Half a cow.

Amarantha said:

We know someone who knows someone etc, and we've gone halves inna straight-
from-the-farm cow. The beast arrived last night - our friend called us to
come and get our half, and by the time we got out there, packed the car,
got home, made Neighbourhood Watch suspicious, divvied it up and packed the
chest freezer, it was nearly 1am. So very tired today but oh so worth it
:P

Now my head is spinning planning all the things I'm going to do with it. I
keep amusing sheol by occasionally out-of-nowhere muttering "Must get some
salt from that wholesale place," or "I'm gonna need a bigger pot..." No
offal, sadly, as the guy who killed it got that as part of his payment for
killing it. But plenty of marrow in the various bones, and the odd bit of
tendon for my pho 🙂 Mince and sausages still to come.

It's only been hung for about 10 days - we're still learning how these
transactions work, and next time we'll see if we can negotiate a few
weeks' hanging. We're totally prepared to pay the extra cost. In the
meantime I intend to experiment with that salt-the-steak concept that's
been discussed here, using an identical unsalted bit as a control.

What would you do with half a cow?

K

Eat it. I imagine it would take a while.
🙂

--

Sarah Gray

Amarantha <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

What would you do with half a cow?

K

The front half or the back half?

:-)

But either half, I'd prop it up so that it wouldn't keep falling over ;-P

Amarantha said:

What would you do with half a cow?

Teach it to fetch.

-sw

Sqwertz said:

Amarantha said:

What would you do with half a cow?

Teach it to fetch.

Teach it to fetch her other half.
--Lia

Sqwertz said:

Amarantha said:

What would you do with half a cow?

Teach it to fetch.

<lol>

If I had half a cow I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it would
end up as biltong

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

ChattyCathy said:

Sqwertz said:

Amarantha said:

What would you do with half a cow?

Teach it to fetch.

<lol>

If I had half a cow I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it would
end up as biltong

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong

I have a dehydrator. Do you have any favourite recipes?

It's so easy to make jokes about half a cow, but seriously, is there any
reason why the meat can't just be kept in the freezer and taken out when
needed? If you have the freezer space, that's got to be better than
dehydrating or preserving with any other method.

--Lia

"Julia Altshuler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's so easy to make jokes about half a cow, but seriously, is there any
reason why the meat can't just be kept in the freezer and taken out when
needed? If you have the freezer space, that's got to be better than
dehydrating or preserving with any other method.

--Lia

I buy a side of beef at a time and that's all I do.
Hoges in WA

"Amarantha" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What would you do with half a cow?

K

I'd put it in the freezer and take out packages of meat as I needed them for
dinner. Half a cow would last hubby and me a good year.

Ms P

Ophelia said:

ChattyCathy said:

Sqwertz said:

On 25 Oct 2007 06:04:09 GMT, Amarantha wrote:

> What would you do with half a cow?
Teach it to fetch.

<lol>

If I had half a cow I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it would
end up as biltong

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong

I have a dehydrator. Do you have any favourite recipes?

This one is a starting point:

(got it from: http://funkymunky.co.za/meat.html)

Biltong (Savoury Dried Meat)

12.5 kg venison, beef or ostrich meat (fillet, rump or sirloin)
560 g fine salt
125 ml brown sugar
25 ml bicarbonate of soda
10 ml saltpetre (optional)
12.5 ml milled pepper
125 ml coarsely ground coriander
250 ml brown vinegar
2.5 litres warm water

Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles, down the
length of the whole leg or a portion of it. Cut the pieces into strips
5-7 cm thick, with some fat on each strip.
Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpetre, pepper and
coriander together and rub the mixture into the strips of meat.. Layer
the meat in a cool place for about 1 to 2 days, depending on how thick
the meat is and how salty you want it to be.
Mix the vinegar and water and dip the biltong into it. Pat the pieces of
meat dry and hang them up on S-shaped hooks - or use pieces of string -
about 5 cm apart so that air can circulate freely in a cool dry place.
Leave for 2 to 3 weeks until the biltong is dry.

Of course all the various butcheries have their "secret recipes" which
they won't share LOL!

BTW, that site I quoted has a lot of other great traditional South
African recipes on it - when you have time, take a look-see. Enjoy!
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

Julia Altshuler said:

It's so easy to make jokes about half a cow, but seriously, is there any
reason why the meat can't just be kept in the freezer and taken out when
needed? If you have the freezer space, that's got to be better than
dehydrating or preserving with any other method.

Gawd, I haven't been able to afford buying half a cow in 25 years...
sigh. And yes, it does freeze just fine. But I absolutely "adore"
biltong, and we used to make our own way back then. Haven't made it
myself in years - the butcheries here all carry it, and they make it
well. But it's an "acquired taste", IMHO. Not too many
Americans/Europeans I have come into contact with here in RSA seem to
like it.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

"ChattyCathy" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Gawd, I haven't been able to afford buying half a cow in 25 years... sigh.
And yes, it does freeze just fine. But I absolutely "adore" biltong, and
we used to make our own way back then. Haven't made it myself in years -
the butcheries here all carry it, and they make it well. But it's an
"acquired taste", IMHO. Not too many Americans/Europeans I have come into
contact with here in RSA seem to like it.

I had the idea it was like beef jerky? Similar?

nancy

ChattyCathy said:

(got it from: http://funkymunky.co.za/meat.html)

Biltong (Savoury Dried Meat)

12.5 kg venison, beef or ostrich meat (fillet, rump or sirloin)
560 g fine salt
125 ml brown sugar
25 ml bicarbonate of soda
10 ml saltpetre (optional)
12.5 ml milled pepper
125 ml coarsely ground coriander
250 ml brown vinegar
2.5 litres warm water

Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles, down the
length of the whole leg or a portion of it. Cut the pieces into strips
5-7 cm thick, with some fat on each strip.
Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpetre, pepper and
coriander together and rub the mixture into the strips of meat.. Layer
the meat in a cool place for about 1 to 2 days, depending on how thick
the meat is and how salty you want it to be.
Mix the vinegar and water and dip the biltong into it. Pat the pieces
of meat dry and hang them up on S-shaped hooks - or use pieces of
string - about 5 cm apart so that air can circulate freely in a cool
dry place. Leave for 2 to 3 weeks until the biltong is dry.

Of course all the various butcheries have their "secret recipes" which
they won't share LOL!

BTW, that site I quoted has a lot of other great traditional South
African recipes on it - when you have time, take a look-see. Enjoy!

All saved thank you Cathy🙂)

Nancy Young said:

"ChattyCathy" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Gawd, I haven't been able to afford buying half a cow in 25 years... sigh.
And yes, it does freeze just fine. But I absolutely "adore" biltong, and
we used to make our own way back then. Haven't made it myself in years -
the butcheries here all carry it, and they make it well. But it's an
"acquired taste", IMHO. Not too many Americans/Europeans I have come into
contact with here in RSA seem to like it.

I had the idea it was like beef jerky? Similar?

Yes, similar, but a little more "spicy" maybe? A lot of biltong made
here has plenty of chili-type stuff on it too.
I just like it with lots of salt, ground coriander, black pepper. It's
not for anyone who has to watch their salt intake, lemme tell ya 😉
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

ChattyCathy <[email hidden]> wrote in news:j60Ui.2291$Vg.1044
@fe115.usenetserver.com:

Quoted message said:

Sqwertz said:

Amarantha said:

What would you do with half a cow?

Teach it to fetch.

<lol>

If I had half a cow I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it would
end up as biltong

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Peter likes Cathy ;-)

Peter also likes Kudu, buff, and ostrich biltong.

PeterLucas said:

Peter also likes Kudu, buff, and ostrich biltong.

Good man! 😉

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

ChattyCathy <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Julia Altshuler said:

It's so easy to make jokes about half a cow, but seriously, is there
any reason why the meat can't just be kept in the freezer and taken
out when needed? If you have the freezer space, that's got to be
better than dehydrating or preserving with any other method.

Gawd, I haven't been able to afford buying half a cow in 25 years...
sigh. And yes, it does freeze just fine. But I absolutely "adore"
biltong, and we used to make our own way back then. Haven't made it
myself in years - the butcheries here all carry it, and they make it
well. But it's an "acquired taste", IMHO. Not too many
Americans/Europeans I have come into contact with here in RSA seem to
like it.

Just goes to show they don't have any taste!!

I have a great SA butcher close by that I've been going to for about 12
years. Used to be the only place in Brisbane where you could get
boerewors...... now you can buy it (and it's pretty good too) in just about
any major supermarket.

BTW, we had boerewors for dinner last night :-)

I need to find somewhere that sells the BBQ thingy that holds the
boerewors.

Name??

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"ChattyCathy" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Gawd, I haven't been able to afford buying half a cow in 25 years...
sigh. And yes, it does freeze just fine. But I absolutely "adore"
biltong, and we used to make our own way back then. Haven't made it
myself in years - the butcheries here all carry it, and they make it
well. But it's an "acquired taste", IMHO. Not too many
Americans/Europeans I have come into contact with here in RSA seem to
like it.

I had the idea it was like beef jerky? Similar?

Same same.

Biltong has been around for 400+ years.

Americans took it and called it 'jerky'.

One has to wonder why.

ChattyCathy <[email hidden]> wrote in news:gv2Ui.2286$Mg.29
@fe091.usenetserver.com:

Quoted message said:

PeterLucas said:

Peter also likes Kudu, buff, and ostrich biltong.

Good man! 😉

Staple diet for some long patrols :-)