Home Butchering, equipment, etc.

[seedspreader]

Ok, a question for all you home butchers.

I have a good friend that has an awesome home butchering set up in his basement. He used to be a professional butcher. He has SS tables, a commercial (old style) meat band saw. A very cool Hobart meat grinder with an attached bowl that has a spiral set of blades to make bologna type grinds...

So what is your home butchering set up like?

What knives do you use? Got any links where you buy them from?

Preferences as to steel types?

Any tips on where you have picked up your stuff from? Auctions etc.?

Let's talk butcherin'.

[Tango]

We have been butchering for a few years with nothing fancy or elaborate. We have a few knives that are German-made but the names have worn to the point I can't read them anymore. Bought them at the mall. Also have some Case knives and a black and decker electric saw, a manual meat grinder, a turjey fryer which we use to boil water, a dedicated butchering table, and plenty of buckets. IMO clean running water and diluted bleach is way more important than the actual equipment. We clean before, during, and after. Oh I do have a commercial vacuum sealer so that is one fancy item but I've butchered goats and pigs with nothing more than a $7 fillet knife from WalMart.

[gccrook]

When butchering chickens, I actually use one of those flip out utility knives that are real common now. They are very sharp, and I can just toss the blade whne I am done, or replace it with a new sharp one if it gets dull. Problem: I can't seem to get through a whole butchering day without cutting my self at least once.

[Jolly]

Some things I wouldn't do without:

1. Knives. Most of the time we get them from Sam's, or the Fish Net Company (local suppier for commercial fisherman). I'm pretty sure they are made by Russell.

2. A good steel.

3. A roll of commercial wrapping paper and its holder. If you know how to wrap meat, and double wrap, you can get a couple of years out of beef or venison (lots of times more).

4. Meatsaw, hand. Gotta have one.

5. Grinder. Bigger is better, but you can get by with the old crank kind if you've got the time and the elbow grease.

6. Meat lugs. The big plastic pans are invaluable.

Things that are nice to have.

1. Bandsaw (commercial meatsaw) - just don't lose your fingers.

2. Commercial grinder.

3. Plenty of counter space.

4. Crank sausage stuffer.

5. Propane fired, dedicated smoke house.


Just my opinion, YMMV.

[agmantoo]

I only butcher for myself and a very few close friends
I have.....
Sanitary working conditions
Good knives and a steel for sharpeniing and I know how to use the steel
A commercial grinder that is too large but usable nevertheless
A cubing machine, an expensive machine that is worth every cent for tenderizing
A used $40 freezer with a setable thermostat for aging
Recycled SS table, sink, and poly cutting surfaces, meat trays/lugs
A used 40 gallon water heater
Good lighting
A room set aside in my main building for this specific purpose.
Total investment for everything approximately $1200
Since 1995, I have processed 68 deer, 62 were mine.

[albionjessica]

Originally Posted by Jolly

5. Propane fired, dedicated smoke house.

I have often wondered about this. Does anyone have a link to a good website with info on smoke houses? All my family ever had was a little aluminum smoker with a picture of an indian on it, because all we smoked was fish. How big of a smoker would you need for the meat an average family could go through?

While we're on the subject of smoking, here are a few more questions:
What kinds of meat can you smoke?
How do you cut/prepare meat for smoking?
Do you need special wood or supplies for smoking?
How do you store smoked goods?

Interesting thread!

[foxtrapper]

Depends on what I'm doing.

For poultry, a paring knife is what I use. Skin and cut meat. Dump meat into a tupperware tub for later. Wash and bag the meat in ziplock baggies. Done.

For large animals, field dressing work is done with a parring knife. So's the skinning and much of inital work like quartering. The large knives only come out when I'm slicing steaks after the meat is nearly frozen solid.

For beef, venison and the like It's wrap in saran wrap then butcher paper. Mark and freeze.

If I'm doing a lot of large meat, I'll use the circular saw mounted upside in my B&D Workmate. Does a dandy job of making the steaks in mass. This is bone in btw. Large knife if I've deboned.

Ground meat is just my grinder attachment that fits on the mixing machine. It grinds pretty quick.

[comfortablynumb]

an Ulu, a machette and a meat grinder.

I'm not real picky.

[auntieemu]

My DH converted an old swing set to accomidate butchering two emu at a time by lengthening the legs, adding wheels and extending the center. The wheels make it fairly easy to move it around.

He installed pulley and winches on each end to make it easy to raise and lower these 5 to 6 foot tall birds.

A 55 gallon drum was not tall enough to use, so he added another ring off another drum. In order to heat the water he made an insert by putting two hot water heater elements on a bar that suspends down into the drums. It takes about 2 hours to bring the water up to temperature (80 degrees C).

The drum is sunk into the ground about one ring and wrapped in insulation to help keep the heat in.

After the birds have bled out, we swing each one around, dip it and then swing back to pluck and process.

We got gambrels from a processing facility that was closing. Knives from Wally World or other places - had them too long and don't recall. Would like some that kept sharp longer.

Use washing tubs to catch the offel and blood, stainless steel canning pots for the meat and fat. Got an electric grinder from Cabella's that works really well - but emu has silverskin like deer, so you have to cut smaller chunks - like cubing for stew - to reduce the clog time.

Also use scissors, garbage bags, salt (for hides if we are saving hides), lots of
water, hacksaw if we are saving hams and not grinding, and plastic grocery/wally world bags to cover the vent/bung to protect the meat as we process.

I agree with Tango on the bleach - cleaning that area before and after is important!

[Jolly]

Originally Posted by albionjessica

I have often wondered about this. Does anyone have a link to a good website with info on smoke houses? All my family ever had was a little aluminum smoker with a picture of an indian on it, because all we smoked was fish. How big of a smoker would you need for the meat an average family could go through?

While we're on the subject of smoking, here are a few more questions:
What kinds of meat can you smoke?
How do you cut/prepare meat for smoking?
Do you need special wood or supplies for smoking?
How do you store smoked goods?

Interesting thread!

This is worth its own thread....

[birdie_poo]

Table in the backyard with a trash can lined to put the 'stuff' in, hatchet to off the head, feet, etc, skinning knives, filet knives, and 3 kids. Can't get anymore low-tech then that!

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Skinning and gutting done from the animal hanging off of my bucket on my tractor. Major cutting of most cuts done with one of those meat cutting bansaws available on Ebay and at Northern Hydraulics. The saw has a powered grinder attached. I like to use the ban saw to cut up the meat as I can get cuts that look like cuts from the grocery store. People eat meat better if they recognize the cut.

The above reminds me of being in the Navy - Was a food service officer numerous times and the Navy likes toserve rabbit. Never could get the crew excited about rabbit until we started saving half of the wings from the times we had fried chicken. We then fried the chicken wings up when we fried rabbit. The crew ate the rabbit just as well as they did chicken when we did that.

[Old Jack]

Pretty low tech at this point, all outside .
I have a tripod made out of 2" steel gas line (I have plenty of this stuff) about 16 feet tall with a block and tackle for hoisting large animals. Pig pole boom on the tractor to help. Turkey deep fryer (propane) for birds.
Couple of rope lines strung between trees for birds and rabbits. Small table made from some scrap cherry built against the side of the chicken house. I have a few old carbon steel knives that will sharpen to a razor edge and hold it but must be kept oiled or will rust. Carbon steel cleaver.
Big old meat saw (hack saw looking thing). Tilia pro 2 vacuum sealer.
Eventually I will build a super insulated dedicated processing room and cooler with a smoke house near it.

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

Skinning and gutting done from the animal hanging off of my bucket on my tractor. Major cutting of most cuts done with one of those meat cutting bansaws available on Ebay and at Northern Hydraulics. The saw has a powered grinder attached. I like to use the ban saw to cut up the meat as I can get cuts that look like cuts from the grocery store. People eat meat better if they recognize the cut.

YFR,

What do you think of that Northern bandsaw ? I've been looking at them at the local Northern store here.....look sorta cheapy.....but I'm only looking for something for the occassional cutup...not everyday use, so I don't want to go in hock for a used Hobart or anything........do you find it adequate for that ?

How are they about cleanup ? Do you take the blade off and clean the wheels as well as the blade ?

I already have a pretty good woodworking bandsaw ( an 18" Delta with a 2hp motor)......reckon a fellow would do just as well to cut up on something like that ?

Thanks for any insight !

[beaglady]

You can buy knives, gambrels, lung pullers, meat cures & just about anything butcher-related at www.alliedkenco.com I've ordered before and had good service.

[ozark_jewels]

I butchered 30 goats this past year with nothing more than a *sharp* knife, a T-post, a handy tree limb, a rope, and a 22 pistol. Freezers are full. We butcher chickens with an axe and a sharp knife. We have butchered beeves with nothing more than a few sharp knives, a chain to hang them with, and a tractor to help with the hanging. Thats a big job. Deer are done the same as goats and sheep. I did write an article for a goat magazine on home butchering this past October if anyone is interested.........

[MELOC]

lung pullers, huh? i have two of those on the ends of my arms!!! lol.

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

I butchered 30 goats this past year with nothing more than a *sharp* knife, a T-post, a handy tree limb, a rope, and a 22 pistol. Freezers are full. We butcher chickens with an axe and a sharp knife. We have butchered beeves with nothing more than a few sharp knives, a chain to hang them with, and a tractor to help with the hanging. Thats a big job. Deer are done the same as goats and sheep. I did write an article for a goat magazine on home butchering this past October if anyone is interested.........

How long is the article, could you post it here?

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by ZealYouthGuy

How long is the article, could you post it here?

I think so...but give me a bit. My computer with the article on it is in the basement and is too cold to run well right now. In a couple hours it'll warm up and I'll post the article......

[ozark_jewels]

Ok, the computer warmed up faster than expected. I posted the article under a new thread. Its under "Home Butchering Article".