Butchering tips & Grinders?

[Axis II]

All the processors around us aren’t doing deer anymore so a buddy asked me to go in half with him one a 1hp grinder but we aren’t sure what to get.

Also any tips or tricks for me? We have an electric hoist, table, saws all, knives, debating on a giant cooler for quartering it and cut it up over the course of a few days.

 

[.308 Norma]

Also any tips or tricks for me?

It might not be what you're asking, but my wife and I have never bought any beef suet to mix in with the too dry (for our tastes) venison burger. Instead, we run the venison through the grinder once, then we mix it 50/50 with the cheapest, 80% beef burger we can find, and run it all through the grinder a second time.
I repeat - "for our tastes," that makes the venison burger just right, and it makes it go twice as far.

 

[Axis II]

It might not be what you're asking, but my wife and I have never bought any beef suet to mix in with the too dry (for our tastes) venison burger. Instead, we run the venison through the grinder once, then we mix it 50/50 with the cheapest, 80% beef burger we can find, and run it all through the grinder a second time.
I repeat - "for our tastes," that makes the venison burger just right, and it makes it go twice as far.

Great advice! I too find it too dry unless something is added. I made Smokies yesterday and did 3.5lbs venison and 1.5-2lbs pork shoulder. They came out great!

 

[Chuck R.]

I just bought a LEM grinder that was on sale but haven't used it yet. A friend of mine has the same one and goes through about 3-4 deer a year and an occasional elk.

I can usually do a complete deer in a few hrs, so no need for a big cooler, plus during our regular deer season it's cool enough just to hang them in the barn for a couple days. When I travel I break out the big (and heavy) Yeti as it might take a while to get back. One thing I'd look at adding is a meat mixer, it makes doing sausage or burger easier.

Our post commissary gives packaged beef fat away, so that's what I usually mix with burger and we don't have a shortage of venison. I mix just about 10% as it helps hold burger patties together.

I'm also going to go for the LEM foot peddle and packaging system for doing burger tubes as it will save time in packaging.

 

[FL-NC]

Its too hot to leave deer out to drain & cool, so after I quarter (while the deer is freshly gutted and still warm), I put it all on ice for a day or 2. During the butchering process after it has been on ice, I try to be as neat as possible and remove all fat. My grinder is a #12 game winner I got at academy for about $100. I used it a couple of times and it worked fine. Look for good sausage recipes on youtube. I have used pork belly, Boston shoulder butt, and even salt fatback in my grinds. The key to it is keeping the proportions right/consistent on all ingredients- like any other food recipe- or reloading data, for that matter. A digital scale and vacuum sealer are also valuable tools.
I quarter deer upside down on the hoist. After removing the hide, this order: - head, tenderloins, shoulders, backstraps- seperate the top from the bottom with a cleaver/machete/hatchet (whatever is handy) to get the rib cage etc. out of the way, then remove the hams from the pelvis (youtube). I remove lower legs at the joint using a branch cutter. This is how I do it but there are many ways.

 

[troy fairweather]

I buy nice clean fat from the butcher, doesn't charge much. Mix about 10% beef fat into the deer for hamburger, I have so many uses for it. Do the same with pork to make breakfast sausage. Can't recommend a grinder but keep the meat cold and I add ice when grinding.

I like the big food grade Totes, they hold 30-40 pounds of meat and will fit in the fridge. There nice if you in a hurry or don't have a good area to cut up game. Quarter the deer and get it in a tote to cool down, then you can start breaking down the different muzzle groups and cuts.

 

[JDeere]

I have an attachment for the wife's Kitchen Aid mixer for grinding and add 10% beef fat from the meat market. Makes the perfect burger imo. We use it for everything calling for ground beef. We used to make our own sausage but with just two of us now days I have enough made for us at the local meat market...

 

[Bottom Gun]

I throw some bacon in the mix when I grind venison.

 

[FL-NC]

I throw some bacon in the mix when I grind venison.

For sausage? Or hamburger meat?

 

[Axis II]

I have an attachment for the wife's Kitchen Aid mixer for grinding and add 10% beef fat from the meat market. Makes the perfect burger imo. We use it for everything calling for ground beef. We used to make our own sausage but with just two of us now days I have enough made for us at the local meat market...

That’s what I used for the smokies but it was slow.

 

[Bottom Gun]

For sausage? Or hamburger meat?

It's good in both.

 

[Captcurt]

Whatever you purchase, just remember that you will need to replace parts after they wear. LEM has it covered in that aspect. I bought a generic grinder that works well but I will need to replace the cutter blade and plates. None to be found.

 

[bearcreek]

All the processors around us aren’t doing deer anymore so a buddy asked me to go in half with him one a 1hp grinder but we aren’t sure what to get.

Also any tips or tricks for me? We have an electric hoist, table, saws all, knives, debating on a giant cooler for quartering it and cut it up over the course of a few days.

I use a Chop Rite grinder that I motorized. Never have any over heating problems. That does take some fabricating skills though, so it's not for everyone. To start, keep in mind that everything on the animal is edible. My observation has been that most people who are just starting out tend to be overly picky with trimming, especially for the stuff they're going to grind. Do the best you can within reason getting fat and tendons off but keep in mind that it's easy to spend way more time than you need to doing that, especially if you'll be using a good 1 HP grinder.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I definitely like Lem grinders.

 

[AK Hunter]

Yes you need at least a 1hp grinder or higher. You can quarter out your deer to age in a refrigerator. I use these large plastic processing pans to age my deer meat in an old refrigerator in my garage, keeping it under 40 degrees.

I also cut my grind meat into 1" cubes & partially freeze them before I grind.

 

[Kingcreek]

I’ve been happy with my LEM grinder purchased years ago. Grind cold meat, even put the grinder assembly in the freezer for a couple hours if possible.
Get a good vacume sealer too. Mine is a commercial model I got from cabelas and it’s been great. I wore out 2 foodsaver units before this one. They suck imo
I can get a big Illinois whitetail in a 128qt marine cooler after skinned and quartered. Take the back straps and loins and you’ll still have room for the neck. Crack the drain open and put a block under the other end and as the ice melts water runs out into my floor drain. Just keep ice on it and it’s good for a few days. I try to finish mine up sausage and all in 3-4 days.
I buy bone in pork butt (shoulder roast). The market gets them in sealed in 2 packs 17-20 pounds and they trim the fat off them and repackage them on styrofoam trays. They hold them for me before trimming so I get them with the fat for mixing my sausage.
Breakfast sausage is super easy and delicious and we make 20-25 pounds a year. It doesn’t require any special processing just season and grind once course second time fine and right into the 1# vinyl tubes from the grinder with a stuffing tube.

 

[.308 Norma]

I wore out 2 foodsaver units before this one. They suck imo

"IMO" too.

Breakfast sausage is super easy and delicious and we make 20-25 pounds a year. It doesn’t require any special processing just season and grind once course second time fine and right into the 1# vinyl tubes from the grinder with a stuffing tube.

We also enjoy venison breakfast sausage, and we make a lot of pre-cooked and frozen venison sausage patties. They're pretty easy - we just use 2 oz each of the pre-made venison sausage (ground venison mixed with ground pork and seasonings), form them into a patties, and fry them up. After they're cooked, we put them on a slightly greased cookie sheet, and pop it in the freezer for a few hours. Once the patties are frozen, we scrape them off the cookie sheet, put them in a gallon plastic zipper bag, and put the bag back in the freezer. The patties won't freeze together because they're already frozen.
23 seconds per patty in the microwave thaws them and makes them piping hot and delicious. Put one in the middle of one of my own sourdough-buttermilk biscuits with a slice of pepper-jack, and pop the whole thing back in the microwave for 14 more seconds (until the cheese just starts to droop) and you have a sausage biscuit fit for a king!

 

[der Teufel]

I do maybe a half dozen hogs each year using a fairly small LEM grinder that a buddy got from Academy several years ago.
https://www.lemproducts.com/product/8-575-watt-countertop-grinder/butcher-meat-grinders
Most folks here would say it's underpowered, and when my buddy brought it over I was fairly unimpressed upon seeing the thing right out of the box. However, it's done an excellent job. I usually do meat in batches of around 25-40 pounds at a time and it's good enough. It's rated at 575 Watts, which would indicate 3/4 HP if that were an honest measurement. I suspect it's really somewhere between 1/4 to 1/3 in the HP department. A bigger, stronger grinder is nice, but if you're not running it a whole lot a smaller grinder can do just fine.

 

[Kingcreek]

The foot pedal switch is a really nice option for the grinder. I’ve probably processed at least 30 deer since I bought my LEM grinder. And get it with stuffer tubes- you’ll use them sooner or later.
And a NEW toilet brush from the dollar store helps with cleanup. Just don’t use it for anything else

 

[.308 Norma]

A bigger, stronger grinder is nice, but if you're not running it a whole lot a smaller grinder can do just fine.

Yeppers, my wife and I have been using a large KitchenAid mixer (with the grinder attachment) for years. I've read here on THR that it's too small and slow, and we'll burn the motor up trying to use it for grinding venison.
But you know what? Here in Idaho, we're only allowed one deer a year, we don't always get one, and even if we do, we're only talking about 2 deer for my wife and me put together. Besides that, when we butcher a venison, we usually have a sort of disassembly line going - our daughter, her husband and oftentimes a grandson is here to help. One person is cutting roasts, another is cutting steaks and chops, and both of those people are handing scraps to the person running the grinder. Yet another person is doing the wrapping. We all get done about the same time, even though a KItchenAid mixer with a meat grinder attachment is supposedly slow.
Edited to say: I'd probably change my tune if we were allowed a half-dozen deer or so a year like some of the folks I read about here on THR are. OR, if we were hunting elk. But we're not allowed more than one deer a year, and we don't hunt elk.

 

[Peakbagger46]

Go light on the equipment, no saws or expensive grinders needed . Take your time, have fun, and keep the meat cool (no redneck aging!). Trust your gut as to what is steak vs burger.

 

[deerslayer55]

I have a LEM grinder and a Lem stuffer with the foot pedal. Wouldn't trade it for anything else. Great machines!

 

[.308 Norma]

Go light on the equipment, no saws or expensive grinders needed

I've had a Sawzall since I can't remember when. This year was the first year ever I decided to try it for cutting the legs off a venison. Now I feel stupid for all of the time and effort I put into cutting venison bones with hacksaws and hand-powered bone saws in the past. My old Sawzall went through those leg bones so fast and easy I could hardly believe it. So I then used my Sawzall to cut out chunks of ribs (those that weren't bloodshot) for soup and beans bones. That was easy too.

 

[Double_J]

I have a friend who bought a dedicated Sawzall for butchering pigs and deer. They make the job so much faster and easier, especially as he does 3-5 pigs a week. His local food bank loves when he comes with the big coolers in the back of his truck.

 

[Thomasss]

Out in the field, I will cut up and pack meat in 1 gallon Zip-lock bags and mark ones for grinding. The local meat market includes grinding when they make my summer sausage, etc. At home, all steaked meat is vacuum packed.