How many of yall do it and what was the initial cost to start? Im assuming the most important thing (besides a good knife) would be a grinder and a way to store the meat. (Vaccum seal, freezer bags, butcher paper.) is the initial cost and time spent worth it over taking the deer to a processor?

I do 90% of my own. May take one a year to the processor for some sausage or something. A good knife, cutting board, grinder, and vac sealer are must have IMO. Used to wrap everything in paper but the vac sealer is so much better

As far as worth it, I think so 100%. Definitely get more meat yield when I do it myself vs processor.

Ive done it before. Got the blood stains on the basement floor to prove it😁. Most the time I take it to a processor. Just dont have the time to do it.

Same here, about 80% of mine I do myself, mainly any special sausage or other special cuts are done my the processor.....I bought a nice vac sealer several years ago and it's definitely a good investment...

100% done in house

A high quality chambered vacuum machine will make you ask yourself the same question when you went from an open station tractor to having one with a cab… why didn’t I get one sooner

I’ve been processing my own for about the last 6 years. Processing got to be too much for what it is. Lucky enough to have a walkin cooler that sure makes things easier.

Use to cut up own

Now i gladly tale to processor and i got 2 that do good job. I not young anymore

MEEEEE.......BEST Sausage around! TDOG I'm 66 and Still Boinkin' th' Hot 56 year-old Galfriend!!

^^
🤣😀

I’m 100% in house and by house I mean my kitchen. I was given a grinder #10/12 grinder so that helped. Already had a vacuum sealer because I used to fish so often. I really got into sausage making since I was killing more hogs than deer and most places won’t take them. I think if I had to start from scratch I could get everything I have now, that I actually use, for about $600. Mostly it’s a couple of LARGE cutting boards, good knives, a grinder, stuffer, vacuum sealer, assorted stainless trays and bowls.

I do most of mine, some years as many as 6-8 animals.

I don't like the "homeowner" vac sealers, and prefer really good freezer paper (Airloc from Novolex). I used to work for them, and it's the best freezer paper made by any company. Easily holds ground for a year with no freezer burn.

Chamber sealers with commercial bags are next level, though. The processor I occasionally use in Texas packs that way. Prasek's in Sealy and El Campo, TX.

Good grinder is a must, with a cube steak attachment. Also have a meat mixer and a sausage stuffer. Grinder is a #12, with a 3/4 HP motor on it and a momentary foot switch. Will grind 12+ lbs. per minute.

Most of my sausage seasonings are made by A.C. Legg in Calera, AL.

They make a good product.

I do mine own deer. I get most seasonings and casings from Southeastern Butcher where most deer processors get theirs. It’s in Pelham. They have the plastic round bags for patty sausage and hamburger. A mixer is a must as well as a big enough grinder.

I have done it in the past. Have a grinder which came with horns for making sausage and a vacuum sealer. Made sausage, burger jerky with kits you can buy online or at Cabelas. Lot of work but worth it if you have the time and your better half doesn’t yell at you for making a mess in the kitchen. That’s why I started using a processor but I still do process some of my own deer for making dog food for my and my in laws dogs. Dogs love venison.

Nope. Never even had the desire.

I do most of mine. But I really don't like to do just one at a time. So, if possible I will hang a couple or find a friend or two that want to go in together. I would rather process 4-6 in an afternoon with a couple guys because the clean up and setup take more time than the actual processing.

Most years I'll process 6-12 deer. If I only have one, cooler is full, or it is too warm to hang outside I'll take it somewhere.

I do all mine from start to finish......have all my life. Get a basic 1 horse grinder, and a vacuum sealer and bags. A hand crank cuber is nice and get an old extra fridge. A jerky gun and dehydrator makes the burger into great jerky. It takes a little time. but is rewarding and you know it's YOUR deer and it was properly handled and kept cool.

Best advice I can give you -

If you wouldn't eat it as part of a steak, don't put it in your burger.

We do shanks, bones, shoulder trim, etc. into bone broth/soup starter, not into our ground. We don't waste much, but we are careful where it goes.

We’ve always processed our own deer. Good boning knife or two, a couple of meat lugs, large cutting board, vacuum sealer and a grinder and bare essentials, probably $250-ish in stuff. It’s nice to have a sausage stuffer, dehydrator and pressure canner.

Almost always do my own.

Y’all already know my answer!! We have a building dedicated to meat processing and sausage making. Besides the grinders, mixers, and sealers, another very important tool to have is a good meat/bone saw. I have a good hand and electric band saw. Really makes butchering animals a breeze. The only thing I’m missing is a cooler to hang the animals in. I’m using a large refrigerator now and does ok but I’ll have a cooler in the near future. Also a good large poly cutting table is a must. Really saves the knives and easy to clean. Stainless steel and extremely hot water makes for quick and easy clean up. I’d hate to put a pencil to how much I have invested in my set up but it’s worth every penny knowing how our meat is handled from field to table.

I was intimidated by the idea. I didn't start hunting till 2021. Since then, I've knocked down 4 and processed all 4 on my own. Just watch a bunch of You Tube videos. It's easy and a great biology lesson. My process is to skin (I keep the hides), quarter, and get it in the ice chest on day 1. From there, I like to let it sit on ice a couple of days. After a few days in the cooler, I'll put it in a trash bag in the fridge and let it age about a week. After a week, I debone and trim, throw it in a freezer bag, note the date and cut with a sharpie and label and it sits in the freezer until I'm ready to make something.

Part of the fun is coming up with ideas and recipes for me. I don't have a grinder yet, but I do have a dehydrator and have made some great jerky. Processing my own meat is as much of hunting as the rest of it for me.

wish I could but no time

Do all my own unless out of state convenience says otherwise.

My daddy was a meat cutter and loved wild game. He would always cut them for me. After I was probably 20 years old he gave me all the knives and the cuber and said you are on your own. Probably cut up close to 200 in the last 45 years not all that I killed but helping others that hunt with me. Last year we made 90 pounds of summer sausage me and 2 friends . It isn’t for everybody but I got a good setup.

As far as going them for the public heck no. I used to skin for a processor to have use of his cooler and we would do mine. I got to where I didn’t want to see a deer. But boy you got to hear some stories

My favorite part of hunting is processing deer.

It takes time, but it's clean. I know what my family is eating. Some deer processing facilities are very dirty.

If I have time to sit in the woods for hours, I have time to process a deer.

Too much trouble! I don’t even gut a deer anymore unless it’s hot. I take them straight to the processor.

I do majority of my own but it always comes downs to time. With three kids and working crazy hours it is very convenient to just drop them off. I prefer to do it myself however. I usually do atleast to or three a year by myself. A good grinder and vaccum sealer are about all you really need. Dehydrators, jerky guns, cubers, and meat slicers are extra.

I have a very clean processor 2 miles down the road, so I don't fool with it, but I do gut it. I just can't make myself carry an ungutted deer to the processor, but I'm old school.

Have processed many when I was younger. Have a good processor near our lease, I just take them to him. He'll even gut and skin for $10.

Yeah I've gotten old and lazy when it comes to this.

I hope when I’m older I’ll get to do it myself. Just not enough time or space now

Typically a processor (we have a good one) does my ground stuff, sausage, cube. I take care of the skinning/deboning and the back straps and tender loins. If it gets where i can’t get that part processed, I’ll give everything away except the backstrap and tenderloins.

Who do you use?

50/50 for me, some I do myself and some I take the processor. I am in a primary CWD zone so all of those I do myself and the ones I kill outside the primary zone I take to the processor.

Define “process”.

I won’t shoot a deer that I’m gonna eat over 75lbs or so and has to be a doe, usually less than 2 years old.

Even pigs I stay under 25lbs.

I just quarter them up then when I get home I cut it up, or grind it up, and mix it with nothing, then into the freezer.

I take them piglet quarters and treat them like a chicken quarter, grill or fry.

If the pig is big, I strap it and either give it away or let the buzzards have it. If I shoot a buck, I give the meat away.

I’ve been using Boldo the past few years. Really good folks, clean facilities and do a great job

100 percent do my own. Got to where I only kill 2 or 3 a year though

I do my own, I mostly cube everything except Tenderloins and Backstraps. We love cubed. I normally do 3 or 4 a year. Bought a hand cuber, Vacuum sealer.

The cube is my wife's favorite cut also, I need to get one so I can do more cubing.....

I just don’t have the time to do it all. I’d be interested but I can drop off after dressing and pay. It’s a how much is your time worth thing though no doubt processing your own would pull in more meat etc

We ain't all rich doctors.

If I were to do my own, I believe I would quarter it, put in a fridge for 7-10 days, then freeze it. Wait until after hunting season to process it. Now of course the tenderloins and backstraps won't go into the freezer. Pick a day or 2 and cube and grind whatever I wanted.

lol yeah yeah I’ve never had the money to get summer sausage but may just get some this year if I kill a deer. Love that stuff. Buddy made some logs and took em all day

Previously frozen meat doesn't grind that well. or cook up that well after grinding. I think it does something to the cell structure in the meat.

I would disagree here. I have frozen and then ground piles of deer into burger and have never noticed a difference at all.

I'd buy a really good grinder and you don't need a whole lot else. A good knife and steel, a big cutting board and a way to store it. I go simple. I keep the backstraps and tender loins for fry meat and grind the rest with 10% beef fat. With a good grinder, you don't have to be as picky about what goes in it. I just trim the fat and the heaviest sinew. Make sure to get the glands out, nasty stuff and bad bloodshot stuff. Grind through a fine plate into clean coolers and catch it on the 3rd grind into tubes. I cut the straps without taking off the silver to add another layer of protection. I just put them into zip lock freezer bags and squeeze all the air out. A good vacuum sealer is better but zip locks are better the the cheap vacuum sealer I have. When I thaw it, then I cut off the silver and slice it and pound it with a meat hammer.

For me it depends on the day and weather. If I get a deer on a Sunday, most likely the processor. Saturday with good weather the next day then I’ll do it. I don’t mind doing it, it just doesn’t always work out.

Quailman it don't take very long to process the ones you kill, they'll fit in a igloo 6 pack cooler.

I get my nephew to skin and debone. I finish the rest

Is it necessary to have a stuffer, most of the grinders I see have the stuffing part on them

It’s not necessary but the stuffing attachment on a grinder is slow and inconsistent for making sausage. It works ok if you’re grinding meat and putting them in those little tube packages. However I can grind the meat and use my little 5lb stuffer and stuff vacuum seal bags faster then I can with the stuffing attachment. When I do large quantities of ground meats, I’ll use my 25lb electric foot controlled stuffer. I can roll through it with this set up. But anyway no you do not need a stuffer if you have the stuffing attachment.

My plan was to start making my own sausage and snack sticks and what not. It sounds like I need a stuffer too. Thank you sir

It definitely makes the process a lot easier. Also there are lots of great stuffers on the market. Everything from a low cost hand crank to the high $ water or hydraulic stuffers. I have a 5lb LEM that’s mainly used for boudin, a 25lb F. Dick with the 2 speed gear set on it. This thing is a beast. My main stuffer is the 25lb electric stuffer mentioned above. I got this one because it allows me to do all my sausage making and still have both hands to work with. Also I can do it all by myself if I want. No need for a 2nd person turning the handle. We’re not commercial but I’d bet we make more sausage at my house then some local companies around home. 👍👍

Meat mixers are nice for sausage recipes

I have a 40 lb mixer and next to my big grinder, this is one of the best investments I’ve made for mixing seasing.

I do most of my own elk if I get free reign of my buddies meat cutting shop and grinder. I do all of my deer either way.

It’s just big a hassle getting deer to processor. We build a small walk in cooler and do it all here at our place.

You can do your own without casings in an oven in just a couple hours max. I've followed this video and it was good stuff.