- Location
- West Quebec
Thanks good old Amazon
Any good books on butchering game?
- Thread starter Potshot21
- Start date
They're both north of $30 but they're also gorgeous books and well worth the price.
I've heard you need a special type of bandsaw specifically designed for meat, as your average woodworking one gets really messy and is a real pain to clean well. Anyone care to comment on this?
Yes, you want a proper meat saw with meat/bone blades. It'll have a rolling top and a steak cutting guide. I have a 14" butcher boy. Many are 3 phase power so be aware of that. Other brands are Hobart and Biro. I do not recommend Biro to a beginner. It's really easy to throw blades with. I got mine through a used restaurant supply outlet. Great place to pick up butchers gear for less money.
VanIsleCam
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
That's the next level for me and most others interested in this thread I suspect. Thanks for the heads up!
VanIsleCam
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
You really don't need a monster grinder unless you are processing commercial volumes. I have the Cabelas' 1/2 HP grinder (metal gears) and its fine for the work I need done - say 40 lbs per annum.
I cut up a lot of meat and make in the neighborhood of 1000 lbs of sausage a year. Also have a 2.5 hp grinder Which is barely enough on a big day.
I have used a wide variety of grinders professionally. It’s my personal opinion and therefore not worth much but a 1/2 or 1 hp grinder is a necessity for grinding quickly and efficiently.
1 hp grinder can do a deer or black bear in minutes. It also allows you to run ice cubes through the grinder to clear it. Don’t try that with a smaller machine
1 hp grinder can do a deer or black bear in minutes. It also allows you to run ice cubes through the grinder to clear it. Don’t try that with a smaller machine
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I never use my saw on game. Only beef and pork. I can process a deer using only a knife and do it fast. But then I owned a custom cutting operation for ten years.
VanIsleCam
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
good on ya.
Was going to suggest watching his videos, as he is old school knife and hand saw butcher. Some of the names of the cuts are a little different, but they eat the same...
I started cutting up in northern Alberta when CWD was first becoming a thing and the butchers all stopped dealing in game. After putting away packages that had no bones in them to throw off the guess as to how much meal you might get out of them, as well as that the boneless stuff takes up so much less room in the freezer, have no interest in going back to saw cut bone in cuts.
Honestly, you can blunder through a deer or two, you won't ever mess up anything too bad that it can't be stew or burger meat. Most of the process is just following major muscle groups and separating them into lumps then smaller ones.
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- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Lots of good videos on field dressing and skinning but so few that focus on butchery and real meat cutting, I was looking for more of a chef/butcher outlook and Scott’s videos hit that mark for me. His small game videos are great, Frenched rack of hare etc.
He makes it look easy, reminds me of going to the small butcher shop as a kid with my dad. I was always in awe at how fast the butchers could break down a rear quarter into prime cuts, true knife handling.
Yeah, I can see the place for saws where you are say, breaking a thousand lambs a day or more into primals, but most of the decent cuts of meat don't need a band saw.
A hand meat saw and a couple decent knives will get you a long ways, and you can pretty much skip the hand saw if you go boneless, other than for knocking the large bones down for the dogs.
The spinal column is about all that does not get used around our place. Ribs are a special treat for the dogs, the heavy bones offset their boredom in winter, and the meat is for me other than the last trim pile of gristle and stuff that may have been dropped on the shop floor, that gets ground to be added to the dog food.
A hand meat saw and a couple decent knives will get you a long ways, and you can pretty much skip the hand saw if you go boneless, other than for knocking the large bones down for the dogs.
The spinal column is about all that does not get used around our place. Ribs are a special treat for the dogs, the heavy bones offset their boredom in winter, and the meat is for me other than the last trim pile of gristle and stuff that may have been dropped on the shop floor, that gets ground to be added to the dog food.
New Camper
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lurking in the woods near SFRC.
Interesting to watch professionals do their work.
As to Op and books: I have a book around here... ISBN 0-442-20377-2 Butchering, Processing and Preservation of Meat.
I had the book by J.J. Mettler Basic Butchering... gave it back to the deceitful female who gave it to me, along with everything else years ago.
At this point I've killed and butchered enough game and domestic livestock that I can do my amateur job from memory.
Gut and Skin the animal with care and quarter it up. When your ready for creating smaller pieces... follow the striations in the muscles. Then envision cuts that amount to roast, steaks and burger. It`s fairly easy once one has done a few animals.
All the above are great if the stars and moon align. We had a 4km hike out and deboned it on site. 7 sacks of meat from who knows where.
Look at the pictures of how a cow is cut and go from there. I have been butchering game for 10 years. Butchered my own pig. The saying "this looks like a roast size piece of meat" is terrific in the slow cooker. I remove all silver skin from burger. I tell the cutting crew what can be made from the section I just cut off the moose and go from there.
Look at the pictures of how a cow is cut and go from there. I have been butchering game for 10 years. Butchered my own pig. The saying "this looks like a roast size piece of meat" is terrific in the slow cooker. I remove all silver skin from burger. I tell the cutting crew what can be made from the section I just cut off the moose and go from there.
New Camper
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lurking in the woods near SFRC.
This thought occurred to me as well: books and electronics etc. are great in good conditions but a few km in, rain falling and all these are junk not to mention extra weight. As to keeping stuff identified: do you not cut and roll backstraps with tenderloins; deboned leg mass; neck; clippings etc.? they are easy to distinguish if kept in whole form with bone removed. (I'm a bit OCD about having reasonably close cut identifications.)
VanIsleCam
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
It's true! A meat bandsaw is not the same as a wood bandsaw. How's your harvest going recently - ie within the last 6 years?
