For some unknown reason one of my 5 jars of fermenting high meat is sort of drying out and not fermenting as well as the other 4. I really don't know what I could have done differently with that one. The other 4 are all red and bloody and wet but this one is more brownish and sticky. I think it needs to be wetter to ferment properly. Adding water did not feel quite right to me, so I had this other idea. I had about 2 oz. of blood saved from frozen grass-fed Tibetan Yak liver in my freezer, so I thawed that and added it to the jar. It has moistened it all up really nicely. Now it remains to be seen whether it gets "higher".

Another interesting development, and a question:
I have had some grass fed beef dry aging on a plate in my fridge for about 10 days (turning them regularly). Just this morning I have noticed the first sign of a dry-ish mold growing on the edges of the meat. I am assuming that those moldy parts of the meat are good to eat just as they are. Correct? I think I'll wait for some confirmation from those of you more experienced RAFers before I take the plunge and eat my first ever meat-mold. It does not smell high or fermented or anything. It just smells like a more concentrated meat-smell.

Thanks for all your help Tyler 

So Tyler, are you saying that you leave your high meat container buried in a hole in the ground at all times between airings, instead of keeping it in the fridge or anywhere in the house?

I have not been airing my jars for 5 minutes, I've only been doing it long enough to believe that I have exchanged the air in the jar for fresh air. I take the lid off and hold my arm out while I spin around in circles with the jar facing into the flow of air to get the air current to exchange the air in the jar as quickly as possible. I think I've only been keeping the lid off for about one minute each time. I stir the meat around with a fork before I spin around and again after, and then I replace the lid.
Perhaps I need to instead open all jars at once and just sit there watching them so nothing gets into them while I leave them open for a full 5 minutes. Do you think that would be better?

My jars of meat started at the same time, (or within one day of each other) do not smell the same. It seems like different bacteria predominate in different jars. Also some of the jars build up a bit of pressure inside between airings and others do not. Does all this seem okay? This is my first time making high meat so I am not really sure if it is working correctly or not. I have been eating a bite out of the very first jar I started (a week ago) each time I air it. I am not certain if it is affecting me or not. I think I may be feeling a slight positive effect from it, unless I am imagining it because I want and expect a positive effect.

I bought a new kind of raw milk cheese today which I have never tried before. It is called Fontina. When I tasted it I thought it seemed remarkably familiar, like I recognized the flavor from somewhere. Then it dawned on me, it tastes very much like my high meat! Someone else mentioned that their high meat tasted like Gorgonzola cheese. I think it was Inger. I wonder if the same types of bacteria grow naturally in high meat as the ones that cheeses get inoculated with, or perhaps just form on their own.

I read in AV's book that one should not eat a lot of meat if they are in a "weight loss cycle". Any idea why that is? I would like to lose 20 lbs., and I also want the benefits of high meat at the same time.

Thanks for the information.
At this time of year I do not seem to have any flies in my house, and after reading about how ingenious flies can be about laying eggs around the lid I have been putting my closed jars of high meat in gallon zip lock bags as another layer of protection to keep any stray fly from finding the jars and accessing the lids.
Regarding the suggestion of keeping the jars open in my fridge while I am away: I feel certain that the jars would smell up my fridge and I do not want that. I guess I'll just air them out and then hope for the best while I am away.

I am a raw-meat newbie. I have just started eating raw GF beef. I am thinking of getting an air rifle to shoot squirrels and would like to eat them raw. Has anyone on this forum tried raw squirrel? Does anyone have any thoughts/recommendations/advice for me regarding raw squirrel? I am also thinking of raising rabbits for meat in my small back yard and eating them raw, organs and all. Does anyone on this forum eat raw rabbit? Does anyone have any info or tips about raw rabbit that I ought to be aware of?
Thanks!

Hi Nora, and welcome.
    I've been eating high meat since last fall and it is one of the most significant factors in my healing yet. I want to encourage you to be brave.
    You only need a little. Watch Inger's you tube video. I eat as it gets high. I can taste the meat developing that way and it acclimates me to it. Open your jar and have a bite right now, before it tastes really strong. You will live and every day build courage and confidence. Remember to air it out every day. I stir mine while I taste each day and that way I put more in a jar, about 1/2 full. Eventually it smells so potent of ammonia I toss it, but I've tried it and it never made me the slightest bit sick, it's just past my level of palatability at this time. It didn't make me feel any better than regular high meat so it goes in compost at that point. Any meat that hasn't been frozen and starts to get old on me get chunked up and stuck in a jar so I rarely run out. If I have too many jars going I combine similar stages of even different meats. No problem with that either. I share the same fork for all of my jars and I lick them clean in between.

Wow thanks Adora, this is really helpful information and encouragement for me. If I come up with some specific questions I'll definitely keep in mind your offer to PM you. Thanks for suggesting that I try my high meat that I just started already at this early stage (only 2 days into it's fermentation, at room temp: 70°F). That is a great idea for how I can ease myself into eating it once it gets strongly fermented and slimy, which I fear at this point. I'm also glad to hear your experiences with stirring it when you air it out and using the same fork for all jars, etc. Those are the very kind of details that really feel helpful to me.
Would you mind sharing a bit about how high meat has been one of the most significant factors in your healing?
The thing that appeals to me most about what I've read about high meat is the way it affects people's mood. I have struggled with varying degrees of depression for most of my life, with  periods of greatly improved mood - just enough to have me realize what is possible. I also read that high meat can help with mental clarity. I have been feeling a significant amount of brain fog and lack of motivation and lack of physical energy. I'm not experiencing much digestive difficulty now that I have eliminated starches and sweet foods from my diet. Yesterday I read about dry aging my meat in my fridge and then I unwrapped the little bit of GF beef that I had and let it start to dry out a bit, then sliced it and let it dry out in the fridge a bit more overnight and have particularly enjoyed it this morning.

Hi, my name is Nora and I live in Portland, Oregon. I finally joined this forum today after spending a lot of time reading on this forum over the last couple of weeks. I am fascinated and intrigued with the idea of "high meat", and I am here primarily to learn about that. I'm not sure of the difference between Primal & Paleo, but I think I may be Primal because I resonate most strongly with the ideas of Nora Gedgaudas and her book "Primal Body, Primal Mind".
I have tried many different ways of eating in my life (vegetarian, vegan, raw, organic, local, whole foods, etc.) and 2 years ago I was advised that I really must start eating meat on a regular basis in order to restore my health. I have severe adrenal fatigue, improper digestion, many food intolerances, and malfunctioning of my nervous system and my endocrine system and my brain. I also have severe mineral deficiencies and toxicity due to improper digestion due to eating so many foods that I am sensitive to. My health has finally begun to improve significantly in the last 1-2 months, after almost 2 years of following a Nutritional Balancing program based on hair mineral analysis (overseen by Dr. Lawrence Wilson).
I have not eaten grains, legumes or starches for about 20 months. My diet has been consisting of only organic food, mostly cooked vegetables, raw milk from which I make 24 hour yogurt and creme fraiche, 100% grass fed locally raised beef, duck, chicken, yak & buffalo, local pastured goose, duck & some chicken eggs, unsalted pastured Kerrygold butter, extra virgin olive oil, and sometimes a bit of raw honey that has never been heated at all. I have been making a lot of bone broths and using them on a daily basis, per the GAPS diet which I have been following for a close to 2 years, along with Primal eating and my Nutritional Balancing program. They all fit together or overlap very nicely. I also make all sorts of fermented vegetables and sauerkraut which are a consistent part of my diet.
I recently discovered Ajanous Vonderplanitz and have read about half of his two books. I started eating a little raw meat about 2 weeks ago and I think I notice benefits from it. I am fascinated with the idea of eating most or all of my animal products raw and particularly with the idea of eating high-meat. I cut up some 100% grass fed beef last night in little tiny pieces and put 2 quart mason jars of it (only 1/3 full) in the fridge last night and one pint jar on a shelf in the kitchen to try speeding up the process by doing some of it unrefrigerated. I am definitely scared about the possibility of ingesting parasites and harmful bacteria because I have been warned of the dangers of spoiled/rotten/contaminated meat my whole life and basically just accepted those concerns as fact. Now I am happy to be reconsidering those beliefs/assumptions and learning about the possible healing properties of raw and high meat. I will have plenty of questions along the way which I will post in the appropriate threads, or perhaps start a thread or two of my own. I love to challenge the accepted norms and beliefs and discover new possibilities in life. I have to admit I am still very squeamish about high meat, but I have developed a decent comfort level with raw muscle meat and also with making bone broth from chicken heads and chicken feet. I am also comfortable with eating organ meats, although I have yet to try them raw. I am thinking about taking up hunting so that I can feel confident about the quality of my meat and I am thinking I may start by hunting squirrels since that feels a little less intimidating than a having to deal with a large animal such as a deer while I am first getting started hunting.