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Post by 4ward on Oct 23, 2023 18:07:41 GMT -5
We pretty much do everything in house. Just wondering how some of you process and store your meat. Thought it might be interesting? We make alot of deer burger, Several years ago we started packing it in oversized bags(2# in each). I actually roll them with a rolling pin after sealing them. Freeze flat, and then move to the chest freezer and stand them vertically. It works out great, they thaw in 20 minutes in a cold water bath too. There is about 45# right there in our little kitchen chest.  |
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ben10
Junior Member
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Post by ben10 on Oct 23, 2023 18:59:42 GMT -5
I like that idea of using a rolling pin to flatten them. I appreciate how organized it makes it!
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Glenn
Junior Member
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Post by Glenn on Oct 23, 2023 19:25:31 GMT -5
I do a lot of linked breakfast sausage and burger with my deer meat. One thing I like to do with the burger is that I go ahead and patty the burgers out before vacuuming them.
Then they are easy to store and ready to go when you thaw them out. I just put them in the bag like roof shingles.
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Post by 4ward on Oct 23, 2023 19:59:11 GMT -5
Much to be said about making it easy, organized and convenient.
Otherwise I’d be eating more of my boys god awful shitty frozen pizzas.😁
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Post by james243 on Oct 23, 2023 21:25:36 GMT -5
Flat burger packages are a great idea. Until this year I used quart freezer bags and put about 1.5lbs in and carefully pressed the air out. It is a fairly tedious process to me but the meat would last over a year no problem and the benefits mentioned above are true. .
A friend suggested the cylindrical bags that you twist and close similar to how sausage comes. Since my grinder was having issues and I was shopping for something a little bigger I ventured into trying those bags which you fill straight off the grinder head through a large stuffing tube. In exchange for the ability to stack/organize well and thaw quickly, what you get is a really quick and easy process. Last week I had about 25 lbs of burger ground, bagged, and in the freezer easily within 15 minutes with only me and a little help from my wife. Once the meat is trimmed and ready for the grinder I touch it once more to drop it into the head. I don’t think I’ll be going back to my old way just because it cuts out all the work and time from before.
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Post by One Man Gang on Oct 24, 2023 8:17:22 GMT -5
We tend to make a lot of different sausages and we used to go through the hassle of stuffing it in casings 100 to 200lb at a time. It literally took a long hard day to complete; sometimes longer. Way too much work.
We now grind, vac pack, and freeze flat most of our bulk sausages and ground burger. Storage is good, as is longevity.
This past season we used the cylindrical bags and hog rings with the idea that if we wanted to stuff into casings we would do it as we needed it for dinners or party's.
I think going fwd we will be using the cylinder bags in about 1.5lb servings. That seems to be the most effective and efficient way for us to go with bulk, and is about the right serving size for enough burgers or spaghetti sauce for my family. Storing the bags in the freezer is adequate, but maybe not as good as flat. The shelf life seems as good as the vac sealed but we haven't stored any this way longer than a year so far. Time will tell.
Also, cubed gets vac sealed and frozen flat, of course.
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Glenn
Junior Member
Posts: 92
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Post by Glenn on Oct 24, 2023 8:40:55 GMT -5
We tend to make a lot of different sausages and we used to go through the hassle of stuffing it in casings 100 to 200lb at a time. It literally took a long hard day to complete; sometimes longer. Way too much work. We now grind, vac pack, and freeze flat most of our bulk sausages and ground burger. Storage is good, as is longevity. This past season we used the cylindrical bags and hog rings with the idea that if we wanted to stuff into casings we would do it as we needed it for dinners or party's. I think going fwd we will be using the cylinder bags in about 1.5lb servings. That seems to be the most effective and efficient way for us to go with bulk, and is about the right serving size for enough burgers or spaghetti sauce for my family. Storing the bags in the freezer is adequate, but maybe not as good as flat. The shelf life seems as good as the vac sealed but we haven't stored any this way longer than a year so far. Time will tell. Also, cubed gets vac sealed and frozen flat, of course. I agree on making/stuffing the sausage taking all day or even two days for me. I started doing all of my fine grinding and mixing of venison, bacon, and pork on one day. Then I let it sit in the fridge overnight and then stuff it on the next day. I used to stuff it using my grinder, but finally bought a commercial grade stuffer that made the process so much easier. My wife don’t care for the temporary butcher shop, but I just have to make a compromise with her.  |
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Post by One Man Gang on Oct 24, 2023 9:08:51 GMT -5
We tend to make a lot of different sausages and we used to go through the hassle of stuffing it in casings 100 to 200lb at a time. It literally took a long hard day to complete; sometimes longer. Way too much work. We now grind, vac pack, and freeze flat most of our bulk sausages and ground burger. Storage is good, as is longevity. This past season we used the cylindrical bags and hog rings with the idea that if we wanted to stuff into casings we would do it as we needed it for dinners or party's. I think going fwd we will be using the cylinder bags in about 1.5lb servings. That seems to be the most effective and efficient way for us to go with bulk, and is about the right serving size for enough burgers or spaghetti sauce for my family. Storing the bags in the freezer is adequate, but maybe not as good as flat. The shelf life seems as good as the vac sealed but we haven't stored any this way longer than a year so far. Time will tell. Also, cubed gets vac sealed and frozen flat, of course. I agree on making/stuffing the sausage taking all day or even two days for me. I started doing all of my fine grinding and mixing of venison, bacon, and pork on one day. Then I let it sit in the fridge overnight and then stuff it on the next day. I used to stuff it using my grinder, but finally bought a commercial grade stuffer that made the process so much easier. My wife don’t care for the temporary butcher shop, but I just have to make a compromise with her. I completely agree. One day was being generous on my part. In truth, it has eaten up a entire weekend more often than not. We have a sausage mixer and a stuffer... hand cranks only, and it helps expedite things, but it's still grueling work. I employ my wife and occasionally my kids in the process. The kids don't tough it out to the end but as long as I keep a moderate flow of sangria in the mix, my wife stays on task...  Now that I've lost access to our SC farm (turned into a fucking parking lot and ev battery plant this summer) I don't anticipate being saddled with more than one deer to process at a time, so things will be more manageable. |
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Glenn
Junior Member
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Post by Glenn on Oct 24, 2023 10:04:45 GMT -5
Hand crank! …you the man!
We went full electric a couple years ago and it was worth it.
Sorry to hear about your lease, seems to be a common issue nowadays. Hate to see what my past Georgia leases have been turned into.
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Post by One Man Gang on Oct 24, 2023 10:14:05 GMT -5
I wish I spent the money on electric. The hand crank is no joke.
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Post by bullfrog on Oct 24, 2023 12:03:14 GMT -5
I’m a big believer in gorging venison in ice water a couple of days then freezing it. The freezing process will burst the cells. When it thaws, internal blood that wouldn’t have drained out any other way will come out. Its the best way to have clean-tasting venison with minimal iron flavor from the blood, which is what most people call the “gamey” taste.
It will make the meat pink instead of red. Some people find that undesirable. But I like it as mild tasting as possible.
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Post by One Man Gang on Oct 24, 2023 12:11:49 GMT -5
I concur BF. A lot of my venison gets frozen before a final processing, then frozen again. At the very least it has spent a couple days in copious amounts of ice beforehand but with daily draining.
I have never once had gamey venison doing it that way.
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Post by ogbohica on Oct 24, 2023 12:58:08 GMT -5
I wish I spent the money on electric. The hand crank is no joke. Thats the most work you do all year |
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Post by james243 on Oct 24, 2023 12:59:24 GMT -5
My approach on aging, my goal, is to never have water on the meat including washing. If I can keep in clean during butchering I will age in the refrigerator in bags for 3-4 weeks on my back strap and roasts. I grind burger after just a few days and the rest stays in. After week one and through two, the meat starts to loose fluid. After that the fluid loss slows down. I find the meat develops a good aged aroma after three weeks and for me nothing bad happens up to 28 days if I haven’t introduced or allowed much outside influence. I assume my well water and kitchen sink could bring in stuff that my meat doesn’t need.
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Post by ogbohica on Oct 24, 2023 13:20:26 GMT -5
Everyone should experience hanging a buck outside for a couple months cutting off what you want and let the rest age out with the skin on. Its pretty cool but James has it down
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