butchering your own meat

[bigtim6656]

i had not intended to process my own deer but after thinking 60 to 70 bucks a deer. it might be a good idea.

So lets say you have some knowledge of cutting up your own meat. but have never done a deer. Plus you have little to no tools for it. All i have are some knifes i bought for cutting up meat.

What would you buy if you where going to start doing it. I was thinking a hand grinder or cheap eclectic type. a good set of knifes. a digital scale to weigh the meat. i have some big food tubs i bought for the meat i buy at Sam's and cut up myself. And i have been wanting a new vacuum sealer. what else would you want to do it.

[bloodcrick]

Honestly i dont worry about weighing mine. I can pretty much guess
on the size of cuts. I simply mark the packages say with how many steaks or back strap slices are in it, roast or cut up cubes for frying. Here is something you might find usefull. I work swing shifts, so say i kill a deer, its to warm to hang,and i dont have time for anout butcher, ill 1/4 it out and store it in coolers with plenty of ice. I have done this time and time again and keep refreshining the ice up to four days when i have time to properly cut it up. It seems like i get better blood drain this way while its on ice. sounds like you will have what you need. I would add a meat boning saw.

[huntingson]

You don't really need anything more than a knife, a bone saw, plastic wrap, and freezer zip-loc baggies. A scale would be nice but isn't necessary. You would need a meat grinder also.

[bigtim6656]

something i think would make it easyer on me is i have a frig. in my garage

[bloodcrick]

This will work, i have a bud that uses one just for that. He stores it in plastic tubs proped up on one end so the blood will settle in one corner. He emptys it every so often.

ORIGINAL: bigtim6656

something i think would make it easyer on me is i have a frig. in my garage

[Howler]

No real need for a bone saw. Knives and a grinder, freezer paper and tape and a pen tolabel the packages , is all you really need to have good meat.
I add approx. 15% pork trim/fat to the burger, and grind it twice. If I can make steaks out of a cut, I do it, if not, I grind it all into burger.

[Gundeck]

Be careful with the grinder if you go electric. You can get decent ones for a fair price, but you can get junk for the same price. Just look it over. You will be able to tell. If you go with an inexpensive grinder, you will most likely have to cut the meat in smaller chunks to get a good grind. Not a big issue, just a little more time. Best of luck!

[RobinAim Low]

ORIGINAL: Howler

No real need for a bone saw. Knives and a grinder, freezer paper and tape and a pen tolabel the packages , is all you really need to have good meat.
I add approx. 15% pork trim/fat to the burger, and grind it twice. If I can make steaks out of a cut, I do it, if not, I grind it all into burger.

Same here, except we don't add anything to our burger.I much prefer to bone it all out, and usually the carcass haning will have all legs intact with the skin still attached to the neck near the head. The vac sealer ended up being more of a pain than worth for us. Worked ok for one deer here and there, but not the 2, 3 or 4 at a time we do. I haveone decent sizedknive that I use only for boning (though it is not a boningknife), a skinningknife, and a couple small filet knives.

[virginiashadow]

I've had some deer butchered in the past when they were like $40 to butcher and were back to me in 5 days...these days it is $100 and I won't pay that much. In fact, I like doing it myself.

[UncleNorby]

Knives, knife sharpener, wrapping materials, sharpie for labelling, good cutting board, adequate work space, grinder optional.

I wrap twice in plastic wrap then once in heavy duty foil. Meat can last over a year in my freezer.

I leave pieces as large as possible. I make final cuts into steaks or whatever after it thaws. Reduces processing time and freezes better.