Process your own?

[Dredly]

This year I've got like 6 tags, we have over 15 including my buddies and my family, if we manage to tag out and have all the deer processed at the butcher we are looking at over 1k in fees (about 65 - 75 / deer)

It should be MUCH more affordable to do it ourselves but we don't have any of the equipment.


Anyone do their own? what should I start looking for?

[Guns4Fun]

This year I've got like 6 tags, we have over 15 including my buddies and my family, if we manage to tag out and have all the deer processed at the butcher we are looking at over 1k in fees (about 65 - 75 / deer)

It should be MUCH more affordable to do it ourselves but we don't have any of the equipment.


Anyone do their own? what should I start looking for?

Sharp knives and a meat grinder - oh, and the know how on what and how to cut.

At our hunting club, we always processed our own. However, the club had an industrial meat grinder and a few people were butchers. They would help out on what and where to cut for roasts, steaks, and hamburger.

Unfortunately, it's been many years since I’ve done it.

[Chazman321]

Legs, ground. Sides, steaks or ribs. Shoulders, roasts. Tenderloins, they go straight to the grill wrapped in bacon!

Anything that looks too gristly, goes in the meat grinder... If you can skin it and hang it up overnight in a nice cold place, all the better... Then take a roast, cut it thinly, marinate in liquid smoke over night, shove a toothpick through it, and make some deer jerkey... lol

-Chaz

[eightshot627]

My family and friends have been doing ours for years. We don’t freeze fat, bone or grizzle so no fancy band saw needed. Much better tasting meat with the fat, bone and grizzle (silver skin) removed.

My tools:
-Big white plastic cutting boards (the bigger the better)
-I use a big sturdy, to stiff to be a good filet knife and a smaller sturdy filet knife
-Cordless saw-zaw, we started with hack saws with rough tooth counts, then upgraded to a actual bone saw but now use the cordless saw-zaw with a combination blade. We aren’t cutting steaks or chops (no fat, bone and grizzle frozen) just for cutting off neck, lower legs, splitting the hip bone and cutting off horns
-Kitchen Aid grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer (spend money here a good grinder is worth it, make sure the blade is attached to the auger without a spring, my parent’s grinder had a spring that would allow the blade to come off the grinder plate, just bad we replaced the spring with a bushing and it’s better)
-Trays for storing meat before packaging (I use old lipped cookie sheets, I got the wife new air bake sheets and took her old plain sheets Uhmmm cookie!)
-Food Saver, I use the roll and make custom size bags
-Deer/beer frig for storing quarters and beer

Walt

[spabula]

My brother was a butcher for 15 years...... i am the luckiest SOB around

[wis bang]

My family and friends have been doing ours for years. We don’t freeze fat, bone or grizzle so no fancy band saw needed. Much better tasting meat with the fat, bone and grizzle (silver skin) removed.

Kitchen Aid grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer

That's how I was taught, 'de-construct' the hind muscle groups and shave the silver skin w/ a filet knife, square the ends.

Odd shapes of meat, trimmed from the silver skin, etc. gets baged to take to mom, she has the kitchen aid mixer w/ grinder.

[Dredly]

My family and friends have been doing ours for years. We don’t freeze fat, bone or grizzle so no fancy band saw needed. Much better tasting meat with the fat, bone and grizzle (silver skin) removed.

My tools:
-Big white plastic cutting boards (the bigger the better)
-I use a big sturdy, to stiff to be a good filet knife and a smaller sturdy filet knife
-Cordless saw-zaw, we started with hack saws with rough tooth counts, then upgraded to a actual bone saw but now use the cordless saw-zaw with a combination blade. We aren’t cutting steaks or chops (no fat, bone and grizzle frozen) just for cutting off neck, lower legs, splitting the hip bone and cutting off horns
-Kitchen Aid grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer (spend money here a good grinder is worth it, make sure the blade is attached to the auger without a spring, my parent’s grinder had a spring that would allow the blade to come off the grinder plate, just bad we replaced the spring with a bushing and it’s better)
-Trays for storing meat before packaging (I use old lipped cookie sheets, I got the wife new air bake sheets and took her old plain sheets Uhmmm cookie!)
-Food Saver, I use the roll and make custom size bags
-Deer/beer frig for storing quarters and beer

Walt

What are the benefits of the mixer w/ grinder over a traditional grinder?

[eightshot627]

What are the benefits of the mixer w/ grinder over a traditional grinder?

No advantage other that I had the mixer and from using a friends grinder knew that the attachment worked. There are plenty of good dedicated grinders out there. I just listed my tools. This is where I would spend alittle more money for the better grinder. Don’t skimp here it’s not worth the headache.

Walt

[Dredly]

No advantage other that I had the mixer and from using a friends grinder knew that the attachment worked. There are plenty of good dedicated grinders out there. I just listed my tools. This is where I would spend alittle more money for the better grinder. Don’t skimp here it’s not worth the headache.

Walt

Gotcha, I was considering getting one of the commercial grade grinders from Cabelas but they are a bit pricey. I think I'll look around for one that is used or wait till Cabelas does a sale.

[wis bang]

Gotcha, I was considering getting one of the commercial grade grinders from Cabelas but they are a bit pricey. I think I'll look around for one that is used or wait till Cabelas does a sale.

My former co-worker from Charleston, SC has an electric grinder from Cabellas he bought it for their 'club', group of guys w/ a 500 acre lease. He really liked it.

We used a butcher near our camp when it's the family [he's a family friend who cleans his band saw] but sometimes I have a guest from NJ who's used to doing his own up for muzzleloader or the odd last saturday & we'll skin one, have dinner & then cut & wrap. I have a large teflon cutting board plus freezer paper & tape at the cabin. We always have knives, etc. w/ us & I bag a few gal zip locks of the cleaner scraps to bring to mom so she can grind it. One deer we did that way yielded 9LBS of ground which mom & I use up. Her mixer was originally bought by dad & pappy to replace my grandmother's after they burned it up grinding venison. We've only used the grinding feature 3 - 4 times. When this butcher retires, I'll get my own grinder.