Why You Should Start At-Home Meat Processing

From the first grind, to delicious sausages and homemade jerky, to helping your bounty stay fresh for longer. When you start meat processing at-home, you reap the rewards for months to come.

Need convincing? Here are 5 good reasons to get started!

1. Remember the pride you felt when you took down your buck in the field? Filling your freezer with your hard-won harvest and outfitting family and friends with the bounty is a great way to share that pride.
   TIP: If the process seems a little daunting at first, ask a friend who has experience to help you out. With all that meat, it’s always good to have a helping hand anyway.
2. When you process your own game, you know your meat is coming from a healthy, natural source. It’s lean, high in protein, free from antibiotics and synthetic hormones, and fresh.
   TIP: Avoid harvesting during mating season. The additional hormones will add toughness and a musky flavor to the meat.
3. For the price of your license and ammunition, you get not only the memories from the hunt but also several hundred pounds of meat. While you can’t put a price tag on the memories, you can bank on a freezer full of organic and grass-fed meat!
   TIP: Meat yield will be 40-50% of the animal weight.
4. Think about the year’s worth of opportunities your hobby provides to cook daring and delicious recipes with the non-hunting members of your family. Why not start with the ones in this catalog and on our website?
   TIP: When processing, remove as much sinew and fat as possible to remove some of the gamey flavor.
5. You’re not alone. We’re experts in game processing and can help you with all your meat prep needs, whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned pro. Once you’ve processed your harvest, we have ideas and equipment to transform your meat into a mountain of snacks, side dishes and main courses that will wow your friends.

Check out our website for tips to get started. So browse through the catalog and get inspired. Then turn your hobby into a delicious gift that keeps on giving.

Food for Thought and Venison Tips:

• Venison, like most game meat, is very lean and therefore will have less tolerance for overcooking.
• Venison can be stored for about a year is kept at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
• When grilling, brush each side of the meat with cooking oil to prevent it sticking to the grill.
• Venison needs to be cooked rare to avoid becoming leathery.
• Venison will look incredibly rare when it is actually medium and if it looks a pink “medium” color, it is actually well-done.
• To retain moisture, use thicker cuts of meat and marinate before cooking.
• 1 serving of venison loin (54 grams) has 86% protein, 14% fat, 0% carbs and only 81 calories.
• When preserving, consider adding pork fat to ground, processed meat. It will add flavor and moisture and will help preserve it longer.