It smells like Lye Soap, but not meat greases. I save all of the following greases and oils: Bacon Grease Hamburger drippings from my grill pan Ground Beef grease Shortening and/or oils used for frying meats. Oils used for any kind of fast frying (donuts, french fries, etc). Meat greases rendered from roasts (beef, pork, etc) and so forth. I don't fry very often, but I still save the oils and grease. It adds up faster than you might think! NEVER dump grease and oils down drains. Not only does this stop up sewer lines and septic systems, but it is a major cost to the public in city sewage systems repairs and maintenance and sewage processing plants. It pollutes the land and water systems...kills fish and other wildlife, creates algae in water ways, and more. Awful stuff. The chemical action in the soap making process removes the smelly odors of meat greases. Make sure you strain it well to remove all the bits and pieces. I just use my kitchen sieve. The soap will not LOOK like commercial stuff. Those are mostly detergents. This soap is wonderful. Leaves your skin soft. Gentle on clothes. The two commercial soaps that I know that are REAL SOAP are Castile and Ivory (or Ivory used to be real soap anyway). For JUST hand soap, you can add a little glycerin (found at all RX drug store counters), and omit the Kerosene. OPT. - Kerosene is not necessary for the recipe to work, but it makes the laundry soap better. Boosts the cleaning power. As mentioned above, you can add coconut oil (and/or other fancy oils) to make it more sudsy and feel softer. But, the purpose of this topic is HOW TO USE old MEAT GREASE that you should not put in your compost. There are all kinds of soap recipes on the internet. I've tried a few. The thing I object to in these NEW recipes is the cost and waste. Those fancy oils are EXPENSIVE. Cheaper to buy commercial soap and be done with it. Hope this explains my purpose in posting this topic: ***Recycling old meat grease rather than throwing it into the garbage that will go into land fills*** We can greatly reduce the amount of trash and garbage that goes into land fills (millions of tons of garbage dumped on the land and in the ocean )just in America) just by practicing the three "R's" of waste management for good conservation - REDUCE -> REUSE -> RECYCLE -> Don't waste food! Use those leftovers and compost your kitchen garbage. Many household items that most Americans tend to just toss in the garbage daily can be REDUCED, REUSED, and RECYCLED, including clothing, buttons, zippers, snaps, hook and eyes, and other items just in our households alone. Good conservation practices not only saves the Earth by preventing pollution and conserves our natural resources, but it will save each of us MONEY, not only collectively as a society, but in each household! There is an old Mormon saying: "A woman can throw it out the window with a teaspoon faster than a man can pitch it in the front door with a shovel." - Brigham Young, 1860. This is so true. ~Annie

We ate the backstraps/loins off this deer. Steaks buttlerflyed, grilled on the rare side of medium rare all at once, then frozen and reheated in the microwave to medium doneness. No noticeable side effects from eating the steaks. This was the third deer I "processed" this season, from the field to the freezer. I am very careful with my meat, which is why I do it all myself. Wild game overcooks and dries out quickly, most peolple eat it too well done, which is why they don't like it. I've changed more than one naysayers mind after they eat off my grill. I typically cut most of my venison into steaks and eat them cooked medium rare. I was actually worried about overcooking in the canner, since I cooked to what I consider done before putting it into the jars. Which is why I did half raw pack, that I'm now scared to eat. Weight was 10lb, guage read 11lbs for the majority. All the seals are still good. I love eating wild game meat, and canned meat sounded like the perfect solution for my needs, which is why I'm so heartbroke.

Yes, I am amazed at her totally ignoring me while feeding. I can be just 2-3 feet away and she will not budge. Its almost like a dog or cat pet. I never know when she it out there as she tends to hide in the thich blueberry bush area. When she is out there and sees me, she wil do a turky call to let me know she wants me. I keep a bucket of sunflower seeds inside my kitchen door, just for her. If I put them out daily, the regular birds and rodents get them instead. One of the photos I posted recently shows here sitting right next to the glass on mmy greenhouse and I snapped the photo from inside side up against the glass. She does have a friend, but that one only comes by once in a while. I think she may have a nest someplace nearby. If I see babies soon, then its true, she is a mother.

Lars, your home cooked meats are much healthier than "deli meats". I consider deli meats, both smoked and non-smoked to be processed, with flavor enhancers and preservatives. Even the highest quality deli meats are chunks of meat that are tumbled and pressed (with a binder) together, to form the hunks you see in the deli case. The highest quality deli meats have the largest amount of whole muscle. The low end deli meats will have small pieces of meat. I have seen some higher end deli meats recently that advertise "no nitrates". It really doesn't matter if the meat is smoked or not, again, quality is the guide. You could lower the fat content of your home cooked smoked turkey or chicken by removing the skin before cooking or grilling. Watch the labels even on the turkey breast for additives. I think it's worth paying a little more to seek out poultry that has no additives. Nancy