grinding meat
 

ok im not the greatest butcherer of deer but i have done it. anyway i was wondering what you guys usually grind (what parts of the deer)? and alsowhat parts would you use for jerky? thanks

RE: grinding meat
 

I grind everything but the backstraps. I get some beef fat from my local grocery store and grind it with the meat. I grinds better if it is chilled.

RE: grinding meat
 

Couldn't have said it any better myself. I also reserve a roast or two...Yummy!!

RE: grinding meat
 

how much beef fat per deer? and then what do you usually make of the ground meat? sorry if these r stupid questions

RE: grinding meat
 

When I've ground it in the past, I would do a few chunks of meat and a piece of fat. We eyeball it. Make sure you do it two or three times it looks real pretty then.

RE: grinding meat
 

Well, most sausage recipes call for half pork and half deer, but that's not just fat. If you are grinding 10 pounds of meat, grind in 2 pounds of fat with it. That would essentially give you 80% lean grind. Good mix. Just cube the fat up and mix it with the cubed deer. Then grind it.

Shoot, you can make anything with it.....It's GREAT in chili, sloppy joe, hamburger helper, bacon cheeseburgers, jerky, sausage......The sky is the limit. Whatever you can do with hamburger, you can do with this.

RE: grinding meat
 

Yep...that's it right there. 80% lean is just about right. Personally, for my jerkey I don't grind it...I use thinly cut stips off of a roast, but I know a lot of folks like it gound.
For breakfast sausage I get pork trimmings from the market and put it about 75% lean. Sure is good stuff.

RE: grinding meat
 

You can also get sausage casings from the super market. Just ring the bell and ask for a finger of them. I use to make a whole bunch of different kinds. My favorite was a cranberry and brandy recipie. Shoot I might just have to shoot one with spots this week and make some more.

RE: grinding meat
 

i used to go 10#deer meat to 3#pork to 1#beef fat ., that is the guide line i went with when i did it.,that was for the burger.,and it really turned out goooood!

RE: grinding meat
 

I use 100% ground venison for my jerky. It stays together just fine, and the less fat in it the longer it will keep without refrigeration.

RE: grinding meat
 

I don't mix any fat in with venision. It tastes way to good on its own.

I also carve steaks out of the better muscles in the rear hinds and the front shoulders. You can tell the good from the not so good by the texture of the meat. The rest goes to burger.

Tom

RE: grinding meat
 

When I butcher my deer I put it in different piles, meat for grinding, steaks, roasts, tenderloins, backstraps etc. I then put it in plastic quart freezer bags, take all the air out, wrap in freezer paper and freeze. Meat grinds better if partcially frozen. So before I grind it I let it freeze.
When I make my sausages I add pork steaks to my deer meat.
I don't add anything to my burger. !00% pure deer. We love it. You might try a pound or 2 to see if you and your family likes it as well. Experiment.

RE: grinding meat
 

I dont grind any of the meat, I make syakes out of the back straps, take the roasts out, cut scrap meat, make some stew meat, take the scraps to the processor and have hot dogs, polish sausage, etc made up.

RE: grinding meat
 

Wis_Bow,

I used to do that but the butchers around my area I think are in colusion. They are charging $3.50/lb to turn burger into sausage. For that price I might as well save myself the trouble and just buy it.

Tom

RE: grinding meat
 

i grind anything that I want to grind....i add no fat at all....pure DEER!!!!

RE: grinding meat
 

Holy smokes are you getting ripped!

RE: grinding meat
 

You can grind anything you want. About adding pork or beef fat ti it, dont do it for Jerkey! For anything else its fine but when you dry the jerky the fat will boil to the top. When cooled it will harden and its actually pretty nasty. As lean as you can get for Jerky. I grind 2 deer a year for myself into Jerky and about 6-8 total.

RE: grinding meat
 

I make steak jerky out of the hind quarters. The front should and extra meat arounf the kneck goes into hamburger meat. The backstraps get fried in butter

RE: grinding meat
 

now what meat ginder should a guy get. i have been telling my wife we will save much money in the long run getting a grinder and doing it ourself. would a 100$ one do the trick for say 3-4 deer a year or should your go ahead and get a commercial one for 300-400$

RE: grinding meat
 

:)Alot of good tips here.
Does the 80% lean refer to 80% venison and 20% pork fat?
Or does that mean 40% venison, 40% pork, and 20% pork/beef fat?
Any exact recipe or proportion would be great!

RE: grinding meat
 

"80% lean" means 80% lean meat and 20% fat.

I grind mine with just a little pork fat (prolly 15%)to get the burgers to stick together.

anyone grind by hand? That has to be worse than making homemade ice cream!!

RE: grinding meat
 

I am going to buy a handgrinder tonight, mostly for the workout:)!

RE: grinding meat
 

Rushcreek, I went the cheap route and burned it up. We usually grind 3 to 5 a year.Cabelas offers a great assortment of grinders. That's where I got mine. Good luck.
PS. I bought a 1 hp grinder. Very happy with it.

RE: grinding meat
 

Go expensive. This is one area where you get what you pay for. Plus it will be much easier and faster. If you payed to have the deer butched it would cost you about the same in year one.

Also do you know how to properly sharpen blades? That will add a lot of life to the machine by making it more efficient.

Tom

RE: grinding meat
 

Statjunk, I'd like to know how you sharpen your grinder blades please. thanks

RE: grinding meat
 

I don't. Unfortunetly this is something I have very little skill at, sharpening blades of all kinds. Sorry. I have friends do it to my pocket knives and kitchen knives but not to my grinder because I don't own one but my friends do. Several and I've seen the natural progression. A buddy at work bought a $200 unit, tore it up and is now looking in the $400 range.

It's good to have at least one friend with a meat grinder!

Tom

RE: grinding meat
 

Statjunk, I don't know either.

I usually just buy new ones.
Thanks .

RE: grinding meat
 

oops

RE: grinding meat
 

I cut out the tenderloins and backstrap . I will cut some of rump for jerky . I bought one of the JerkyShooters a few years ago that squeezes out the seasond burger into jerky strips . :)

RE: grinding meat
 

I got an electric grinder for christmas a few yrs ago. The best investment my wife ever made (or santa)I was never really a pro at butchering, but I feel like I am now. really cuts down on waste because you can run practically anything through it. Even the lower muscles of the legs are no match for the grinder.

RE: grinding meat
 

uncballers45, I have been processing deer with my grandfather for the last 5 years. He has been a butcher for over 60 years and have been very privelaged to learn the "proper way" to do deer, hog and beef (which is pretty much all the same). Although some people like to have their burger pure deer, we tell most people to pick up a couple chuck roasts to add to the burger, usually 25% of the weight of the deer meat. You can usually find chuck roast on sale at one of your local grocery stores and $2.50 a lb is a pretty good deal. Unless it is a pretty big deer, all of the front quarter usually goes into burger, the backstraps get cubed (if you can find a cuber they make great steaks), tenders get wraped the way they are, and the hind quarters are up to the hunter. Most want the knuckle as a roast and the other steaks are either burger or cubed. I hope this helps a little. You just have to follow the sinews in the hind quarters and the steaks will just separate pretty easily. Good luck and enjoy the process.

RE: grinding meat
 

forgot to mention, we make our jerky out of the hind quarter steaks by cutting into thin strips, marinating for 24 hours and smoking for 4-6 hours or as needed. Be careful who you give it to though cause everyone that eats it wants you to do it for them and it is quite labor intensive!

RE: grinding meat
 

this is good stuff. i like the rump roast adding to the deer instead of fat. i am trying to watch my fat intake.