Deer Processing - At home; Give it a try

[Duracraft]

I started doing this several years ago, and haven't missed the processors. Ground, cubed, stew meat, smoked sausage etc. I have settled in on adding 5% beef fat for the ground meat and it is delicious. I get the fat from a local cattle farmer. My mix for sausage (Bratwurst style) still needs to work. I guess the reason for the post is, if you have the time, go get yourself a grinder to start, and get to processing.

[hunterjw]

Agree. Much better quality as you trim out what most processors do not. Grind some bacon with your ground for a bacon burger next time!

[dixiedeerslaya]

15-20% pork fat and natural sheep casings is the secret to venison bratwurst sausages.

add high temp cheese if you like.

Im making 25lbs tomorrow evening.

[Smilee]

It’s worth it and you will start seeing why mature deer yield out the best.

Version is like beef. So sausage is okay but you got to get the ratio up. Ours is about 60/40 venison to pork trimmings. And 100 lbs batches.

[dixiedeerslaya]

It’s worth it and you will start seeing why mature deer yield out the best.

Version is like beef. So sausage is okay but you got to get the ratio up. Ours is about 60/40 venison to pork trimmings. And 100 lbs batches.

The more fat the better for sure.

And a mixer gets it much more incorporated than mixing with your hands. There is a very tacky consistency that you are looking for. If you dont get it mixed good enough, the fat will cook out of it too fast and dry it out.

[walt4dun]

What grinder are yall using?

[2thDoc]

at least .5hp. a #8

if you want to do it forever....spend $750ish and get a 1HP model. #22

I need/want to learn to stuff casings and make link.

agree w DDS on the ratio. i settle w 65/35
80/20 on the burger unless the trim is all fat. then 90/10ish

[CurLee]

I just use all pork for sausage but I grow out 2 a year.

Ground deer gets 25% pork fat. Stopped messing with beef fat years ago, home grown pork has a much “sweeter” flavor.

[scquackaddict]

I really enjoy processing deer and pigs. I’ve got all the stuff just don't have time with a 2 and 3 year old. Hope to get back to it at some point. Right now the processor is getting my money

[Sasha and Abby]

Just got finished processing my fourth one for the year. There is NO COMPARISON in quality. I cut out EVERYTHING that I would not personally eat... silverskin, connective tissue, fat etc....... There is no better wild game than what you process yourself.
All I do is hamburger and cube steak. Have ground schnausage on some fine hogs and need to do that again soon.

[Smilee]

The more fat the better for sure.

And a mixer gets it much more incorporated than mixing with your hands. There is a very tacky consistency that you are looking for. If you dont get it mixed good enough, the fat will cook out of it too fast and dry it out.

I’ve got a commercial Hobart and the mixing runs about 5-10 minutes. Works better than hand mixi no for sure, cold job.

[walt4dun]

Also, what vacuum sealer are yall using?

[willk]

The more fat the better for sure.

And a mixer gets it much more incorporated than mixing with your hands. There is a very tacky consistency that you are looking for. If you dont get it mixed good enough, the fat will cook out of it too fast and dry it out.

When you reach that tacky consistency is when you have achieved proper protein extraction. The colder you keep everything the better. Meat, fat, and the grinder parts. If you get it too warm it will end up a greasy mess and will not bind well. Some people add ice, I used to just use ice water. 1lb of water per 10lbs of meat I think it was. I havent made sausage in almost two years but I was getting pretty good at it.

[willk]

Only pics I still have. I was only to a good onion sausage recipe, and one that was course black pepper/garlic/scallion. That was my wife's favorite.

[Palmetto Bug]

I'd enjoy it more if my time wasn't as limited. It takes the better part of a day and a half for me to make a 20 lb batch of summer sausage and snack sticks. A lot of that time is cleaning the grinder, mixer and stuffer. The half day is smoking and vacuum sealing it. All my stuff is stored in my detached garage so I have to haul the equipment in and out. I'd be more inclined to do it if I had a big commercial kitchen or big camp kitchen. It's definitely a labor of love. And I start with 100% lean burger from the processor and add 20% smoked bacon and high heat cheese.

[Stumpknocker]

I promised myself that when my daughter is off in college, and I pick and choose the boats I want to paint. I will buy myself a small 3-4 deer cooler and the machines to process my own deer, talked with a buddy just today about setting up a mini processing station in my shop when it doesn’t smell like paint/money

[Duracraft]

What grinder are yall using?

I'm using the Cabelas Pro Series. Around $250. It does OK for what I do, but next time I will by a higher horsepower just to get through the grinding process quicker. I like to grind twice and then package.

[Duracraft]

[QUOTE=walt4dun;3232172]Also, what vacuum sealer are yall using?[/QUOTE

FoodSaver. It does good for shanks, backstraps and burger. I use the 6x10 bags and flatten them for the freezer. Saves a ton of space.

[SouthernWake]

I’ve done many deer myself but anymore when I get done hunting it’s easier to drop it off and get back to family.

I will still do all of the processed items myself which is where most of the processing cost kicks in.

[dixiedeerslaya]

What grinder are yall using?

#32 1.5hp is what we have. Used an old big ass family hand me down for years but started upgrading all of our equipment a few years ago. You dont have to have a 1.5hp grinder, but if you plan do do it long term, the bigger the better.