BowNC I heard that! I have wondered before if it was my take or someone elses meat.
We have recently purchased a new grinder. It came with 2 sausage tubes large and small, pattie packer and 4 different gauge blades from fine to thick grind. It'll do about 5 lbs/min, thats rolling for me. I have wore out one grinder already. When I took my meat last year to have it processed, it was 35 for burger and 40 for sausage. Now its 45 and 50! Nope! I ain't gonna pay it, I told my Wife. Shoot on the norm, my son and I usually take about 8 - 10 deer a season. You add it up. (But not this year, don't figure huh?.) So we bit the bullet and coughed up $180.00 for a pretty good one.
I worked out some tradin'/swappin' with a local butcher shop.
I get about 25 lbs. pork fat and about 25lbs beef fat. I add 10% - 15% fat to everything. MMMMMMMMM, MMMMMMMM. Good ol' pure high cloresterol FAT.
My receipt sausage is sweet. I have to make a min. of 5 lbs. to do it. Hey, thats alright I usually do the hole deer in one or the other.
My wife cuts her own stew meat, as far as the roasts, I'll cut them bad boys out myself and make sure I get'em like I like it.
Its the only way to fly.
As you said "from the field to the fork". I know its mine.
FirstBow