Who processes thier own game?

I was just wondering who processes thier own big game or takes it to someone to do it... Trying to get some insight on how to build more business for the 2011/12 deer season. If you do your own what equipment do you use.. if you take it somewhere how much do they charge.

 

Since I've never been able to shoot anything I don't have this dilemma However I would bring it somewhere because I don't know how to do it myself. Maybe this year I'll actually get something though.

 

with deer we either just keep our stuff after we clean it, or take it to a local butcher shop. they just do a pound for pound swap so you just pay a certain amount and get your processed (usually cow fat added in since deer is so lean) meats, sausages whatever you ask for.

 

i also live near a lot of hispanics, and they're always tickled pink to get a free deer. so sometimes i'll just bring one to them.

 

I take mine somewhere. They charge between 65-85 depending on the size.

 

I do it all myself. To get meat off the bones I use a regular kitchen knife. Ill start with one quarter and get it all off. then use the fillet knife to get the silver skin off. then chop it with a normal hunting knife into steak sized portions. the tiny pieces that are too small for steak get put in a pile to be ground up. for the grinding i just semi-freeze the chunks then put it into a hand grinder and get after it. me and my roommate can do a complete deer in about 35 minutes.

for skinning, I just hang the deer head up and make a ring around the neck behind the jaw and a line down the front to the breast. then grab ahold of the sides and just pull down/hang from it. when you get a part you cant just pull I use a small 2.5 in blade and start it again. takes 5 minutes alone

 

I skin, gut, quarter, and de-bone all of my deer, and then take it to a meat market. They charge me alot less for having it all de-boned. My advise would be to not accept meat that was not properly taken care of after a kill. Would avoid any negative feedback about the business from people who just throw deer in the backs of their trucks, and then drive hours to the meat market in the sun, and complain when their meat tastes gamey

 

I have seen it all. Been processing deer for 6 yrs. now this is a side business. Had them come in gut shot not washed and 3 days old and expect me to make it perfect. I have been in the meat business for over 28 yrs. now and never understand why some people are like that.. BTW my basement is nothing but a processing shop. I have had elk and caribu come in that was never like what i get from some people in the area

 

i've done it everyway. some hunting ranches in texas will have a clean room with the equipment.

here at home, i use a butcher. i've taken hogs skinned, no head or hoof, gutted and been charged $65 to have all the various cuts done up and vacumn sealed.

i have also used a mobile farm butcher. nice to get a hog cleaned of hair professionally.

i like having reconizable cuts of meat. nice venison chops are better than my "random cuts of meat".

 

I do it myself. That way I know what I'm getting. All I use is a gambrel/pully, my drop point knife to skin, and a fillet knife to debone while hanging. Trim meat and the front shoulder get ground up for chili de bambi.

 

I had a few people ask me to add cheap bacon instead of beef fat to thier ground deer. I decided to try this and i will never go back to plain fat pork or beef. It is like a bacon burger and add cheese your all set. adds a little more to your chili.. you should try this!

 

a good talented butcher is worth their weight in gold.

i like venison in cuts. if i just deboned and made ground meats and sausage. i would DIY it. but just grinding up meat, and chopping "mystery" pieces is a waste of an animal. even a cow has good, less good and not good parts.

nothing more elegant than a nicely seared venison rack of chops. my friend had the bones frenched, and served it up. it was amazing.

 

When I debone it, I don't just grind everything up. The rear quarters make good roasts, or if you prefer, slice the cuts into boneless steaks. The backstraps come off easily and I cut them into thick medalians and butterfly them to make the best tasting most melt in your mouth venison you've ever had. I only grind trim meat and the front shoulders, I find they aren't worth doing much more than that (unless you're into making jerky, thats a whole different story).

 

...nom nom nom....

I don't hunt deer but I do all my turkey/duck/dove/fish. Deer isn't much different, it's just bigger. A buddy of mine does a ton of deer every year, and does his own feral hogs from his TX hunts. I help when I can - it's not hard, just time consuming.

 

I process all of my own. With deer I'll cut small steaks from the backstrap, tenderloins, and hams, then use a cuber to run them through twice in opposite directions. Front quarters neck and part of the ham I grind with beef fat for venison burger or sage sausage. Hogs I only make sausage out of and keep the ribs for barbecuing the day i clean em. But I take all of my beef to someone else to process due to the fact that its time consuming and i dont have rollers on the ceiling from my walk in cooler to my meat room.

 

I do my own. lockers around here will run ya around 80 to process. that is if you get everything ground. The price goes up from there depending on what you want done. At an average of 4 whitetail a year depending on how full the freezer is that gets to costing to much!

 

That's badass man. I wish I had a basement!!! I love the fact that this has gotten so many responses, glad to see peeps like myself around TW. Screw buying steaks from the store.

 

we do our own venison and occasionally steers and hogs. As for equipment we cut most everything into steaks/roasts and then my father-in-law has a Gander Mtn pro-grade grinder that we use for burger and sausage.

 

its Sausage Time!!! my brother and i got a good buy ( he gets at cost ) whole Boston butts so mid week we will be making 50 lbs. of homemade Italian sausage. Whoo Hoo cant wait. cost will run 1.00 lb. cant beat that we have hog casings left over from this past deer season and the spices also. the recipe is a family one passed down from the sicillian side and its good! i will post some pics of the process if any interested