I paid $85.00 per deer last year for processing because of poor planning on my part. I got 2 yearlings and a 6 point buck for a total of $255.00. I like the little ones because they are more tender but at these prices I could buy a whole lot of something else.

So, what did you pay for deer processing last year?

I got steaks, chops, and deerburger with beef tallow mixed in. Nothing special.

i havent hunted in GA since i moved here but in MD and PA i used to pay $50 cut, wrapped and frozen. money well spent if you ask me.

real men cut up their own deer

do you even get the meat from the deer that you shot when you drop it off somewhere?

if not, watch out, some people fuck up their meat when they field dress the deer

The last guy I went to mixed all 3 deer into 1 box. I was really pissed! As I said before I like the little ones as they are so tender. The only way I could tell which was which was by the bone structure in the cuts of meat. Big deer, big bones, little deer, little bones.

[:D]

It makes a hell of a mess on the table, but I do it myself.

Forgive the ignorant, but what is "suet"?

Chris

in subjects like these, your getting ahead to not ask questions

Oh hell , you're talking about deer not hair ...






No, we always do our own , except for elk .

We have a butchering party after the hunt.

Fry up some tenderloins while we carve them up.


If we are having pepperettes made then we do send them away.

I think it is worth it to butcher my own deer.  

For some reason butchers seem to like those little breakfast steaks out of everything.  Personally I like 1 inch to 1 1/4 inch round steaks and flank steaks.  Making hamburger is a cinch with the scraps and a little pork fat or sausage. I make very lean sausage for my grandfather who has high cholesterol.  Ribs are good, just boil them twice as long as cow ribs.  I allways seem to get quite a bit more meat off the deer than the butcher.  I don't know how long it takes others but a morning usually ie 4 hours will get two-three deer butchered and packed in the ice box with two people working and an electric meat grinder or two.  

It might be psychological, but the meat seems to taste better to me the way I have been taught to prepare the meat from the time I harvest the game on.  

Anybody else age their meat?  I have heard pros and cons about aging meat.  All I know is my family has been doing it that way for years and nobody has ever been sick post consumption, and the meat is mild and very tender.  Many fancy restaurants dry age the beef slabs prior to cutting their steak cuts.  So I am not sure if there is much merit to bacterial problems with dry curing meat.  I think the key is to wash the meat down twice a day, and leaving the fat on.  

We try to age the meat for 1 wk in a hanging cooler.  This is supposed to make it taste better, and we also mix our meat at 60/40.  This way the meat is not nearly as dry.  Usually make some ground meat,  and other sausage.  The 'green' sausage is better (not smoked)  The best thing to do is debone the meat prior to bringing to the butcher, so you know what you have prior, and know what to expect when you get it back.  We have a local butcher who often has deer suppers, and elk suppers, and doesn't hunt...Imagine that my meat was light when I got it back.  

We process our own. 2 experienced people can cut up a large size deer in 15-20 minutes after the hide is off. Mixing the seasoning and then grinding for hamburger/sausage takes a little longer. Learn to do it, if for any other reason than to be self-sufficient.

You guys are missing out if you dont eat the heart.Bake with wild rice at about 325-350 for 40 to 45 minutes.baste wiyh olive oil and sherry or cooking wine constantly so it doesnt dry out.

Well, unless you hunt from a wheelchair like my friend Dave. I agree with the second comment though. Many people spill the contents of the urine sack when removing it, or spill bile or other junk on the meat without washing it quickly afterward. This meat will turn rancid.

Where in WI are you at agtm?

Last place I heard of charged $70 plus the value of the meat they stole from my friend.

Wish DFG would nail them on this.  If they can use DNA to nail poachers, they can do it to get thieves.