Meat Care Equipment Priorities

[Average-joe]

FNG and newer hunter here. Slowly collecting gear to improve my meat prep, processing, and preservation abilities.

Let’s play a game: Rank this list in the order of importance if you were just getting started:

- Grinder
- Stuffer
- Dehydrator
- Vac Sealer/Chamber Vac
- Bigger/Better Cooler
- Better Knife/Bonesaw
- Scale
- Gambrel
- Game bags

Feel free to add items I missed!

 

[TN2shot07]

It’ll all be personal preference, for basic butchering you don’t need a stuffer or dehydrator. As you get more advanced it’s nice, also never used a saw for deer

Better Knife/Bonesaw - doesn’t have to be pricy, the Victorinox boning knives are awesome
Grinder
Scale
Vac Sealer/Chamber Vac
Stuffer
Dehydrator
*Game bags (completely dependent on how you transport game, may not even be necessary)
Gambrel - it’s nice but I still don’t use one
Bigger/Better Cooler

 

[TaperPin]

FNG and newer hunter here. Slowly collecting gear to improve my meat prep, processing, and preservation abilities.

Let’s play a game: Rank this list in the order of importance if you were just getting started:

- Grinder
- Stuffer
- Dehydrator
- Vac Sealer/Chamber Vac
- Bigger/Better Cooler
- Better Knife/Bonesaw
- Scale
- Gambrel
- Game bags

Feel free to add items I missed!

You might look at diy dehydrators if you have room in the garage or outbuilding, and the money saved can go to other things.

Many families processing 10 animals a year don’t have a stuffer, scale, bone saw, $200 cooler, gambrel, or vac sealer. I use pillow cases for disposable game bags. Victorinox knives are what many butcher shops use and aren’t expensive.

I’d add in a couple of plastic tubs for organizing and short term holding of meat. Big cutting boards are nice, but have a sink big enough to wash them.

If you like ground meat jerky, a good stuffer with flat ribbon plate or jerky shooter gun is nice. For making whole animals into jerky, tubs with lids, and/or 3 gal plastic food service buckets with lids makes mixing large batches easier. A big diy dehydrator will pay for itself with your first big batch just in the amount of meat that can be dried at once. Having a small dehydrator running small batches for a week straight or more is a pain in the ass. If you buy one, get the biggest most expandable one possible.

Before you invest a bunch in a tiny grinder look into the cost of simply having a processor grind it, or buy a case of beer for a buddy with a big grinder.

A butcher paper holder can really speed up wrapping.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I would split those items into two categories: A) field gear needed to get the meat home and B) gear needed to finish the processing job at home

For field gear, my priorities would be:

1. Good gutting/quartering/skinning knife (and a way to re-sharpen it in the field)
2. Game bags: May not be necessary depending on your style of hunting. If you do need them, don't feel obliged to spend a bunch on the fancy synthetic ones. Cheap cheesecloth bags or repurposed pillow cases work fine.
3. Cooler: May not be necessary if your trip home is short. The longer the ride from field to home, the more I would spend on the cooler. Minimum size depends on the animal.

For home-based gear to finish the processing job:

1. Good butchering/boning knife: Every piece of meat gets touched by a knife; a good one is a worthwhile investment.
2. Grinder: I limped along with a grinding attachment on a Kitchenaid stand mixer for years before ponying up for a 1.5 hp #32 MYM grinder. I probably overshot a bit (1 hp #22 would have been plenty), but it has proven to be money well spent and saves me hours of processing time.
3. Some method of wrapping/sealing: The good old plastic wrap + freezer paper + tape method works just fine with minimal upfront cost. I've stored meat wrapped this way as long as 4 years with no degradation in the quality. IME vacuum-packed meat is much more likely to develop freezer burn (due to poor initial seal and/or seal failure during storage) than carefully hand-wrapped meat. Take that statement with a grain of salt though; I've only ever used cheap (sub-$100) vac sealers. A high quality vac sealer would presumably do a better job. Also, a slide cutter beats the heck out of scissors (or the serrated joke-of-a-"cutter" built into the box) for cutting freezer paper, plastic wrap, or vac bags.
4. The other things on your list are entirely optional and some depend on what you want to do with your meat (e.g., if you don't want sausage, you don't need a stuffer). A gambrel is nice to have but not necessary; rope around the head or feet works fine. A scale is only necessary if you care about weights. The only thing I need a saw for is to cut the skull cap (if I'm not doing a euro mount).

 

[Average-joe]

You might look at diy dehydrators if you have room in the garage or outbuilding, and the money saved can go to other things.

Many families processing 10 animals a year don’t have a stuffer, scale, bone saw, $200 cooler, gambrel, or vac sealer. I use pillow cases for disposable game bags. Victorinox knives are what many butcher shops use and aren’t expensive.

I’d add in a couple of plastic tubs for organizing and short term holding of meat. Big cutting boards are nice, but have a sink big enough to wash them.

If you like ground meat jerky, a good stuffer with flat ribbon plate or jerky shooter gun is nice. For making whole animals into jerky, tubs with lids, and/or 3 gal plastic food service buckets with lids makes mixing large batches easier. A big diy dehydrator will pay for itself with your first big batch just in the amount of meat that can be dried at once. Having a small dehydrator running small batches for a week straight or more is a pain in the ass. If you buy one, get the biggest most expandable one possible.

Before you invest a bunch in a tiny grinder look into the cost of simply having a processor grind it, or buy a case of beer for a buddy with a big grinder.

A butcher paper holder can really speed up wrapping.

Great points. A few meat tubs are definitely in my future and I like the butcher paper holder idea.

I appreciate the no nonsense/non consumerist approach and recommendation to buy well when you do make a purchase. I’ve ground 3 deer with a hand-me-down Kitchen-Aid grinder attachment and can get behind the “go big or go home” ideology.

 

[Average-joe]

I would split those items into two categories: A) field gear needed to get the meat home and B) gear needed to finish the processing job at home

For field gear, my priorities would be:

1. Good gutting/quartering/skinning knife (and a way to re-sharpen it in the field)
2. Game bags: May not be necessary depending on your style of hunting. If you do need them, don't feel obliged to spend a bunch on the fancy syntethic ones. Cheap cheesecloth bags or repurposed pillow cases work fine.
3. Cooler: May not be necessary if your trip home is short. The longer the ride from field to home, the more I would spend on the cooler. Minimum size depends on the animal.

For home-based gear to finish the processing job:

1. Good butchering/boning knife: Every piece of meat gets touched by a knife; a good one is a worthwhile investment.
2. Grinder: I limped along with a grinding attachment on a Kitchenaid stand mixer for years before ponying up for a 1.5 hp #32 MYM grinder. I probably overshot a bit (1 hp #22 would have been plenty), but it has proven to be money well spent and saves me hours of processing time.
3. Some method of wrapping/sealing: The good old plastic wrap + freezer paper + tape method works just fine with minimal upfront cost. I've stored meat wrapped this way as long as 4 years with no degradation in the quality. IME vacuum-packed meat is much more likely to develop freezer burn (due to poor initial seal and/or seal failure during storage) than carefully hand-wrapped meat. Take that statement with a grain of salt though; I've only ever used cheap (sub-$100) vac sealers. A high quality vac sealer would presumably do a better job. A slide cutter beats the heck out of scissors (or the serrated joke-of-a-"cutter" built into the box) for cutting freezer paper, plastic wrap, or vac bags.
4. The other things on your list are entirely optional and some depend on what you want to do with your meat (e.g., if you don't want sausage, you don't need a stuffer). A gambrel is nice to have but not necessary; rope around the head or feet works fine. A scale is only necessary if you care about weights. The only thing I need a saw for is to cut the skull cap (if I'm not doing a euro mount).

Kitchen-Aid grinder team for the win! Very practical advice. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Lytro]

- Better Knife/Bonesaw (Quality boning and fillet knives make things quicker and safer)
- Chamber Sealer (I only use a vac sealer for large pieces like blade roasts)
- Grinder (Depending on your use, don't go overboard. A 1/2 hp is plenty for most people)
- Dehydrator (nice to have, ranked above stuffer because you can do more with it)
- Stuffer (nice to have)
- Bigger/Better Cooler (I have nice coolers, but I still think it's an unnecessary expense.)
- Scale (Low cost item. I stuff burger in tubes and don't even weigh it. Only time I weigh is for sausage fat ratio.)
- Gambrel (Like a $15 gambrel on a pulley? Or something more extravagant?)
- Game bags (Use whatever you can. I have sets of Kuiu and Caribou bags, but pillow cases or Allens do the same thing.)

I'd also add a good knife sharpener to the list.

 

[bowhunthard88]

This for a home butcher setup or a DIY hunt setup? OR a DIY hunt where you bring it home to process? The order of priority would change for each one lol.

 

[LongWayAround]

We don't know where or what you are hunting, nor what you are currently using.

Assuming a large animal just hit the ground and you can't drive to it, my list goes:

Knife
Game bags
Cooler

Vacuum sealer
Dehydrator - more versatile, not just for meat
Grinder

The stuffer and gambrel are pretty dependent on your uses or needs.

 

[idelkslayer]

1. Game bags - Nothing else matters if you don't take care of the meat in the field.
2. Cooler - You don't need an expensive roto molded cooler. 150 qt. Igloo coolers will hold ice for over a week no problem. Depending on the logistics of your hunt you might not need a cooler at all.
3. Grinder - Get a quality 3/4 Hp or larger grinder and never need to buy another again for as long as you live. The grinder doubles as a less effective stuffer but it can do both jobs. I love my stuffer now that I have one but you can get by without it.
4. Dehydrator - I could never get good quality with dehydrating in my oven. The dehydrator makes it easy to make jerky.
5. Stuffer - While the grinder can do the job, a stuffer makes it easier and more fun.
6. Vac sealer - For most cuts I use press and seal plastic wrap and then wrap in butcher paper. Way faster than a vac sealer and I think a better long term storage option. I do a vac sealer for storing cased sausages. The sealer can get the air out from those a lot better than I could with plastic wrap.
7. Better knife - I have used a variety of knives for butchering. For the last few years I have been using a cheap rapala filet knife. It sharpens easily and makes it easy to trim off silver skin like skinning fish filets. I don't see a need to change in the near future.
8. Scale - not really necessary but can be nice to have.
9. Gambrel - not necessary.

 

[butcherboy]

From a commercial processor’s pov:

Home:
Decent set of knives-6” semi stiff boning knife, 8-10” curved breaking/slicing knife
Steel and stone sharpener
Cutting boards
Plastic wrap
Freezer paper (not butcher paper, there is a difference)
Tape
Biggest grinder you can afford but no less than a 1/2 hp
Luggers
Scale
Dehydrator

Field:
Skinning and boning knifes
Game bags
Cooler

Skip the vac sealer. Plastic wrap and freezer
paper will last a long time in the freezer. You can wrap your hb by hand as well if you don’t have a grinder with a foot pedal for stuffing. A stuffer is nice but only needed for cased sausage. A meat saw is only necessary if you want to skull cap in the field. At home just use a sawzall with a wood blade to skull cap or cut shanks.

I have two chamber vac sealers. One is a 3k single chamber and the other is 15k double chamber sealer. I use them to package jerky, snack sticks, ham and bacon. That’s it. Everything is wrapped in plastic wrap then freezer paper. I use a stuffer to package hb and sausages but again, this is on a commercial level. At home, for a beginner, you can hand wrap burger and bulk sausage then move your way up to a foot pedal on a grinder or small stuffer.

 

[rayporter]

i have burned up a pair of half horse grinders. up in smoke. i have 2 three quarter horse grinders now and they take a beating.

 

[Average-joe]

This for a home butcher setup or a DIY hunt setup? OR a DIY hunt where you bring it home to process? The order of priority would change for each one lol.

Great question.

I’m interested in hearing each person’s individual approach and the “why” behind it for their specific needs and preferences. I figure it’s more interesting and helpful for a larger number of people to hear multiple approaches vs. arguing about the right formula for a single approach.

How did you skin the cat?

 

[Average-joe]

- Better Knife/Bonesaw (Quality boning and fillet knives make things quicker and safer)
- Chamber Sealer (I only use a vac sealer for large pieces like blade roasts)
- Grinder (Depending on your use, don't go overboard. A 1/2 hp is plenty for most people)
- Dehydrator (nice to have, ranked above stuffer because you can do more with it)
- Stuffer (nice to have)
- Bigger/Better Cooler (I have nice coolers, but I still think it's an unnecessary expense.)
- Scale (Low cost item. I stuff burger in tubes and don't even weigh it. Only time I weigh is for sausage fat ratio.)
- Gambrel (Like a $15 gambrel on a pulley? Or something more extravagant?)
- Game bags (Use whatever you can. I have sets of Kuiu and Caribou bags, but pillow cases or Allens do the same thing.)

I'd also add a good knife sharpener to the list.

Great point on the sharpener. That has been one of the biggest keys to success for me this far. Starting with and maintaining an edge, no matter the knife, is so helpful.

 

[Boarmaster]

Buy the very best quality equipment you can afford. If there’s two things I don't regret stretching my
Budget for its my grinder and my knives.

Stuffers are great but save up until you can afford a 15lb’r or bigger. My first stuffer was a 5 lb’r.
It worked great but it was more if a pain reloading over and over.

Priorities will be different hunter to hunter based on how they hunt , where they hunt , what they hunt and how they like to use their game meat.

I primarily hunt whitetail out of camps mostly in the SE. I hunt private so we use SxS atvs to get game back to camp. I like Chops, steaks and grind mostly. I make some breakfast sausage out of venison but most sausage for me is a product of pork. This coming year I am venturing into meat sticks. Up until now
I been taking boned out venison to a guy I pay to make snack sticks. He does a great job. But time to give it a go myself.

In the field or at camp
Good Knives and sharpener
Good cooler
Bone saw

At home
Good knives and sharpener
Good grinder
Enough meat tubs
Large cutting board
Freezer
Vac packer
Meat bag tape sealer
Stuffer

 

[bowhunthard88]

Great question.

I’m interested in hearing each person’s individual approach and the “why” behind it for their specific needs and preferences. I figure it’s more interesting and helpful for a larger number of people to hear multiple approaches vs. arguing about the right formula for a single approach.

How did you skin the cat?

Ok. This is based off of priorities in a home based butcher setup, for whitetail, that gets the most frequent use vs. other setups.

- Gambrel: the most frequently utilized piece of kit for convenience sake. I have my setup permanently mounted on my 13' garage ceiling.
- Vac Sealer/Chamber Vac: I realize there are other methods that work well to preserve/freeze your meat, but this is my preferred method.
- Better Knife/Bonesaw: I have a good set of knives and a good bone saw, but less expensive stuff works just as well if you don't mind sharpening frequently.
- Grinder: I didn't own a grinder for a few years, but love having the ability to grind at home. The size is up to you and what you're grinding and how often. Recommendation would be .75 to 1hp, if you can do it, and if you're just cooking with it as ground, maybe consider a dual-grind.
- Bigger/Better Cooler: I usually don't even use one in my home setup, but I bought a Canyon Prospector 103 specifically based of quartered whitetail specs lol.
- Game bags: I use Argali by preference, but for my general purpose which is "short term" transportation (when even needed) you could get by with contractor bags.
- Scale: kinda cool, not really required, but may help with serving sizes during packaging. I usually don't even set mine up...
- Stuffer: don't even own one yet.
- Dehydrator: don't even own one yet.

Non-home based "weekend" trip would be different, and of course a "destination-based" week-long hunting trip would be different.

 

[Netherman]

I hunt MI around home, UP deer camp, and out west. If temperatures are good for hanging we'll gut and hang, but generally quarter into a 150qt coleman x-treme. I broke your list into two categories, field and home.

Field
1) Sharp knife. (I could live with just a havalon, but am messing around with fixed blades these days)
2) Big Cooler (I've got a 150qt coleman x-treme that's all you need unless you're trying to extend ice or holding elk quarters).
3) Game Bags (I really like the Kuiu ones. They are the most durable I've had and can generally be found 30% off a few times a year)


4) Gambrel I use one if I'm hanging at home, but most often I quarter on the ground. Been doing it that way out west and has bled into MI. I do bring a tarp to work on if I'm not backpacking.



Home
1) Vac sealer higher end. (I have a weston "commercial. I started with a foodsaver residential and lost my mind with it overheating constantly)
2) 6" boning knife and steel (I use a 6" curved boning knife and smooth steel)
3) Grinder (Could go either way here. Long term you'll want a higher end one, but could get away with a 1/4hp amazon special to start)
4) Ground meat bags and tape dispenser. Cheaper than vac sealing, easy to grind straight into, and marked for weight.


5) Scale can be found cheap. Nice for portioning but not required.
6) Dehydrator I don't have one, but do use a pellet grill to make jerky and sausage. Neither are required but I do love my pellet grill.
7) The stuffer is nice for snack sticks or seasoned mixes. Unless you're doing sticks I'd suggest getting a better grinder and using that for stuffing.

8) I don't do anything "bone in" so don't use a saw. Can cut thru joints for everything

 

[kbarnes]

I finally bought an electric stuffer and I really like it. It's a 30# and I make a lot of brauts and ground jerky. The thing I really like is that one person can operate it.

 

[Danny Hoey]

Bags
Cooler
Knife
Grinder
Get the 10000000 yard roll of saran wrap from costco, the 500000 foot roll of butcher paper and some freezer tape and you can cut and wrap anything you want.

Everything else just for funsies.

 

[S-3 ranch]

We did a couple of deer into burger this year added brisket
So
1 grinder
2 tub
3 vacuum sealer
4 good quality knife