Moose Meat!

Yay! Kendall got a moose! Now we have a freezer full of meat once again! He went out hunting with some buddies last weekend and called me Sunday morning to report that he had just shot a calf. I was glad. (Partly because he used up his tag so early in the season!)

Yes, that is a piece of moose meat hanging from Kendall's mouth as he butchers.  I assure you it is cooked.  It is the heart- a Hochstedler tradition to cook and eat the heart as soon as possible.
Please ignore background clutter, but please do notice the house.  The outside is now finished except for the chinking between the planks on the entry. 

Evan wanted this picture to look like he had shot the moose himself:

And here the boys help wrap and label sausage:

Honestly, I don't even know how many pounds of meat we got from this moose.  I know that we cut more than 26 roasts off of it.  There are also a few steaks and some ribs to smoke.  Then Kendall took the rest off the bone and took it to a friends house to grind.  I have no idea how many pounds of ground meat and sausage we have.  Lots.  We're sharing some.  It's so nice to have and the roast we already ate proved to be WAY better than the tough old cow or bull from last year.

So, I'm happy for a freezer full of meat and perhaps even happier for an already-filled tag!