Trapping Season and Processing Venison

With the passing of Thanksgiving here in Hickery Holler winter is starting to settle over the land. We got our first snow flurries of the season and the temperatures are steadily dropping. Trapping season has opened and O' Wise One has started running his trapline daily. The trapping shed walls are again decorated with drying hides waiting to be sold.

We have been busy processing venison into ground burger and sausage for the freezer. The kitchen is littered with grinders and meat mixers and sausage stuffers.

We cut our usual roasts and steaks and grind some for venison burger. We also mix some with pork and prepare breakfast sausage, smoked sausage, andouille sausage, brats, and Italian sausage. The smoked sausage will go into all those beans I put into the freezer this summer. The andouille sausage will be put with chicken and added to gumbos all winter. The brats will go with all that homemade sauerkraut put in jars this spring. The Italian sausage will be put into spaghettis and added to those stuffed shells I froze up. The dehydrator has a full capacity of jerky in it now drying.  The smoker is full and when you walk outside the smell of burning hickery is in the air.

With the completion of the venison processing our butchering winds down for the year. The pantry is full of jars and both freezers are almost full. God has indeed provided for which we are extremely thankful. We look forward to a long winters rest until next spring and we start all over again.  It has been a long and challenging year in the garden and now we relax and dream and plan for next years adventures here in Hickery Holler!

The Canned Quilter