Process your own Deer?

I would like to convert my garage into a bit of a deer processing area and figured this would be a good start with for questions.


The basic setup I am thinking is the following:


Rope & Hooks for hanging/skinning
Stainless Steel Table for cleaning/cutting
Meat Grinder - Do you have recommendations? We would probably use for 4-6 deer per year, maybe ducks and geese.
Sausage Making Tool - Any recommendations?
Smoker? - Anyone used a bradley? worth it?


So here is what I am thinking, between my dad, myself and my uncles we probably kill 4-6 deer per year. $100 processing fee each time seems a bit steep. So simple budget to get started would be $500 or so bucks, but wanted to get your take.



Any help or recommendations would be awesome! Basically I want to get good quality stuff, but at the same time I don't need to drop $2000 on a commercial operation. Is a $150 meat grinder at cabelas any good?

 

I process my own deer. It's nearly free to process a deer after you buy everything.. We have processed 3 deer and it's kind of time consuming but worth it. Make sure you get a pretty good sized grinder.

 

I process all of mine, I actually made a thread the other day about the processing shed I built. Im still working on getting grinder and stuffer, so I'm no help there.

 

me and my dad always process our own deer. im not sure what kind of grinder he owns but it isnt anything too fancy or huge. we usually do about 10 deer a year and it usually takes about an hour a deer if you know what you are doing

 

We process our own. Have 2 6 foot stainless tables. Got a call one day about a pizza hut pretty much replacing everything in their store so I ended up with those tables for free. We have a grinder and saw. Those $80-$150 grinders are probably ok for 4-6 deer a year. We had one, and the only problem we had was that they have a plastic gear in them instead of metal, and they tend to strip out when over used. I don't care if I had to hand grind, I refuse to pay someone that much money to do it lol.

 

I've been doing my own deer now for many years. A decent gambrel/hoist, couple coolers, some sharp knives, a big cutting board & a cheap grinder get the job done. I rarely have more than one deer to do at a time, and certainly never more than 2. My grinder was small & cheap but does the job fine. Since I'm down to processing them all myself, it does take time, but it's easy to break up over a few evenings.

 

I process all of our deer but I don't have much in the way of fancy. I did buy an electric hoist which saves me a lot of time and backache. No pulling on ropes or bending way over, or standing on tippytoes. Push a button, deer goes up or down. It's sweet.

I use either a piece of counter top supported on something (this has ranged from bales of straw to sawhorses) or I use a plastic folding table. I disinfect either before and after each use and I put a cutting board down on top of either.

Takes me maybe an hour to go from skinned carcass to boneless, bagged chunks of meat. (cut into primal cuts) I do not cut steaks when I process the deer. Because, 1)we don't eat many steaks and; 2) when we do, it's easier to cut them after the hunks of meat are frozen anyhow. Mostly we eat roasts or venison in ground meat/stir fry/stew meat form. I will cut some backstrap steaks and some leg meat into steaks for chicken fried venison.

I don't smoke venison but I've thought about it. I dry jerky in the oven. I don't make much sausage and what I do make is the fresh sausage variety.

I do have one of those jerky slicers that converts over to a meat cuber. It's awesome. Chicken fried venison steaks with some heavy cream gravy.... oh man, it's good stuff.

I use a kitchenaid stand mixer with the grinder attachment to grind meat. I do about 20-30 lbs at a time and it makes fairly short work of it.

I have a decent quality meat slicer to turn some roasts into thin slices for sandwiches.

While I wish I had stainless steel this or that and more spiffy equipment, but I get by just fine. The only thing I really would like is more space. I have a serious countertop shortage. :D

 

Hi, I been doing my own deer for 35 years. All you need in a gambrel, boat crank,couple sharp knives, saw, coolers, refrig and freezer. Good Luck!

 

Been processing my own for a long time. Like said above all you really need is a knife, cooler, freezer and some freezer paper and masking tape.

BUT it's just a matter of what level you want to take it. We do everything from skinning to making Keilbasa, jalapeno and cheese summer sausage, slim jims, jerky, grinding, processing, packaging, italian sausage, etc.... and everything in between. We have grinders, dehydrators, smokers, stainless steel tables, coolers, freezers, knives, vacuum sealers, etc... pretty sweet setup. We process, grind , and cook everything. Pretty fortunate I own a golf course and it gets converted to the hunting lodge including the kitchen during hunting season.

So you can get started with as little as a knife, some paper to wrap, a cooler and freezer and add on every year. The next step from the basics, I would recommend getting a grinder and smoker and learn how to season and stuff different goodies.


P>S.. do NOT skimp on the grinder. IMO spend the extra money on the workhorse and get a good quality one.

 

Don't forget the air tight sealer for packing the meat... and the bigger the cooler the better I have one that you can fit 2 whole deer in. Its nice if your running low on time and its 75 outside. Good luck

 

I do all my own butchering. Like has been said a boat trailer winch with a hand crank works great. If you go to a counter top making company you can get the part they cut out out for the sink to drop in really cheap. I use those for cutting boards on an old kitchen table down in the basement to debone and cut meat.

I have a home made grinder made with an old hand crank model mounted on a 2 x 12 board. Bolted a 1/2 hp electric motor on the board and hooked up a belt on pullys to drive it. It makes short work of a lot of meat. We picked up a sausage stuffer on a farm auction years ago and it works like a champ. Sausage making is a lot of work but the end result is worth it.

I mostly make jerky out of ground meat with the jerky shooter and a food dehidrator.

Doing it yourself is much better in my opinion because I get my own meat back. And I know how it was taken care of from shot to pot and everything inbetween. Who knows how some of those deer camps take care of the deer after the kill. I've seen deer hanging on a meat pole in the sunshine in 60-70 degree weather before. Thats not one I want mixed in with my deer I'm eating. If it's warm I have a friend with a walk-in cooler I put my deer in.

 

I have the KitchenAid grinder attachment and have averaged 3 deer a year for 4 years with it. Works great. Like said above, freezer paper, freezer space, sharp knives and a gambrel is about all you need, besides time to get it done. Over time we've added a sausage stuffer, jerky canon, etc. and go all out.

Couple years ago we bought small electric smoker to see if it would be worth the effort. Like the smoker for some stuff but not all. If you look around you can find some good deals on stuffers, grinders, etc at auctions and estate sales. The older stuff, in my opinion works quite a bit better (see above comments on plastic vs metal gears).

Good luck with getting started!! It's always better if you do it yourself.

 

I do mine also in the garage! My table is made of 12 x 12 tiles and rubber calk in the cracks that are very small. I hang my deer in the middle of my bay so that I can move around it on all sides. I bought a meat grinder from Menards for like $120 and it works. I did 9 deer last year and works great!