Processing Days!

[356]

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!

 

[swat1018]

Buy a 15# vertical sausage stuffer, poly bags, and a tape machine. It's the only way to package ground meat.

 

[bigboreblr]

Got ome pics of the process. MY deer processing is very lacking. Was going to put a thread out about it.

Too warm to hang meat most times. So, I got to put it in the basement fridge.

 

[356]

Buy a 15# vertical sausage stuffer, poly bags, and a tape machine. It's the only way to package ground meat.

What is the advantage of a vertical stuffer? We felt the adapter on the grinder worked well (for our first time), but I am always looking for ways to improve the process and make a better product.

 

[356]

Got ome pics of the process. MY deer processing is very lacking. Was going to put a thread out about it.

Too warm to hang meat most times. So, I got to put it in the basement fridge.

My son took some pictures, so I’ll see what he has and post those. Hopefully this or another thread will provide some suggestions for all of us. We did the work on a folding table in our basement (which as a small kitchen). He took 90# of ready to use venison home, and my freezer is full as well, so this was a solid first effort.

As for ‘hang time,” most of our deer were boned within four hours of harvest. I start a new thread on aging and hang time ideas

 

[goatman]

Hi Mountain garlic/pepper jerky is one of my favorites. No turning back now. You will probably never take another deer to the butcher.

 

[356]

Here are a few pictures taken:

The top tub is ground venison with pork butt for sausage. The bottom bag is peppered venison jerky curing overnight.


Making jerky using a #2 capacity jerky gun. We found one fill was perfect for a tray.


120 quart cooler filled with 90# of ready-to-use venison!

 

[T-Max]

Tell me a little about your chamber sealer. Brand? Do you like it? I have been thinking about one, but the price.......

 

[356]

Tell me a little about your chamber sealer. Brand? Do you like it? I have been thinking about one, but the price.......

Vevor is the brand…made in China at the same factory as many of the name brand chamber units. Pretty good ratings from long time users.Price was in the mid-$300s. Here is the link.

Having now used it for 200# of venison, sealing soups, spices and jerky, I am sold on this sealer. They sell these on Amazon, but at a higher price.

 

[Gravel Road]

My wife will NOT use any type of vacuum sealer. She does a super tight wrap of saran wrap and two layers of freezer paper and we never have any trouble with freezer burn. Two days ago she pulled out a neck roast from a 2019 buck that got missed and it was perfect If it was me packaging, i'd probably use the vacuum sealer too, as it's a lot of work to wrap well. I can't even wrap a xmas present.

 

[356]

… I can't even wrap a xmas present.

I resemble that statement. It took awhile for my wife to come around to the vacuum sealer…it was actually my son who convinced her that it was faster and better. No number of videos or sample from me would have moved the needle…but my son’s sharing of some vacuum sealed treats (his wife is a baker) and soups did the trick.