Building a butcher shop

[Bfh_auto]

I'm planning to build a butcher shop for processing deer and pigs.
I'd like to see pics of your current set up and what you would change of you did it over.
I'm thinking de-boning table on one wall, grinder and band saw on a rolling table in the center. A sink on the end wall. With a vacuum sealing station on the opposite end from the sink.
It will have a concrete floor for easy sanitization.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Hmm. That plan sounds pretty good. Downright Cadillac compared to what I do. I hang and skin and cut up from a beam on my garage lean to. Debone and Process with a hand grinder and a few cutting boards in my smallish kitchen. Use ziplock bags for everything. Don’t use a saw for anything. (Would like to but don’t need to)

I shoot about 2 deer a year and 4-5 hogs and could never justify a dedicated area to game processing. I have a full compliment wood, metal, upholstery and leather working shop taking up most of my space and that gets precedence to most other things.

 

[Armored farmer]

Drains in floor for cleanup.
Anchor points in the floor for skinning.
Walk in coolers with a hang track on ceiling. That might be too much for the budget, but a walk in coller isnt that expensive. Lots of insulation and an A/c unit.

We started skinning and let the tractor do the work of pulling hide. Much easier. An electric winch would work too.

 

[earlthegoat2]

.....
Anchor points in the floor for skinning....

....We started skinning and let the tractor do the work of pulling hide. Much easier. An electric winch would work too.
View attachment 889359

I am curious about this process.

 

[Bfh_auto]

Drains in floor for cleanup.
Anchor points in the floor for skinning.
Walk in coolers with a hang track on ceiling. That might be too much for the budget, but a walk in coller isnt that expensive. Lots of insulation and an A/c unit.

We started skinning and let the tractor do the work of pulling hide. Much easier. An electric winch would work too.
View attachment 889359

I have used j tracks in a butcher shop when I lived in Michigan. It helped with beef.
I prefer to do my skinning and gutting outside. I too use a loader.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I am curious about this process.

You skin about halfway, tie a knot in the hide and lift slowly. You can inadvertently remove the front legs if you aren't careful.

 

[<*(((><]

FRP paneling for the walls for easy spray down and disinfecting and floor drains.

 

[Armored farmer]

I am curious about this process.

I use an old Indian trick of skinning a small flap around the back of the neck, inserting a golf ball, using a 4ft piece of nylon ski rope anchored to the floor, use a slip knot over the hide capturing the golf ball in the hide. (You can use a rock if you're a purist) Pull and skin. Mostly pull if you have a winch or loader tractor.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I use an old Indian trick of skinning a small flap around the back of the neck, inserting a golf ball, using a 4ft piece of nylon ski rope anchored to the floor, use a slip knot over the hide capturing the golf ball in the hide. (You can use a rock if you're a purist) Pull and skin. Mostly pull if you have a winch or loader tractor.

Do you quarter them before removing from the tractor?
I've always worked mine head down and removed the head with the hide. Guts come out in a pile on the hide and is rolled up for the coyotes.

 

[Rembrandt]

I use an old Indian trick of skinning a small flap around the back of the neck, inserting a golf ball, using a 4ft piece of nylon ski rope anchored to the floor, use a slip knot over the hide capturing the golf ball in the hide. (You can use a rock if you're a purist) Pull and skin. Mostly pull if you have a winch or loader tractor.

When did Old Indians begin using golf balls and nylon ski ropes? Must have picked them up at the white mans trading post.

 

[Rembrandt]

Don't have a butcher shop, but do most of our processing in kitchen and on folding tables. Been acquiring equipment for years, smoker is a must have for doing sausages and jerky.

 

[Armored farmer]

Do you quarter them before removing from the tractor?
I've always worked mine head down and removed the head with the hide. Guts come out in a pile on the hide and is rolled up for the coyotes.

I have found that prepping the back end...(vent, as it was called in the hunting magazines, lol) ...then hanging from the head and gutting, starting with the esophagus and work downward. The whole mess comes out with a plop if done properly around the...vent...hole... A zip tie just below the vent seals it up.
We are fortunate, our hunting property is within sight of my kitchen window. We generally bring everything home to gut.


Get our hunting clothes off so they dont get blood soaked and scented. Prep the southern parts, then hang from the neck.
The last deer we did, we didnt even gut. Son had shot him in the neck so entrails weren't disturbed. We simply skinned and deboned him. It saved about 30 mins I would say. (Another old Indian trick) except for sacrificing the tenderloins and liver...I would do it again.
crossing the bridge that I rebuilt, with a load of venison.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Walk in coolers with a hang track on ceiling

AGREED!
My local deer cutter is also a butcher by trade, and while you obviously are not doing meat at his quantity, having even a small walk-in cooler which allows you to hang and then slide the carcass into it, to drain and age and such....is very handy and since from what was written the OP his going "top notch", the only real difference between the hunter doing a few deer and a few hog compared to my butcher...is the storage space inside the cooler, but the setup would be I should think....the same.

LD

 

[Bfh_auto]

AGREED!
My local deer cutter is also a butcher by trade, and while you obviously are not doing meat at his quantity, having even a small walk-in cooler which allows you to hang and then slide the carcass into it, to drain and age and such....is very handy and since from what was written the OP his going "top notch", the only real difference between the hunter doing a few deer and a few hog compared to my butcher...is the storage space inside the cooler, but the setup would be I should think....the same.

LD

I like to soak my meat in an ice water vinegar mixture. It removes any gamey taste.
I do want a walk in cooler.

 

[entropy]

My son works at one, so I just have him do it. He gets most the big game lately anyway; I do the pheasants myself on the kitchen counter.

I like to speak my meat in an ice water vinegar mixture.

Best autocorrect of the day! Could have been worse, though. Might have come up with 'spank'.

 

[George P]

Make sure your butchering tables are high enough to prevent serious back issues from standing slightly bent over. Friend of mine was a butcher for a well-known West Coast grocery chain. At 6'5" the tables were too low. Years of that left him damn near crippled as he got older.

 

[Kingcreek]

I have a climate controlled 2 car garage with floor drains and lots of good overhead lighting and a double laundry sink. I use 2 long folding tables. One for cutting with a stack of dollar store dish tubs, and another table for grinding, stuffing, vacuumed sealing, and labeling. We do a combination of standing and sitting (adjustable height chairs).
Gutting, skinning, and quartering is done outside or in the barn depending on weather.

One idea for a budget walk in cooler. A buddy of mine inherited a chest freezer when his neighbor was moving out. He put it in his garage, removed the lid, and built a stud wall floor to ceiling enclosure with large door, insulated it and lined it with cheap fiberglass wall board. A beam with hooks mounted to the ceiling. The old freezer makes up the bottom 1/3 of his cooler and a small fan salvaged from a desktop computer moves air around it. He can hang up to 5 deer or antelope in it to cool.

 

[Bfh_auto]

My son works at one, so I just have him do it. He gets most the big game lately anyway; I do the pheasants myself on the kitchen counter.


Best autocorrect of the day! Could have been worse, though. Might have come up with 'spank'.

I fixed it. Those always make me laugh. I'm usually pretty good about catching them.

I have two boys now and lost one of my storage rooms so I figured a dedicated meat processing shop would be great since we don't buy much meat and I refuse to pay processing fees

 

[Bfh_auto]

I have a climate controlled 2 car garage with floor drains and lots of good overhead lighting and a double laundry sink. I use 2 long folding tables. One for cutting with a stack of dollar store dish tubs, and another table for grinding, stuffing, vacuumed sealing, and labeling. We do a combination of standing and sitting (adjustable height chairs).
Gutting, skinning, and quartering is done outside or in the barn depending on weather.

One idea for a budget walk in cooler. A buddy of mine inherited a chest freezer when his neighbor was moving out. He put it in his garage, removed the lid, and built a stud wall floor to ceiling enclosure with large door, insulated it and lined it with cheap fiberglass wall board. A beam with hooks mounted to the ceiling. The old freezer makes up the bottom 1/3 of his cooler and a small fan salvaged from a desktop computer moves air around it. He can hang up to 5 deer or antelope in it to cool.

I'll keep the budget cooler idea in mind.

 

[Random 8]

I cant provide pictures as mine is packed and put away after hunting season. I hunt in several areas of the state, and given MN weather variability (some years too hot, some too cold to hang for any length of time) portability is key. The wife and I have it down to a pretty good science. A folding poly picnic table goes with on our hunts. If we happen to have the luxury of doing it at home, 2 sawhorses and a sheet of plywood are pressed into service giving a very solid 4x8 table (the plywood is temporarily screwed to the sawhorses). Skinning is done on a traditional gabrel hung from a tree or rafter by comealongs or strap and vehicle. I do have a block and tackle at home, but seldom get to use it.

Our butcher kit goes in a plastic tote or large cooler and contains 2 boning knives, a heavy breaking knife, butcher's steel, a small bottle of bleach, small bottle of vinegar, large roll of freezer paper, tape, sharpie, 2 roughsawn pine cutting boards (I treat these as disposable as I mill pine lumber myself, would not recommend for repeated use. The roughsawn edge is nice and grabby to keep cuts in place, but impossible to sanitize after use, but makes good kindling for the stove) and some large ziploc style bags for trim or odds and ends. 2 clean plastic pails with lids are also included if space permits, if not, I can purchase cheaply on the road.

Trim is bagged and ground at home. One pail is for trim cuts, one for wash water. Usually a third non-food grade pail is used for waste.

So equipped, my wife and I can rather quickly convert one or more deer into boned and wrapped cuts plus bagged trim in a garage, campground, or in the open air if it's warm enough. If big coolers are cost prohibitive, the butcher supply tote doubles as venison transport. Unless it's really warm, a ziploc full of ice on either end keeps the meat cool enough for short term storage and transport to a freezer.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I cant provide pictures as mine is packed and put away after hunting season. I hunt in several areas of the state, and given MN weather variability (some years too hot, some too cold to hang for any length of time) portability is key. The wife and I have it down to a pretty good science. A folding poly picnic table goes with on our hunts. If we happen to have the luxury of doing it at home, 2 sawhorses and a sheet of plywood are pressed into service giving a very solid 4x8 table (the plywood is temporarily screwed to the sawhorses). Skinning is done on a traditional gabrel hung from a tree or rafter by comealongs or strap and vehicle. I do have a block and tackle at home, but seldom get to use it.

Our butcher kit goes in a plastic tote or large cooler and contains 2 boning knives, a heavy breaking knife, butcher's steel, a small bottle of bleach, small bottle of vinegar, large roll of freezer paper, tape, sharpie, 2 roughsawn pine cutting boards (I treat these as disposable as I mill pine lumber myself, would not recommend for repeated use. The roughsawn edge is nice and grabby to keep cuts in place, but impossible to sanitize after use, but makes good kindling for the stove) and some large ziploc style bags for trim or odds and ends. 2 clean plastic pails with lids are also included if space permits, if not, I can purchase cheaply on the road.

Trim is bagged and ground at home. One pail is for trim cuts, one for wash water. Usually a third non-food grade pail is used for waste.

So equipped, my wife and I can rather quickly convert one or more deer into boned and wrapped cuts plus bagged trim in a garage, campground, or in the open air if it's warm enough. If big coolers are cost prohibitive, the butcher supply tote doubles as venison transport. Unless it's really warm, a ziploc full of ice on either end keeps the meat cool enough for short term storage and transport to a freezer.

I'm trying to set up a small professional style butcher shop.
I want everything to be neat, functional and efficient.

 

[buck460XVR]

I'm trying to set up a small professional style butcher shop.
I want everything to be neat, functional and efficient.

When folks say professional, they generally mean for profit. If that is your case I'd assume you'd have to go thru the state for what is needed. If not, then whatever has worked for you in the past will probably suffice. Look for good used commercial style sinks, there are more out there than folks think. being Stainless steel, they never wear out or go bad. If a floor drain is used, then one might want to consider a mop sink also, depending on room available. Good LED lighting and rubber workmats over the concrete to save your eyes and feet. POU water heaters work very well in your type of scenario, are efficient and take little space.

 

[Bfh_auto]

When folks say professional, they generally mean for profit. If that is your case I'd assume you'd have to go thru the state for what is needed. If not, then whatever has worked for you in the past will probably suffice. Look for good used commercial style sinks, there are more out there than folks think. being Stainless steel, they never wear out or go bad. If a floor drain is used, then one might want to consider a mop sink also, depending on room available. Good LED lighting and rubber workmats over the concrete to save your eyes and feet. POU water heaters work very well in your type of scenario, are efficient and take little space.

I mean set up like a professional one. I want it to be sanitary and easy to clean. I also want to have no wasted effort.