Processing own venison into sausage -- costs?

[WIMN]

Hey all,

Took a doe in northern MN a week ago. I let it hang in the garage for a few days before I butchered it, and right now all the meat is in a cooler outside in a salt brine. None of my family enjoys venison, so if I want it to get eaten and not sit in the freezer for 1 yr+ I will need to have it processed. I was wondering what kind of costs I'll be looking at for DIY summer sausage making.

I'd imagine I'll need a grinder, sausage stuffer, seasonings, pork fat, and sausage skins... From somebody who has none of this equipment, how much am I looking at spending for a setup that will last me for years to come? What's the best place to purchase the equipment from? Cabela's? Or are there commercial stores that sell to butchers, meat markets, etc. that I should purchase from?

Also, about how many pounds of sausage should I expect to get from an average sized doe? A friend of mine always brings in his deer to be processed at a butcher into summer sausage... He ends up with literally a freezer full from 1 deer.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I just got set up. It is expensive. Just for the basic equipment:

Grinder-$150+

Stuffer-$175

Mixer-$150

Slicer-$150

Vacuum Sealer-$100+

Scale-$50

Meat Bag Tape Machine-$30

Smoker-$200+

Then I had another $150 in spices, casings, vacuum bags & meat bags.

To make your sausages, you'll have another $1.75/pound for pork, and $2.50/pound for beef.

The two pieces of equipment you'll want to do right the first time is the grinder and vacuum sealer. If you can, spend the money on good ones right away. My $160 Cabela's grinder burnt out in less than 10 minutes. I'll be upgrading to the $500 commercial model. I haven't used a vacuum sealer under $200 that is any good, and I've tried quite a few. The cheaper models are fine if you want to do just a few bags, if you want to do a bunch, they'll overheat or have a really bad seal.

All told, I'm over $1,000 to get set up with some pretty basic equipment. My last deer was $450 to process, so after 2 deer I'll break even.

[nofishfisherman]

$450 to have a deer processed?!?! Where did you take it and what did you have them do to it? I guess I've never paid to have a deer processed but I can't imagine dropping $450 to have it processed.

[reinhard1]

man that has to be a big deer for a freezer full of meat . why do you have your deer meat in a salt brine? are you going to cure it for something? here is my take on it.

i have a grinder that cost me around $400 but you can get a good one for less. i have a 5 pound vertical stuffer that does a fine job for me that cost $100. now like the other poster noted you need some more equipment but it depends how much you are going to make per season in venison and if you make sausage with other than venison through the year. i dont have a mixer, i use my hands. i make small batches at a time [usualy 25 pounds].

last year i made 200 lbs or more of various venison sausages and more with just pork and beef for friends and family [and neighbors]. i do fine with what i have. i would recommend getting a verticle smoker like the 30 or 40 inch Masterbuilt which is all digital and programable. it's under $300 and worth the money if you are doing smoked sausage.

spices and casings can be bought at meat suppliers and some in fleet farm. i go to Hamms Butcher supply's in Ham Lake on 65. they have the best pre-mixed sausage spices bar none in my opinion. however they are pricy in equipment. i would go to fleet farm or cabelas for a grinder and stuffer. decide how much you will make in a season and then that will tell you the equipment you need or ask again and i or someone will help you at every step. good luck.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Pretty obnoxious, ehh?! It was from Krenik's down near Lonsdale. It broke down to around $100 for cutting/wrapping, and about $4.50/pound finished weight for sticks and summer sausage. When they told me the total, I thought it was some kind of joke.

If you think about it, it costs a minimum of $2.50-3.00/pound just for the actual product cost (pork or beef + spices + casings + packaging). The payback for doing it yourself will take a long time. The only reason I am doing it is to make a better, more consistent product, and I KNOW exactly what goes in it. For me, there is a lot of value in that.

[reinhard1]

that is a little steep but i bet a lot of that cost was in sausage. when i processed deer awhile back for 10 years on the side i charged $50 bucks. that included skinning cutting and grinding. sausage was extra. when i retired from the meat buisness the last i heard the going rate was $100 bucks. and then there were places that charged by size, extra for skinning, grinding, wrapping, and sausage of course. so nothing surprises me. it always irritated me when i saw deer processors chargeing all these extras [except sausage]. not everyone has the time or the knowledge to do your own sausage [and even cutting up their own deer], but it is a lot better if you can do it all yourself. but i can understand sending it out to someone who would rather go that route also. good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

Just cut all you can into steaks next time for yourself then take the trimmings in for sausage or just get a grinder and make some jerky also. Steaks are great on toast and you won't break the bank.

[Walleyehooker]

I gave up haveing venison made into sausage a long time ago.You can buy fresh sausage at the store for less and you dont have to give them half the meat.I do other things with it like can it or grind it into burger etc. If you want to do your own for a hobby that is cool but caseings and spices get costly to and you start to wonder if even that is worth it.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Ding Ding Ding!!!!! above post wins!!!

I too dont make sausage with Veni, I like veni too much to hide the flavor with a ton of spices. I cut as much as I can into steaks, roasts, and stew meat.. I then take all the scraps and grind that with a mixer with grinder attachment. And Cut that with a little beef to make it last a little longer, then freezer that.. Make that into jerky or burger stuffs?

Costs? whatever the mixer and grinder cost? Yet I use that for a lot of other things.. and the Food Saver, which I also use a lot?.. SO extra costs.. none really?

[bak2MN]

I had 65 pounds of grindings with my pork added this year. And I made breakfast sausage, salami, sticks and some jerky. I had a small grinder already but it took me 4.5 hrs to grind that up. I now own a larger one with stuffer attachments. Works ok but didn't have to buy a extra stuffer. I also picked up a smoker and tried that for the first time. And I think it turned out pretty good for the first time. The smoker will be used for other things as well.

Like stated above I like to do my own deer as well then you you know what you are getting in the end product. And far as cost if you like to do it yourself and enjoy it, a little cost that will pay for itself relatively quickly if used for other things as well.

Smoker has many uses. Vac sealer many uses. Grinder to many other uses but hey you dont need a real expensive one.

Another idea is to go in with someon else to help with costs, and the processing. Bullsh over deer stories and drink a few beers and have fun!

[reinhard1]

you make some good points. not everyone like's sausage, so to each their own. last year the three deer we got in our group almost everything went into sausage. it was my two son-in-laws deer's so it was what they wanted. they like a lot of thuringer and salami and brats for the summer along with jalapeno brats and jalapeno breakfast sausage. and the most favored is the cooked venison kielbasa.

also ground veny burger for jerky, and some course for chili ect. if all that was sent out it would have been a good size bill and who knows if you get your meat back. when i processed deer on the side, everyone got their own meat back. in the larger volume places i doubt anyone can claim the same and that part would bother me. good luck.

[nofishfisherman]

This was the first year that we processed our own deer. My buddies used to always take them in and pay for the processing. After doing it ourselves this year we all agreed that its something everyone should do themselves at least once with the deer they harvest. Somehow it felt like we were respecting the deer more by doing all the work ourselves. Its actually far easier then we thought. With the 3 of us newbies we could easily completely process 1 deer per night. That includes skinning all the way to finished packages of ground meat.

In our case we hunt at a cabin my friends parents own, at the cabin they have a pretty decent grinder/stuffer already there that we can use. We bought a couple packs of meat bags and tape along with freezer paper and we were set. We didn't make suasuage but that would have just required pork fat and seasonings as we would have just pacakged it as ground sausage. At somepoint I'd like to make brats and smoked sausage but that can wait for another year.

[deerminator]

I'd like to learn to make my own some year too when I invest in the equipment and have the time. Right now I'm taking mine to Belgrade and the Meat Center is charging me anywhere from 1.25 (summer sausage) to 1.60 (pepper sticks) with 1.99 for each pound of pork added to make what I like from the roasts and scraps. I keep the steaks, chops and tenderloins. They charge $60 to cut up the deer and .20 cents a pound to shrink wrap. So it usually runs me around $150-$200 on one deer. I looooove the country sausage or ring bologna or whatever you call it. Chop it up into shorter lengths along with some potatoes, onions, green peppers, and garlic and toss into a crock pot with some salk and pepper over the top. Good eats.

[reinhard1]

that seems to be real reasonable to me. if your happy with them that's great. if you ever decide to make your own sausage just ask and i will help you as much as i can. same with anyone else out there. there are plenty of recipies on the venison sausage for the adventerous soul thread or you can buy pre-mixed seasonings. at least here on this forum there will always someone who can help right away or in short order. good luck.

[Powerstroke]

I suppose if you take one deer per year then getting all the equipment and learning to DIY is quite the leap.

That being said, when I started bowhunting in addition to gun hunting, and started hunting other states, I have taken 2+ deer every year for the last 5 years. That meat begins to add up if you're not a nightly meat eater. You also need to start thinking of different ways to prepare it. I love venison, but I do not like eating steaks twice a week. Its just too much.

I like brats, kielbasa, hot dogs, burgers, summer sausage, breakfast sausage etc so why not learn to make your own instead of paying $4 a pound to process. 100lbs of meat gets expensive when you pay to have it done. Since I know I'm going to be making my own sausage I buy the pork in bulk when the price is right. Cost savings! Buy larger quantities of casings, spices etc, savings!

I use a Cabelas grinder, but I got the $300 commercial grade and it grinds as fast as I can feed it and unless I cut all the meat up into feedable pieces beforehand, I can't cut and keepup with it, so that seems to be the perfect size for me. I bought a smoker, but so far have not used it much. That is something I need to improve on.

My next purchase will be a stuffer and then probably a mixer. doing 25-30lbs by hand sucks, especially when its really cold meat.

I've got the same vacuum sealer I bought 5yrs ago. It has served us well, but may need replacing soon. I feel thats been a great investment. Heck, the most expensive part about the sealer has been the bags.

I say processing your own game is about pride and quality. If you think you can do better at home, then do it. I buy one new thing a year to spread out the cost. Last year was the smoker, before that I got a large cutting board and some meat totes, before that the grinder. Prior to that we shared with a friend who let us borrow.

If you want to learn find someone who knows how to do it. I can't wait to teach a guy from work how to do his own deer. Unfortunately he hasn't shot one yet.

[Walleyehooker]

It would be fun sometime to get a group together and make some sausage and share some ideas and some beverages. I remember when I was young my folks would make all kinds of sausage. Deer sausage,blood sausage,breakfast sausage etc. I wish I still had that old cast iron sausage stuffer.I dont think they make em like that anymore but they were built to last.

[Harmonica Bear]

I have a group that does that every year. We meet at the sportsmans club and grind meat and make sausage etc. It is a day long event for sure. I bet 15 - 20 deer get processed into suasage that day. One of the guys (Dirty Biker if he is still on FM) Pretty much has all the spice kits you would ever need. So we pretty much just show up and pay him for the spices, casings, port fat you need, and get to making sausage. All the equipment is there to use, the only drawback is waiting for equipment to open up. A fun day for sure.

[reinhard1]

yes, it is true that mixing meat by hand will result in cold hands. i have been doing this for a few years and i am looking into a mixer. [saves time too]. i just looked up a LEM 25 pound capacity that was regularly $235 now it's $208. but i also buy a new "toy" every year and the Masterbuilt 40 inch smoker is next and then the mixer. ya, it would be nice to get a group together but i'ts always hard to get those interested all together in one location due to sceduling conflicts. hard sometimes for everyone to come to fishing get togethers at times even though all want to be there.

if there is someone out there that wants to learn i would be happy to tell them what i know from my experience. maby i will start a new thread on just sausage makeing so people that have questions can ask anything they want and i and others can give the best advice possible. there are a few of us on here that can respond to questions and maby even learn a few good tips our selves. good luck.

[bak2MN]

I learned alot from Reinhard and others on the smokeing part by reading previous posts. VERY HELPFUL. The biggest thing I am finding is getting the seasonings just right. There is so many different ones out there to try. Good luck. And thanks to everyone that has posted with there experiances sure has helped me.

[JeffB]

I have always used a 3/8" rod with a couple of 5" rods welded to it in a good 1/2" drill to mix the meat it works well, all you have to store is the drill attachment and costs next to nothing. Plastic bushel feed buckest are cheap, strong, and easy to clean for mixing and holding the meat. I have also gotten by with the bathroom scale for weighing the meat. I just put a short 6x6 on the scale so you can still read it with the container on it. Another thing I used to do is go right to a hog farmer and purchase a whole hog or two and pull the chops, tenderloins, and put the rest into sausage since you are aready in butcher mode. The main things you need are the grinder and stuffer. There are probably plenty of people who would like to share the expense on these items. It can be a lot of fun and rewarding making your own sausage

[LightningBG]

I just got set up. It is expensive. Just for the basic equipment:

Grinder-$150+

Stuffer-$175

Mixer-$150

Slicer-$150

Vacuum Sealer-$100+

Scale-$50

Meat Bag Tape Machine-$30

Smoker-$200+

Man that is a lot of garb.

My setup looks like this....

Scale, $30 at Target

Kitchenaid mixer, $200-300 (mine was a gift)

Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment, $50 at Target (also a gift)

Kitchenaid stuffer, $10 at target

Foodsaver vacuum sealer, $77 at Target (another gift)

So overall I'm looking at about a $350-$450 setup, but the mixer gets used for about a million things, so its not a one trick pony, but it probably does require a little more effort.

[Walleyehooker]

Hey Reinhard1 Cabelas has that Masterbuilt 40 smoker on black friday for $120 off which looks like a great price.

[reinhard1]

thanks. i seen the ad, however Sam's has it for $299. if i'm not mistaken Fleet Farm had the 30 inch on sale last week for $170. but i need the 40 in. thanks though i do appreciate it. good luck.

[KEN W]

Gander MT. has the 30 inch for $99.Either electric or propane.

[mabr]

WOW!!!! I started doing my own grinding just last year and did it for the same reasons Powerstroke mentioned, we take at least 5 deer a year and I wanted to try different stuff. BUT money was tight last year and I just couldn’t afford all the extras.

I asked lots of questions just like you’re doing now and came up with my needed list.

1- Grinder. I knew this was going to be a long term deal so I didn’t want real cheap but couldn’t afford the best. I found a ½ hp Kitchener #12 at Northern H on sale for $79.99. It eats the meat about as fast as I can feed it. Look for sales!!

2- Scale. I didn’t think it was necessary at first but when mixing you need to be consistent with your batches. So I bought a small scale ( 12 lbs I think) from target for under $20. I’m going to get a larger one eventually but for starting out it works fine, you just have to weigh in smaller batches.

3- BIG bin to hold the meat. I started using our refrigerator crisper bins but ended up picking up a couple rubber made storage bins for cheap at Menards $10 max.

4- Stuffer – didn’t need it my grinder has the attachment included. Maybe it would be better having a stuffer I don’t know because I haven’t used on or seen it done with one. But for me right now it works just fine.

5- Mixes- Renhart1 is your BEST resource for this. He is the best resource we all have in here for making sausage or anything with meat in it IMO. Also look online for copycat recipes. I found a slim jim recipe that is REAL good. And most of the spices are in your wife’s kitchen cabinet already. I did have to go buy fennel seed though.

6- Casings- a lot of grocery stores have them just ask. I was amazed, I just never seen them before.

7- Smoker- No way that was going to happen last year so I used the oven. Not the best way as I had a hard time keeping the temp low enough, But eventually got them done and they were excellent . This year I borrowed my in-laws charcoal smoker and it worked great and was a lot less headache than the oven. This is my next purchase for sure. IMO get a large one. When I smoke meat I want to do a bunch at a time.

8- Mixer- Naw just use you hands

Looking back at the figures after my initial investment of $110.00 to start, and the mixes and casings I used I’m well under $150.00 and I’ve ground 4 complete deer sense last season. Now the pork is where you’re going to have some cost that can’t be avoided. I bought 80lbs at the beginning of bow season and I’m in need of more now if I grind any more this year. BUT I have the enjoyment of giving to friends and family to see what they think. And enjoying it myself. Can’t beat it IMO