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Meat Yield

Weegee

Weegee

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Apr 15, 2020
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Location
Davidson County
What kind of meat yield would you expect to get on a 1.5 year old doe? I try to do my own processing but sometimes timing and weather just don't cooperate. I shot a doe last month and took it to a new processor that I've never used before. Got my meat back and decided to weigh it out of curiosity. 20 pounds. Seems very light to me. I double lunged her with a rifle and gutted her cleanly, so meat loss should have been minimal.
 
Weegee said:
What kind of meat yield would you expect to get on a 1.5 year old doe? I try to do my own processing but sometimes timing and weather just don't cooperate. I shot a doe last month and took it to a new processor that I've never used before. Got my meat back and decided to weigh it out of curiosity. 20 pounds. Seems very light to me. I double lunged her with a rifle and gutted her cleanly, so meat loss should have been minimal.
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Been a long time since I killed a young doe, but best as I recall probably around 35-40 lbs.
 
Obviously It would start with how big the doe was. Year & 1/2 deer isn't really telling enough to go by.
20 pounds doesn't sound like a lot but that's about all your gonna get from a 90-100 pound deer. What did you have done with the meat? Sausage? Sliced into steak or something else?
With that said, I've always thought the processors slip a pack or 2 on everybody
 
Oh, and i ended up with just under 40lbs of finished meat from the last deer I processed. That was around 30lbs of meat plus 10lbs of Boston butt.

But that was only 1 shoulder (the other too destroyed to save anything), both backstraps, both tenderloins, neck meat, and 1 ham (other given to a friend).

So would have been around 45 lbs of deboned and trimmed meat from a deer that was around 165 live wt.
 
When processors are busy, often times they rush thru the process, in order to keep animals moving.

I heard a story from a local guy who complained to his processor about how much meat had been left on the carcasses. The owner straight up told him that, "when it's busy, like opening weekends, he hasn't got time to trim it all off the bones."

The customer was not happy and said he'd never go back to this guy because of it. I imagine that's commonplace when the cooler is overflowing and the pressure in on to get 'em done, and move on.
 
ronnycl said:
1/3 of live weight. average doe yields 30 lbs raw meat off the bone
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That's a pretty good standard metric to begin with. And if you're picky about trimming like myself then the ratio drops to 20%-25%. Basically a 100lb doe gives me 20lb-25lb of meat.

I'd expect even less than that from a processor who doesn't care nor have the time to carefully cut. I use a fillet knife to trim so I can keep as much meat as possible. A processor isn't doing that. So 20lbs from a yearling doe doesn't sound off.
 
If tendon, ligaments, and fat are removed as they should that isn't unrealistic at all for around a 90 pound live weight doe. 20 lbs of guts, 20 lbs hide/head/legs, 20lbs bones. Leaves 30 pounds of muscle and then by the time you trim away the inedible there you go.
 
Most processors, especially during the busy season are gonna cut your shoulders, hams, backstraps, and T-loins. The rest will get tossed. That means flanks, rib meat, & neck all get tossed. You would keep that if you did it but for them it's simply time for money. Your price is the same, however much they give you back.
 
I'd be more prone to judge a processor by other parameters first.

1) Is it good quality grind? well ground and mixed, not overly bloody and no hair. 2) Turn around time and they can ensure that I'm getting my deer and my deer only. 3) Cost. 4) The amount you get back also plays into cost though.

I've always been disappointed by something with every processor I've tried. I tried 3 different ones and they weren't awful but I just wasn't fully content with it. It's a grisly task and I understand they need to be profitable on their end.

I've had much less complaints about it when I started doing everything myself.
 

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