After being lucky enough to get a deer last fall, it was taken to a meat processing plant in Wisconsin. Money was paid in advance, the request for how the meat to be processed was requested in writing. It took almost 4 months to get the meat back, and then it was less than half of what was expected and no hide was returned although it was asked for with the original order. Buyer beware! I dare not give out the name of this establishment for fear my thread with be closed, but I sure would like to spread the word about this dishonorable place so that other deer hunters stay away from them. Definitely a terrible experience. Next year IF I am lucky enough to get a deer I will buy a meat grinder, ask for recipes for sausage etc., and also get a vacuum sealer and do it myself. If you have and are willing to share your recipes for venison, please share them with us now or send me to an old thread to give me some ideas. This year while great for getting a deer, turned sour due to the disreputable meat packing plant in WI. Live and learn - even for an “Old Beginner.” ~OB55
Ohhhh the stories I could tell you about venison processors. Buy a DVD and/or book and do it yourself. I will say this about quantity, 75% of the deer we shoot will fit in two paper sacks after processing. Like dad always tells me, "They are all legs".
I quit taking mine and it's a trusted processor, just got too expensive for me to justify when I can do my own. We have a grinder attachment to our Kitchen Aid mixer setup and it works fine. Son has one too and he gets nearly all the meat anyway. I debone the entire deer, and that is only about forty-five minutes work once the carcass is hung. Didn't make sense for me to pay a processor $70.00 to do something I can do for just a little bit of time.
I will tell you though, if grinding for burger, chill the meat well before doing it...it's less sticky and the grinder is easier to clean later. We generally add some beef suet to the grinding so it's not so dry.
I also self-process, and will be glad to help. Just a thought, what was the actual live weight of the deer? You can expect 40% of live weight in trimmed, boned out meat. As for the skin, if you were going to get it, the processor should've had it ready for you in a matter of a couple of days unless he was sending it to a tanner..
I have a great processor here and also another in Iowa they're around just ask someone you trust for a recommendation.Bad processors don't stay in business for long.
Self process here as well. A couple of buddies on the "dumb" end of the knife trimming fat and some beverages and you're good to go. We have a 220v holbert commercial grinder that would eat your arm, jerky on toothpicks in the garage oven... but I am quite lucky the father in law is an ex-professional butcher and meat cutter...
Deer processors are generally private individuals working out of their house or garage, at least around my area. I think professional processors are reluctant to bring wild game into their shop due to sanitation or disease control. With private guys, you will see a lot of dishonesty and theft. There isn't many great pieces of meat on an average deer. Even a big one isn't that difficult. I just quarter it and remove the best/biggest pieces for cutting and the rest is all boned out for burger and jerky. It all gets ground up without any fat. That really is the easiest and most efficient way to do it. There are dozens of videos on You-tube. Check the Scott Rea project. He is very good. It's not that difficult and takes a lot less time if you have an assistant.
I worked for a Custom Meat shop and had a meat smoking Business. I can tell you stories that you would not believe, Any one was welcome to come help wrap and bone out their Beef, hog, deer whatever. We always shut down the Regular side at 5:00 pm and cleaned the shop and saws, tables etc.. Then we started on deer we would cut an average of 20-25 per night and then clean everything again before starting on domestic stuff. It makes a huge difference on how much you get back by how well it was prepared before bringing in. Here in Wash and Ore the biggest whitetail hanging weight I saw was 155# and most were at 130# with does running about 75#-90# hanging weight. we also provided tags on each animal when it was brought in with the owners name and tag#. cutting instructions were taken also at that time, when the animal was ready to cut up, the 1st thing we did was weigh it and write the weight on the tag Of course the guy who shot it swears it was a 230# deer. Now hanging weight is hide, legs, head and guts removed. Have any of you ever asked to be present at the time of your animal being processed. We did not have a meat counter on site as it was easier not to be accused of stealing someone's meat if you had none. Still it is very simple to process your own deer and other wild game and just take it to the cooler to age and then take it home and process it. We always hung wild game in a separate cooler than the domestic animal carcasses.
After paying over $150 a deer for skinning and burger in Kansas while we were stationed there I purchased a grinder and processed 4 deer last year myself. Best money I ever spent. Will hopefully never have to pay again for processing.
I too started doing my own butchering. The butcher I used was great, did a good job but didn't want to pay 150 for a basic butcher job. Easy to do yourself and if you have helpers your even better off.
A couple friends and I do the whole process from start to finish. The shooter brings the beer and we all pitch in on every deer and don't keep count on who gets the most deer or meat. If someone has a bad year, we'll cover him. It all ends up close to even over the long run anyway. We have electric hoists, grinders, vacuum baggers, freezer and a fridge for incidentals. Everything is clean and good-to-go. Although, we seldom hunt together, we all help each other hang stands, move stands, track and drag, etc. In other words, we are all in our early 60s and finally wise enough to pool our resources and keep an eye on each other. While youth may be wasted on the young, money paid to a meat processor is often wasted as well. Skinning and processing is actually a fun process and less demanding with a few friends, especially when you each get 3 or 4 per season.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. The deer butchering in our area is great. there are two who I can choose form in our area and do an exceptionable job. I pay about $90 tops and get it back within a week. I hunt N.Y. and we can't transport deer over the line because of CWD. We are thinking of butchering our own and starting to purchase the equipment to do the processing.
Where in Wisconsin do you live oldbeginner? If you're near Illinois I'll come and show you how to do it yourself. It's not hard to do. All you need are a couple of the right knives, a cutting board and some time. If you do it yourself you will always have YOUR meat, ALL of it, and you will KNOW what you're getting.
I usually take the boned out meat that I want ground to a particular local processer and have the ground product with beef fat added within a week. No problems yet after 6 years. There are other processors in the area that friends have not had such good luck with. I'm in Tallahassee, FL.
Thanks to everyone for the good suggestions. I appreciate the great ideas and it is nice to hear so many people process their own meat. No, Woods Walker I don’t live in WI - just heard about a processing plant there - in Medford - that came recommended so made the drive. Sounds like You Tube videos, books and basic internet information will suit me well for next fall and a meat grinder and a vacuum sealer will be on my Christmas List! Thanks to all! ~OB55
Better off spending the $ for a quality grinder. This is my recipe for what we use as a ground beef substitute. To 40lbs venison add 10-12 lb pork shoulder & 1 package legs old plantation seasoning.if you want breakfast type sausage add brown sugar sage & liquid smoke or for Italian add Italian seasoning & crushed red peppers. The 10lb to 40lb ratio is enough pork to sizzle when cooking & still be a fairly healthy ground beef substitute
I have always processed my own meat. You know exactly what you’re getting and package it to suit your needs. Personally I feel it’s much more rewarding on the dinner table too! Although it can get somewhat boring! This book I have found many good recipes, you can substitute most of the redmeat recipes for venison. Enjoy! Rob
I used to take mine because I knew the butcher and it was cheap 25-30 bucks, but then it started going up 10 bucks every year so I've processed my last 60-70 deer or so. Works out better anyway as I use every bit of meat and I'm 100 percent sure its all my meat when done. Also when I make sausage or jerky don't have to pay a ridiculous amount.
My LEM grinder has saved me hundreds, and I get beautiful meat! Back in 2009, I paid about $170 to have a small buck processed. I decided to do my own and bought a grinder for $175 shipped and on sale. I did my next three deer with it. It paid for itself three times over and is still paying for itself as I process beef and pork! The meat quality is superior to that I get from a processor. I, like George, would rather do the work and save money.
Been doing my own deer for years. It's notl difficult. I package most of it into roasts and chops. Later, when I'm ready to eat them, I can cut the roasts into steaks or keep them as roasts. All the trimmings I grind into hamburger. I don't add any other meat to the burger.
I take a great deal of care in keeping the meat cool and clean from the field to the freezer. Once it leaves your hands at a processor, you don't know how it's handled.
Too, you never know what you're getting back when you take your deer to a processor. Most processors in Wisconsin don't do deer individually. Any sausage or burger you have made is made in batches which may contain meat from many other deer.
I process my own when i'm lucky enough to get one. I like venison so don't grind a lot of it. I like the steaks, roasts, etc but also save the nicer small pieces for stir fry's and stews. Will also save parts of the legs that are too tedious to trim and boil them up for soups. Simmer slowly tell they fall apart and all that tough connective tissue just dissolves up for a nice soup stock. What I do grind i do with a hand grinder. I haven't used a vacuum sealer but my experience with them is that the packages are prone to cracking open in the freezer and you end up with freezer burn. I much prefer to wrap the meat in a layer of Saran or Glad wrap and then a layer of meat wrapping paper. Way cheaper than vacuum bags and if wrapped tightly the meat will easily last 2 years. I don't like leaving it that long but sometimes ya find an old pack in the freezer and it's still good!
Check out Allied Kenco sales, they cater to the home butcher with everything needed except the meat. We use their 2# sausage sleves for everything. We cook up beef/deer stew or chili and freeze in the sleves for easy meals after a days hunt.
I just processed my venison, 60 % Boston butt and 40% venison. I cut the meat into strips and leave them nearly frozen before grinding. When making links add a little water to mix to make it flow smoother and any small air bubbles I stick with a needle. Use a washing machine motor and a pulley to my old hand grinder and my stuffer is nearly 100 years old.
Our family usually process 5-8 deer a year. I am very fussy about trimming all the fat and connective tissue from the venison! you will usually yield about 30 lbs or more from an adult deer, more if its a large buck! For hamburger I mix in about 15 to 20 % beef fat! All the sausage we make usually 60 venison to 40 pork butt or shoulder. As far as spices go we use PS seasoning. they have a large selection ! and also carry processing supplies! you can find them on line. they usually have instructions with there spices! We have found we get better quality sausage and cheaper than buying and mixing spices locally! yourself! Good Luck and enjoy!!
All you'll ever hear on this forum and many others is that it's basically "your fault" for not learning to do it yourself. Some guys take so much pride in processing their own venison that they cannot wait to brag about it.
Personally, I've found a really nice compromise that works great for me. I quarter in the field (gutless method) and then bone the quarters out at home after I've had them on ice for a few days. This allows me to do it when I have time and the energy. Usually right after a successful hunt, I'm too tired to mess with boning out quarters, much less processing the meat.
Once I bone it out, I take the meat to my local butcher in town. He charges me just $0.50/lb. to grind and package the meat. Most of my venison is ground. I'll also have him make about 10 lbs. of sausage with 70/30 mix of venison and pork. That only costs me a few bucks more. Usually a whole deer (30-35# of raw meat) comes out to around $20-22.
I spend less each year on 4-5 deer than most folks do on one, and I do a minimum of work. My wife likes the fact the meat is nicely ground and packaged into 1 lb. packages and the sausage is fantastic.
To each their own, but this is what we do and I have no plans to change. I've done it every other way and IMO this compromise can't be beat.
I'll also add that for anyone who lives in town and doesn't own property outside of town, disposing of a deer hide, skeleton and guts is a major problem.
Quartering them using the gutless method in the field and boning out quarters at home leaves you with just four legs that are easy to dispose of.
Love processing my own deer and have saved thousands doing so, but I still bring in my trim to a trusted meat store, because quite honestly I love their sausage and couldn't make better. They're not immune to the horror stories of any other business...some are great, some aren't. Shop around if you don't like the last guy is the best advice I can give.
Had similar experiences in the past. My wife and I now process all our own game. It just became part of the hunt for us. We put on some good music, open a bottle of wine and start cutting. We're usually done in a 3-4 hours with cleanup and carcass disposal.
Proccessing your own is just part of it.Most of the time the weather is too warm for me to hang, so I just skin, and bone, throwing meat into a big cooler with plenty of frozen plastic jugs. this keeps the meat cool, and dry. If need be it will keep in cooler a few days, until you can cut and package it. Thing to do is have cooler with you ready to go. Even if you live in the city, you can debone the deer in the field, take it home in the cooler, and cut,wrap in your own kitchen.
Have zero bad processor stories. I've never used one and I killed my first deer in 1958.
It's actually pretty easy. They come with instructions. When you bone the hind leg ham area, simply follow the membrane lines. I like to start on the inside along the big line going all the way to the knee. Follow the membranes to separate pieces. You can sort of see which ends should be cut off and put into the burger meat.
For the remainder, make a small cut across the grain and freeze in one piece. Keeps better and the cut will tell you how to cut when you thaw.
I grind or stew the entire front leg so someone else can address that.
You'll make a few goofs but after a deer or two you'll get it.
The smaller the animal the more work they are to cut up.
There are those who say you have to cut the membrane areas off. Ignore them or ask them if they will do a blind taste test of burger with and without that done. Not sure why they do that and if they can find a butcher who does it to cattle, sheep, or pigs I'll change my way.
If that's truly the case about the packing and you have been wronged without any retribution, then why not list the name. Let them close a thread. Perhaps others have had the same experience with them and others should know.
For me, IMO, I think it's all part of the experience and responsibility of a hunter to process his/her own game. I never will have problems unless I create them myself. I never heard of a fisherman who liked to eat fish, but didn't do the processing work himself.
Of course, as with most things, there are rare exceptions and circumstances that may prevent one from being able.
I had my first deer I killed processed locally in 1976, ever since then I have done it myself. Thru the years I have used several different meat grinders and the best and current one is a 1/2 hp Cabelas grinder and it is super. When I go out of state I take a small freezer and generator in the back of the truck. I quarter any critter I get and place it in the freezer, running the generator thru a full tank of gas. When I get home I process it there.
we skin out our deer, process them ourselfs,, grind or steaks, what ever we each want last few years, we raise and kill 2 to 4 hogs each year, we try to time it to not bother deer season or turkey season- plant app 7 rows of Yukon gold taters, app 72 rows of field corn, for the pigs, and to feed deer, now we are rendering out our lard from pigs and cooking with it as long as it lasts, buddy bought a small hand grinder other day, now we grind out corn when we want to and make our own cornbread out of it usually average 7 totes of corn on cob- at first pulled by hand, now have a picker, buddy went to Illinois and bought, works fine, rigged up to throw ears in tote on trailer, most tators one year was 35 5 gallon buckets- and we are about to get to old to do all this stuff we have a great camp in south Arkansas been there my self 24 years, camp was built in 75 we own it now dr
Appreciate all of the information. I will definitely go with getting a grinder and vacuum sealer next year...just in case I get another deer! Keep the recipes coming. Now about that turkey I hope to shoot in a couple of weeks....? ~OB55
Some small time processors seem to come and go around here. We have two major ones that cut thousands of deer a year. The largest one cuts 5 or 6 deer at a time and you may or not get your deer back, often it is part of someone else's. It they get overloaded with deer they may stack them up like cord wood outside the cooler in 70 degree weather. They sell a lot of summer sausage on the side and I suspect a bunch of the meat comes in under the table from deer donated to the Hunters Feeding the Hungry program. The do a good enough job but charge by the deer size and you could have $100 or more in having one processed. Overall they are pretty shady.
I found another place last year that is spotlessly clean, always has cooler room and cuts one deer at a time. They charge $65 to skin and proceess any size deer and $45 for a deer quartered in a cooler. Needless to say they are my go to place for processing now.
Being an old guy living alone it takes me two years to eat a large deer so I let the $65 place do the work. I give the rest of my kills to people that I know will eat every scrap of what I give them.
I have seen such atrociously unsanitary conditions at the fly by night processors I wouldn't think of using one now although I did when they were the only game in town.
I have all the tools, grinder, stuffer, minute steak maker and commercial vacuum sealer, I have processed a bunch of deer in the past but no longer enjoy it.
Another thing, both of the big processors have a deadbeat list. Apparently a number of folk drop a deer off and never come back to pick it up after it is processed, probably for financial reasons. These places have people who like deer but don't hunt call them and get on the list to pick up the unclaimed deer for the processing fee. A win win situation for the processor and the venison lovers.
I have heard of a processor in south Al that had over 200 unclaimed deer a year.
Shot my first deer at age 17 in 1969. Nice buck and I dropped it with 1 shot in the neck.
Took it to a local butcher shop, highly recommended. Took it there in November and got meat in June. Very little meat and I was told it was really shot up.
First and last time I had someone else do it. Bought grinder and stuffer and have done my own for almost 50 years.
The worst thing about game processors is they have a completely different opinion of what is steak and what should have been a roast or ground up. When you cut your own you know exactly whats in the package marked steak and you know your getting your own meat back A good cutting board, couple sharp knives and a meat grinder and your in business.
I always do my own deer, but take my scraps to my butcher, she does a great job, making my burger, and is priced fair......
You will find more and more in Wis closing their doors to deer processing due to CWD issues....
One of the largest in central Wis did just that, no more deer, etc,,,, cost them they said about 300,000 but not worth it with all the domestic work they have,,,,,,,,,,
Great advice, I took my first two deer to the processer 40 years ago, I have processed over a hundred deer since then. Easy to do, and you can't beat the quality control!
We do our own meat as well. 8 deer and 2 bear. Easy to do once set up and you have two grandsons that are handy with a knife. Along with cooling the meat we freeze the grinding blades also. We then fill a margarine tub level with burger and drop it out on a cookie sheet.After the cookie sheet is filled W put the cookie sheet with the burger on it in the freezer for a couple of hours before we vacuum seal the meat. That process let's the meat keep it's shape when using the sealer.
I do my own, it's easy for you to educate yourself and if you don't have anything equipment wise then alliedkenco.com is your friend because they have everything meat processing related and their grinders are the best.
I never understood a hunter,,taking their kill to someone else to have it cared for..Where i grew up,it was the most important part of the hunt and something learned before we could make a kill.
If you are not willing to do the proccessing, you probably should not be hunting, its just one part of the game.Plus, im a tightwad, like to keep my sport cheap !
I have always processed my own. It is one of the many parts of deer hunting and a enjoyable one. Me and the Mrs. always work on it together and are fairly effecient at it.
Apparently there is a way to save the tenderloins, which are on the inside of the body cavity next to the spinal column just above the hams,without gutting the animal. But I don't know how to do that. So, I gut my deer. Further, I consume the liver and the heart. When I make ground meet, I don't flavor it. Because I don't know what I'm going to use it for when I thaw it out. So, I flavor it when I'm about to cook it.
