Deer Cutters?

[Loyalist Dave]

hey folks, I know most of us probably butcher our own deer. I confess I don't always do that as I like to support the local butcher who also butchers or "cuts" deer. The local guy offers a basic deer processing service for $70.00. Now before folks get startled, what that does is convert your field dressed deer into steaks, roasts, chops, ribs, and burger. It's all wrapped in deli wrap; then in freezer paper, sealed and labeled. When you pick it up it's already frozen and ready for placing into your freezer. It's so well prepared, that I found a package of steaks at the bottom of my freezer from 2012, and they cooked up fine. IF you want, for that price he will give you all ground venison instead of roasts or chops or steaks, Or a combination, of say roasts and burger, or steaks and burger....for you avid fans of venison chili.

For a bit more money say around $100.00 you can get deer sausage and deer bologna as well. IF you want the head he will save it for you.

This guy in my opinion provides a very good product, AND has been a big service for the several wounded warriors and some of my elderly neighbors that hunt nearby... as they simply can't butcher up a deer on their own.

However, another deer-cutter over in the Northern part of my state, charged my friend $100 for a deer, and gave him about 20 lbs. of ground venison, four packages of "steak" which are really just strips of venison, a neck roast, a single shoulder roast (last time I checked a deer has two shoulders) and a pack of tenderloins. Only wrapped in freezer paper. The second guy is very big on making bologna and "snack sticks" for his customers who pay him $100 plus $25 a pound for the snack sticks. He is also the only deer-cutter in that county, so pretty much can charge what he wishes..., which I don't fault his prices pers se, as I'm all for Free Enterprise, but...,

I am wondering if this guy is taking advantage of those that want a "basic cut", as I don't think he gave back all the meat from the deer that was delivered to him. It was a medium sized doe taken with an arrow and a lung shot, so it wasn't that one of the shoulders was destroyed or something. So opinions? Am I just too suspicious?

:idunno:

LD

 

[smo]

That's why I like to process my own deer. I shot a young "Biscuit Doe" a few years ago ,took her to the butcher. About a week later I got a call that my deer was ready to be picked up. I went to the shop and was given 4 boxes of meat (80 lbs or so).
I explained to the Butcher that the deer I killed didn't weigh 80 lbs. total hide and all. It was like I had insulted him. :shocked2: He swore up and down that the meat he had boxed up was what I had brought in. When I tried to grill some of the steaks the meat was so gamey you could hardly stand to eat it.Most of it got turn into jerky after that. That is why I like doing my own...plus I'm cheap too. :haha:

 

[Black Hand]

When you have a monopoly, you can charge whatever you want and do a poor job, because people don't have any other choice. However, people can still vote with their wallet and find someone else.

I'd like to think that people get what they deserve, but every day proves to me this is not the case...

 

[Vaino]

Deer processing butcher shops take in all sorts of deer......some of which weren't properly taken care of starting w/ field dressing.

A trip to one of these processor's cutting rooms will reveal a "rotten smell" caused by the ammonia from urine, the cavity remnants from gut shot deer and improperly hung deer that have deteriorated meat. In most "processing shops", you don't get "your" meat back....especially if sausage is ordered. The above facts were personally observed early on w/ a visit to a few of these " deer processing shops" on behalf of friends who didn't want to do their own butchering.

Any wonder that the meat from these deer has a "gamey taste" that requires "camouflaging" w/ an overdose of seasonings or being made into chili hamburger or highly spiced sausage?

A few years ago a neighbor w/ good intentions brought over some of his venison and when preparing the meat for cooking noticed an "odd smell"....it was promptly discarded.

Due to proper field dressing, minimal "hanging time" and correct butchering for tenderness, have never eaten tough or "off tasting" venison.

Although many use commercial "deer processing", I would never think of using them.....Fred

 

[coloradoclyde]

My uncle was a professional butcher, and quite fussy. He had his own basement butcher shop for doing deer and other animals for family and friends outside of being a professional butcher.
The last day of deer season we would butcher similar to what you described as a basic service.

Everyone helped and you got to participate in butchering your own deer. People were welcome to learn at any station but each station was run by someone with experience. We might do 30 in a day, one at a time and they all got weighed.


There is a big variance in deer... What ends up on the floor as scrap can have a lot to do with the experience level of the butcher as well as the condition of the deer. Bones and tendons make up much off the mass of a smaller deer.

A bullet or arrow can ruin a lot of meat.....so can gutting, dragging, transporting, storing and skinning.

A pet peeve of my uncle's was people slitting the throat of a deer..."there's a lot of meat on the neck" my uncle would say. plus it make skinning more difficult


Even if you have never butchered a deer it is a good idea to observe the process start to finish and gain an understanding of what is involved...

So to answer you question; Should you be suspicious?
Well! I'm sure there are some nefarious and shotty butchers out there... like all professions.

But! I have seen what people take to the butcher shop and food pantry during deer season.....And all I can say is ......"Not in my stomach"..

 

[Katahdin]

Exactly, it all starts in the field dressing and care from field to table.I cut my own,with help from the Crew,with the occasional, no time to, and then I take it to a local butcher.Good thing about local,,they can not afford bad press.
My cousin was a butcher for many years and showed us how to cut up venison the correct way,some different when you watch someone who knows what they are doing and has the correct gear for the job.
Hoping I get the chance to practice this year,,not much to cutting Spam...

 

[BrownBear]

I am wondering if this guy is taking advantage of those that want a "basic cut", as I don't think he gave back all the meat from the deer that was delivered to him. It was a medium sized doe taken with an arrow and a lung shot, so it wasn't that one of the shoulders was destroyed or something. So opinions? Am I just too suspicious?

I've seen some real TRASHED deer go in the door of meat cutters in an array of states. Cleaning up the messes of careless hunters can result in pretty low recovery rates. When a guy is being paid to do it though, he's not going to take as much time as a conscientious individual cleaning up his own messes and working to rescue meat.

If your buddy made a mess gutting or dragging the deer out, or took his own sweet time getting it to the cutter in warm weather, I can believe it. Heck, if he was a long time getting too the deer after the shot, then a long time getting the deer out, I can easily see a blood shot shoulder, even if the shoulder wasn't hit. The cutter just isn't going to take time cleaning it up.

Okay, I'm done trying to see it from the cutter's standpoint. Just no way to tell what shape the deer was in, cuzz a lot of guys who've never cut a deer have no idea about the mess hiding under the hide.

If the deer was in fine shape when delivered to the cutter, he lost a lot of meat to someone else's bologna and snack sticks.

 

[Spikebuck]

LD: I have no doubt that there are deer processors out there that "skim" and then use it to "boost" the amount they claim others had who bring in their deer for sausage, etc.

A friend of mine went into one shop to pick up his meat from a rather large arrow-shot buck and they brought out one small box of meat for him. He complained and wouldn't leave until they gave him the rest of his deer. Finally, they begrudgingly brought out a bunch more meat. He never went back.

My Dad was at a butcher shop one day and witnessed one old "farmer-hunter" bring in his deer. It was in the back of his pickup along with about 3 inches of pig manure. :shocked2: That butcher refused to take it, but I bet some would.

I've used a couple of different butchers over the years, but predominantly one that had been darned good. You got your own meat back...even small batch sausage, etc. Then a fews years ago he changed to you getting your own fresh cuts back, but all the trimmings were gathered up and made into "stuff" in large aggregated batches, then distributed back by the input weight percentage. I started to notice bad tasting stuff from time to time. Last year with it being so warm during the gun season, it was especially bad. Clearly, all the people that don't know how to properly care for game between the field and the butcher were "sharing" their meat into my end product. I won't go back again. I really need to just start doing my own as soon as I retire and have more time.

 

[BrownBear]

I really need to just start doing my own as soon as I retire and have more time.

First time in the rodeo, it will take forever and you'll get some pretty strange looking cuts of meat here and there. :rotf:

But with very little practice you get it down to an art, turning out great cuts with very little time and effort.

My wife and I have been butchering our own for over 40 years, and I grew up on a ranch where we butchered our own stock plus game. From start to finish we can do a deer in about 2 hours with me cutting while my wife portions and packages.

I make our own bulk sausage, but if I want anything like snack sticks, summer sausage, bologna or franks, I hold aside trimmings and clean it up. Then I deliver 25# to our local processor and get back 30# after he adds pork fat. It's always perfect, just because I know what's going in and what I'm going to get back.

 

[hoochiepapa]

I butchered my own elk and deer for many years, and then I married a "city girl" who complained a lot so I started taking my carcasses to butchers. The same complaints, not getting all my meat back, or tasting bad. I'm very persnickety about gutting and skinning, and I would wash the quarters down in the driveway to get rid of the dirt, pine needles, hair etc. I've even been accused of bringing in slow elk(cows). But then through my uncle I found a guy that was butchering out of his garage in Westminster, and all has been well since.
He also accused me of bringing in slow elk, and couldn't believe how clean the quarters were.

 

[Black Hand]

From start to finish we can do a deer in about 2 hours with me cutting while my wife portions and packages.

That is a level of skill I have yet to achieve - I spend hours cutting and trimming (I figure it takes me at least 2 hours per quarter). I'd be ecstatic to get a deer cut and wrapped in 4 hours...

 

[BrownBear]

Might depend a little on the knives you use and how sharp they are. Some skill and experience involved, but I can make most of my cuts with a single pass of the right knife, rather than a whole bunch of sawing. Makes for nice straight cuts, too.

For example I cut steaks with what's now called a cimeter or breaking knife, though mine is an ancient version (we always called them steaking knives) with an extreme edge. One clean stroke, and you've cut a steak.

Add a couple of good boning knives (large and small) and you're about 90% there. The rest is understanding the carcass and knowing what you want to do with which part.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

In Iowa the average Deer will provide about 55 lbs of meat.

 

[Black Hand]

I have a number of suitable sharp knives and am very familiar with deer anatomy. I've just not learned how a professional butcher cuts venison. After looking at several websites, I have a far better idea how to break down the primals. It appears I am trimming/breaking down muscle groups far more than necessary....

On the other hand - the search led to several recipes for Venison Osso Buco, a dish of which I'm very fond but never cooked (my Dad cooks the Veal variety). Trimming the shanks for burger takes too much time.

 

[BrownBear]

On the other hand - the search led to several recipes for Venison Osso Buco, a dish of which I'm very fond but never cooked (my Dad cooks the Veal variety). Trimming the shanks for burger takes too much time.

Now you're talking! Haven't boned a shank in years for just that reason.

A big part of the butchering job is knowing what cuts work for your own family. We don't grind burger for example, instead putting it all into stew packs. If we want burger later, we just thaw and grind one of those packs. It sure keeps better without grinding all that air into it.

We really like roasts, so I make one big rolled roast from the boned neck. Rump roasts and shoulder roasts are quick and easy, leaving mostly back strap (we leave it whole in 8"-10" sections, then cook those rather than butterflies), steaks (I steak the back and front of the ham separately, the smaller fronts packed as "breakfast steaks") and ribs. On smaller deer I leave the hams whole, bone-in for roasts on the barbie. Wow, good enough to make you start hunting small deer.

I cut the ribs to half length, then nest and package those, two packs to a side.

All that's left really are the bones, which we toss into a big stock pot with water and simmer until the meat falls off. Can the liquid and meat shreds and you have instant soup starter.

Tote it up, and there just aren't a lot of cuts in my butchering job. That's a big part of the secret in "expedited" butchering. We get a fair bit of extra meat from deer too, because we really like most organ meats- heart, liver, kidney and tongue.

 

[Black Hand]

I leave the tenderloin whole and save it for when my parents visit. Cooks better as a single piece - salt, pepper, olive oil and a hot grill to medium-rare.

I prefer steaks over roasts and stew-meat over burger. I do make some burger from shank, trimmings and neck meat that is too small to cut into stew. That said, I use less than 5lbs of ground meat per year, and mostly for small meatballs that go in soup. The neck may be cured into Coppa this year.

I will need to try the soup-starter idea but may end up turning it into L&C-style portable soup. I will be making the Osso Buco this year.

 

[BrownBear]

The neck may be cured into Coppa this year.

Wow! Keep us posted on that. :applause:

I should have specified that anything too small or ragged for the stew packs goes into the stock pot.

 

[rushlake1]

LD.... your buddy is getting scammed..time to move on..
my time to process wt deer...
skin and de-bone 1.5 hours= clean bones and ribs
i do not quarter..just easier for me to cut hanging meat.
2-4 hrs. trim to pure red meat.
All vacuum sealed.
40 yrs of processing my own.
2 fish filet knifes short and long,knife
sharpener,cutting board big,
I have mentored other hunters in cutting...once you learn the the puzzle is all good.
always more fun with help and beverage.

just did a traditional bow kill on Monday.

 

[wattlebuster]

Being that I used to be a butcher/meat cutter for about 6 yrs back in the 80s its simply against my nature to pay another to cut up something that I can do. Lots of people dont have the place/know how/time to do so an I understand why they would pay for such services

 

[Ames]

If I go to all the trouble to harvest my own, I'm going to butcher my own. It's just part of the fall experience with me.
Hang it for 3-4 days. Cut it to quarters and into a game fridge for 3 more days. Then cut and vacuum seal. No nasty flavors you have to grind and hide in sausage.