I know you all are laughing, but it seriously took me until the 27th to be totally finished with that crazy elk! We kept it cold in a cooler outside (well, mostly frozen actually) for a while, then moved a leg or sack of meat in at a time and worked on it. It usually doesn’t take that long, but with Christmas stuff going on as well it just drug out forever! Good thing it was so cold out! Anyway, I now have lots of frozen/bottled/jerkied elk meat for the year and I’m ready to do something besides cut up meat!
My sweet sister from Louisiana sent some of her bottled goods for Christmas this year and they are amazing! She likes stuff hot, so made spiced pickled green beans and two kinds of hot sauces (red from habanyeros–not sure how to spell that one–and green from jalapenos) which my husband is loving, and sent a jar of strawberry/cranberry jam for me (I’m not into hot) which is also delicious. I’ve requested the recipes . . . I’ll share if I get around to making them :) She lives in the deep South where pepper plants still produce in January . . . you could seriously can stuff year round there! Anyway, more later, just had to let you all know I did actually finish the elk . . .