Hi! Thank you for this resource! We have a non-profit rescue sanctuary for geriatric, special needs and hospice dogs. Currently we care for 18 here and we are assembling the things we will need to make quality raw dog food. We want to package in 2 lb. chubs, but I am not sold on the bags, would prefer to use the poly tubing and clips or tape, that way we can make smaller or larger chubs as we figure out what works for us. We have a 1.75hp Cabela’s Carnivore #42 grinder, a few commercial freezers, a line on wholesale meat, some nice butcher block topped and stainless topped work tables, a cleaver, meat lugs, poly tubing, shelving, commercial sinks, We still need a meat mixer, stuffer and double clipper, or a good, non-messy alternative to a double clipper. We have also sourced an awesome deal on a huge, commercial double chamber vacuum sealer, it’s 3 phase, but we are looking to using a converter so it can run on the single phase 220V in our garage. If it is not practical, we’ll just sell it off as we should be able to make some good money off of it. I also have a slider/patty maker, but don’t have room to pre-freeze and don’t have a gas exchange unit, so not sure that we will go in the patty/medallions direction, but it does remain a possibility.
To start, we plan on processing about 200 lbs every two weeks or so, and increasing our volume as we bring in local folks who would like to purchase our mix to help support the rescue.
We will be processing/grinding raw bone from poultry/rabbit/fish for sure and we would REALLY like to also be able to do beef and pork rib and neck bones. Do you think our #42 will handle that? If not, what do we need in order to process smaller beef/pork bones? Should we use the stuffer attachment for our grinder or a separate manual stuffer? What size? What would a good meat mixer be for us? Is a tilt a real advantage? Can you recommend a good and clean way to seal and separate the chubs? Do you sell a double clipper? Would twisting the chubs and using two single clips work? Are there any good non-metal clips? Is vacuum sealing better?
Thanks in advance,
Lisa & the Rusty pugs

johnsbrewhouse Had a similar experience with beer in high school. I’m almost 60 now and still can’t stand even a sip of beer.