Looking for info on meat grinders and sausage stuffers. Will more than likely process 2 deer a year and usein the kitchen a few other times annualy. All I know is a manual grinderis out of the question.

I would buy these two for what you describe, get a foot pedal if you're processing by yourself.

https://www.lemproducts.com/product/big-bite-grinder-8-head-size/butcher-meat-grinders

https://www.lemproducts.com/product...less-steel-tubes-1606ss/sausage-stuffers

Ramsey, you can just borrow mine. It’s 1/2 HP cabelas. If you don’t want to borrow mine the more HP the faster it goes.

I don’t have a stuffer though. Although my grinder has the attachments, it doesn’t work as good as a dedicated stuffer IMO.

The Bearded Butchers on Youtube have some good videos.

Good recommendations here, LEM makes a good product.

For a couple deer a year a 1/2 hp grinder and a 5lb stuffer will get it done. Depending on how you trim your meat, you may have to stop and clean the blade/plate a few times with a 1/2 hp but it will work. Personally I would buy a 1hp grinder though and be done with it, especially if we're gonna process a buffalo . I used to use a 1/2 hp then I bought a 1hp Weston, big difference. Thing is a beast and never slows down.

It you're going to get into sausage making a dedicated stuffer is a must. I hate stuffing casings out of a grinder. Like Senior Payne mentioned a foot pedal would be nice to have. I do a lot of processing by myself and still don't have one lol.

Manual grinders serve their purpose too. I have a small manual grinder that I use for little jobs in the kitchen. I also take that small manual grinder and small 5lb stuffer with me when I'm working away from home, big stuff stays at home.

You calling me old skinner

No Sir LOL.

uh huh

Well if the shoe fi..........

Senor! Senor! I don't know how to do the little squiggly thing over the N.

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-put-on-an-n


way too much effort for all that..

I knew what you meant

Thanks for that.

Ramsey I have a stuffer. Grinder. Dehydrator. And a bunch of other stuff as we usually do our own. Your more than welcome to use.

I have been buying stuff from meat. They make some pretty good stuff at good prices. If I was replacing anything right now that’s what I would go with. I think I’m gonna buy their vaccum chamber sealer this year and also one of their slicers.



MEAT

Gonna have to check these MEAT guys out. I buy a lot of stuff from Allied Kenco Sales out of Houston. Huge selection, fast shipping, and good prices. I visited their store once and was like a kid in a candy store there. Could spend hours looking around.

Not saying much but I bought their package sealer deal for ground meat and it is good quality and works great. Really wanting to pickup a slicer next.

I've got a couple Food Savers for small jobs and a Commercial grade Weston vacuum sealer, but my next purchase will be a vacuum chamber sealer.....and I also want a slicer.

FYI, vacmaster has a sale on one of their chamber sealers right now that would save you some money. I've got one of their units and it's been excellent.

Excellent recommendation on the grinder. I got a #8 LEM about 12 years ago an I do about 6-8 deer a year with it.
We use the LEM 25lb stuffer because our annual sausage making we do about 500-600 pounds. I bet Payne's recommendation would work good for an individual.

Few years back I did a cow elk that I harvested out in Van Horn. Processed the whole thing in the kitchen over the course of 3 weekends. For what I ground I used a LEM #8. Wrapped everything in press n seal and then wrapped in white butcher paper. Didn't loose a piece of that awesome meat to freezer burn or anything else. I now use a vauucm sealer but it isn't absolutely necessary. Just my .02 cents.

unless you have a freezer which is NOT frost free, I would say vacuum sealing would be highly preferred.

This is the grinder I have and it has performed great. Like Payne said, get the foot pedal, it is well worth the money. Being able to start and stop as needed helps keep the grinder tube cooler and reduces wear.

I bought the hand crank tenderizer from Academy about 20 years too late. Excellent tool for us folks with worn out teeth.

Anybody ever use the dual grind model?
https://www.lemproducts.com/product/dual-grind-8-big-bite-meat-grinder?rrec=true

Do not use the grinder or stuffer often enough but they work great for the few times a year I use them, the food saver I use all of the time!

My grinder is like the bottom left one.

^^^showoff^^^

That’s a stuffer.

I see what you did

Stub, Do you only use FoodSaver bags or have you found other vac bags that are just as good?

The wife re-supplies me with the bags so I have no clue, I just live here

I just buy these off Amazon with good results: Vacuum Bags They come in three different sizes.

Academy carries the Foodsaver bags. I bought a box of several rolls last time.

Thanks!

Questions for you guys:

Im going to start grinding and making my own breakfast sausage from hogs i kill. I dont know if i want to deal with sausage “links” as much as i would just rather make my own sausage “patties” to avoid the casing and stuffing scenario. So, is there a preferred packaging method for that? The way i receive it from the processor now is just ground and put into 1 or 2lb plastic wraps with ties on each end. Seems to work fine. Could i just store it in ziplock freezer bags? That sounds too easy…

Thanks!

Zip locks are too easy. if you make extremely small batches and go through it or give it away quickly, then these bags present no issue.

For long term storage, nothing better than a vacuum sealer - nothing.

i will add - we put up sausage a couple of hundred pounds at a time. Go through smaller amounts when freezing bulk pork such as country style ribs, but still use vacuum bags for that also.

As mentioned I use vacuum bags, I do 1lb for each bag, flatten it and it stacks up really nice in the freezer. To me going through the trouble making patties prior to freezing saves you what, a minute or two prior to cooking?

I use vacuum bags, as well, in 1 lb batches. I have used Ziploc bags before and had it work. Buy the name brand freezer bags and be very gentle with them and you can get by. Given the option, a vacuum sealer is definitely the way to go.

We put most of our stuff up in vacuum bags, but ground meat/pan sausage we wrap in freezer paper, if you do it right it will easily keep past a year perfectly fine.

I have used several knock off brand vacuum bags in our food saver, they work fine it be careful about going too cheap, some are pretty thin and very prone to leaking/tearing.

Great info, thx everyone!

Another consideration would be one of the large cutting boards and one of the big deep trays. I think Academy carries them both.

I've stored breakfast sausage in all of the above. Saran wrap & butcher paper/Zip Locks, vacuum sealer bags, 1 & 2 lb sausage tubes/bags. I prefer the 1 lb sausage tubes, they're cheap & work great. Once my sausage meat is where I want it, I'll load up my big stuffer and get after it. I use a tape machine to seal the end of the bags, works great and no air inside. When it's time to eat I just slice my patties with a sharp knife and remove the plastic. Perfect round patties ready to go.

We packed breakfast sausage in the chub bags sealed withe tape. We would buy the 1, 2 and 5 pound sized bags.

You came to the right place. My daddy had to do it the old fashion way.

A tip on packaging.
Bag up up ham muscles and backstraps as large pieces (this also saves a bunch of time packaging). You can always thaw them out and cut up into steaks, strips, chunks or even grind later. Or leave them whole for a roast.

You can dip your bags in a pan of water to force the air out. Not vac-pac but better than squeezing.

^^ I go this route these days too. Especially on a big batch. I can say that the freezer zip locks stack really well in the freezer once you squeeze out the air and flatten them out. They also thaw out really quickly vs. the tubes.

This was under appreciated.

Skinnerback has good info. I'll add that the dedicated stuffer is great for stuffing ground meat into those 1 lb meat bags. I did 80 lbs a few weeks ago.

That’s what I do because like you said, it leaves me with options later on if I want to do roast, grind for sausage, or slice for jerky with the hind quarters. Straps can be butterflied or sliced into chops later on if you just leave it intact when you pack and freeze it. And it’s quicker to be done with the job initially so you don’t get worn down.