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Outrageous processing fee!!

BSK said:
Another reason we do our own.

But then I'm lucky with family. When it's "butchering day," everyone shows up and we handle it is an assembly line. I do the skinning and removal of major sections (hams, shoulders, backstraps, etc.) and other family members specialized in disassembling these large pieces, removing fat and silver-skin, while other do the grinding, final cuts for steaks/roasts, and then another does packaging/labelling for the freezer.

We average an hour per deer. Three deer, three hours work start to finish and clean kitchen.
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You're lucky. That kind of atmosphere would make it a lot more enjoyable.
 
I enjoy the work enough that i process all my own, plus for a couple of good friends.
I can have a deer cleaned, cut, portioned & vacuum packed in around 3 hours now. I generally end up doing 15-20 in a season.
I'm lucky, having a cooled basement that I can just leave set up for hanging & butchering, plus several chest freezers (I bought them all used, cheap on Facebook)

I don't charge my buddies anything, but I do ask for vacuum rolls in exchange ($30 for 4 of the big, 80' rolls on Amazon)
 
Jcalder said:
You can't be ocd about hair and silver skin and take one to a processor. I promise you they aren't ocd about it.
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While it's probably true of most processors, and nobody is going to be as OCD about the product as I am, you can't possibly speak for all processors. I have exactly one processor I use and they do excellent work.
 
Spurhunter said:
While it's probably true of most processors, and nobody is going to be as OCD about the product as I am, you can't possibly speak for all processors. I have exactly one processor I use and they do excellent work.
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My point is no one will do it like yourself. If a processor does 1000 deer a season, they don't have time to be too meticulous. I'm not saying they won't do good work, but they won't take the pains you would.
 
I have processed hundreds over the years. My 10 year-old son can do it all the way to finished jerky, he's even learning how to can.

I can understand why people will pay for good processing. It's worth it. There are times I wish I had a good one close to me. If I wasn't feeding a large family I would gladly trade sone processing time for more hunting.
 
I spent several years in the 70's working at a country grocery store. At that time you were allowed to process cattle without having them USDA inspected. Starting in fall we would have a large walk in cooler filled and requiring a 2 week reservation (sometimes more) to bring a cow in. We had to process 3-4 per day to keep up….plus process our meat that we sold. Needless to say, we all got pretty good at it. No deer, but they are just a smaller version of a cow….plus, there were very, very few deer around. I say all of that to say, I do my own, but if there was a close processor, I certainly would use them for a least a portion. It takes time!
 
Skinned, quartered, removed thick fat and silver skin...Tenderloins went in the fridge and took these four pans of pure meat to a local processor and had summer sausage made...garlic, jalapeño and cheddar....all vacuum sealed...charged $3.75 per pound....very pleased with end product.
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DoubleRidge said:
Skinned, quartered, removed thick fat and silver skin...Tenderloins went in the fridge and took these four pans of pure meat to a local processor and had summer sausage made...garlic, jalapeño and cheddar....all vacuum sealed...charged $3.75 per pound....very pleased with end product.View attachment 204229
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You went to all that trouble only to have someone else make summer sausage? The hard part was already done!
 
Weegee said:
You went to all that trouble only to have someone else make summer sausage? The hard part was already done!
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I avoid a skining, quartering and deboning charge...saves money. And I dont have a grinder...plus I've never made summer sausage...but I do have cutting board's and knives and enjoy being part of the process.
But to answer your question I make the effort to provide clean meat so I wont have any chewy surpises or hair in my sausage...also not a fan of deer fat and silver skin.
Very pleased with the end product...I've done business with our processor many years and I know I'm getting my meat back...maybe someday I'll invest in a nice grinder....for now this works.
 
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Weegee said:
lol, I get it. Getcha a grinder, man. I've got a cheap one from bass pro, only use it about once a year. It'll pay for itself in no time.
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I need to...this stuff is fantastic....I did snack sticks last time and they were good...but this summer sausage along with some sharp cheddar cheese and saltine crackers makes a meal!... delicious!
 

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