Low cost butcher recommendations for ground meat

[Macdrizzle]

I live around the Edmonton region and I'm looking to ground most of my whitetail meat. Since it will be grounded I don't see the point of paying a premium for "quality" so I'm reaching out to see if anyone knows of any really low cost butchers that ground. I plan on de-boning all the meat myself and bring into the butcher just pure meat.

Any recommendations for cheap butchers around Edmonton?

What's the typical venison/pork fat ratio? Does anyone do ground meat with just 100% venison?

[Dick284]

Grind only deer, don’t add anything to it, vac seal as required.
If you like to cut your deer with other meat do that as its own step, separately.

The cheapest butcher is the guy you see in the mirror every morning.

Buy a grinder, buy a vac sealer, and make it a family affair.

[tallieho]

Rent a grinder...most rental places rent them

[SouthWestRanger]

^^^ you can buy a quality grinder for not much more than the cost of a deer or two ground. Buy a grinder and a vac sealer and you will save so much on butchering.

[3blade]

I’ve been using a little Weston I got on sale for $60. Who know how many hundreds of pounds through it over the years. All you gotta do is 10lb batches, turn it off, have a beer while letting it cool. A whitetail will be 30-50 lbs. - no problem at all.

Just buy one and do it yourself. Plus then you know you’re getting YOUR deer and not mixed in or contaminated with someone’s gut-juice soaked rutty moose.

I prefer to grind right before cooking, less moisture loss and oxidation.

If you mix in fat of any kind it’s only good for a few months depending on the wrapping/vac bag. If you keep it longer, you’re better to grind/freeze only lean deer, and hand mix in 20% ground pork when preparing a dish.

[Coiloil37]

I agree with above. Especially if you’re already cutting it off the bone. Remove the fat and silver skin and grind it up.
As mentioned above we set up a family assembly line and the process is quick and easy. When we move over here I bought a grinder off Amazon for $79 and it’s awesome. Literally awesome and much better then the one I had in Canada that cost me several hundred. My point is, you don’t have to spend a fortune on the grinder.

[Joe Btfsplk]

I got my first whitetail last year, and bought a used grinder on kijiji. We deboned the animal ourselves without knowing ANYTHING about how to do it. We ground almost all of it and since we already had a vacuum packer, packed it and froze it. The results have been great, my wife absolutely loves the meat, it goes great in Chile, burgers, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, etc.
It has literally turned my wife from “I’m not sure about this hunting thing...” to “are you getting another deer this year?” Win-win situation in my book....

[-JR-]

pm sent

[Macdrizzle]

Originally Posted by Dick284

Grind only deer, don’t add anything to it, vac seal as required.
If you like to cut your deer with other meat do that as its own step, separately.

The cheapest butcher is the guy you see in the mirror every morning.

Buy a grinder, buy a vac sealer, and make it a family affair.

Fair enough! I'm 100% open to that idea as well. Can you recommend some brands/models to go with? I was told you should only go with commercial/industrial ones.

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Macdrizzle

Fair enough! I'm 100% open to that idea as well. Can you recommend some brands/models to go with? I was told you should only go with commercial/industrial ones.

Still have the 1/2hp Omcan grinder I started with, it’s not the fastest but it’s indestructible, and has metal gears.(Halford’s or Butchers and Packers)
I bought a Cabelas 3/4hp Carnivore 2 years ago and it’s a game changer.

[Macdrizzle]

Originally Posted by Macdrizzle

I live around the Edmonton region and I'm looking to ground most of my whitetail meat. Since it will be grounded I don't see the point of paying a premium for "quality" so I'm reaching out to see if anyone knows of any really low cost butchers that ground. I plan on de-boning all the meat myself and bring into the butcher just pure meat.

Any recommendations for cheap butchers around Edmonton?

What's the typical venison/pork fat ratio? Does anyone do ground meat with just 100% venison?

EDIT: based on all the responses I'm convinced I should DIY my own ground meat. Can you guys share your experiences with models/brands of meat grinders that are good and easy to clean? I'll only likely be using it 3-4x a year with pretty much only game meat.

Thanks for all the responses.

[aragor764]

I have the Cabelas Carnivore .75hp, very happy with it, easy to clean. There are some cheaper ones like Vevor 1.5hp that I was looking at but those ones don't have the removable main tube, which makes it harder to clean.

[badbrass]

I have the 1hp. Carnivore! Great unit! and fast! Has metal gears and will run for years! Very happy with it!

Originally Posted by aragor764

I have the Cabelas Carnivore .75hp, very happy with it, easy to clean. There are some cheaper ones like Vevor 1.5hp that I was looking at but those ones don't have the removable main tube, which makes it harder to clean.

[CDNOutdoorsman]

If you want a hand grinder, I have a couple that you can have...

[Hogie135]

If you have a kitchen aid mixer you can get the grinding attachment for it on amazon for like $60. Works great. Been using it for 10 years......well up until my ex wife took the mixer with her when we split. I need new grinder now.

[C&C Outdoors]

Originally Posted by badbrass

I have the 1hp. Carnivore! Great unit! and fast! Has metal gears and will run for years! Very happy with it!

X2! My cabelas 1hp grinder is going on it's 8th year now. Have put plenty of deer, elk and moose through it without a hitch. They are fast, easy to clean too.

I believe they go on sale a couple times per year for $100 off reg price IIRC.

[MyAlberta]

Other than a roast and chops, I hand grind all my deer with a $10 grinder found at value village. I’ll visit all the grocers for that sweet smelling pork trim, usually for free. I don’t vacuum pack, only because I’m too cheap to buy one.

[Albertajeff]

About 8 years ago we also were thinking same thing and ended up buying a 3/4HP from cabelas. Best decision ever. It paid for itself within the first two seasons and will be passed down. That thing is a carnivore 3/4GP and it’s true. It will eat anything, frozen or not it doesn’t slow down, two people can feed it as fast as possible and it won’t even break a sweat. We bought the jerky slicer attachment for it and ordered a set of tenderizer rollers from the US (some reason can get them in canada), we’ve used it to make sausage outa it but now have a stuffer. Great addition. Zero regrets. Wouldn’t think twice about buying again.

[PartTimeHunter]

I had a 3/4 horse Cabelas model for over 10 years, pre carnivore model. It finally started giving me issues so I looked around and went back to Cabelas to get their 1 horse carnivore. I have a stuffer so don’t use it for stuffing sausage. The hand crank stuffer works better imo. I did get a foot switch off amazon that I found helpful.

[ghfalls]

I’ve got the cheap cabela’s 5# grinder that was on sale for $60. Regular price I see only $100. It’s done a half dozen deers and hasn’t skipped a beat. I figured I’d just buy a cheap one and when I tag craps out after a few years upgrade. But I’m sure it will last for many years yet.

[-JR-]

Just putting this out there ,for anyone that needs a large amount of clean meat ground i will will be happy do to it at my place in Edmonton for a few pounds of meat .
Just give me pm .

[Hoopi]

Hi: Give Grassy Lane a call. They used to grind meat for a good price.

Hoopi

[Macdrizzle]

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up buying a Lem #8 0.5hp for 500 bucks

[Supermag]

Another thumbs up for the 1 HP Cabelas grinder. It chews through meat as fast as you can feed it. I think it took me less than 10 minutes to grind up 70 pounds of trim last time I did it.

[tbrown]

Freson Brothers ground and packaged some elk for me this last season. I can’t remember the cost, but I don’t think it was bad.


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