How to Make Birch Tar | Preserving Bear Meat | Primitive Bushcraft Skills in the Wilderness

Birch tar or oil is relatively easy to make and is an important bushcraft product from the forest for off grid living. Birch tar can be used as antiseptic, a disinfectant, a diuretic, a bug repellent, glue, soap and more. I collect birch bark from one fallen tree and dry distill it in a campfire in front of my log cabin. With spring fast approaching, warm weather is threatening to thaw my store of frozen bear meat. To prevent spoilage, I remove it from the ground and dry and smoke it over the campfire over two days. It will last a long time like this, but should not be consumed as jerky, but rather should be cooked and/or rehydrated and cooked in order to kill potential trichinosis. Thanks for watching! New videos every FRIDAY. Please subscribe. My Other Channel: Shawn James https://bit.ly/2xzZHpB T-SHIRTS: https://teespring.com/stores/my-self-reliance Watch the playlists by clicking on these links: Building an Off Grid Sauna: https://bit.ly/2IjvJsQ Building a Log Cabin with Hand Tools: https://bit.ly/2MeEoOs Building an Outdoor Forest Kitchen: https://bit.ly/2AFQJ99 Best of My Self Reliance: https://bit.ly/2OfW7ry To see what I’m up to during the rest of the week, please follow me on my other online channels; Website: http://myselfreliance.com/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MySelfReliance/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/myselfreliance/ My Mailing Address: 51 King William Street P.O. Box 30017 Huntsville, ON P1H 0B5 My Tools, Clothing & Other Gear: https://www.amazon.com/shop/myselfreliance Cabelas: https://bit.ly/2AEp48v