Canning / Preserving meat

I like to think I'm a person that has a reasonably positive outlook on life but like many people in our country right now, I am concerned about what's to come in the times ahead. I try not to take for granted the things in my life that enable my family to live comfortably such as electricity. I don't dwell on the subject but I do think about what we would do without it more often that I used to. We have been researching windmills for quite some time now and we are making progress with that endeavor. That in itself would eliminate our dependence on our local electric company. Our biggest use of electricity on the farm other than lighting is our water pumps and our freezers. We have three of them, full of meat and vegetables.

The whole point of this topic is this: If we should find ourselves without electrical service for any reason, what would we do?

We could use other sources for lighting and we have a hand pump that connects to any of one of our four well points to draw water. My biggest concern is my freezers. What would I do with all that meat? I've been talking with my Dad and Mom about how meat was preserved when they were children. Not everyone had electricity in the 1930's - meaning no freezers. Meat was often dried, smoked, any often canned. Duh.........I never gave canning meat a thought until our conversations. Now I can't stop thinking about it. It would be a huge undertaking to can 400lbs of beef but not impossible. I've read all three of my canning and "Putting Food By" books in the last two days about canning different meats.

I can't explain my excitement learning about this process - it's one more way that we can rely on ourselves. I certainly do not want to go without electrical power but it's a big relief for me to know that I can continue to preserve everything I raise here for my family should that happen.

I have a beef headed for the freezer and will talk to my butcher about different cuts that will work better for canning.

Do any of you can meat? Have you been happy with the end result? I'd to hear what you think about this process.