Hunting: Processing on your own or going to a butcher?

[Mitch]

I read through this old thread today. (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?13411-Deer-hunting-(harvesting-for-consumption)-on-the-East-Coast-gory-pics) A friend and I are going to start hunting this year. How many here butcher their own vs taking it to get processed?

The idea of doing it myself is appealing because I don’t have a truck. If I had a bed to put the deer in I’d be more inclined to put it there and take it to a butcher. But the transport at least sounds easier if I quarter it out and put it in a cooler. Most processors I’m seeing only take whole deer or boneless trim.

[ccmdfd]

The last few years for me have been no hitters. But when I have harvested I tend to do a bit of a combination

I take the big cuts like the back straps, inside tenderloins, roasts, Etc by myself. I will then turn in some of the hind quarter that's left as well as the front quarter as well as rib meat and have them turned into sausage, hamburger, Etc by a butcher shop.

[GJM]

I have done my own meat in Alaska and lower 48, but the finished product is better, and more importantly stays usable longer, with a high quality game processor. My elk and moose last two high quality years from a good processor, and then others tell me they continue to enjoy the meat when I gift what is left after two years. The biggest risk is a freezer problem due to failure of the freezer or power, and as a result I try to squirrel meat around different locations.

[MickAK]

https://www.amazon.com/Havalon-61182-Piranta-Folding-Knives/dp/B00AAJO9R6

I would get one of these if you don't already have one.

As far as butcher versus DIY, some people really enjoy being a part of the process from field to plate. If you have a climate-controlled space for hanging and the time commitment to get it done go for it. Having a couple of people to spread the cost of processing equipment around is a setup I've seen work well.

If you don't have any experience processing game, you might see if you can be a free pair of hands to someone before you make your decision. It's a fair amount of work and some people take to it better than others.

[cornstalker]

I do it myself. I have taken a few in to pro cutters over the years with mixed results. I prefer to just do it myself. Cut up my first deer 33 years ago. I did it the hard way until about a decade ago when I had the fortune of cutting with a retired butcher. He showed me how to do it much faster with the same quality end result.

We wrap the meat in plastic wrap, then freezer paper. It keeps two years easily that way.

I used to rent a grinder. Finally ponied up and bought one this year.

For knives, I used Victorinox and Russel. It's nice to have three or four boning knives, one large breaking knife, and sharpening steel. Another trick the butcher showed me was to wear a clean apron and to wipe your knife blade off on it frequently. When it feels like the knife is getting dull, a lot of times it is just fat plugging the blade.

[okie john]

First of all, welcome to the club. There is no better way to enjoy the outdoors in the fall. The woods are a cathedral and you get to walk around with a loaded gun in your hands.

I've done it both ways. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/548853/the-meateater-fish-and-game-cookbook-by-steven-rinella/ has quite a bit of insight into how to do the actual butchering. The main thing is to get the meat off of the animal. People all over the world cut up animals in different ways depending on their culture. It's all good in my eyes, except for the Asian cultures that cook poultry whole then destroy it with 10-12 parallel cleaver cuts that run perpendicular to the spine. Might as well hit it with a hammer...

The more cookbooks the better. If you look in bookstores in small towns, you'll find some that were published by the Volunteer Fire Department's Lady's Auxiliary and similar organizations. If nothing else, they can help you see what to avoid.


Okie John

[Duelist]

I prefer to do it myself, and have a vacuum sealer and a large freezer. I much prefer that to butcher paper.

It isn’t really hard. Keep the quarters on ice in a large cooler as I go, do one quarter at a time, and I don’t bother with grinding the small chunks. I just make stew meat out of it.

[ranger]

I am fortunate that a very good butcher shop near me will process deer meat. They are used to GA Whitetails and perked up when I brought in a WY Mule Deer.

[Matt O]

I process/butcher the deer myself, but I have taken it to butchers in the past. My primary motivation for originally starting to do it myself was A) the excessive cost to butcher the deer and B) the fact that I could control the entire process and what cuts I wanted since most butchers here just run the hams through a bandsaw a bunch of times and call that "steaks".

FYI, I have a truck now, but I stuffed deer into the back of a Honda Civic (wrapped in a tarp) for years before I upgraded to a truck, so where there's a will, there's a way.

[Spartan1980]

Been out of the game for awhile but when I get back to it I'll be doing my own from here on out. In my area all the processors combine all the meat for the day and then package and allocate according to weight. That's no bueno for me. Didn't used to be that way but...

From past experience I can tell you to get a good meat grinder. The cheapos will just piss you off. The Carnivore line from Cabelas will do. I want to "ice age" my own in a large ice chest next time.

[msstate56]

I do both. I do most of my game myself. I figured it out over a couple decades of cutting up my own deer. Now I’m doing my own elk and caribou. I usually kill one whitetail each year, keep the backstraps and tenderloins. Then I take the quarters to a game processor for jalapeño and cheddar sausage. I have my own electric grinder because my family mostly eats ground meat (burgers, tacos). Then I keep large roast pieces for crockpot roasts. That’s honestly my favorite way to eat my game. My wife has several great roast recipes.

I second the Victronox knives. They are cheap off Amazon, cut well, and sharpen easy. I do a double layer freezer paper wrap, only because I don’t have a vacuum sealer (I really should get one).

For your first deer or two- I’d recommend taking it to a processor. You should be able to find a processor that will take quarters in game bags (I’ve had good luck with the Caribou brand bags). Over time you can learn how to break them down yourself. For me the most enjoyable part is doing everything from the shot to the table. It’s important to remind ourselves and especially our children that meat doesn’t come wrapped in plastic from the meat isle at the grocery store.

[Mitch]

I process/butcher the deer myself, but I have taken it to butchers in the past. My primary motivation for originally starting to do it myself was A) the excessive cost to butcher the deer and B) the fact that I could control the entire process and what cuts I wanted since most butchers here just run the hams through a bandsaw a bunch of times and call that "steaks".

FYI, I have a truck now, but I stuffed deer into the back of a Honda Civic (wrapped in a tarp) for years before I upgraded to a truck, so where there's a will, there's a way.

How far were you driving and was keeping it cool a problem? I’ve thought about stuffing the chest cavity with ice bags, but I’m afraid even in a tarp it’ll make a big mess when it starts melting.

[DIESEL]

I have always done it all myself. My family seems to enjoy ground venison more than steaks these days so I pretty much only keep loins and backstraps for steaks, a couple big roasts for jerky and grind the rest with 10-15% beef fat or bacon. This was the first year I took an animal (I'm usually not a huge fan of plain bear meat) to a processer and it was awesome, we had her make two kinds of brauts, breakfast sausage, summer sausage and three flavors of pepperoni sticks. Well worth the money if you don't feel comfortable doing it. Around me you can save a lot of you skin and bone first.

[Matt O]

How far were you driving and was keeping it cool a problem? I’ve thought about stuffing the chest cavity with ice bags, but I’m afraid even in a tarp it’ll make a big mess when it starts melting.

About an hour or so in the car. If you've properly field dressed and it's not hot out, I don't even bother with ice and just drive it straight back home to skin/process. In hot weather, as long as your state doesn't require retaining evidence of sex or explicitly forbid this, you can also just do the gutless method in the field. If you're already going to the trouble of quartering the animal, there's no point in paying a butcher to process it when you've already done half the work.

My process is basically field dress, toss it in the back of the vehicle (wrapped if inside a trunk), take it back home where I hang, skin and quarter the animal. Backstraps, tenderloin, heart, etc., all get bagged up (or eaten) right away.

Quarters and miscellaneous parts go into 1-2 coolers on cookie racks which are sitting on top of frozen gallon jugs of water. This is better than bagged ice because they don't melt as easily and you don't have to deal with water directly on the meat, etc. The idea is to rapidly cool the meat down and allow rigor mortis to pass before you process each cut. If you have a garage and a spare fridge, that would probably be even more ideal, but I live in a townhouse which doesn't have that kind of space so I just use coolers.

I usually keep the meat in the coolers for anywhere between 2-4 days depending on what I've got going on. I keep thermometers inside and just check the temperature once a day to make sure it's somewhere between 32-40 degrees. When I'm ready, process everything as you see fit, wrap in saran wrap, then butcher's paper, label and into the freezer it goes. Butchering is a great way to learn about all of the different cuts of meat and there are plenty of great how-to videos on youtube.

[AKDoug]

I do my own. Over the years we have accumulated more stuff. We now have a Cabelas 3/4hp grinder, a sausage stuffer, a mixer, and a small commercial vacuum sealer. Basically all the stuff cost me what it did to process about two moose at a processor. Now we share it among my adult kids as well.

Most of our processors do not guarantee your meat back and I'm not down with that.

[littlejerry]

I'm in the both camp.

Life is complicated. I'm fortunate enough to have private land to hunt on about an hour from the house. This means I can jet down there on a Saturday morning and hunt till noon, and still be back in time for some chores around the house and dinner with the wife. When the schedule is packed I tend to use a processor.

Generally I'll try and have 1 or 2 deer processed per year which ends up being ground meat, sausage, and bone in steaks. I'll make sure I do at least 1 myself which ends up being primarily bone-in roasts.

I've borrowed a grinder and done that part myself before. For the time commitment of rather have someone else do it. Same for cutting 1/2" steaks on a band saw.

Another consideration is temp. It's been in the 70s here lately. Shot 2 bucks already and both went to the processor. I have no desire to butcher a deer in hot weather.

[Lester Polfus]

I process deer myself, but they are generally killed with in 200 yards of the house. It can be warm in early archery season, but we have a second fridge into which I can put deer quarters.

Elk go to a processor.

I transport dead animals in plastic kiddie pool in the back of my truck. That way you arent dripping blood behind you and dont have to hose out the bed. Inflatable kiddie pools might be a better choice for wagons and suvs. I have seen dead deer in the back of a Prius in a kiddie pool.

I second the recommendation of the Renella book. There are some lymph nodes in deer you want to make sure you pull out and not put in your grind as they taste narsty.

[cornstalker]

I do it myself. I have taken a few in to pro cutters over the years with mixed results. I prefer to just do it myself. Cut up my first deer 33 years ago. I did it the hard way until about a decade ago when I had the fortune of cutting with a retired butcher. He showed me how to do it much faster with the same quality end result.

We wrap the meat in plastic wrap, then freezer paper. It keeps two years easily that way.

I used to rent a grinder. Finally ponied up and bought one this year.

For knives, I used Victorinox and Russel. It's nice to have three or four boning knives, one large breaking knife, and sharpening steel. Another trick the butcher showed me was to wear a clean apron and to wipe your knife blade off on it frequently. When it feels like the knife is getting dull, a lot of times it is just fat plugging the blade.

It's weird to quote myself, but I wanted to clarify something on the knives. Dexter Russell knives, (I went and looked and mine are actually branded "Dexter"), not A.G. Russell knives.

The grinder I chose is also the Cabela's .75 HP Carnivore.

Rinella's Hunting, Butchering and Cooking Wild Game is also a book worth having.

[BJXDS]

I do not hunt much anymore. Years ago I enjoyed the time in the skinning shed, fresh tenderloin cooking on a wood stove in a cast iron skillet after a hunt enjoying a favorite adult beverage. Back then we could do a better job than any of the local processors and it was an enjoyable part of the hunt.

Then I found a local butcher, both he and his dad have been doing it for years. I brought him the deer, field dressed and with in a week I would pick up a custom cut deer double wrapped in styrofoam packages all for about 50 bucks. It just was not worth it for me to do it any more.

I still made some of my own sausages and jerky because I could get the exact recipe I wanted and the expense due to the time involved was considerably less.

In any case anything I now want to keep for an extended time gets vacuumed sealed, wild game and fish as well as the prime cuts of meat we get from the store.

What it boils down to for me, is what I want to spend my time doing.

[Mitch]

I process deer myself, but they are generally killed with in 200 yards of the house. It can be warm in early archery season, but we have a second fridge into which I can put deer quarters.

Elk go to a processor.

I transport dead animals in plastic kiddie pool in the back of my truck. That way you arent dripping blood behind you and dont have to hose out the bed. Inflatable kiddie pools might be a better choice for wagons and suvs. I have seen dead deer in the back of a Prius in a kiddie pool.

I second the recommendation of the Renella book. There are some lymph nodes in deer you want to make sure you pull out and not put in your grind as they taste narsty.

That pool idea is genius. Thank you.

[ST911]

It's good to know how to do it, but a quality processor does better work in less time for less money than I can.

I do have great memories of a bunch of deer hanging in the barn, and the fellowship underneath as we did the work.

[ACP230]

I started out taking deer to a butcher.
Then did my own cutting to save some money.
I used to borrow a book on butchering venison from the library
each fall. (Should have bought one myself.)

Can't recall the title but it showed very good ways to get a deer cut up
and in the freezer.

I haven't got a deer for quite a while. Getting slower and can't
stand the cold as well.

Yesterday, though, I put a ruffed grouse in the freezer.
We plan to have it at Thanksgiving basted in hard cider and
wrapped with bacon.

[UNM1136]

It's good to know how to do it, but a quality processor does better work in less time for less money than I can.

I do have great memories of a bunch of deer hanging in the barn, and the fellowship underneath as we did the work.

I have no doubt, but I frequently lack the spare coin, children in private school and all...

I do my own... After the first one or two you are usually set on gear. In cooking school we had a a demo of breaking down a side of beef. I also studied the Outdoor Edge butchering video, which includes deer and elk... Boning out a carcass simplifies butchering to a large extent. Roasts, steaks, burger and stew meat make themselves. You just have to be careful of letting anything go to waste. I have had no problems handling my meat [snicker], and because of careful handling I think I have avoided issues.

Hank Shaw's book is really, really good....

https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Moose-Techniques-Antelope-Antlered/dp/099694480X (https://www.amazon.com/Buck-buck-moose)

I also want to bone an animal as much as possible, as I don't have a 4x4 or a RAZR side by side to get in there, so quarters and/or boned meat is how I get game out.

While I can tell the difference between ground elk, deer, and beef, the über picky wife and kids do not notice the difference. A month or so ago I pulled out a pound or so of ground elk from the freezer. I could tell it from the previous week's venison burgers, but the wife and kids would have sworn beef...

pat

[ST911]

I have no doubt, but I frequently lack the spare coin, children in private school and all...

I hear you. I think of it like reloading ammo. I might be able to save some cash, but I lose the value and other possibilities of my time.

[Yung]

I want to hear horror stories of terrible processors that returned ground meat that didn't even come from the same animal taken.

[msstate56]

I want to hear horror stories of terrible processors that returned ground meat that didn't even come from the same animal taken.

I would only use a processor that guarantees you get your meat back. The one I use for sausage does.

[Duelist]

I want to hear horror stories of terrible processors that returned ground meat that didn't even come from the same animal taken.

I have used a processor once. They did a beautiful job, but it took more than a month because it was hunting season, and they charged enough to buy some butchering equipment of my own. I already had enough knives, so really it was the dehydrator for jerky, and the vacuum sealer for everything else. I might get a grinder someday.

I no longer live in that state, and don’t know of a processor I’d trust near where I live or hunt, so I just do it myself. I grew up cutting up rabbit, chickens, squirrels, pheasants, etc at home and helping quarter other people’s game animals. Deer are just bigger than the stuff we got at/round home, and Coues are such a small deer, I can load quarters, backstraps, loins and side meat into one large Alice with the head tied to the frame. One load. Elk or moose, I might consider paying somebody to cut for me. Would depend on available time.

[Mitch]

I hear you. I think of it like reloading ammo. I might be able to save some cash, but I lose the value and other possibilities of my time.

That’s the comparison I was thinking about too. I’m glad I know how to reload my own ammo, but it’s not how I like to spend my time now so I’ve just been buying factory ammo.

I think this is going to be the same, at least for now. Plus a butcher is going to be able to make much better sausage than I probably would.

Thanks everyone, all of the posts here were very helpful. You guys rock and this was a welcome distraction from the election.

[cornstalker]

That’s the comparison I was thinking about too. I’m glad I know how to reload my own ammo, but it’s not how I like to spend my time now so I’ve just been buying factory ammo.

I think this is going to be the same, at least for now. Plus a butcher is going to be able to make much better sausage than I probably would.

Thanks everyone, all of the posts here were very helpful. You guys rock and this was a welcome distraction from the election.

I think you should do it yourself at least once, just for the experience. Maybe best to find someone to guide you through it, but there is a special satisfaction in handling it all yourself from field to table.

Happy hunting! Sneak low and shoot straight.

[ST911]

More food for thought (hyuk)... Some of this depends on the game. It's one thing to do your own deer, a widely available animal that you can often get get several tags for and reliably restock annually. Same for birds. Other game that is less available, more expensive tags, draws/lotteries, years of waiting, or travel for is probably not the one to experiment on unless you're just going to donate.

[farscott]

The last couple of years I have used a processor, both for peace in the house and less time investment on my part. Before then, I would butcher them myself, having done so since I was a teen. While we have a grinder as we grind chicken breast for tacos and pasta dishes, it always seemed that when I would need to use it for grinding deer shoulders that my wife needed the kitchen for something else. I got the clue and now use a local processor who has a really good summer sausage recipe. The ground deer meat usually ends up in chili for the big extended family Christmas Eve gettogether with the summer sausage as an appetizer for the same. The backstraps usually go to the dogs or are wrapped in bacon and smoked. Much of the rest is given to friends and family.

Nice thing about butchering your own deer is that you can see that there is such a thing as too much rifle for Alabama deer. One of my wife's uncles uses a Ruger 77 in .300 Win Mag. The amount of ruined meat is impressive compared to my .243 Win or 9x23 Win.

[UNM1136]

More food for thought (hyuk)... Some of this depends on the game. It's one thing to do your own deer, a widely available animal that you can often get get several tags for and reliably restock annually. Same for birds. Other game that is less available, more expensive tags, draws/lotteries, years of waiting, or travel for is probably not the one to experiment on unless you're just going to donate.

Your argument makes sense. I wish I could restock annually, get more than one tag per species per year, or cull does.

Now that I am a few years from retiring I am buying preference points in CO (need to check if I can do the same in AZ and WY) and looking to save up about 5-10 years of preference points in some states where I can, and then put in for good hunts when I retire.

Locally I like deer and elk, (I put in for antlerless elk locally), but only seem to get drawn once every 3-4 years.

A former co-worker just retired and opened a taxedermy shop out of his garage. He and/or his kids get drawn annually, and because he homeschools he butchers the animals himself, and uses it for field trip material for the kids for biology, ecology, ethics, etc. Disecting frogs in high school was meh, butchering an elk and eating the heart, liver and kidneys as a celebratory camp feast would rule.

While I prefer to do my own, I am probably in the minority due to skill sets. Looking at my bookcase now I have at least three thick books devoted to sausage making, meat preserving and butchery of various critters. Two of them are intended for or scalable to commercial operations. Several DVD sets and a bunch of cookbooks.

I ain't afraid of no roast. (No need for the pitchforks, I'll show myself out.)

pat

[Duelist]

The last couple of years I have used a processor, both for peace in the house and less time investment on my part. Before then, I would butcher them myself, having done so since I was a teen. While we have a grinder as we grind chicken breast for tacos and pasta dishes, it always seemed that when I would need to use it for grinding deer shoulders that my wife needed the kitchen for something else. I got the clue and now use a local processor who has a really good summer sausage recipe. The ground deer meat usually ends up in chili for the big extended family Christmas Eve gettogether with the summer sausage as an appetizer for the same. The backstraps usually go to the dogs or are wrapped in bacon and smoked. Much of the rest is given to friends and family.

Nice thing about butchering your own deer is that you can see that there is such a thing as too much rifle for Alabama deer. One of my wife's uncles uses a Ruger 77 in .300 Win Mag. The amount of ruined meat is impressive compared to my .243 Win or 9x23 Win.

Backstraps ...... going to the ..... dogs.

Travesty, sir.

Make steak medallions of the backstraps, grill them medium rare with some cilantro and lime. Bacon wrap is allowed but not necessary. Nirvana.

I agree on the .243: pleasant to shoot, effective, doesn’t blow up a shoulder.

[littlejerry]

Backstraps ...... going to the ..... dogs.

Travesty, sir.

Make steak medallions of the backstraps, grill them medium rare with some cilantro and lime. Bacon wrap is allowed but not necessary. Nirvana.

I agree on the .243: pleasant to shoot, effective, doesn’t blow up a shoulder.

I cut them into 6" long pieces, dry brine, smoke till they hit 110F internally, then quickly finish on the grill until rare. Let rest, then slice thin.

Rare or medium rare backstrap is better than most high dollar steaks out there.

[farscott]

Backstraps ...... going to the ..... dogs.

Travesty, sir.

Make steak medallions of the backstraps, grill them medium rare with some cilantro and lime. Bacon wrap is allowed but not necessary. Nirvana.

I agree on the .243: pleasant to shoot, effective, doesn’t blow up a shoulder.

It is a bit of a travesty, but it keeps the peace in the house. My wife much prefers grilled ribeye to grilled venison.

[ST911]

The backstraps usually go to the dogs or are wrapped in bacon and smoked. Much of the rest is given to friends and family.


Backstraps ...... going to the ..... dogs. Travesty, sir.

Yes. How is @farscott (https://pistol-forum.com/member.php?u=2197) still a member here? Surely, this is a TOS violation of some sort.

[Duelist]

It is a bit of a travesty, but it keeps the peace in the house. My wife much prefers grilled ribeye to grilled venison.

My response to that kind of situation is: more for me!