Processing your own - Getting started

[Joe H]

Always buy the biggest throated grinder you can. It is best to have a friend with all the stuff needed if you can find one. It's like boats, you can spend all you want.

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[goldtip5575]

Another Great item but not a must is a tenderizer attachment for your grinder. I tenderize most of my steaks so I get alot of use from it. Great for chicken fry, grilling, smothered steak. And even later slicing for use as stew meat. The attachment is pricey, but very much worth it.

[Duckologist]

For those that need knives check this out. Can't beat the prices

https://www.minntrapprod.com/Resharpened-Skinning-Knives/productinfo/RESP-001/

[CWendling]

thoughts on the hand held tenderizers vs the mechanical/crank ones for someone that does 2-3 deer/year?

[DuramaxDude]

It depends on what you are wanting to do. Ideally a grinder, smoker, sausage stuffer, dehydrator, a good vacuum sealer.
When I started out doing all my own stuff I had a smoker, grinder, and a vacuum sealer. Smoked my sausage and my jerky. A sausage stuffer is flippin amazing after you have been stuff sausage through a grinder cause it sucks that way.
I normally do 5-10 deer a year and do it all at once. I quarter the deer the day they are shot and put them on ice for a week then cut up my steaks tenderize them and vacuum seal them. Then I cut up my grind meat into chunks and put them in gallon freezer bags and freeze it. After season I thaw out the grind chunks and jerky cuts slowly and grind up my burger and sausage (breakfast and link) and marinate my jerky. I like the jerky best in the dehydrator and i smoke the link sausage.

[Dusty Britches]

Some people like to vacuume seal, but I prefer good ol butcher paper wrapped. Even my ground venison gets wrapped.

Good sharp knives and knife sharpener. I like to use those wooden handled fish filet knives because they are easy to sharpen and they are flexible. I have the 4" and 6" blades.

[laredoarcher]

Good information guys !

[smokeless]

As others have stated, tubs and fillet knives. I also buy a cheap shower curtain to put on the table, Walmart or dollar store. Easy clean up. I would also find a wire rack to lay in the bottom of my tubs. This allows the blood to separate from the meat. Keep the meat cold for grinding. It will run thru the grinder better.

[Native Texan]

All I use is a Lem grinder, Rapala filet knives, and a vacuum sealer.

I do it all on the kitchen cabinet. You can take a piece of freezer paper and lay it down on a wet counter top shiny side up, fold up the sides, and it will contain any blood. When done just fold it up and throw it away and the counter is usually still clean.

I separate the larger individual muscles and vacuum seal them to cut into steaks when I'm ready to cook them. Ground meat goes into easily stackable quart ziploc freezer bags.

The grinder works for stuffing sausage, but I rarely smoke it since it will usually be cooked on the pit anyway.

[TX_Kevin]

Processing your own - Getting started

Been doing mine for years. The 2 bolded items are the most important, other than a grinder.

We actually do ours on a cutting board on the kitchen counter

Mary and I put five deer in the freezer last year. One so far this year.

Keep it simple. Tenders into carpaccio, backstraps into steaks, a few steaks out of the hams and and a couple of roasts, and grind everything else.

Vacuum seal it all. Weigh it on a scale so you get around a pound to a pound and a half for the ground.

Our knives are the barracuda filet knives from Walmart.

[texashunter]

1. Good Grinder with Stuffing attachments - OR - a sausage stuffer.
2. Foot control for the grinder / Stuffer.
3. Good boning and butcher knives
4. Large cutting board and a bunch of towels
5. Work table. I use one of those plastic ones from Home Depot.
6. Vacuum Sealer
7. Measurement cups
8. scale.
9. Pork and Deer meat.



what else am I missing fellas?

Good list, dont forget a few of the plastic meat tubs or lugs

[Stickslinger92]

Thanks again for all the responses! Always impressed by how much information I get from this site. I'm starting to make a list now of the few things I am going to use to get started and then watch prices. I'll either wait till stuff goes on sale or I shoot another animal!

[masonred]

Get a good recipe book! I have used the Great Sausage and Meat Curing Recipes for years, it has information behind the methods and good recipes. There are lots of sources for recipes but this book goes into many aspects not often discussed much less understood.
I did work in a sausage kitchen years ago and processed deer as a side job. As has been said get a good grinder the bigger the better, the money saved on a smaller model isn't worth the extra time and aggravation.

[Rick]

Lots of different answers. You really only need a grinder. I assume you have knives, something to use for meat lugs, etc. I put burger meat in the tube bags you can get at academy. I wrap steaks/roasts in butcher paper. I have a vacuum sealer, but do not use it. Butcher paper is cheaper and works fine. I added a tenderizer attachment for my grinder this year, wish i had added that sooner. I used a cheap Northern Tool grinder for a lot of years, but upgraded to a .75 hp Cabelas grinder a couple years ago. cheaper one works, but the better one is worth the money IMO.

[TX_Kevin]

Thanks again for all the responses! Always impressed by how much information I get from this site. I'm starting to make a list now of the few things I am going to use to get started and then watch prices. I'll either wait till stuff goes on sale or I shoot another animal!

It amazes me how many people jump right to sausage. They make it sound like all deer are good for is sausage. Don't get me wrong, I love sausage. But more than anything I love meat. Unless you just want to make it difficult, I say keep it simple. I bought this little grinder off of Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Works great.