with vinegar just in case before putting the lids on. Mixing the oil and butter allows for a higher/longer cooking temperature.

 Putting it all together

• The day before, dice the onions, shave the mushrooms, and mince the garlic. Store in Ziplock bags separately in the refrigerator. Do this the night before because this step takes hours!
• In a large stock pot, place the oil and butter. Heat until melted.
• Place the onions in the oil mixture. Toss onions to coat. Turn the heat to medium low. Put lid on the pot. You won't be able to put all the onions in the pot in the beginning unless you have a very large commercial pot. No worries. The onions will shrink as they cook so you can add more.
• Add 2 tsp of salt, it will help the cooking onions break down faster.
• Stir about every ten minutes. Add additional onions in as space allows.
• Once all the onions are in the pot and cooked down, remove the lid and increase the time in between stirs to every fifteen minutes. 
• Gradually as you stir you will notice a color change to your cooking onions.  They will begin to caramelize and turn yellow. This step will take 45 minutes to an hour. Add the garlic and the mushrooms, and stir well. Continue cooking with lid off for ten minutes.
• Increase temperature to medium. Add the beer to the onion mixture and continue cooking until most of the liquid has simmered away...approximately 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
• While the liquid is simmering away in the onions, prepare the soup base.
• Pour beef stock in another pot.
• Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Add enough salt until you barely taste it. Remember you salted the onions already. Bring to a boil.
• Add 2 cups of water to the pot.
• Mix clear-jel to the remaining 2 cups of water and dissolve into a slurry.
• Add clear-jel slurry to the broth by halves. Bring to a boil while stirring. Check the consistency.
• Add more clear-jel 1/4 cup at a time. Bringing the mixture to a boil after each addition.
• When the consistency is like a thin gravy, stop adding the clear-jel.
• Stir well.
• Taste it for salt. Remember to err on the side of not quite enough. You can add more when preparing to eat it. Mozzarella cheese is fairly salty.
• Ladle soup into hot jars. The onions will sink to the bottom of the jars. Ideally, you will have 1/3 to half each jar full onions.
• Wipe, lid, and ring the jars finger (armpit)tight and place in the pressure canner.
• Pressure can, weighted for your altitude, 45 minutes for pints or 60 minutes for quarts.

To serve- place in a saucepan with half to a full jar of water. Bring to a full boil. Taste for
salt and adjust to taste. Toast a thick slice of baguette until crisp. Pour soup into an oven safe container. Be sure to divide onions evenly between servings. Top with the baguette. Place a thick slice of mozzarella cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is toasted and melted. Serve hot.

This recipe is time consuming but well worth it!  It can also be used in other recipes too. I served this with a green salad. With all that beef flavor and goodness, what else do you need? Oh, I also made strawberry mug "shortcakes" for dessert. Ya gotta have something sweet, right?

Y'all have a blessed day!

  Chef Jo