Meat processing at home discussion

Hi. I am looking for info on gear to begin processing meat at home. I can read all the articles on different gear I want, but would rather hear personal views on what y’all consider to be the best meat grinders, recipes etc. So in your opinion are the best products to start out with? Thanks!

AS far as grinders are concerned, don't go small. You will burn it up.

Hay man good to see you back !

Band Saw, for rough cuts a Sawzall works great. JMO

I like LEM products.

How big of meats are you talking? A few whole pork loins, a whitetailed deer or whole hogs & beef?

Yup, gotta know what your dealing with. A couple of whitetails, is much different than a whole beef.

I've put a lot in the freezer with nothing more than a couple sharp knives, some clean coolers or 5 gal buckets, and some freezee paper.


I've added a lot of great gear including a neighbor or 2 who will work for meat, cordless saws, big cutting boards that will handle leg quarters, a vacuum packet, big grinder with a 2 hp electric motor, and better knives (read slaughter house professional grade thanks to Horn).


You can also vacuum pack cash if you want the highway patrol to believe you are a drug dealer LOL

Probably wouldnt get less than a 1HP grinder. Smaller grinders if you do more than a few pounds of meat, the meat will literally be cooked by the time you bag it if you double grind then stuff. They do make ice packs made to fit around the grinder to keep it cool, sticking the throat and auger in the freezer can help for a while. Get a foot pedal attachment too if you cant conscript help for the stuffing process.

A vac sealer is a must have, I think ours is a cabelas model. If you're running through the vac sealer at once with no breaks, you might want to get a heavier duty model. If you seal as you go, that cuts down on the heat.

Dont need to get fancy on knives, or big unless your dealing with pigs or anything bigger than whitetail or mule deer. I use a 2" blade to debone deer. Save the long knives for fish and trimming the cuts.

Speaking of cuts, I prefer not to cut the cuts into steaks, stir fry, cube steaks, stew meat, etc until its time to cook. Who knows what you or who will be cooking that day will be in the mood to do. Leaving the cuts whole gives you options. Plus I prefer to cook the cuts whole then slice into steaks to serve as it makes it easier to control cook time and keeps the meat from drying out as easily.

I have a old Cummings meat saw with a grinder attachment on it, a old butcher friend would freeze my deer meat then cut it on a band saw.

As stated all depends what you want to do. Few poinds of summer sausage or snack sticks is way different then cutting and wrapping beef or hogs. Ive got just about a complete commercial butcher shop off craigslist over the last year for under 2 grand. Just working on the walk in cooler part now, one will show up .
Saw 1000
Grinder 200
Cuber 180
Various totes and knives 100
Need to upgrade my sausage stuffer to a 15 lbs one.

I plan on using it for big game. So deer, hogs and whatever else will make good sausage! Thank you for the reply’s I’ll definitely add a cuber and vacuum sealer to the list. I’ve been looking at the Weston meat grinders and have read good things about them. Anyone ever use one?

Nice set up NVW, I'd love to have a walk in freezer or even just a cooler to hang red meat

A walk in cooler would be nice.

Got a big 4 door commercial freezer for free that we will put a new compressor in

Honestly, I can process a whole whitetailed deer in short order with a couple good knives and a Kitchen-aid mixer with grinder attachment. I use a jerky cannon to stuff sausages and of course fill the dehydrator with ground jerky from the scraps. The mixer does great mixing the meats. Add a box of bacon ends and pieces and a couple big pork shoulder roasts and you can make some good stuff. Save your beef trimmings too from briskets and steak cuts, freeze them and break them out come sausage making time too. I really enjoy the whole process.

What a spoil sport!

A canner & I like wide mouth mason jars. Canning a batch will save you some freezer space & you have less to mess with during a power outage. Welcome to hurricane country!

What ever you buy, learn how to bone out anything you process. You won't need a saw. Also, if there is concern about CWD in any animal you process, the protein prions exist in the nervous system tissue, so boning will avoid exposing any of that tissue. You'll save space in the freezer also.

And as mentioned, grinder wise, purchase one step up in size from what you think you will need.

I bought a LEM#8 a few years ago and have been satisfied with it.

A boning knife, a meat hook to hold onto your chunks while boning and a vacuum sealer.
A longer knife to trim, and a grinder if your doing sausage...
I've put up lots of meat with even less than the above..

All the big toys are great, but you need a place to put and store them.

a mesh glove for your non-knife working hand, and knit cotton gloves

Get yourself at least 4 meat lugs with the lids
If u don't have an extra fridge u can fit 2 of them in get a cooler big enough to fit the lugs.
I have used lots of differant containers over the years and once I got the meat lugs it was so much more convenient. They stack, fit in the fridge. Easy to clean, have a lid. Store nice when not needed.
I have never had a huge grinder, never ran into problems, the bigger ones are faster and u can keep stuffing them full. The smaller once just gotta let the machine go at its own speed. I would rather spend 100-150 on a grinder and use the other money for a stuffer and meat mixer, than spend 400 on a grinder and not get a stuffer.

If using a table for butchering make leg extensions to get it to counter top height. Working at sitting table height is hard on the back

If I ever put together the ultimate home processing shop I would be looking for one of those commercial grade double sinks with continous stainless steel counters on either side and both a front and back lip (backsplash, frontsplash, countertop, and sinks are all in one). Then I'd hang several of those big hoses with springs from the wall, one in the middle over the sinks and one at each end (these things are often about 18 ft in length).

I cannot imagine a better set up. Skin out any big chucks from guttless quartering on one side, rinse off hair in the middle, and toss to the other side where you could debone, trim, or carve to your liking.

I don't process but 8-10 deer a year, and maybe a hog. I'd love to have a small walk-in cooler but just can't justify it yet. A solid 1 hp or larger grinder is essential in my opinion. I've burned up several smaller units making hamburger and sausage. A sausage stuffer is another essential item. Although, I've made 100's of pounds of sausage with the attachment for my grinder, having the proper tool for the job makes the process much more efficient. A couple good quality, non-slip knives and a proper honing stone as well as a vac-sealer (with wet/dry option) are about the only things on my "must have" list.

Some nice to haves:
-meat boning hook (keep hands clean & not freeze while breaking down a quarter)
-Large flat totes with lids (stack several in fridge/freezer)
-Meat slicer
-Solid table/place to do your butchering. Quarter a heavy and bulky. Having the room to move freely around is nice.

Hobart grinder gets the job done they are spendy I got this one from my Hoot buddy.


Cummings meat saw I picked up this one for $150 it has a grinder and sausage funnel that goes on it also. Waterproof motor that's really waterproof not the best saw but for a guy that's not into it heavy it gets the job done. I cut a lot of frozen carp up for bait with this one been doing it for several years now I did pick up a 4 pack of replacement bands years back still have 1 new one when needed.

Your ancestors butchered with just a sharp rock. All you need is a piece of rope and a knife and you can get it done without the rope. The rest just makes it easier. Put me on the side of those that recommend getting a good grinder not a cheapy. Wrapped a whole lotta meat with just butcher paper in my life. It works. Vacuum bags work lots better. Meat stays fresh a lot longer. Band saw is nice for beef and pork. I like the flavor leaving some bone in will add. Deer/elk I bone out. You can use a hand saw instead of a band saw. More work, takes longer, but the meat is still delicious. you want it almost froze. Easier to cut that way into uniform steak and roasts.

Let the meat age a few days. Cuts and grinds so much better.

I just keep backstraps n grind the rest. Take it to the butcher and he’ll grind and mix while I wait takes 10 min. Costs $12 a deer and I wrap it at home. No mess no fuss done in no time

Watch your sewer lines as the fat will clog everything including the septic field as it cools down

nvwrangler I have the same cuber tenderizer that you have. They are a beast. Mike

I am a fan of a decent sized grinder. I honestly don't remember what HP mine is, but it walks through a venison quickly. As for the vacuum sealers.....my All Purpose Boy has one and loves it. I borrowed his once and am not impressed. It is more of a time saver for certain, but I can hand squeeze and seal quart sized zip-locs for 1/10th the price. They work well too. If you get any freezer burn on your meat it is because you rushed the squeeze part and left air in the bag. I will, someday, have a good cuber, but have about everything else I need in the way of butchering tools. I bone everthing, so a saw isn't needed.

a few good knives is a must, some way to hang it while butchering helps (i use my skidsteer), a decent size grinder is also important unless you dont want ground meat. I also use a sawsall for cuting through the bones.

Over the years i had a smaller grinder which is fine for deer etc, but we recently upgraded to handle more meet while butchering hogs and steers. I also bought a meat slicer for slicing bacon, steaks etc. (partially freezing the meat first helps this go smoother

I dont have a band saw but I debone all my meat first anyway so not a necessity for me and the sawsall is used to cut the ribs.

I like my LEM #22, I was gonna get a #32, but havent been disappointed. I had ax #8 cabelas and ran alot of meat through it, but this one spits n gits. Some think its to big ,but you can get the grinding done snd cleaned up way faster. Sometimes you dont have all the time in the world to get a job done. So buy the biggest one to start you wont be disappointed!

Law Dog that looks like some good equipment but I'd want to give it a few jobs to be sure of course

Commercial style vacuum sealer #1, mine is a cabelas model. Upright sausage stuffer. Meat mixer is handy. I don't grind a ton so I just have a small lem grinder. Meat slicer for jerky, bacons etc.

I have a LEM bit bite #12 grinder and do 25-75# batches at a time. Put the grinder auger and throat in the freezer for a while and it works great. Good set of knives are worth there weight in gold!!! I have processed my own meat for 30 years - 3 deer - 3 pigs last year 300# of sausage made. DONT but a cheap vacuum sealer. I have over 10,000 bags sealed on the one I have with no problems.