The hunt is done. The deer are dressed. At this point, plenty of people will hire a game processor to turn their harvest into cuts of meat ready for use in the kitchen and on the grill. But if you really want to ensure the integrity of your bounty and have absolute control over your food, you put on an apron and do it yourself. You can customize your cuts and grinds. There’s never a chance that meat from other animals gets mixed in with yours. And, the processing can happen on your schedule—not when (or if) a professional is available.
Weston is your home for game and meat processing. From knives and grinders to sausage stuffers and vacuum sealers, we offer a wide range of equipment for setting up your own personal butcher shop. Whether you’re a hunter, an angler or a home chef, you’ll have the tools you need to be efficient, creative and successful.
Primal Cuts
Turning wild game or farm-raised animals into the foods you love starts here. Maybe you have a deer just taken from the field. Or maybe you’ve gone in with your meat-loving neighbors to purchase half a cow to share. The first step is to get those whole animals dressed down into manageable-sized primal cuts. Weston’s meat processing essentials can help you do this with ease. Butcher saws to get through the big bones. Knife sets that include hefty butcher knives, cleavers, boning knives and game shears for dressing small game and domestic poultry. And equally important equipment, such as heavy-duty meat lugs for handling and storing meat and scales for weighing yields. Once this initial parsing is complete and you’re left with your rounds and shoulders and breast meat, you have a lot of options for further processing into specialty cuts, grinds and more.
Whole muscle
When it comes to slicing meat, we have you covered. Our rugged, high-powered electric slicers can shave deli-thin slices or cut steaks and chops up to half an inch thick. In food-speak that translates to sub sandwiches for the big game, entertaining friends with wine and a charcuterie board or pork chops for quick grilling. Our manual jerky slicers and meat tenderizers deliver perfect strips of meat for drying into everyone’s favorite chewy snack, which in our case is an amazing sriracha venison jerky that you must try. And while our food dehydrators are excellent for jerky preparation, you can also experiment with (gasp… that other food group) fruits and vegetables. You can dry herbs, make potato and avocado chips and even fruit roll-ups. We’re also here for you when it comes to bringing out and enhancing the flavor of meats with a selection of seasonings and meat injectors for adding your own marinades.
Grinding
Eating just wouldn’t be as satisfying without burgers in the world. Same goes for all the other ground meat delights. With Weston’s collection of electric and hand-crank grinders and accessories, you won’t have to contemplate that scenario. You’ll have control over the ingredients and texture of your meats. Our #5, #8, #12, #22 and #32 electric grinders, with a range of horsepower and wattage, can process between 1 to 21 pounds of meat per minute. And a Weston meat mixer will help you evenly distribute seasonings into meat or blend two grinds of meat into one product. From the comfort of your home station, you can make fresh burgers, different types of sausage and ground jerky. Plus, having a supply of ground beef, venison, duck and other meats on hand makes it easy have great meals whenever you want. It opens up your culinary options, too—imagine juicy lamb burgers cooked sous-vide style or a tasty skillet venison meatloaf.
Bratwurst. Salami. Breakfast links. When you want to know how the sausage is made, you process it yourself. You grind the meat, season and mix it and press it into casings. And you get to enjoy it. The Weston line of vertical hand-crank sausage stuffers offers the utmost in precision control in a variety of holding canister sizes—including 5-,7-,11-,15- and 30-pound capacities. Each comes with a set of funnels for stuffing sausages of different diameters. And for the multitaskers who prefer to grind and stuff at the same time, most of our electric grinders come with sausage-making attachments. We stock an inventory of casings in a range of diameters and materials to match your needs. Plus, our sausage seasoning products make it easy to get great flavor. Try them out with this wild game sweet Italian sausage recipe. But also, don’t be afraid to experiment with different spices and foods to customize your meats. It’s part of the fun.
Preserving
No home processing station is complete without supplies for preserving the product. When you invest your time into making quality foods, preventing spoilage and freezer burn is critical. The most effective way to do this is to use a vacuum sealer. With one of our models you can extend the shelf life of frozen meats for up to 5x longer than you could using other storage methods. You’ll also want to have other meat packaging supplies, like freezer bags for ground beef and freezer paper and tape handy.
Processing meat that you’ve hunted, raised or purchased can be very rewarding. You know what’s happening with your food at every stage. You know it’s fresh. And you don’t have to rely on anyone else to do a great job. If you’re the carnivore in control, Weston is your one-stop shop. We have years of expertise and lots creative ideas on do-it-yourself food processing, so start exploring.
