The Economy of making your own Meat.

[SaltPorkResearch]

Why did you guys get into this ancient hobby of messin' with meat?

For me it started by buying some pork butts at discount prices and making some cured pork neck "copa/gabagul" and some sausage. I have got to say that it is a cheap way to have some fun and eat fancy.

I'm kinda new to this. The attraction for me is the economy of creating something delicious out of cheap raw material.

Curing meat and smoking has opened up a whole world of things to learn and try. With the price of just deli lunch meat, I have been very motivated.

Sandwiches have always been a big part of my life. My own smoked cured meats really gives me the ability to take things to a new level. No more boring packed lunches for work!

 

[DougE]

welcome from Kentucky!

The attraction for me is the economy of creating something delicious out of cheap raw material.

What started out as cheap cuts like Boston butt and brisket, that nobody wanted in the past, has vastly changed, and are in greater demand now, driving prices up.

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

welcome from Kentucky!


What started out as cheap cuts like Boston butt and brisket, that nobody wanted in the past, has vastly changed, and are in greater demand now, driving prices up.

Well, Howdy from Michigan.

Yes, that is the case. Nothing is cheap anymore. It used to be that just going to work and getting a paycheck was more efficient than playing little house on the prairie in your back yard. It appears that maybe we are going backwards a little. It is now worth my time to do more and more old-timey things to get a premium product at an affordable price. It kinda feels that way at least.

 

[JLinza]

Welcome from Colorado

 

[Timber II]

Welcome from south MO. I’m a hunter and making sausage from deer and ducks brought me here years ago…..now I’m brining stuff cookin ribs and making lollipop chickens!!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Welcome aboard, good to have you join the party.

For me, it is about creating something that's way better than anything that can be bought in a store, bacon is a prime example, or something that's not easy to find around me, andouille is an example of that. I can control things such as the salt & sugar content, the flavor profile, etc...

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm not an internet person at all, but it is difficult and rare to speak with anyone that has knowledge or experience about cured meats or preservation.

The whole world has gone safety crazy but also puts their trust in big producers and big box stores blindly. People were putting up meat long before safety sallies and vac-packed single servings. I believe the Providence of craft meats is in the home, not the supermarket.

I think bacon is popular in the US because it is one of the few smoked and cured meats available to the public...and it's only a poor imitation of the real thing most of the time.

Happy to be here. Thanks again.

 

[JC in GB]

Welcome from WI. I got into smoking meats years ago when my father got a Big Chief smoker and smoked some salmon. It was okay. I figured I could do better and slowly, I ramped up to getting a professional quality smoker and building my own curing chamber. It has been a long and tasty ride. I have learned volumes from the good folks on this forum. Hoping I can keep up the momentum. Hope you get plenty of good food from what you learn here.

JC

 

[Astralogics]

Welcome from Hawaii!

Well other than the costs down here being ridiculous and quality not justifying the price, like Gonna Smoke said creating a product that is greater than what is commercially available. At least then will it more accurately reflect its value at the given price point. Additionally, the process and experience is just fun in general, so that makes it priceless.

 

[Hijack73]

I do it because I'm absolutely repulsed by stuff like "Hillshire Farms smoked sausage" and Jimmy Deen breakfast sausage etc...

I can't stand eating ground up tendon and bone and gristle. I'd all but given up on smoked sausage (which I once absolutely loved, both on the pit, in gumbo, and yes, with BBQ sauce) because quality, which was never excellent, is totally in the toilet today.

Now that I make my own, I can eat it and love it again.

Bacon is just better. I'll still eat store bought but not very often and not usually at my house. I thawed out a pack from 2023 (commercial) a while back. I've still got several of those exp 2023/2024 packs I need to get around to eating. I'd bought them all on clearance and right around that time I started rolling my own.
I don't even look at the bacon in the grocery store now. I probably should, because clearance is clearance, but I just like my own better. Bacon isn't cheaper to make at home, but just about everything else is, even if not by much once you figure in spices and casings etc..., but, it's 100x better.

Deli meat, don't even get me started. Store brand deli ham is about 7 bucks, brand name is 10-12. I can make better deli ham for well under $2/lb, and it's not full of gross shi...stuff

 

[normanaj]

For me it came from when I was in the AF and we would have the yearly wing command party and there were a bunch of guys smoking just about everything and it was just an excellent time with some excellent food.

 

[sandyut]

Welcome from Colorado

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

I do it because I'm absolutely repulsed by stuff like "Hillshire Farms smoked sausage" and Jimmy Deen breakfast sausage etc...

I can't stand eating ground up tendon and bone and gristle. I'd all but given up on smoked sausage (which I once absolutely loved, both on the pit, in gumbo, and yes, with BBQ sauce) because quality, which was never excellent, is totally in the toilet today.

Now that I make my own, I can eat it and love it again.

Bacon is just better. I'll still eat store bought but not very often and not usually at my house. I thawed out a pack from 2023 (commercial) a while back. I've still got several of those exp 2023/2024 packs I need to get around to eating. I'd bought them all on clearance and right around that time I started rolling my own.
I don't even look at the bacon in the grocery store now. I probably should, because clearance is clearance, but I just like my own better. Bacon isn't cheaper to make at home, but just about everything else is, even if not by much once you figure in spices and casings etc..., but, it's 100x better.

Deli meat, don't even get me started. Store brand deli ham is about 7 bucks, brand name is 10-12. I can make better deli ham for well under $2/lb, and it's not full of gross shi...stuff

Highjack73,

I'm with you on gross production smoked sausage. That and I have to constantly check that there isn't mechanically separate slop in it. Some of that stuff is more like a flavored hot dog than sausage.

The price of casings is definitely an obstacle for doing it on the cheap. Maybe I just need to buy in bulk or something...

Whole muscle cures seem to be the cheapest and easiest, but gotta pick stuff up on sale.

Meat prices these days make me question my sanity though. I'm starting to look at the meat swinging in the basement as part of my savings account...lol.

Yah, and lunch meat is a racket. So expensive to make a sandwich. The cheap lunch meat is gross too. Slimy slices on sloppy sandwiches...

Just grinding your hamburger fresh is a game changer. I think of it like grinding my own coffee beans. Once the surface area has increased 1000% it's gonna start degrading quick.

Thanks again for all the thoughtful responses!

 

[stewiejp]

Welcome aboard SaltPorkResearch!
A greater resource than this board on all things cooking, smoking and BBQ-ing you will not find!

I agree with you - down here food prices specifically meat prices have got out of control. I know it is easy to blame the big supermarkets and they certainly hold some of the blame - they simply sell rubbish at inflated prices - and people buy it because it is convenient. When I was in the meat industry the shoppers could tell what looked good and what the prices were. If stuff did not look good it would never sell. Simple. Nowadays people simply grab the meat off the shelf without considering quality. But I digress - bit of a bugbear of mine!
There are still bargains to be had but you have to shop around. I have found buying full primals and trimming/slicing them to our own needs to be a pretty good money saver - and I get to cut to size to suit both the good lady (small, thinner, leaner steaks) and myself (thick - in more ways that one!) Plus it's fun, and we can get creative with what we put together.

 

[DougE]

I have found buying full primals and trimming/slicing them to our own needs to be a pretty good money saver - and I get to cut to size to suit both the good lady (small, thinner, leaner steaks) and myself (thick - in more ways that one!) Plus it's fun, and we can get creative with what we put together.

Raising your own animals and having them processed to your specs is the best option, but not one open to most people.

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

Welcome aboard SaltPorkResearch!
A greater resource than this board on all things cooking, smoking and BBQ-ing you will not find!

I agree with you - down here food prices specifically meat prices have got out of control. I know it is easy to blame the big supermarkets and they certainly hold some of the blame - they simply sell rubbish at inflated prices - and people buy it because it is convenient. When I was in the meat industry the shoppers could tell what looked good and what the prices were. If stuff did not look good it would never sell. Simple. Nowadays people simply grab the meat off the shelf without considering quality. But I digress - bit of a bugbear of mine!
There are still bargains to be had but you have to shop around. I have found buying full primals and trimming/slicing them to our own needs to be a pretty good money saver - and I get to cut to size to suit both the good lady (small, thinner, leaner steaks) and myself (thick - in more ways that one!) Plus it's fun, and we can get creative with what we put together.

Thanks for the reply, Stewiejp. Australia is a very high cost of living place these days I hear. For example , I saw a guy on YouTube who broke down and started growing his own ginger because it was just ridiculously expensive for no reason. I can understand the motivation.

Cutting up you own animal is the way. Primals are definitely the way to go when you are committed.

Like everything else now, it's a bit harder to source sometimes. I just wanted some pork hams (hind legs) with the skin on and it was a struggle to find some. Even then, I was paying premium price because it was "custom cuts" or some nonsense. The big pork producer hams are very, very lean these days too.

I guess I need to look harder, but I'm not buying 1000 lbs of meat at a time.

It's modern rat race living while trying to hold on to the old ways. It's not a great mix sometimes.

You do really need to pick through the pile at the supermarket to find better pieces, it's about like buying lumber these days, anything goes!

Curing gives me opportunity to take advantage of a sale and not have it all sit in my freezer unused and unseen for a decade.

So it's a crime of opportunity most times. I just need to make sure it's fresh before I buy.

Doing a little bit all the times keeps me in practice as opposed to large batches a few times a year. So a pork roast on sale here, a beef round there, and maybe make a 5 lb batch of sausage or salami ...it keeps me interested over the long haul.

Hanging some smoked and cured meat in the basement gives me a sense of security as well as bonus good smells.

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

Raising your own animals and having them processed to your specs is the best option, but not one open to most people.

Yes, there is no substitute for growing your own. Raising critters is it's own job in itself though.

 

[ajbert]

Welcome from south MO. I’m a hunter and making sausage from deer and ducks brought me here years ago…..now I’m brining stuff cookin ribs and making lollipop chickens!!

Caught my first first fish on a fly rod at 4 or 5 years of age. Started hunting at 12. Still do both today and make sausage from most of the deer meat. Smoke a few fish every year. Deer and elk jerky. As has been said, better than what you can get in any store. Used go out to eat BBQ now and then, but no longer go because what I grill/smoke at home is better than what I can get in a restaurant. Even my wife agrees on that...lol

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

Caught my first first fish on a fly rod at 4 or 5 years of age. Started hunting at 12. Still do both today and make sausage from most of the deer meat. Smoke a few fish every year. Deer and elk jerky. As has been said, better than what you can get in any store. Used go out to eat BBQ now and then, but no longer go because what I grill/smoke at home is better than what I can get in a restaurant. Even my wife agrees on that...lol

Cutting up a few deer is a great way to teach people how to butcher. A white tail deer is just big enough to pose the question, "what do I do with all this meat!?". Lol. This answers the question, "why sausage?".

My family made deer sausage in large batches. Although fun, I prefer to make smaller batches these days so I get some variety. The trick is to turn a farm chore into a hobby. When everything is work, you can lose your enthusiasm for a thing.

Bone out the legs, throw into freezer. Then after all the deer season fun is over, go back and take your time with cutting it up the way you like it. You now have all winter to dream up recipes. This has really taken the gloom and doom of cleaning bits of silver skin and tallow off bits of meat from 6 deer untill 2 in the morning.

Thanks for the reply.