The 9 Pieces of Equipment You Need to Be Your Own Butcher

There are a few key reasons to process your own game, rather than rely on a butcher. It’s cheaper, you know that you’ll be eating the critters you actually harvested, and there’s pride in a job well done. 

For more than a decade, my cousin and I have processed all of our deer at home — we typically take about a dozen deer per year. The cost benefits got us in the door and now we love being our own butchers. Four years ago, we decided to dive into making our own venison “extras” like sausages in the form of hot dogs, kielbasa, and Italian sausages, along with pastrami, chipped steak, snack sticks, and venison bacon, all over the course of one weekend.

In the years since, we’ve done individual product category testing on the best sausage stuffers and the best vacuum sealers. All the while, we’ve upgraded our gear to make our lives easier and our work more efficient. This year, we got our hands on some new-to-market meat mixers, and several top quality meat slicers to round out our arsenal. 

After many years, and thousands of pounds of meat processed, I decided it’s time to share our favorite items for at home meat processing. Here are the 9 pieces of equipment we recommend for the DIY butcher.

Whether you’re just starting out on your DIY processing journey, or have been at it for a while, a good grinder is a must-have. If you’re looking to simply grind your own burger from a deer or elk, or you’re prepping to make sausages, having a quality grinder that is efficient and incorporates your fat additives is key.

This year, we had the pleasure of using the MEAT! 1.5 HP Dual Grinder, and it blew us away. The dual grinder made our processing that much easier, saving time and producing a very quality double grind in one pass. For context, the dual grinder comes with a specialized dual edge cutting knife that goes between two grinding plates in the grinder head, allowing for a one-pass double grind on your venison or meat mixture. The 1.5 HP motor is a beast as well, never bogging down or showing signs of fatigue while we put hundreds of pounds onto the tray and through the grinder. It produced a beautiful finished product that mixed in cheeses, spices, and fats.

A 1.5 HP grinder might be a bit overkill for a DIY butcher who is only processing a few deer a year. We’ve had plenty of success with smaller .5 HP and ¾ HP grinders in the past. But, with the magnitude of meat we were processing this year, the speed and efficiency of the MEAT! 1.5 HP Dual Grinder was a more than welcome addition to our processing arsenal.

Other Recommended Grinders

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Pros

• Universal design to accept various grinders for hands free mixing
• Food-grade mixing tank made from durable BPA-free meat lug material
• Easy to crank manual handle in case you don’t have a compatible grinder available
• Locking mechanism on the side for easy pour after mixing

Cons

• Leveling feet were difficult to get set to the right height initially

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Key Features

• 
  Price:

  
  $400

• 
  Hopper Size:

  
  25 pounds

• 
  Flat feet on the bottom of tank for stable storage in the fridge or table

• 
  Leveling feet to align mixer with grinder spline

• 
  Locking lid to contain mess and seal in freshness

A meat mixer might not seem like a must-have for the beginner processor, but I can tell you from experience that they will make your life easier. Manually mixing dozens of pounds of meat, fat, and spices in preparation of making sausages is taxing, plus, the end result isn’t nearly as consistent.

Thankfully, we got the chance to test out the brand new MEAT! 25 Pound Universal Meat Mixer this year and we were incredibly impressed with the results. This mixer comes with a manual handle that turns seamlessly, but what really sets it apart is the ability to hook it up to a compatible grinder and let the mixing occur hands-free. While I was admittedly skeptical about how well it would mix using the universal attachment at first, the second we powered it on for the first batch of cheddar jalapeno hot dogs I knew we had a winning combination.

Once finished, it also has a locking mechanism on the side for easy unloading into a meat lug. Plus, the food-grade mixing tank was amazing to clean. No streaks or smudges like with stainless steel. I can honestly say that MEAT! knocked it out of the park with this meat mixer.

Other Recommended Meat Mixers

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Pros

• Easy to use and minimal effort required
• Two speeds for stuffing and faster retracting speed
• Integrated spring clips for fast cylinder installation and removal
• Fully enclosed gearbox
• Clear plastic stuffing tubes

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Key Features

• 
  Price:

  
  $200

• 
  Hopper Size:

  
  12 pounds

• 
  Weight:

  
  14 pounds, 15 ounces

• 
  Two-speed design

• 
  Spring-loaded air release valve

• 
  Comes with three stuffing tubes (clear plastic)

• 
  Comes with two heavy-duty C-clamps

• 
  Four holes in the base to screw onto a bench

When we first tested the Cabela’s Pro Series Sausage Stuffer, we knew we’d found a winner. The hopper holds a hefty pile of meat at 12-pounds, and the vertical design makes it incredibly easy to rotate the handle clockwise without placing too much pressure across the surface area. I’m also a big fan of clear plastic stuffing tubes over the metal options as it’s easier to monitor the output, ensuring an evenly stuffed casing. The air release valve worked without a hitch and the gasket didn’t fail, no matter how quickly we tried turning the handle to force a failure.

Another great feature of the Cabela’s Pro Series is the two-speed design. When stuffing, the gear box moves slowly, ensuring a steady flow of meat into the casing, but when you’re ready to reload the hopper, you can switch the handle to the ‘fast retract’ setting to quickly raise the piston and reload the hopper. Pair that with the integrated spring clips for faster hopper installation and removal and we were flying. When you’re working through a lot of meat, speed and efficiency is key.

Other Recommended Sausage Stuffers

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Pros

• Sharp blade right out of the box
• Angled tray allows gravity to pull meat towards the blade, rather than pushing
• Holder and hand guard equipped with sharp teeth that hold the meat in place

Cons

• More vertical design leads to more meat flung to the right of the machine

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Key Features

• 
  Price:

  
  $470

• 
  Blade Size:

  
  10”

• 
  Weight:

  
  39.55 pounds

• 
  Easy to use control knob for desired cutting thickness

• 
  Easy to disassemble and clean

• 
  Slices from 1mm to 10mm

• 
  Comes with replacement belt and replacement blade sharpening stone

If you’re interested in making your own venison pastrami, hams, or processing your own lunch meat at home, a meat slicer will become your best friend. For years, I just used a sharp knife, which got the job done, but always left me wanting more. Once I got my hands on a few high-quality meat slicers, I swore I’d never go back to using a knife again.

This year’s sausage party included three new meat slicers, and all three were incredible. But, in the end, after hours of slicing through pastrami, venison bacon, and whole hams to make chipped steak, we all agreed that the LEM BigBite 10” Meat Slicer was our top pick.

What set it apart from the competition was its overall design. Of the three, the LEM BigBite has the most vertical design, which allows for easier slicing, and an easier collection process behind the guard. The one pitfall to this design was that it tended to fling small bits of meat to the right of the machine making a bit of a mess, which is to be expected. Aside from that, this meat slicer fit our needs perfectly. It produced incredibly thin and consistent slices of chipped steak, and did well when going for a thicker diameter cut on the venison bacon. I can’t wait for the next chance I get to use the LEM BigBit 10” meat slicer.

Other Recommended Meat Slicers

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Pros

• Quiet
• Easy to use
• Beeps when finishing the initial seal
• Lid raises and beeps when completing final seal

Cons

• No cord storage
• Lid requires a bit of downward pressure to get the sealing process started

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Key Features

• 
  Price:

  
  $310

• 
  Weight:

  
  15.85 pounds

• 
  Dimensions:

  
  21.8” L x 14.1” W x 8” H

• 
  Average Initial Seal Time:

  
  10.6 seconds

• 
  Average Vacuum Seal Time:

  
  18.7 seconds

• 
  Control panel provides a variety of options, including a timer that allows you to select the precise vacuum sealing duration based on the type of food you are preserving

• 
  Has a bag holder and bag cutter

• 
  Bag cutter clamps down to lock in place

• 
  Equipped with an internal cooling fan to prevent overheating during extended usage

• 
  16” sealing bar

The MEAT! 16” External Vac Sealer checks almost every box for what I wanted in an external vacuum sealer. With the hundreds of pounds of meat that I seal every year, I always wanted an option that allowed me to use bigger, wider bags. The 16-inch sealing bar does just that, and it does it very well — and quickly.

With an average initial bag seal time of 10.6 seconds and an average overall vacuum seal and bag seal time of 18.7 seconds, it’s one of the fastest external sealers we tested. After all the testing was completed, we still had to vacuum seal 25-pounds of venison bacon later that evening, and this was the sealer I reached for to get the job done quickly.

We tested each bag that was sealed for flaws or broken seals, and not once did we have a bag that needed to be re-sealed or one that had too much air left in it. The MEAT! 16” External Vacuum Sealer was by far and away a standout in our field of external sealers.

Other Recommended External Vacuum Sealers

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Pros

• Quiet
• Beeps when finished with vacuum sealing
• Simple operation
• Smooth lid
• Great air removal and seal

Cons

• Oil pump design requires proper maintenance over time

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Key Features

• 
  Price:

  
  $1,125

• 
  Weight:

  
  63.2 pounds

• 
  Exterior Dimensions:

  
  21.9” L x 19.4” W x 19” H

• 
  Chamber Dimensions:

  
  13” L x 12.2” W x 3.9” H

• 
  Adjustable Vacuum Time:

  
  5-90 seconds

• 
  Adjustable Seal Time:

  
  0-6 seconds

• 
  Comes equipped with an adjustable seal time, adjustable vacuum, pressure gauge, and digital time readout

• 
  Bag holder clamps down to lock in place

• 
  12” sealing bar

The MEAT! Chamber Vacuum Sealer with 12″ Sealing Bar is incredibly quiet for how large it is, and the vacuum and seal it puts on each bag is unmatched. We found the best setting for seal time was 4 seconds and the best vacuum time was 35 seconds. This allowed us to keep sealing bags quickly, but also gave the chamber vacuum enough time to build pressure and really provide an amazing, airtight vacuum and seal.

This model, unlike other chamber vacuums in the test, does have an oil pump design, which means it requires proper maintenance to keep it running to its full potential. It comes with instructions and everything you’ll in order to perform the maintenance, and shouldn’t take more than a minute or two.

What really set this chamber vacuum sealer apart from the others in the test was how well it sealed each bag, and how quietly it did so. The other chamber vacuums were loud, almost obnoxiously so, but not the MEAT! Chamber Vacuum Sealer. Yes, it has a hefty price tag, but if you’re looking for a chamber vacuum sealer for both meats, vegetables, and liquids like soups, it’s worth the extra money to get the quietest, and best performing chamber vacuum we tested.

Other Recommended Chamber Vacuum Sealers

The Best Knife Sharpener: HORL 3 Pro

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The HORL 3 Pro is one of the most satisfying, and effective, knife sharpeners we’ve tested. And like any good sharpener it is simple enough for even the most bone-headed among us to employ.

The HORL’s concept is simple. It consists of a cylinder with grinding elements on each end that you roll up and down the blade. A magnetic block holds the knife steady and at a consistent angle while you work the cylinder back and forth. When you’re done with an edge on one side you flip the knife around to do the other.

The disks at either end of the cylinder are replaceable. One is diamond-coated, for the heavy grinding, while the other is ceramic, and puts a fine hone on the edge.

To make the grinding more efficient, the HORL incorporates a gear system that spins the disks at a 3:1 ratio as it is rolled back and forth.

The magnetic block has different angles on either end, one at 15 degrees and the other at 20. Those will cover most culinary needs, with 20 degrees being a good overall edge angle and 15 degrees better suited for a sharper blade for fine work. That said, the underside of the block has a baseplate that can be moved to two different positions, giving you four more angles to choose from. In total, you have the option to grind at 10, 13, 15, 20, 22, and 25 degrees.

A small gripe from me is that I happen to like an 18-degree edge on my hunting and chef’s knives and the fact that there isn’t a setting between 15 and 20 degrees is a little pesky.

It’s also worth noting that this is not an aggressive sharpener, so when it comes to setting the initial edge on a blade or reviving a knife that hasn’t been maintained or was sharpened poorly it can take quite a while to get it right. This is where it pays to mark the edge of your knife with a sharpie to track your progress.

As far as the learning curve goes here’s what I encountered:

• With wider blades you need to put the cylinder on a raised surface, like an extra cutting board, so the disks can reach the edge
• If you apply too much pressure pushing with the cylinder on the blade the disks wont spin. You need to develop a bit of touch to get it right.
• To sharpen the blade tips you need to turn the cylinder so that it follows the curve of the blade. Again, it is a matter of touch
• It can take a while to set the initial edge on a dull blade

I’ve been using the HORL 3 Pro for several months and it has earned a permanent spot on my counter. It takes just a few seconds to maintain the edges on my knives and the sharpener itself takes up very little space. It’s a bit expensive, but I think this elegant and effective sharpener is well worth it. — John B. Snow, Outdoor Life Shooting Editor

Other Recommended Knife Sharpeners

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If you’re looking to start processing your own game, a meat lug is an item that’s worth its weight in gold. They make moving and organizing meat a breeze, and they’re great for catching meat as it comes out of the grinder. Plus, they’re easy to clean. They come in many different sizes and colors, but all you’re really looking for is a food-safe option.

For our purposes, the Cabela’s 7” Meat Tub is exactly what we need. It’s not fancy or flashy, but its sturdy handles help us feel confident when moving dozens of pounds of unprocessed and processed meat around during the sausage party. It’s also fitted for a lid that you can buy separately to help seal meat in the tub when letting your seasonings and cure set in for sausages or jerky.

In the end, a meat lug is a meat lug, and the recommendations below will do the trick too. But for us, we lean on an army of Cabela’s 7” meat tubs to get us through our processing weekend.

Other Recommended Meat Lugs

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Any hunter knows that sharing the harvest is one of the most important and rewarding things about taking an animal. Whether you’re gifting it to a neighbor or family member who doesn’t hunt, there’s something to be said about presentation when it comes to wild game. Sure, to us a bag of burger meat doesn’t seem odd, but to a non-hunter about to try their first meal with wild venison, it might look a bit off.

To help combat this, we’ve started pressing and vacuum sealing burgers to share with the non-hunters in our lives. A good burger press makes that an easy and efficient process. This year, we tried out the MEAT! Hamburger Patty Maker and were very impressed at how quickly it produced quality looking burgers with an easy stuff and press. We aimed for ¼ pounders, but tended to have a heavy hand. But whether they were a little light or heavy, all of the burgers we pressed came out looking grill-ready. I’ve already shared a few packages with my neighbors and have heard nothing but positive reviews. If you’re looking for a good way to share more burger meat this season, you won’t be disappointed with this burger press.

Other Recommended Burger Presses