efficiency in the butcher/canning/drying shop.

[elkhound]

efficiency in the butcher/canning/drying shop....what are you doing to make things easier and faster and more fluid for the goods you put up?

i have put mymeat saw on wheels and butcher cabinet. i was thinking today i need to utilize gadgets i have one is to have them readily available right at point of use.so i am working on more cabinets to put items in. but one thing i thought about is i need to be able to secure these tools to counter tops better than in past.so i am going to put together a set of wooden blocks of various thicknesses so i can tighten them on counter better and not damage anything. my mind even wandered a bit thinking i might even make a devise that swings out for these things like a squezzo,crank mill,processors etc.

going to hang all my meat saws on wall family has handed down along with knives and various sharpeners,bags,wrapping paper etc. etc.


what are you doing to stream line your "homestead butcher/canning factory".

[Deleted]

We butcher in the summer kitchen, 6 steps from the sidedoor. One large plank countertop 6" thick with a cabinet under, 9 drawers for tools. The hand crank meat grinder is bolted to this top. The wood stove is just opposite. We don't use any saws, just 3 knives. We bone, remove sinew and silver skin as we butcher, all our meat, except hams, they are smoked whole, stored, sliced as used or for freezing. Bacon sides are processed as halves. We don't freeze ground meat. We do make a lot of smoke dried meat sticks, sausages, ham, jerky and pemmican at butcher. Most of our meat is small animals or quarters of large animals. Our freezer is small, so everything frozen is boned and wrapped as small roasts. Recut as 4 steaks, 2 pot roasts, cubed for stew and soup or sliced for pepper steak and jerky, partially frozen, as needed. We also use this setup as our food prep, canning and dehydrating center year around. We cook out side 8 months of the year on the wood stove, we grill or use the fire pit year around. The kitchen box from the chuck wagon sits at the end of the wood countertop....James

[Deleted]

I'm jealous you have a butcher and canning shop. We butcher the chickens, turkeys and rabbits outside under the trees and can in the sun room. Any thing bigger goes to the guy with the fancy freezer and butchering room.

[moldy]

Mine has a shelf up about 9 feet with all my canning jars on it. It keeps them out of the way (my canning kitchen is made in a repurposed grain bin/silo).

My best advice is to only do one thing at a time. Don't dehydrate if you're canning (all that steam will make the dehydrators work harder); don't butcher while you're canning (cross-contaminaation).

[elkhound]

moldy your canning kitchen/silo yall built is part of reason i am doing what i am doing...along with always wanting a better place to do certain things like this.putting to use stuff that is laying around as i clean the homestead up.

[Deleted]

I would love to see pics of how you all have organized. I have a canning kitchen/pantry thats going to have to be used for dehydrating and meat prep too.