Let's talk processing

[Jmort1754]

Thanks

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

+100 on a honing (not sharpening) steel rod. Start with a good edge on your knives, touch up on the steel every 15 min or so, and you won’t have to resharpen for a long time. I keep a beater knife close by for anything where I’m really digging around joints/bone.

 

[rbljack]

I was given a tip to buy victornox knives and ditch the cheaper crap. Been VERY happy with that decision. They arent terribly expensive and I built a knife kit from vic knives on Amazon. Others on here have hit the nail on the head with the other stuff. Big Grinder! My wife and son got me an electric 22 pound stuffer last year and that thing has been great for making sausage.

A tip I have found is this: if your going to make sausage, its easier to do it in 25 or 50 pounds at a time and just bang it out. Less clean up making one big run as opposed to a lot of smaller runs. I wouldn't even think about a 5 or 15 pound stuffer after using this thing.

Another thing I found that be VERY useful are the meat tote liners. Makes clean up much easier.

I still dont have a chamber vac but its been on my radar. OH......Meat your maker is running 25 percent off sale RIGHT NOW...but it ends tomorrow. They have a new Dual grind system for their #22 grinder that I am thinking about switching to....but it isn't part of the sale.

 

[velvet muley]

Victorinox 8" breaking knife and 6" boning knife, both curved/stiff.

 

[z987k]

Costco, at least up here, will get the chamber vacs in from time to time at an incredible price.

 

[2ski]

I've seen LEM chamber vacs at Costco.

I have a LEM and a Cabelas vac sealer. The Cabelas was given to me by someone who couldnt figure out how to work it. Both were significantly more than a food saver. When I bought, everyone kept saying I love my Foodsaver. I'm on my ___ one.

The little tape thing from LEM is money for sealing hamburger bags. You don't have to pick up and put down tools. And it will cut off any extra bag that wasn't filled.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I found double-bagging (freezer bags) and freezer paper to be a faster process and better at protecting my game from freezer burn than vac-sealing. More affordable as well. Perhaps my Food Saver brand vac-sealer was second rate as I seemed to get an unacceptable number of failed seals resulting in freezer burn after some time in the freezer. Double-bag + freezer paper doesn't fail me.

Food saver is terrible. I just don’t think you can properly package meat with one. We had 2 going for fish this summer and I’d say half of my bags have already cracked open. Used the chamber sealer for moose and none of them have had any issues. We’ve used the same chamber sealer for the past 4 years for moose and I’ve had maybe one bag fail from 4 whole moose.

 

[william schmaltz]

No need for a mixer. We had a commercial mixer in our old butcher shop. We would do thousands of lbs of sausage in a weekend in the fall. We hand mixed it all. The one time I talked my Dad into letting me use the mixer, it was 10x more work to clean it that it was to hand mix. Not sure how many tens or hundreds of thousands of lbs of stuff I've made, but it's all been hand mixed.

Save that money and buy a 1.5 hp grinder and the largest stuffer you can find.

My unpopular opinion is a chamber sealer isn't necessary unless you need it for commercial use. A good strip sealer from vac master or weston is fan cooled and will do just as good a job. We catch a pile of salmon every year. usually at least once a summer we are against possession limits on a long weekend and drop stuff off to be done commercially (chamber). The only difference I see in the ones I do and the ones done commercially is the fillets done in the chamber vac seem to lose their color quicker.

 

[Bassman]

I found double-bagging (freezer bags) and freezer paper to be a faster process and better at protecting my game from freezer burn than vac-sealing. More affordable as well. Perhaps my Food Saver brand vac-sealer was second rate as I seemed to get an unacceptable number of failed seals resulting in freezer burn after some time in the freezer. Double-bag + freezer paper doesn't fail me.

Curious, do you have a preferred brand / thickness of freezer paper? I'm sure not all are created equal.

I'm using a foodsaver and thinking of making the switch

 

[Fitzwho]

I like the Bubba Blade fillet knives. I usually end up with the 5" and 7" flex blades while breaking down a deer/elk. Pic above is a rear quarter from my Colorado Bull and the 7" Bubba Blade.

If I'm doing a deer, I can do most of my grinding into a couple large stainless bowls that I have. For this elk I just went and picked up a couple of the foil turkey roasting pans for $3 a piece. Lining the countertop with butcher paper made for easy clean up as well. Need to figure out something to put under the two large cutting boards to keep them from sliding around. Thinking about drilling into them and installing suction cups at each corner.

 

[BBob]

Can't think of the name but the white handled butcher style

Dexter Russell

 

[long hunter]

View attachment 469478


I like the Bubba Blade fillet knives. I usually end up with the 5" and 7" flex blades while breaking down a deer/elk. Pic above is a rear quarter from my Colorado Bull and the 7" Bubba Blade.

If I'm doing a deer, I can do most of my grinding into a couple large stainless bowls that I have. For this elk I just went and picked up a couple of the foil turkey roasting pans for $3 a piece. Lining the countertop with butcher paper made for easy clean up as well. Need to figure out something to put under the two large cutting boards to keep them from sliding around. Thinking about drilling into them and installing suction cups at each corner.

Get you some of the rubber matting like is used for putting under rugs to keep them from sliding around or a cheap rubber bath tub mat.

 

[camping1601]

The basics.
6 inch Victorinox curved semi stiff
F. Dick polished packinghouse steel (use while butchering to role the edge back)
Belt style sharpener like a Work Sharp
The buss totes from Sams are really nice and cheap
Chamber vac for sure and a wide assortment of bags (there's no going back after owning one)
Biggest cutting board you have room to wash
Large two speed stuffer that has the rack and pinion style screw and not the type that uses the big Acme screw
#22 grinder or bigger

 

[Huntinaz]

Stuff I like:

If doing elk, get at least a 3/4HP grinder. You’ll be happier with a 1HP. I’m super curious about the bigger ones. I butcher about two elk a year on average. My 1HP does a fine job. I want a bigger one though

For knives I use Cutco and I like them. I use a butcher knife and a boning knife but if I had to have just one knife it’d be the butcher knife. This shape:

Very versatile knife. I use it in the kitchen too, and could be fine butchering with it alone. I’ve used many knives over the years and this is hands down my preference

For grinding and mixing sausage, the large meat tubs are super handy. Never used a sausage mixer but as others have said it’s not a big deal mixing by hand and there’s nothing extra to clean


I also think good old seran wrap and freezer paper keeps meat better than vacuum sealers and I think the vacuum sealers are a pain in the ass to use. We all have our preferences. If you do go the freezer paper route, a tape dispenser is a must

 

[menhaden_man]

 

[Boarmaster]

I would go with a 1 hp grinder. I use a LEM.
I would go with a minimum 15 lb stuffer
I been using Victorinox boning and breaking knives 20 years.
i use the 6 inch curved flex the most.
I use a LEM vac sealer. Its quick and works great.

Don't forget a few meat tubs and a large cutting board. Make sure your tubs will fit under your grinder.

I use my meat grinder with the large kidney shaped plate to fill
plastic ground meat bags. I bought a tape dispenser to seal up
the bags. I really like this system after years of vacuums sealing ground.

If anyone asks me I always say invest in a great grinder and descent knives first then everything else.
I started with a 5 lb stuffer but after using it I bought a 15 lb. I still use the 5 lb stuffer for very small runs of sausage But its a real pain for big runs.

 

[Snowwolfe]

Buy a set (4) of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GPHGZ7L?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

They are slightly bigger than the Lem mini meat lugs. The beauty of these is you can fill them with ground meat and find space in your freezer to store them as you wait for the meat to become semi frozen for the second grind. The bigger meat lugs work well but sometimes finding the space to put them in the freezer is difficult.

 

[AKBC]

I also think good old seran wrap and freezer paper keeps meat better than vacuum sealers and I think the vacuum sealers are a pain in the ass to use. We all have our preferences. If you do go the freezer paper route, a tape dispenser is a must

I agree 100%. Too much wasted meat with vacuum sealed meat losing the seal. I buy the saran wrap and freezer paper in big rolls from Costco.

 

[SBR Sarge]

+100 on a honing (not sharpening) steel rod. Start with a good edge on your knives, touch up on the steel every 15 min or so, and you won’t have to resharpen for a long time. I keep a beater knife close by for anything where I’m really digging around joints/bone.

I had no idea there were two kinds of steels. Here’s a pic or two of my Gerber steel. Any idea what kind it is?

Dang, joining this site is expensive. I’ve found all sorts of things I need but had no idea I needed. Everything from zero drop hunting boots to knife steels.e steels!

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

doh, sorry I missed your question a while ago, @SBR Sarge

I could totally be wrong here, but from what I understand, a textured steel will sharpen (ie take some metal off your blade). I'm sure there are varying degrees depending on the aggressiveness and composition of the steel's texture. Maybe some lightly textured steels have a negligible effect...not sure. The steel in your pictures definitely has some sort of texture.

What I am referring to as a "honing steel" has a polished, non-textured finish. I have a Victorinox polished honing steel that has been great. Not sure if I have the 10" or 12" version.