Deer Processing Question.
 

I got my deer processed at a local meat processor and ordered what I thought was the basic cuts(steaks, chops, tenderloins), and with the trimmings, 20 pounds of jerky and the rest hamburger. Price was $150. When I brought it home and opened the boxes, all I found was the jerky and hamburger. I'm thinking there COULD have been a misunderstanding or I just didn't get the rest of my order. Does this seem right or should I call them and ask where the rest is?? Oh, and the basic cuts for a deer were priced around $80 I believe. I know it's not a really interesting topic, but I was really dissapointed when I seen what I recieved. Any input is appreciated. Thanks, Nick

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

You paid $150 just to have a deer butchered?



Not to be mean but, I watched someone do one and then I did mine right after with their help. Ask the butcher if you can watch him do one.

It only takes about an hour to thoroughly de-meat a deer.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, paid out the butt for processing. I've always wanted to just do it myself, but have never had anyone show me how and haven't seen it done. That's what sucks so much about this is that I paid that much and don't have any of the steaks or chops. Probably have to buy a info-video on butchering.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

And the $150 stings just a tad more when I read that. ;-)

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

I would call the processor back and ask some questions. We have a processor here in Kentucky that has some shady business practices and after a couple of hunters experienced what you just did, all the locals "black balled" the processor and will not take a deer to him. Additionally, like LostinSpace, I watched a fellow hunter butcher his deer and it is easier then you think. If you buy a Kitchen Aid for sausage and ground meat or jerky, there is no need for an processing.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

How much did the deer weigh and how much meat did you get back?

twenty lbs of jerky, plus burger, say 40 lbs, that's alot of meat. You will get roughly 50-60% of the dressed weight as boned meat.

--Bob

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

1) The price of $150 seems high. What do others pay for processing? I process my animals myself so can't provide information, but it seems like I've heard of this being done for about $60 in Oklahoma. I'll try to look up more information on this.

2) Even if you got all your game back, the processor didn't honor your request to provide you with specific cuts. Personally, it is very disappointing to imagine those backstraps winding up as either jerky or mere ground meat!!! You should call the processor to task on this failure to do what was agreed upon. Be advised that meat loses substantial weight when it is turned into jerky, as dehydrating the meat is an important part of the process.

3) Butchering your own meat is simple, and if you are willing to spend the time and trouble to butcher your meat you should not let the fact that you have never seen it done before deter you from doing this with your next deer. If you want to read a good description of this process, read "Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game" by John J. Mettler Jr. Order the book from Amazon (www.amazon.com) or look for it in the public library. The book gives very thorough description of the butchering process. Then again, you don't need this book to butcher the animal. Look for information on the web, there is plenty out there. You may even find a video tape, but again this is not necessary.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

Yeah, I actually just learned how to butcher my own deer last week, and I was surprised how easy it is. And man, can you get a deer done fast when you have a couple of people working on it. We butchered and cleaned the steaks and backstraps ourselves, and then took the scrap meat to the butcher for sausage (which was $2/lb), so we didn't spend much money at all.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

I have thought some more about your report about getting 20 LBS of jerky and left-over meat as hamburger. A buck that dresses out at 100 LBS may yield 50 LBS of recovered, de-boned meat (head, hide, bones get thrown away). Because of the dehydration involved, maybe 40 LBS of meat is required to provide 20 LBS of finished deer jerky? Maybe the processor faithfully executed your order to the best of his understanding and gave you all your meat!?

How big was your animal? If it field dressed 240 LBS, you might have questions; if it field dressed less than 100 LBS, maybe you got what you ordered.

Back on the butcher it yourself theme, it is easy and you have more control of what you get back. You want specific cuts, you cut it that way. Most people probably do have ideosynchratic processing desires -- or would if they knew that they could have it anyway they wanted it cut up!!!

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

Once you learn the technique all you need is a meat slicer, grinder and I recomend a vacume sealer. They keep the meat fresher longer. We process our own deer but some of the members in our camp pay to have there deer butchered and here it cost about 75 dollars a deer. So 150 sounds pretty steep to me. But it depends on where you live. But I would still go back and ask the butcher where the other meat went cause it doesnt sound like you got it all.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

$150 is very steep, but it sounds like it was more than butchering, he got lots of jerky which is not included in a normal butcher job.

Took me and my two boys (helping for the first time) to butcher, wrap and cleanup about 2 hours.

--Bob

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

Your exorbitant price came from 20 lbs. of jerky slice. It can run as high as $3/lb. here. What you have to understand is they process it with the normal cuts first (that is one price), then they slice those normal cuts into jerky slices (that is another extra price). You have to make jerky slices off of a good cut like a roast. After 20 lbs of jerky all you have left is trash for hamburger. To make a long story short, you are paying to have the same meat processed twice.

A lot of people have learned from this. Any extra cuts or sausage you have made is in addition to the normal processing fee.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

20 pounds of jerky?? Thats easily 40-50 pounds of steak/roast/chops etc.. Thats alot of jerky. Honestly I would say you got all your dseer back and then some. If you had beef fat put in the burger and all that jerky made I would guess that would run around $120.00 here in Missouri at most places. So you didnt get the best deal but didnt get ripped off either. If the jerky is good you did fine. Just ask more questions next year when placing the order.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

Sounds as though they may have missed something when you picked up your order. The price seems a little high, but I know how much you can spend on Jerky and snack sticks so it may be o'kay. I chop my own steaks and stew meat packs, but I take all the burger/scrap meat to the butcher for jerky and snack sticks and I can easily spend over $75 for this service. But the jerky/snack sticks are so good I don't care. Family that say they hate venison seem to like the items I get from the butcher and can't believe they've eaten venison. So spending a few bucks on a good job is worth it. Give a call and find out what happened with the other meat, but keep in mind jerky takes quite abit of meat to produce, so maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

Good luck.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

The jerky amount is the reason for the lack of steaks and chops, as well as the high cost. Whole muscle meat jerky comes from the rear hams (steaks/roasts) and backstraps (chops). So when you ask for 20 lbs of finished jerky, your asking your butcher to pull approx. 40lbs of boneless meat. The grind will be the rest of the deer and even a large deer will not amount to a huge amount of straight deer meat. Like mentioned hanging weight will equate to 50-60% of boned meat, if hide/head/legs are left on then 40% range. So if you had an average deer hang weight of 100lbs you should expect 50-60lbs of pure meat return. Also dependant on the shot damage/location/etc. All in all I would say you got what you brought, just the butcher could not make 20lbs jerky without removing the steaks/chops portions.

NEVER LEAVE YOUR TLOINS IN A FIELD DRESSED ANIMAL!! First of they are small to begin with, they skin over and dry very quickly. The second reason is most butcher saw and section which will leave the tloins cut and often they will end up in the grind to being split and small. A Tloin will not get tender with age so their is absolutely no reason to keep it in once the guts are removed, removal is very easy and you'll always be assured you can enjoy these little tasty devils!!

Butchering yourself isn't that hard....really all that is required is willingness, sharp knives, butcher wrap (brown) and some spare hand don't hurt. Remember when butchering their will always be a grind pile, so missed chucks are not lost or wasted it just means you have a bit more sausage or burger! As time goes on you will only get better and you will be 100% assured you got what you brought! For a small fee most butcher will grind large portions, but a hand grinder, small electric or attachment for your kitchen aide will all work for a few deer/year operation. A electric Dehydrator will also work fine for whole muscle meat jerky or even grind in small portions. If you really want to get fancy small smokers can be had pretty reasonable these days that operate on propane. It is a very rewarding, enjoyable experience and I know those who you feed your meat to will never complain...as a self butcher you can take the time to trim choice cuts and get the best quality that a meat locker simply can not afford to do.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

My gosh, have you ever made your own jerky, you might change your mind. You know how time intensive it is to make 1lb of jerkey. Most people I know charges 4 to 5 dollars extra/pound of jerkey plus 45 dollar charge for basic butchering. So 20 lbs is like 50 or so pounds wet. A 150lb deer will yeild 50lbs to 65lbs of good meat to do jerky. Of course people can get more but I don't know any butcher that takes the special time an care to get this extra 10lbs of meat.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

I think many are missing the point. He didn't just order jerky and burger. He ordered several choice cuts. Now, it may take a lot of meat to make 20 lbs of jerky, but the butcher should have caught this and at least let him know that the amount of meat he brought in wouldn't give 20 lbs of jerky plus the choice cuts plus the burger. He got ripped off. He may have received all the meat, sure...but not what he ordered and if the butcher couldn't give him what he ordered then he should have told him and either made a possible alternative suggestion or else simply told him that he was going to have to use it all in order to get 20 lbs of jerky. Now...I do all mine myself with whoever I'm hunting with. It is easy and fast, and the best part is that you know you are getting your deer back. A butcher may give you the right weight, but it might not be the exact deer you harvested, which might also mean you receive meat that was poorly handled in the field. Would you like to handle a deer with utmost care and then get a deer that was poorly handled in return? If you do it yourself, you can insure that your deer doesn't sit in warm weather too long or wasn't tainted in any way. It is hard to ruin meat, I know, but it can happen. I'd rather not take the chance of a butcher just giving me a bunch of meat from his freezer that may or may not have been dressed and hauled out correctly.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

It costs $40-$50 in SC to process a deer. Sausage is an additonal $.50-$.60 cents per pound. I have cleaned many deer the old fashioned way but no longer have the desire to do it myself. The pleasure is in the hunt and the kill. My days of cleaning one myself are over. It is well worth fifty bucks to process the deer. There are several very reputable processors around here that do an excellent job. Find a good processor and stick with them.

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

I paid $60 for my deer. The place I go to charge $60 (skinning included) no matter what the weight of the deer is. This is basic cuts - steaks, chops and burger. I got 43 lbs. of meat including 8 large packages of steaks. Now, if you want sausage, bologna, 'beef' sticks or jerky then the price goes up. I'm not sure what they charge for that but I do know that they require X amount of meat to make the jerky - a minimum per se.
For a small deer their price is a little high, so then you gotta make sure you shoot a bigger deer:) For a large deer it is a bargain. I've been very happy with the processing - the meat is terrific, not gamey at all.
I would like to process my own but I will definitely have to see it done by someone else first. Plus, I have to gather the equipment...

I can't tell you if you got cheated or not, but to me it seems a bit high....

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

WalMart has something called the do all buck buster.

Its not very much and has a CD that shows you how to do your own deer.

Good Luck

jrbsr

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

I suggest processing it yourself...it's really not difficult. I have been doing it for many years and just did one on OCT 28th a 5-point and I am 65. I strt by draining and catching as much blood as I can to use to train my bloodtrailing jagdterrier Minnie. I put it into small plastic cups and freeze it until I lay a blood trail for my dog to practice. Since we don't eat organs I just skin it, remove both loins (Backstrap), remove the neck for stew meet, remove both front legs and both rear legs. The ribcage and guts I just bury...no mess no fuss. Then I put the above parts on butcher paper in the bottom of a refrigerator to age for several days, depending on how old the deer is and how it was taken. When I dog hunted deer it would tast 'gamy' if you didn't age it, but a standing deer shot that only runs a hundred yards or so won't have the addrenely pumped up so won't have taste gamy. Then I take the parts out and seperate each major muscle group, carve off the outer encasement membrane and slice into steaks the large muscles and into stew meet the smaller muscles. Of course the loin goes into the steak pile. I trim the neck meat for Chili. Then we package it using a vacuum pump machine and freeze it. I then saw up the leg bones and throw away the joints but keep the rest for my bloodtrailing Jagdterrier Minnie. I drop them into my LP fish cooper for a few minutes, drop into cool water and then cut off excess meat and put one or two bone sections in zip lok bags and freeze. Good Hunting...and processing!

RE: Deer Processing Question.
 

Here's a start. Hope it helps some

http://www.riverratt.com/huntingbutcher.html



http://www.remington.com/NR/exeres/0...ookie%5Ftest=1

http://www.indianasportsmen.com/foru...=&threadid=201

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/yf/foods/he176w.htm