My love hate relationship with meat cutting.

[Sean Gadhar]

It's a bit of a drug, once you cut up your own game a time or two you're hooked.

You start learning actual "Cuts" of meat, get better knives. . . . next thing you know you've got a grinder and pink curing salt. . . . .


Tuesday we were in the freezer and started counting packs of "Stew Meat". There were a lot, to many, some are starting to get a little old. . . . . It just wouldn't do

So we picked through all the frozen game and Thursday night we brought it in the the fridge to start to thaw.

Looks like 16 lbs of Breakfast Sausage and 15 lbs of Smokes Kielbasa is the result

 

[Peregrine]

I do all my own also. It has been fun setting up shop and improving my skills. I agree 100%. Never a question of whose meat I am putting in the freezer.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Same here I do all my own processing, cuts, sausage, jerky, bologna, pastrami, one end of my shop is a dedicated butcher shop. Been butchering since I was a kid with my Dad and Grandfather. I have a butcher shop that is better than most folks kitchens.

 

[Walkingeagle]

I thought everyone processed their own game?
Walk

 

[Winchester97]

Looks good on the sausage! I used to drop off my deer, and pick up some expensive,bloodsoaked,gross pile of meat 5 days later. For the last 15 years, I have done them all myself,never had better tasting venison, its amazing how some proper care and handling can eliminate that "gamey" flavor.

 

[Eterry]

Sean you are 100% correct. My dad taught me some about cutting meat 40 plus years ago, but the internet and reading has been the best teacher.

A friend turned me on to Rytek Kutas' book about 25 years ago, first I built a smoker from an upright freezer and dual hot plates, then bought a German made electric meat grinder, then upgraded to a hand crank 8lb sausage stuffer.
I make about 50 lbs of sausage a year, in 10lb batches. I've made about 20 different sausages, i've learned the hard way to make a small batch the 1st time. Nothing worse than 25lbs of sausage no one likes.
Last fall i finally cured and smoked 2 whole turkeys. Everyone loved them.
Top to bottom. My cajun friend and some boudin, My German Sausage recipe, cured, smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving.

View attachment 73802

 

[appalichian hunter]

Nice stuffer, I have one just like it. Also my dad and I built the smoker I now use there's been a bunch of meat through it. Use a Hobart grinder.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I've made about 20 different sausages, i've learned the hard way to make a small batch the 1st time. Nothing worse than 25lbs of sausage no one likes.

My 1st elk sausage was so bad, I thought 30% fat sounded like too much so I tried 15% fat about 40 pounds of it Even cut up in a soup that sausage was dry to the mouth, served any other way it was like eating Styrofoam. 40 pounds of soup sausage. . . . .took 3 years to use it all up.

 

[Eterry]

Sean, a friend said "I make the BEST sausage you've ever put across your lips. My wife's family begs for it.
I went to his house at 8am, we used a hand grinder to grind 100 lbs, 50 a piece. We were there ALL DAY LONG! He did teach me how to stuff sausage in natural casings. He didn't measure ANYTHING! He said he had it down pat.

I later found out his in laws grew up eating TV dinners. Cat food was an improvement over what they ate.
That was the worst sausage I ever ate. My dad said if i brought any more to his house he would shoot me. I finally threw away the last 20 odd pounds.

 

[oldwood]

Local deer cutters charging $60 to skin and cut up a deer. Takes me 4 hrs. to hang , skin , and cut up a deer for grinding. For about 30 lb. meat , add 5 lb. fatty 70% ground beef. We use a lot of ground meat , chili, spag. sauce, burgers , meat loaf , taco's , soups. . All this talk's , makin' me hungry........oldwood

 

[pilot]

I also do my own. Too tight to hire it done when I know how. Our sausage making is also improving.

Is there a sausage making recipe thread here?

 

[appalichian hunter]

pilot, A lot of recipes are well guarded secrets.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I had my first couple of deer processed about 40 years ago. At that time it cost about $100 including pork added to sausage. My kids didn't care for much of it except the jerky. The next year I processed my own (I had worked in the meat lab in college so had some experience). We used the $100 it would have cost to have one processed to buy an Excaliber food dehydrator and used it to turn most of the deer into jerky. We still have and use that dehyrdator and my kids loved the homemade jerky. They would take a bag of it with them to school to eat on the long bus ride home after school. They now make their own jerky.

 

[sawyer04]

Looks good on the sausage! I used to drop off my deer, and pick up some expensive,bloodsoaked,gross pile of meat 5 days later. For the last 15 years, I have done them all myself,never had better tasting venison, its amazing how some proper care and handling can eliminate that "gamey" flavor.

If people only knew how their product is handled.

 

[deermanok]

I had a friend who used to cut my deer for me. He was a meat cutter by trade. We had a good arrangement. He did my cutting and I would do work around his rental property. Painting, yardwork and such. As the years went by, he became too ill and couldn't do it anymore. Sadly he passed away last year. I've been doing my own deer for the last 6 or 7 years now.
I'm still a hacker and most of the meat turns into burger but it's all good.

 

[appalichian hunter]

I have seen piles of un-processed deer laying on the ground at some butcher shops especially during the harvest from the first day of regular rifle seasons, As too the cutting part the butcher shops do large processing in the prepared meat parts such as bologna, sausages and such, You have no ideal what or whos deer went into the batch, That's why I do my own, The area I hunt is close to home so when I get a deer it is immediately field dressed, I also carry 5 gal. of water too rinse out the body cavity loaded on he truck and home to the shop, from shot to cooling process is very seldom 2 or 3 hours . This includes the skinning and I will split them down the back bone as too have two halves too hang. No processors for me.

 

[TNGhost]

I was lucky and was trained as a butcher at a small grocery store as one of my first jobs.

It has been very helpful over the years.

 

[Eterry]

I also do my own. Too tight to hire it done when I know how. Our sausage making is also improving.

Is there a sausage making recipe thread here?

Check out Rytek Kutas' book. Abebooks.com usually has it reasonable.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I'm still a hacker and most of the meat turns into burger but it's all good.

There is a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TheScottReaproject/featured

He does a lot of step by step, My meat cutting improved a ton when I started watching him cut lamb and such.

You might give it a look.

 

[deermanok]

There is a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TheScottReaproject/featured

He does a lot of step by step, My meat cutting improved a ton when I started watching him cut lamb and such.

You might give it a look.

Thanks, I'll be sure to check it out.