David Unnerstall

Ness, I did look that guy up. He knows how to do a lot with a little. You know he actually puts a steak right on the coals. What I need to do is rip out the components of this smoker and dig a hole in the hill behind my house for a walk-in smoker. If I triple the size the heat won't get away from me and I can smoke all the sausage at one time.

SmallieGuy, No grindin' no eatin'. I ground 50 lbs of venison and 18 lbs of pork by hand in three days.

Ness, A guy that lives in this area, Fred Marquardt, taught me how to do this. Seasonings are black pepper, salt, garlic and red pepper. I mix in half pork. It is a hot smoke, too hot actually. It is a gas smoker and in order to keep the hickory chips burning the burner has to run too often. I really need to develop a better system at keeping the temperature down and the smoke up. Some of the links got too dry. I did use a cure. I get the pork, casings and cure from G & W meat in St. Louis. I believe it is safe at room temperature like landjaegger is. But it is 45 degrees in my basement. When I was single I used my oven for this. I filled the bottom of the oven with hickory chips. That system was perfect at keeping a constant temperature with the thermostat. The house smelled like a smokehouse for about six months but I thought that was a good thing.

I got my venison sausage made last weekend. I am happy with the results. Step One: Grinding the meat Step Two: Stuffing the sheep casings Step Three: Smoking Step Four: Drying

I would like to read some "pro" comments on this. I want to know WHY this bill is thought necessary and WHO thinks it necessary.

Each of these characters has anywhere between zero and eight years on the job. What if we made it law that doctors, lawyers and airplane pilots had to change careers after eight years?

I prefer to listen to pre-season games. I listen while I am still splitting wood and shoveling snow and it gives me comfort knowing that somewhere baseball is being played. If I were to watch and see people in shirt sleeves outside it would make me melancholy.

The best dollar I will spend all year.

I always thought you had to have seeds to exchange to get seeds but apparently that is not true. I will look into this.

Wow....no kidding. I, now, wish I didn't add my entry. Nobody can compete with that!

This has to be my biggest fish. It was caught on Basswood Lake in the boundary waters. We got there by sled dogs and that is a very amazing experience by itself.

I thought that was Marble Creek. Great pictures.

So I am going back to Tackle Warehouse. Wow, this resolution lasted about a week.

I will cut the worm in half and I won't use a 5" worm.

OK, OK! I am going to give this a try. But this is the last bait I buy and not catch fish. Even if I find pre-Rapala warts, custom painted by Virgil Ward after eating hallucinogenic mushrooms for two bucks each I ain't buying them.

On New Years Day, after checking the roof for holes (it was like a war zone up here on the edge of the city limits) I was getting caught up on my reading. I read an article in Mother Earth News titled "Sourcing Truly High-Quality Garden Seeds." http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/high-quality-seeds-zm0z14djzsto.aspx?PageId=1#axzz3Nhqewhkx It is said in the article that seed companies have no knowledge of their seeds origin. And seeds should be bred for your region. Now there are some things I have success with (I might quit my day job and grow pole beans for a living) but others I have not. I am curious to know how much thought others have put into this.

I bought a bunch of shaky-heads last year and have hardly used them. Now I am going to the Fishing Show in Collinsville once I escape this cubicle and look to stock up on NED rigs. What will it be next year!

Thanks guys. These are all good ideas.

And we have a mallet around somewhere.....it's just that more people are telling me to go beat my meat, these days.

It was from the other end.

I won't use a marinade, then. Thanks for the ideas.

It does seem the majority of Amber Alerts are estranged spouses.

Chief, I fixed a couple of steaks the day I processed it. I DID use salt and pepper and cooked them fast in a bit of lard. The flavor was excellent but I had to cut each piece paper thin to chew it.

Thanks BeeDub. And here is a picture. I am dissapointed by the pictures taken in my carport.

This deer I shot is going to be one impressive mount but is really tough. I have the majority of it slated for ground venison and sausage. I need a way to make the steaks and chops a little more tender. And the next time I see a deer like this I am going to let it pass.