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In today’s world, it has become extremely important to prepare your family for disasters. Even something small like an ice storm could knock out power and close roadways for days at a time.
To prepare for events like this, many people are beginning to realize the importance of having local food sources and keeping stored food on hand. Unfortunately, even if you raise your own animals, preserving meat the modern way involves a large, reliable source of electricity.
Over the last few years, we have seen supply chains disrupted, massive social unrest, and steeper political divides than at any point in recent memory. Preparing your own food supplies should consist of three primary parts: producing your own food, stockpiling your food, and preparing part of your stockpile to ensure it can last as long as possible.
Buying plenty of meat and stockpiling it is only part of the process. If the power grid goes down, your refrigerator and freezer will go down with it, and your meat will thaw out and go bad in a matter of days. This is why you should figure out how to store your meat without freezing or refrigeration as an investment.
Thankfully, you don’t have to be a farmer or even an off-grid homesteader to put up meat using reliable methods. There are many ways of preserving meat without electricity that are feasible for those with root cellars in old farmhouses and those living in inner-city apartments.
1. Smoking
Smoking is one of the oldest methods of preserving meat. It was most commonly used in areas that had too much humidity to air dry or dehydrate meat (without the aid of a modern dehydrator of course). It can be really tasty.
However, modern recommendations are to consume smoked meat sparingly as smoke contains carcinogens. That being said, it may still be a good choice for some of your harvest or an emergency situation. Smokers can be purchased or made at home. Obviously, this method is better suited to those with access to a backyard.
More Information: How Smoke Preserves Food: A Guide to Cold Smoking
2. Curing (salting)
Curing meat is another old preservation method that is still used today. It involves quite a bit of time and effort but it’s how traditional favorites like bacon and pastrami were preserved.
It’s also a cheap and easy process to master, perfect for the new homesteader. You will need a cool area and a place where meats can be hung out of the way. Some curing recipes are used in combination with smoking for flavor.
More Information: How to Preserve Meat With Salt
3. Brining
It's very simple and is a traditional method of preservation. Brine is typically a simple mixture of water, sugar, and salt. The meat is preserved by being weighed down in a crock completely surrounded by brine. As with curing, you’ll need a cool area, and if you’re doing any large quantities be sure you have room to store your crocks.
More Information: How To Brine Practically Any Meat
4. Pressure Canning
First, it’s important to note that you absolutely cannot water bath can meat! It’s not acidic enough. However, if you have a pressure canner any type of meat can be easily pressure-canned. This is probably one of the most popular methods today as once the meat is canned it requires no further work.
You just reheat it when you’re ready to eat and the jars are portable. Pressure canners are affordable, perfect for even apartment homesteaders, and are great for putting up vegetable harvests too.
More Information: How To Safely Can Meat At Home
5. Dehydrating
This is probably one of the easiest, healthiest methods of storing meat (and vegetables too). Meat can be dried with the help of an electric dehydrator or a solar dehydrator. If you opt for an electric dehydrator, it’s probably best to purchase a larger one.
Even though they’re cheaper, constantly running a small one trying to preserve all your food will take a lot of electricity. Solar dehydrators obviously have the benefit of not requiring electricity, but they are weather dependent.
Solar dehydrators can be purchased or there’s a lot of DIY plans available online. With either, you’ll need to make sure your meat is fully dried. If it’s left too moist it can mold.
More Information: Dehydrating Meats for Long-Term Storage: A Meat Lover’s Guide
6. Storing in Lard
This method may be very practical for those butchering an animal with a lot of fat. Both raw and cooked meat can be layered in a crock with melted lard. The lard prevents the growth of bacteria by keeping air from getting to the meat. It’s a cheap and effective storage method and involves no equipment.
More Information: How To Preserve Food In Lard
7. Freeze Drying
This method is probably the least practical for a small homestead because you’ll need to purchase a freeze dryer. That being said they do make home models and freeze-dried food comes with a lot of benefits.
It’s lightweight, anything can be freeze-dried including leftovers, and freeze-dried food retains almost all of its nutrition. As it’s so light, freeze-dried food is perfect for backpacking or emergency travels.
More Information: How To Freeze Dry Beef: A Simple Guide
8. Keep Heritage Livestock
For those who keep livestock, obviously you may want to consider heritage breeds. Unlike modern livestock, heritage breeds are typically smaller. This was because a family would be able to use most or all of the animal before it went bad without having to preserve it.
With the advent of refrigeration and factory farms, livestock was bred to be bigger and bigger which is not necessarily helpful for the small homestead. Some heritage livestock was also bred to have a higher fat content than their modern counterparts, which can be helpful in preservation.
More Information: Raising Heritage Breeds
9. Natural Refrigeration/Freezing
Though this is not the most reliable method, it is worth mentioning. In colder climates, it’s possible to store meat outside in the winter, but you’ll need to keep an eye on the thermometer if the weather warms up. You’ll also need to keep it in a secure building or container.
Leaving meat out, frozen or not, can attract predators. Some people also have used hand-dug wells as refrigerators. Simply put the meat in watertight jars and sink them in the well for short-term refrigeration. Again, you’ll need to watch the temperature carefully.
More Information: Keep Meat Fresh for Longer in your Fridge and Freezer
10. Biltong
Biltong is when pieces of meat are marinated in vinegar for several hours. The meat pieces are then flavored further in a mixture of black peppercorns, whole coriander, brown sugar, cloves, and rock salt. The meat should then be left to sit for several hours, before being left hung out to dry.
If this method sounds similar to the process of making jerky, it’s because it is. However, the main difference is that with the biltong method, the meat can last a long longer outside of the freezer or the refrigerator. If you needed to bug out in an SHTF situation and bring meat with you, the biltong method is best.
More Information: How to Make Biltong (The Best Survival Meat)
Final Thoughts
Producing a lot of food is often one of a homesteader’s first goals, but if you rely on electricity to keep your harvest, you risk losing it all to a power outage. Knowing how to keep your food good when the power goes out using a combination of modern and traditional techniques can save you money and keep your family healthy.
No matter what method you choose, the most important part is safety. For our ancestors who preserved food on a near-daily basis during the harvest season, it was no big deal. But until you’re confident, it’s important for the modern homesteader to find and follow credible recipes and preservation methods.
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