356
5 year old buck +
My son and I spent the weekend processing the venison from six deer harvested this season. This is the first year I have done everything from deboning, grinding and making a variety of sausages and oven/grill ready dishes.
The tools for the weekend included:
A) 1.5 hp grinder with a #12 blade system and Sausage Stuffing kit.
B) 12" chamber sealer & 12" vacuum sealer
C) 2# capacity Jerky gun
D) 7.5" Meat Slicer
E) Excalibur 9 rack dehydrator
F) The assorted seasonings, cure, casings and recipes.
After trimming the backstops and tenderloins, we used the vacuum sealer for these cuts...of course, one strap began our Saturday night table fare.
After trimming, we ended up with 140# of ground venison. We proceed this into the following:
25# of Summer Sausage in approx. 3# logs
40# of ground venison in 1# bags (this is where the chamber sealer shines!)
15# County Sausage using a venison/pork butt mix turned into links in hog casings using my wife's great-grandmothers recipe.
15# Breakfast Sausage in 1# bags
15# Ground venison mixed with pork (two parts venison, one part pork butt)
15# "Hi-Mountain" original jerky, chamber sealed in 8 ounce packages with 400cc Oxygen absorbers
15# pepper jerky, chamber sealed in 8 ounce packages with 400cc Oxygen absorbers
It was nice having my son to help with some of the processing. I felt the end-product exceeded expectations, and it was nice to trim the meats to our standards, not someone else's standards.
Next year we will make our own jerky cure. This was my first experience using "Tender quick." It was nice to know the seasonings used were fresh on the sausage mixes.
This was my first year using a chamber sealer, and as others have noted in past posts, the chamber sealer is far superior to the vacuum sealer I've been using the past few years.
I'd love to hear any tips from the processing pros on this forum. Overall, we had a great experience with no real challenges. I am sure we will become more proficient over time. For now, the freezers for two families are full!
The tools for the weekend included:
A) 1.5 hp grinder with a #12 blade system and Sausage Stuffing kit.
B) 12" chamber sealer & 12" vacuum sealer
C) 2# capacity Jerky gun
D) 7.5" Meat Slicer
E) Excalibur 9 rack dehydrator
F) The assorted seasonings, cure, casings and recipes.
After trimming the backstops and tenderloins, we used the vacuum sealer for these cuts...of course, one strap began our Saturday night table fare.
After trimming, we ended up with 140# of ground venison. We proceed this into the following:
25# of Summer Sausage in approx. 3# logs
40# of ground venison in 1# bags (this is where the chamber sealer shines!)
15# County Sausage using a venison/pork butt mix turned into links in hog casings using my wife's great-grandmothers recipe.
15# Breakfast Sausage in 1# bags
15# Ground venison mixed with pork (two parts venison, one part pork butt)
15# "Hi-Mountain" original jerky, chamber sealed in 8 ounce packages with 400cc Oxygen absorbers
15# pepper jerky, chamber sealed in 8 ounce packages with 400cc Oxygen absorbers
It was nice having my son to help with some of the processing. I felt the end-product exceeded expectations, and it was nice to trim the meats to our standards, not someone else's standards.
Next year we will make our own jerky cure. This was my first experience using "Tender quick." It was nice to know the seasonings used were fresh on the sausage mixes.
This was my first year using a chamber sealer, and as others have noted in past posts, the chamber sealer is far superior to the vacuum sealer I've been using the past few years.
I'd love to hear any tips from the processing pros on this forum. Overall, we had a great experience with no real challenges. I am sure we will become more proficient over time. For now, the freezers for two families are full!