Processing equipment
Whitetail Deer
My wife and I purchased our first home this year, I finally have the space to be able to do up my own deer, rather than pay the butcher $100 just to grind it.
I would like to do ground, sticks (with and without cheese) summer sausage/ring bologna and maybe Italian sausage.
With that in mind, what should I get as far as grinder, gambrel/hoist etc-you have a favorite brand and model?
Thanks!
get a size bigger grinder than you think you need. we have LEM and cabelas brand products and have no complaints. we use a 25lb stuffer and would hate to use anything smaller. as far as a hoist, its hard to beat an electric winch. lots of sharp knives-I prefer fillet knives.
craig
I see that Cabela's/Basspro has some processing packages on sale begining the 27th. I have a couple of their processing products that seem fine but nothing to compare with. You might check to see if they meet your needs. Good luck.
There’s a recent thread about this. See link
Another recent thread. See link
I like the LEM grinder because they have a mixer that attaches right to it. If you're doing a lot of sausage, you'll definitely want a mixer to save freezing your hands and it makes it soooooo much easier.
I agree on the stuffer, too. Especially, it you're doing sticks. They require some good control to fill the casings.
If you're just starting out....one thing I'd put in a strong plug for is a quality vacuum sealer. That has a few uses besides food storage like preservation of things you don't want exposed to moisture, packing down clothes, etc. I get my 8" and 10" vacuum rolls from EBay. I use mine alot.
This should work great from what I can tell?
#5 BIG BITE MEAT GRINDER - 0.35 HP from LEM
I'd be able to grind burger, make sausage, potentially deer sticks as well?
The basics....a grinder....food safe meat bins....a stuffer....vacuum sealer. Added extras....mixer....meat slicer....smoker.
As far as a hoist those cheap deer hoists that are in any sports store actually work very well and at $18 you can`t find a better deal. I have used these for years to hoist lifesize buffalo skins out of tanning baths without a problem, when they wear out I throw them out and buy another.
I made summer sausage with my LEM this past weekend
You can stuff sausage with most grinders but after doing this a couple times I popped for a stuffer. The first 8-10" of stuffed sausage with a grinder goes good but after that it emulsifies and it just doesn't look right and it loses that sausage 'texture'. The stuffer is the bomb!
I have a #8 grinder & it does well for us. I don't have a mixer but grind my venison & pork shoulder together useing the 3/8 hole plate then add seasoning then grind a 2nd time useing the 1/8 hole plate & seams to work well for us. we use a tree limb rope & 4 wheeler to hang deer but an electric boat winch does good or a hand crank if ya use a pulley to double the rope to get a mechanical advantage. your gonna need a good smoker I personally prefer a fire box smoker & use hardwood lump coal but most prefer & are better off with an electric smoker
I have a chain fall in the peak of my garage, it’s hoisted a pile of deer. I have a 1hp #22 grinder that is great, it eats everything as fast as we can feed it, we grind a lot of burger and bulk sausage directly into the 1 pound poly bags. That’s the cats meow. For sausage we have a 12 pound vertical stuffer.
