Good meat processing kits ?

Anyone got a reccomedation for a decent meat processing kits ? Want something that could help me turn a lil 40lbs hog into chops and sausage. Or would I come out better buying the stuff item by item ?

Buy just what you need

Big cutting board
8 inch boning knife
10 inch breaking knife

Hand meat bone saw

Grinder

40 lbs hogs do well whole on a pit just saying

A good steel, fine groove or smooth. A good semi flex boning knife, I prefer 6" curved. A small 12" or 14" I think bone saw. Three things, problem solved.

Sausage after the grinder, electric or hand depends on what you want.



Owl

Bass Pro/Cabelas will be starting their Hunting season sales pretty soon.

try lem. 3/4 hp grinder.i use con yeager mixes for sausage.

Outdoor Edge has some decent kits (knives, saw, etc in a case)....decent knives as decent prices.

I wish I had a cooler big enough to hang a dressed steer carcass in. I think one would really be nice in south Mississippi . Pretty pricey. Would have to butcher a lot of meat to make it pay. I like a full sized bone saw. Nice to be able to split a back bone. Old timers used a big cleaver or axe. never tried that. i have a feeling there is a real learning curve. I tried a sawzall. Cant say I recommend that. may have been the blade i used though

That is a small hog. Feed him some more. Kill him at 220 or so.

This right here

yup , only thing I add to that list is a Diamond steel , but if you have another fast easy way to touch up your edge you are good I like the Dexter 12 inch https://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russell-DDS-12PCP-Diamond-Sharpener-SILVER/dp/B081SSFYQP

I like a 5 or 6 inch boning knife myself
and an old hickory 7-7 butcher knife
and a cutting board you could break those hogs down just fine add a gambrel and you can do the big ones fine also


if you have a clean hack saw frame and blade they actually work quite well or buy a meat saw , meat saw are easier to get clean.

you also don't need a grinder it is a time saver , but you could cube the meat also


it comes down to most people make way to much of the tools

a well prepared kitchen really only needs 3 knives , an 8 inch chefs knife , a parring knife and a serrated bread knife.

to butcher a skinning knife , a boning knife and a butcher/ breaking knife and you are good to get meat on the table

I use the cheap plastic ikea cutting boards I have had big boards and found them a pain to clean the 14 x18 boards fit in my dishwasher a cutting board only has 2 duties , protect the knife/counter and come clean easily. you could make a wood one if you can wash it clean.

I like meat lugs because they have lids and I can stack them in my fridge but I worked with big bowls for a bunch of years

I have the 3/4 hp LEM big bite grinder it makes short work out of 50-60 pounds of ground

the amount of meat you get off a little 40 pound hog you be lucky to get 15 pounds of meat , you might as well make them 1/4s and put them all in a nesco roaster and make BBQ out of the whole pig you only need a knife or two for that

a tool I did without for a bunch of years , real hand saver , meat hook if you have the 10-15 dollars to spend well worth it , probably not much need on little pigs but deer and larger big hand saver.

I like books , I looked through a bunch of butchering books and settled on this one , it has nice pictures and I could follow it decent

I love my lem less than $130 meat grinder. I like my large cutting board so I have room to spread out.knifes I have several cheap ones but use my pocket knife 90%of the time in deer.

I would grow the pig out or cook whole or in 1/4s

Go old school. Buy yourself a set of Old Hickory knives. Mix and match to get the ones you want, buy a couple at a time to keep them affordable. You can have a very nice nostalgic set to pass down to your kids and grandkids. Not like them plastic handled things.

https://ontarioknife.com/collections/old-hickory%C2%AE-1 - you can get them cheaper on Amazon but this will let you know some of whats available.


They will last many lifetimes if you take care of them. Here are some of mine. They still get used but not as often as dad and grandpa used them in the early 1900's.

Nice ADC

Wolfdog,

Do you need another Kit like I sent a few years ago??

We use to butcher every fall, 5-7 hogs at a time and I bought a bandsaw/grinder combo from Northern for around 200 at the time, and still use it 20 some years later.
Its no high speed machine, ya have to be careful and not jam things trhu, but other than a couple new blades its worked flawlessly.

Next would be a good stuffer.

Yard sales around here you see knives all the time = cheap and good ones in the mix if you look.......jk

I will echo what everyone else says. Buy separately. One or two knives is plenty. You dont need anything big for deer or pigs. A meat saw is convenient for bone in chops and cuts. I think mine is a 15" from LEM? A large cutting board and a small grinder. Black Friday is coming up and you can pick up a #8 grinder for less than a $100. If you want to do a lot of link sausage and are by yourself then buy a grinder that is capable of using a foot pedal. IT will make your life a lot easier. If you have help it isnt necessary. I think LEM has several models that can use them. I use 1-2 knives, grinder, and a vacuum sealer and did roughly 20 deer/hog/antelope last season. I upgraded to a 1hp grinder last year, but used a #8 grinder for a LOT of critters prior to that and never had an issue. A stuffer would be convenient, but I havent pulled the trigger on one yet.

Also, AC LEGGS makes great sausage seasoning. #10 blend is what I use and will add some pepper flakes to it. If it says it seasons 25 pounds I will make 20 pounds with it. Thats about the right ratio for my taste. Remember to cook a little sausage before you stuff it if making links. Nothing more disappointing than having poorly flavored sausage already stuffed and nothing you can do about it.

Very cool collection ADC!

It is very rare that I say “ boy I wish I had that collection “ this is one I wish I had! Nice tradition, what a great family heirloom to pass down.

I would say a good grinder is the most important part -- I use a my cordless sawzall with a new blade for the bone cutting (when i don't use my neighbors meat room)

that is a good thing to point out if you already have a sawzall clean it up and you can use a fresh blade very effectively

I use mine to break down the cow this winter

they make a pruning saw blade for the Sawzall that is rather wicked the regular 9-12 inch bi-metal wrecking blades work well also

40 pounder?Throw it on a spit and eat it.If I had my two boys and their kids over,,we would wack that little pig down in one sitting.

Thanks fellas. I'm pretty proud of it, hence the display case I made for them. It's actually a coffee table with a thick plexi-glass top. I have added to the collection some over the years, still a couple I'd like to add but the majority were my dad and my grandpas knives. Grandpa died before I was born over 50 years ago, so there are a few oldies. Not all are old hickory but all in that similar style.

If I were Wolfie I'd start with the 6" boning knife, the 6" skinner and the 10" butcher knives. Should be the start of a collection he can be proud of.

Ditto on the meat hook, big help in not dropping a chunk in the dirt...

Pretty much all you need is a sharp knife, cut through the joints, bone most of the meat out, A grinder for ground meat/sausage, meat lugs are nice, but any clean receptacle will work, a gambrel and block and tackle for larger beasties, a hog scraper, or just skin them, and a cutting board.., you can get by with the basics...heck, our ancient ancestors used a flaked rock, lol

Nah lol , I got four of them knives in that metal sheath hung in the kitchen by the sink , use them about every night ! Dad loves it when I let him borrow them lol ! Might have to try and get a set off o you for him for Christmas

Well I'm pretty much set then aside from the grinder. Should I get a lil hand crank or splurge on an electric? Also what about a sausage stuffer ?

I bought a Nesco #8 grinder last spring. Works fine for about $100. I also bought a Haaka vertical stuffer that works great. I would recommend both. Bought the grinder locally and I bought the stuffer online through Wayfair.

Grinder all depends on how much your foing to do. Hand grinders are ok for a lb or 2 a couple times a year. Small electric ones will do 5 to 10 lb batches ok. If you do more then that start looking at a bigger 1/2 horse or larger. Same goez for the sausage stuffer the smaller batches you can deal with stuffing thru the grindee. Bigger batchez the stuffer is eay handy. Meat totes before the stuffer in my opinion.

Check craigslist and Facebook market place.



Hobart from craigslist $200