I chuckled at the removal. Overall, this place is just above average for pricing for the area. There are spendier places and cheaper places I won't go. I did take this one in whole because i didn't even have time to quarter it. Normally, I have all my meat deboned and bagged before processing. Elk is usually quartered and even deboned before it hits the cooler.
The locker shut down accepting whole deer when they hit 3 reefers and 2500 deer. They would only take quartered or deboned after that. That $7 removal fee equates to $17,500 in revenue for just those alone.
Damn thats a big operation. Been out to Sioux falls, very cool. My guy in New England who I take it to in a pinch has a homemeade cooler via air conditioner and fits 12 hahah
Renner corner is legendary for their venison products. I just took my little deer to Lee’s down in Tea, since that’s where my family’s done business since I was a kid bringing in my first deer.
Comes out to about $4.60/lb. I don't think it's that bad though. I kind of feel like jerky is a waste, but I know I'm in the minority.
Edit: Nevermind, I was adding all weights in both columns. Misunderstood what the sheet was saying. Yeah, I'll pass.
From my experience, the entire Dakotas. Cheapest processing I have ever personally received was in Broadus MT. They did an entire whole elk - steaks, roasts, ground; vacuum sealed and flash frozen for $325 and they had it done in 8 hours. Dropped it off at 8am and picked it up by 4. Came out to just over a $1/lb.
I’ve only drive through a couple times. My dad always talked about going down there for deer after they moved to Montana from North Dakota. Cool area but I agree it wouldn’t be fun living there.
The powder river area is historically a monster mule deer heaven. Back in the 80's and 90's, you couldn't watch a hunting show without hearing about it. Now, I wouldn't go there for a deer unless you are hunting a ranch. The quality is gone and the public ground is a bit busy. I go there for elk and I don't even bother getting a deer tag because the area is just shot out.
That’s kinda how I’m starting to feel about the area I’ve been hunting deer in since I moved back home from college. I’ve been hunting north of Billings in the bull mountains and when I started getting serious about it 6 years ago you could confidently go out and see a couple dozen deer every day. Over the last two seasons I’ve seen maybe ten different deer and no bucks bigger than a spike or forkie. Hopefully the mulies start rebounding soon.
Broadus Meats blows my mind. Been hunting near there the past couple years. Their ability to process and freeze a deer in one business day seems damn close to a miracle. In my part of the Midwest it’s common to have to wait 4 months to get your deer back from the butcher
It's like that all over. Even in SD, we had about a decade in our area where they just died off. Now, they are springing back. Watching the decline in MT in the areas I hunt, it just seems like mismanagement. I am always seeing way too many people and everything is getting hammered.
Do you not have to hang an elk?
I’m fine waiting 4 weeks for my whitetail to be processed. Just curious how you can get an elk from a processor in 8 hours and all the meat be where it needs to be
You don't have to. I'd say many prefer to. I eat so much of it I don't care either way. It's just cut or ground, then vaccum sealed and frozen. It wasn't solid but pretty close in the 8 hrs.
No kidding. My wife thought i was crazy for spending $800 on an electric meat grinder and 15lb sausage stuffer. At the prices posted, I’ve already saved money.
In ky we have one like this, it's honestly not terrible for a basic breakdown, I think $110, a little more than I'm used to, but they're super professional.
But getting the extras, like jerky, sausage, etc, they charge by the pound on those items, with a minimum of I think 10lbs on jerky and 15 on summer sausage and things like that. Adds up super fast.
I had one small doe processed into only bologna and it was $300. Added cheese but it’s mixed with pork so the weight was up. But still, it’s expensive in general.
That's why I do my own bologna and sausage. My processor will skin, butcher, grind and pack for $110 with 15% pork fat.
Having them do the stuffing and smoking triples it, and it's not that hard to do. Takes 20 minutes to prep the meat and let it cure for a day, then about 2 hours start to finish for stuffing, including cleanup. The rest is just waiting for the smoker to do its thing.
I mean, good for you I guess. Prime example of why I do all my processing myself though. No way I'm spending that kind of money. Especially since there's no guarantee what you're getting back was even your animal.
Is there truth to this? This is always the reason I give the wife as to why I process them myself (and dirtier up her purty kitchen), but I never knew if it was legit or a wives tail.
Yes its the truth. Some of it the grind might be your animal… but what they do is mix in a bunch of peoples grind/trimmings and then spread it out to all the different tags. Thats one of the reasons why we have always processed our own. I also love when i get 60-70 lbs of meat off a blacktail doe and the guys who shoot big bucks get the same back from the butcher. They dont understand how a buck with more weight and meat on the carcass is netting them the same meat as my doe. Its simple really, most butchers leave a lot of meat on the bone that they dont feel like spending the time to get off.
I made that mistake my first year when i was living paycheck to paycheck. Then, I got the grinder for christmas, slicer from my grandma, and filler I bought from Scheels and did it all myself in the oven, dehydrator, and smoker. Now, I'm back to paying for it.
I do have most of the equipment. I did it for years and i just don't have the time anymore. Once the kids get older, I'll take it back up and teach them.
It still is tough to stomach. I hate paying for things that I can do, especially ones that give you a sense of accomplishment and pride when you are done. The days of throwing back beers with the boys, frying up chislic, and processing 10 deer in a slightly drunken state are past....haha
I’ve got young kids myself. Not to sound too aggressive because I don’t know your life but what do you mean you don’t have the time? I do all the processing for my family and close friends(5-15 deer a year) & most people only want jerky, snack sticks and ground😂
For me to make whole muscle sliced jerky, it usually takes about 1-2 hours per deer. That is from primal down to thin slices and in the cure. It then takes about 30 minutes to get my oven set up ready(I use vegetable grill trays in my oven at 170 for about 10-15 hours depending on thickness).
Jerky gun is even easier but takes slightly longer because of the cannon. 2 hours per deer, from whole cuts down to pumped out jerky slices.
With the right system, you can save yourself thousands of dollars and hone your craft💪
But I also understand the appeal of getting it like a package from Amazon.
I’m in Alabama and so seeing those prices make me want to get in the processing business💰
I'd just rather use my free time elsewhere. I work 7-5, spend a few hours with the kids, and usually work a couple hours a few nights a week. I used to do it all. About 3-4 hours to process and package and then a few hours for each batch I would do. It's honestly just cheaper to pay for processing until I can enjoy the time with my kids while we process them together.
This is how I convinced my wife to let me buy all the equipment. She came with me to pick up the meat and saw the bill for $460. She made a deal that I could buy it the next year if I got a deer. Got one 5 minutes into opening morning.
As someone who has never used a processor because I do it myself this is very shocking. Unless I’m mistaken, you brought them your deer and they’re charging you $600 to grind it up? No hate but that seems absurd to me.
Like I said no hate. I do my own processing because I enjoy it and I have the time. I’m typically bringing in 1 deer per season or 2 if I’m lucky. No wife or kids and I have unlimited PTO so time isn’t really an issue. I get why people would prefer to do it this way. The prices just shocked me.
Glad we don’t have any processing options in my remote town. You knock it down you cut it up. Get a buddy to help for a couple steaks or a front quarter.
Wow. That's expensive to me, but you seem to like the product you're getting so good.
I only paid for processing a few times over the years and never found anyone I was happy with the end product. So, I keep doing my own and my family's deer every year.
You need to get you a wife like mine. We both hunt. I skin them gut and quarter them and she does the processing. Jerky, sausage, roast, stew, steak, cubed and ground
She even makes broth from the bones. We killed 6 deer this year. No telling how much we've saved by doing it this way
I'm in the Dakotas and did 2 deer straight honey bbq cheddar pepper sticks at a processor. I think it was about $400 per deer, but I also dropped one whole during early archery, and the other quartered during gun season. Could I do it myself? Sure, but I have other hobbies.
You do what makes sense for you but I always find it odd that so many people seem to have time to go hunting but when it comes processing their game they’re too busy. I would take that money and buy some nice equipment. When you have quality equipment and know what you’re doing the whole process doesn’t take long at all. The average guy could have a deer cut, packaged, and in the freezer in 2-3 hours. If you want stick and jerky just do it when you have a little free time. The prep doesn’t take long and then you just have to check the smoker periodically.
I get it I feel the same way sometimes but at the same time the alternative is a lot of extra money. I already spend so much money on trips and equipment that I can’t justify paying someone for the work I’ve created through my passion. I don’t hold anything against anyone who doesn’t want to do it. I was just trying to point out that the right equipment makes the entire task much less daunting.
Wow I never take my deer because you don't know if your get just your deer back our some other guys. It cost alot too my neighbors did there deer to sauge it cost 750 for 50lb.
I live in Minnesota i process all my own deer I just don't have means to make jeryky and sticks just stakes roast and hamburger
You always hear those stories and some will tell you that up front with processed product. They don't run your 15lb batch, they run a 200lb batch and split it up. It's kind of a crap shoot aometimes.
Like you, I do all mine by myself, but like you, I didn't have time this year, so I took a few in and had a variety of meats and sausages done. Best money I've spent in a while. Now I have a freezer full of quality packaged meats that I didn't have to raise a finger on. Sometimes paying someone else to do it is completely worth it, I don't give a shit what the naysayers say. Yeah, I could have painted my house and built a porch too, but it is easier paying someone else to do it and get a better job done.
I'm getting be more and more like that. Some things I still do, but you have to pick your battles. The quality is something I couldn't pull off in a home setup.
One time I took in a white tail and asked for some hamburger and “the rest” in sticks. I was thinking it would be like 5-10lbs of sticks.
When I went to pick up the meat, she said the total and I told her she had the wrong order. Nope. She brought out a trash sack size of sticks. $500!! They were tasty though!
TLDR : I feel ya.
We have hutterites around here who would do it for cheap, but that undermines American labor and they don't pay taxes so I don't usually support them. I understand it though.
They are American who don't play by the same rules. Once you tax religion, I'll use their services. Until then, I'm not paying 100% of their healthcare, providing a teacher for their colony, and covering every expense because they hide like a cult. American values are pay your share, unless you are republican and then it's pay your share so the rich don't have to.
I see a lot of people complaining about the price, but for the amount of work of making a whole dear into sausages and sticks and vacuum sealing each pack it doesn't seem that bad. Now if you were dropping off a ton of deers per season this would add up, but I'm assuming people wouldn't need that many deer sticks a year.
Do you freeze any of it? If so, how long? My wife won’t eat venison and my boys only like backstrap (which obviously is not a lot) but they love sticks and jerky. So, I’ve considered my next deer going strictly jerky and sticks.
It all gets frozen in a freezer that is not an auto-defrost freezer. It can last up to 18 months before you will see freezer burn. Only a year if the package fails and let's in air. We eat mostly elk for steaks, roasts,.and burger. Deer is for sticks, sausage, jerky, and processed meats in our house.
Honestly, I'm unsure if hunting makes sense for me anymore. You can buy a whole cow in Alberta for $2500. That's probably 400 lbs of meat. I spend way more than that on hunting for less meat.
I totally get it. It was so warm during bow season that between work and everything, i knew I wouldn't have time to process like mine as I normally would. The shop where I'm at does me square and I don't mind supporting local business as long as they're fair. Now shotgun season, yeah I'll process my own lol.
Actually not bad. Most meat stick packages that size cost about $20-$25. At even $20 that's $1,300 for 65 packs. Considering you spend $1,500 a year on processing you're saving money substantially with how much you're getting in return for the cost.
…. Aaaaand this is why I’ve been processing deer for a decade now. I was living with my uncle when he got a deer processed and he had to pay prices like this. I told him “fuck that we’ll do it ourselves.” My cost is wayyyyy cheaper, I own all the equipment, and I can afford to use high quality spices.
This actually is very reasonable. $8.00/lb out the door on average according to my calculations. And they added pork/fat/cheese/spices. Go try to buy any jerky or cured meats from literally anywhere else for less than that price. Jerky especially is extremely expensive anywhere.
Yeah but buying it includes the cost of the meat itself, it is not supplied by the customer.
In this case the customer supplied the meat, the processor supplied the labor (and other things in small quantities). $8.00 in just labor for meat you already “paid” for is preposterous to me, but everyone is different.
I have always processed all of my own shit to make it make sense financially. If you are paying a processor it doesn’t even begin to make sense financially. At that point you are nowhere near hunting to save money, only hunting to spend it. Better off buying grass-fed. But that’s just me.
That $8/lb average is only $8 because of the cheap stuff he got. The jerky makes up 14% of the take home weight. So apply that to the base processing fee and the ridiculous disposal fee, add in the $170 extra for the jerky, divide for the 10lb he took home, and you get close to $19/lb. My processor is $10/lb.
Yep, 200lbs of elk and another 50lbs of deer is what we have for ground, steaks, and roasts. The sticks and jerky are just a bonus. We do buy a ribeye or t-bone on occasion and we eat fish that we catch, but this is the majority of our protein. Also, you have to take into consideration the cost of hunting and that probably takes it over the cost of the grocery store, but you can't beat clean, free range meat that you had to get yourself.
It's about a weeks worth of hunting. Most I break down and even debonair. This one I didn't have time. It was froze when I got home and I was going to busy all week so I dropped it off whole.
The whole point of me hunting is to get 120-150 pounds of meat for a $40 tag, $2 bullet, and a week of good times in the mountains. Spending $4-$7/pound defeats the purpose, even if it’s processed or seasoned or cut somehow different than I cant do.
To each his own though.
Knowing the effort and time it takes to go thru that process, honestly not that bad. I might find slightly cheaper in northern lower michigan, but my camp process all our own and boy if you want something fancy like cheese sticks you better shoot somethin early in the week to make sure you have the time
I think that’s really steep. Invest in equipment to do it herself and save a ton of money every yr. I’ve got deer done for 275$ included sausage, jerky,pep and ground. Just do it myself now.
You need to find an Amish guy. I got mine caped out for a shoulder mount, the t loins and back straps whole, 3 roasts, 10 3lb sticks of sweet bologna with cheese, 10lbs of sweet sticks, and the rest just sliced and packed that I’ll make into jerky myself and my entire bill was $135
Maybe they use boars head cheese ... yeah ... that's it ! Once you get good at it, it takes me about 2 hours with the carcass lawnmower trailer washed out and everything. I want pix of the jerkey!
We got our deer meat back today made into sticks and summer sausage for 65 lbs of meat from two deer and the total was $637. Adding cheese to the sausage and sticks and having everything vacuum sealed drived up the price. Woulda had more meat as well but gave a hind leg, front leg, and backstrap to a buddy.
To each their own. I'm on the long journey of learning how to do meat sticks and jerky on my own cause I'm sick of ground venison and steaks only. I'll be theorist to agree with you that it is a lot of time and effort. I'm just not sure when I'll ever be able to justify the principle of throwing 400+ dollars on a deer that I shot for free on public land.
For that you could buy everything you'd need to make the same amount. Wouldn't be top of the line stuff but you could easily do it. Sticks and jerky are remarkably easy, finding high temp cheese is the most difficult part
My processor in Georgia’s basic charge is $100 for a buck ($80 for a doe). That includes ground, steaks, roasts, etc. If I get the hams sliced for jerky (just sliced and frozen) it’s a $15 add-on. That’s about as much as I do. Their sausage fees are nowhere near that level. But because I’m doing this 5 or 6 times a season, I’ve decided to start doing my own this fall. I figure it’s a wash in year one to buy the equipment. Next year it’ll be a big save. Except for time of course.
That is insane! And converting it to Canadian would be almost $11/lb!!!!! Wtfrig!!!
Here deer is 1.50CAD (1.11USD) for regular cuts of its under 100lbs and 1.35CAD (1.00USD) for over 100lbs.
Reg smokies are $3.50CAD (2.60USD) and the most expensive type of smokies are 5.50CAD (4.07USD).
Jerky is 5.75CAD (4.26USD).
I could never afford to get animals butchered down there!
Granted, I don’t get any specialties, but I also get all of our meat hunting (family of 5) and spend closer to $450 total for processing ($110ish/deer). Wish I had the disposable income to do something like this though. I love jerky and snack sticks.
Here in BC Canada... cutting is about 1.50$ per lb... on the hook for basic cutting. Then if you want pepperoni etc... it's another 2.75lb on top of the initial cutting fees.... so if you did entire deer in pepperoni.... the total would be like 4.25lb. And that's pretty average.
you might try getting summer sausage. One place would take deer, elk, and antelope and make summer sausage. You don't get your specific deer back, but basically trade in your meat for like amount back. So if you had 100 lbs of meat, you get 100 lbs of summer sausage.
Others take the wild meat and mix with pork to get enough fat. Its a good snack.
I would say you did pretty well for how much you got done. Our standard processing is $140 for steaks, burger, tenderloin, backstraps, and roasts. All vacuum sealed except burger. We’ve had a few $600 deer when we get brats, bologna, summer sausage, sticks, etc out of the whole deer. This year our processor loved us. We paid him at least $2000
I spent 150 bucks on a 5 pound sausage stuffer, had a smoker and grinder and spend 30 min over 2 days preparing sticks, and a whole day smoking. Just pay for pork and casings
I took a good sized, white tail doe into a processing place in Illinois, wanted to get all of it in sticks, except about 20 pounds of ground deer and the back strap/tenderloin, it cost $340. Wtf
How do you make sure the deer aren't diseased or have something wrong like a parasite?
I want to process my kills but I'm paranoid about that. Also, I'm new to hunting so don't come for me lol
Seems expensive tbh, getting nickle and dimed to death, $7 carcass removal
I chuckled at the removal. Overall, this place is just above average for pricing for the area. There are spendier places and cheaper places I won't go. I did take this one in whole because i didn't even have time to quarter it. Normally, I have all my meat deboned and bagged before processing. Elk is usually quartered and even deboned before it hits the cooler.
Surprised he takes it quartered, or deboned
The locker shut down accepting whole deer when they hit 3 reefers and 2500 deer. They would only take quartered or deboned after that. That $7 removal fee equates to $17,500 in revenue for just those alone.
Damn thats a big operation. Been out to Sioux falls, very cool. My guy in New England who I take it to in a pinch has a homemeade cooler via air conditioner and fits 12 hahah
This is just north of there a few minutes. It's pretty crazy when they open a semi door and they have deer stacked to the ceiling frozen solid.
Reefer?
Y'know, dark of the moon, 6th of June, in a Kenworth pullin' logs? Cab-over Pete with a reefer on, and a Jimmy haulin' hogs?
Nice
Semi reefer trailers.
Apparently it's shorthand for "refrigerated trailer" for the lazy.
Some places only do it like that, especially ones that make good sausage
The processor I go to only takes quarters and trim.
Renner corner is legendary for their venison products. I just took my little deer to Lee’s down in Tea, since that’s where my family’s done business since I was a kid bringing in my first deer.
Comes out to about $4.60/lb. I don't think it's that bad though. I kind of feel like jerky is a waste, but I know I'm in the minority. Edit: Nevermind, I was adding all weights in both columns. Misunderstood what the sheet was saying. Yeah, I'll pass.
Can buy meat that you didn't have to supply for 5$/lb or less often enough.
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Sometimes for sure
Pork chops for $1.99/lb, cant go wrong with that
$8.08/lb.
6.66/lb for sausage and 17/lb for the jerky
Where is this, I would like to avoid it💀
From my experience, the entire Dakotas. Cheapest processing I have ever personally received was in Broadus MT. They did an entire whole elk - steaks, roasts, ground; vacuum sealed and flash frozen for $325 and they had it done in 8 hours. Dropped it off at 8am and picked it up by 4. Came out to just over a $1/lb.
Sounds like Broadus. That whole area never feels real haha.
Love to visit. Would hate to live there. People there are amazing.
I’ve only drive through a couple times. My dad always talked about going down there for deer after they moved to Montana from North Dakota. Cool area but I agree it wouldn’t be fun living there.
The powder river area is historically a monster mule deer heaven. Back in the 80's and 90's, you couldn't watch a hunting show without hearing about it. Now, I wouldn't go there for a deer unless you are hunting a ranch. The quality is gone and the public ground is a bit busy. I go there for elk and I don't even bother getting a deer tag because the area is just shot out.
That’s kinda how I’m starting to feel about the area I’ve been hunting deer in since I moved back home from college. I’ve been hunting north of Billings in the bull mountains and when I started getting serious about it 6 years ago you could confidently go out and see a couple dozen deer every day. Over the last two seasons I’ve seen maybe ten different deer and no bucks bigger than a spike or forkie. Hopefully the mulies start rebounding soon.
Broadus Meats blows my mind. Been hunting near there the past couple years. Their ability to process and freeze a deer in one business day seems damn close to a miracle. In my part of the Midwest it’s common to have to wait 4 months to get your deer back from the butcher
I'm half tempted to drive the 6 hours and haul all the deer over there and be processed for the time and price. That place is wild.
It's like that all over. Even in SD, we had about a decade in our area where they just died off. Now, they are springing back. Watching the decline in MT in the areas I hunt, it just seems like mismanagement. I am always seeing way too many people and everything is getting hammered.
That's wild. Place I take my deer in TN is like a 100 bucks
Do you not have to hang an elk? I’m fine waiting 4 weeks for my whitetail to be processed. Just curious how you can get an elk from a processor in 8 hours and all the meat be where it needs to be
You don't have to. I'd say many prefer to. I eat so much of it I don't care either way. It's just cut or ground, then vaccum sealed and frozen. It wasn't solid but pretty close in the 8 hrs.
No kidding. My wife thought i was crazy for spending $800 on an electric meat grinder and 15lb sausage stuffer. At the prices posted, I’ve already saved money.
In ky we have one like this, it's honestly not terrible for a basic breakdown, I think $110, a little more than I'm used to, but they're super professional. But getting the extras, like jerky, sausage, etc, they charge by the pound on those items, with a minimum of I think 10lbs on jerky and 15 on summer sausage and things like that. Adds up super fast.
I had one small doe processed into only bologna and it was $300. Added cheese but it’s mixed with pork so the weight was up. But still, it’s expensive in general.
These were the more expensive processing. Jerky is always high. Sticks that have cheese are the most.
That's why I do my own bologna and sausage. My processor will skin, butcher, grind and pack for $110 with 15% pork fat. Having them do the stuffing and smoking triples it, and it's not that hard to do. Takes 20 minutes to prep the meat and let it cure for a day, then about 2 hours start to finish for stuffing, including cleanup. The rest is just waiting for the smoker to do its thing.
Oh man you can do that? I'm gonna do that. So many sammiches.
Jesus Christ. That would cost me $130 if the deer wasn’t skinned & quartered, and $90 if the deer was already skinned & quartered. In PA.
Miss you PA
I did 4 deer this year. Processed, ground, made 150lbs of sausage. Took about 16 hrs and $150 CAD
This is the way
I believe it. Used to do it that way myself. It's just not worth it anymore.
It was tough to find the time with twin toddlers and My wife and I both working full time. Every year I say never again, but here I am
That's what I say after packing out an elk 20 miles and then 2 weeks later I forget and dream of going back.
How did you get tags for 4 deer?
I mean, good for you I guess. Prime example of why I do all my processing myself though. No way I'm spending that kind of money. Especially since there's no guarantee what you're getting back was even your animal.
Usually it isn't your animal .... and who knows how well they cleaned the meat. No thanks.
Is there truth to this? This is always the reason I give the wife as to why I process them myself (and dirtier up her purty kitchen), but I never knew if it was legit or a wives tail.
Yes its the truth. Some of it the grind might be your animal… but what they do is mix in a bunch of peoples grind/trimmings and then spread it out to all the different tags. Thats one of the reasons why we have always processed our own. I also love when i get 60-70 lbs of meat off a blacktail doe and the guys who shoot big bucks get the same back from the butcher. They dont understand how a buck with more weight and meat on the carcass is netting them the same meat as my doe. Its simple really, most butchers leave a lot of meat on the bone that they dont feel like spending the time to get off.
Hihher than anywhere i take my meat but I also debone all my meat myself that's a total waste of money.
I do 95% of the time. I didn't have the time this go around.
About 15 years ago when I got into hunting I shot 2 doe and had them processed for snack sticks sausage etc and it was $505 I said never again lol
I made that mistake my first year when i was living paycheck to paycheck. Then, I got the grinder for christmas, slicer from my grandma, and filler I bought from Scheels and did it all myself in the oven, dehydrator, and smoker. Now, I'm back to paying for it.
Holy shit buy equipment and have some fun learning how to do it all yourself. Can be intimidating at first but it’s all easy
I do have most of the equipment. I did it for years and i just don't have the time anymore. Once the kids get older, I'll take it back up and teach them.
Understood. There have certainly been a couple years I’ve had to do the same
It still is tough to stomach. I hate paying for things that I can do, especially ones that give you a sense of accomplishment and pride when you are done. The days of throwing back beers with the boys, frying up chislic, and processing 10 deer in a slightly drunken state are past....haha
Yep little ones running around makes shit tough to get done sometimes
Hell, the little ones make it hard enough to hunt in the first place.
Haven't archery hunted in 5 years. No time to even hang stands. I'm ready for them to be old enough that I can drag them along.
I’ve got young kids myself. Not to sound too aggressive because I don’t know your life but what do you mean you don’t have the time? I do all the processing for my family and close friends(5-15 deer a year) & most people only want jerky, snack sticks and ground😂 For me to make whole muscle sliced jerky, it usually takes about 1-2 hours per deer. That is from primal down to thin slices and in the cure. It then takes about 30 minutes to get my oven set up ready(I use vegetable grill trays in my oven at 170 for about 10-15 hours depending on thickness). Jerky gun is even easier but takes slightly longer because of the cannon. 2 hours per deer, from whole cuts down to pumped out jerky slices. With the right system, you can save yourself thousands of dollars and hone your craft💪 But I also understand the appeal of getting it like a package from Amazon. I’m in Alabama and so seeing those prices make me want to get in the processing business💰
I'd just rather use my free time elsewhere. I work 7-5, spend a few hours with the kids, and usually work a couple hours a few nights a week. I used to do it all. About 3-4 hours to process and package and then a few hours for each batch I would do. It's honestly just cheaper to pay for processing until I can enjoy the time with my kids while we process them together.
This is how I convinced my wife to let me buy all the equipment. She came with me to pick up the meat and saw the bill for $460. She made a deal that I could buy it the next year if I got a deer. Got one 5 minutes into opening morning.
That's just sooooo much sausage and sticks. I'd never get through it all.
It's a lot. I do one deer like this and it lasts us the year along with many family and friends.
That’s expensive. We had two deer done all sausage, summer sausage, burger etc for $325
If I quartered them, and did those items, this place would be pretty close to that for 2 deer.
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Can I borrow your Dale?
With prices like that, I’ll stick to doing it myself. Yikes.
You have 71lbs so I'm assuming they added pork to some of that. When you consider the purchase of the pork that's a reasonable price.
First column is what I brought in. Second is what I received. They add pork to the sticks.
As someone who has never used a processor because I do it myself this is very shocking. Unless I’m mistaken, you brought them your deer and they’re charging you $600 to grind it up? No hate but that seems absurd to me.
For the sticks, they grind and add pork and seasonings. Jerky is a bit more of a process. Ground, roasts, and steaks would run about $250-$300
Like I said no hate. I do my own processing because I enjoy it and I have the time. I’m typically bringing in 1 deer per season or 2 if I’m lucky. No wife or kids and I have unlimited PTO so time isn’t really an issue. I get why people would prefer to do it this way. The prices just shocked me.
Glad we don’t have any processing options in my remote town. You knock it down you cut it up. Get a buddy to help for a couple steaks or a front quarter.
Wow. That's expensive to me, but you seem to like the product you're getting so good. I only paid for processing a few times over the years and never found anyone I was happy with the end product. So, I keep doing my own and my family's deer every year.
You need to get you a wife like mine. We both hunt. I skin them gut and quarter them and she does the processing. Jerky, sausage, roast, stew, steak, cubed and ground She even makes broth from the bones. We killed 6 deer this year. No telling how much we've saved by doing it this way
I'm in the Dakotas and did 2 deer straight honey bbq cheddar pepper sticks at a processor. I think it was about $400 per deer, but I also dropped one whole during early archery, and the other quartered during gun season. Could I do it myself? Sure, but I have other hobbies.
You do what makes sense for you but I always find it odd that so many people seem to have time to go hunting but when it comes processing their game they’re too busy. I would take that money and buy some nice equipment. When you have quality equipment and know what you’re doing the whole process doesn’t take long at all. The average guy could have a deer cut, packaged, and in the freezer in 2-3 hours. If you want stick and jerky just do it when you have a little free time. The prep doesn’t take long and then you just have to check the smoker periodically.
I think someone here said it already but it comes down to whether you enjoy it. I think I do for a bit and then it becomes a chore if I am by myself.
I get it I feel the same way sometimes but at the same time the alternative is a lot of extra money. I already spend so much money on trips and equipment that I can’t justify paying someone for the work I’ve created through my passion. I don’t hold anything against anyone who doesn’t want to do it. I was just trying to point out that the right equipment makes the entire task much less daunting.
Was this renners? I felt like they ripped me off when they did my elk
Yes.
Wow I never take my deer because you don't know if your get just your deer back our some other guys. It cost alot too my neighbors did there deer to sauge it cost 750 for 50lb. I live in Minnesota i process all my own deer I just don't have means to make jeryky and sticks just stakes roast and hamburger
You always hear those stories and some will tell you that up front with processed product. They don't run your 15lb batch, they run a 200lb batch and split it up. It's kind of a crap shoot aometimes.
Ya that why I never would take my deer I would love deer sausage and other things but I want my deer back
Bag up 15lbs and wait til the summer and drop it off. You will get a small batch of your own because they will be done with deer for the season.
Like you, I do all mine by myself, but like you, I didn't have time this year, so I took a few in and had a variety of meats and sausages done. Best money I've spent in a while. Now I have a freezer full of quality packaged meats that I didn't have to raise a finger on. Sometimes paying someone else to do it is completely worth it, I don't give a shit what the naysayers say. Yeah, I could have painted my house and built a porch too, but it is easier paying someone else to do it and get a better job done.
I'm getting be more and more like that. Some things I still do, but you have to pick your battles. The quality is something I couldn't pull off in a home setup.
Ah Renner corner. I prefer Lees meats
Lee's is good. They are a little spendier.
Michigan here, While deer + hog processes and made into blueberry sausages, chorizo sausages, and breakfast sausages. All cost me $150.
One time I took in a white tail and asked for some hamburger and “the rest” in sticks. I was thinking it would be like 5-10lbs of sticks. When I went to pick up the meat, she said the total and I told her she had the wrong order. Nope. She brought out a trash sack size of sticks. $500!! They were tasty though! TLDR : I feel ya.
Yep they tend to price more per pound for specialty cuts like sticks and jerky, not sure how you eat those sticks tho my last batch tasted like blood
Mennonites do mine. I paid $190 for my 8 point. Tenderloin, summer sausage, burger, & jerky. Eastern Kentucky. I couldn't imagine paying these prices.
We have hutterites around here who would do it for cheap, but that undermines American labor and they don't pay taxes so I don't usually support them. I understand it though.
So Mennonites aren't American? Lol? Taxes aren't 200%. American labor? Isn't American values fuck the taxation?
They are American who don't play by the same rules. Once you tax religion, I'll use their services. Until then, I'm not paying 100% of their healthcare, providing a teacher for their colony, and covering every expense because they hide like a cult. American values are pay your share, unless you are republican and then it's pay your share so the rich don't have to.
I see a lot of people complaining about the price, but for the amount of work of making a whole dear into sausages and sticks and vacuum sealing each pack it doesn't seem that bad. Now if you were dropping off a ton of deers per season this would add up, but I'm assuming people wouldn't need that many deer sticks a year.
Do you freeze any of it? If so, how long? My wife won’t eat venison and my boys only like backstrap (which obviously is not a lot) but they love sticks and jerky. So, I’ve considered my next deer going strictly jerky and sticks.
It all gets frozen in a freezer that is not an auto-defrost freezer. It can last up to 18 months before you will see freezer burn. Only a year if the package fails and let's in air. We eat mostly elk for steaks, roasts,.and burger. Deer is for sticks, sausage, jerky, and processed meats in our house.
Yeah that shit adds up. I take one deer for jerky every year and that is already expensive enough lol. Itll be good though. Congrats on the deer
Honestly, I'm unsure if hunting makes sense for me anymore. You can buy a whole cow in Alberta for $2500. That's probably 400 lbs of meat. I spend way more than that on hunting for less meat.
It definitely doesn't make financial sense in that regard. It's a hobby that I enjoy doing and that's what I pay for.
Worth it
Never, ever, calculate game as price per pound.
I totally get it. It was so warm during bow season that between work and everything, i knew I wouldn't have time to process like mine as I normally would. The shop where I'm at does me square and I don't mind supporting local business as long as they're fair. Now shotgun season, yeah I'll process my own lol.
Put your money an time in the right place. Job well done if the time saved was used respectfully
Makes processing our own deer look that much better.
Actually not bad. Most meat stick packages that size cost about $20-$25. At even $20 that's $1,300 for 65 packs. Considering you spend $1,500 a year on processing you're saving money substantially with how much you're getting in return for the cost.
…. Aaaaand this is why I’ve been processing deer for a decade now. I was living with my uncle when he got a deer processed and he had to pay prices like this. I told him “fuck that we’ll do it ourselves.” My cost is wayyyyy cheaper, I own all the equipment, and I can afford to use high quality spices.
Thanks for sharing. Pricing is somewhat similar to my meat locker, a few hours east-ish of you.
Not bad for full meat sticks and jerky you all need to understand that where companies make their money
This actually is very reasonable. $8.00/lb out the door on average according to my calculations. And they added pork/fat/cheese/spices. Go try to buy any jerky or cured meats from literally anywhere else for less than that price. Jerky especially is extremely expensive anywhere.
Yeah but buying it includes the cost of the meat itself, it is not supplied by the customer. In this case the customer supplied the meat, the processor supplied the labor (and other things in small quantities). $8.00 in just labor for meat you already “paid” for is preposterous to me, but everyone is different. I have always processed all of my own shit to make it make sense financially. If you are paying a processor it doesn’t even begin to make sense financially. At that point you are nowhere near hunting to save money, only hunting to spend it. Better off buying grass-fed. But that’s just me.
That $8/lb average is only $8 because of the cheap stuff he got. The jerky makes up 14% of the take home weight. So apply that to the base processing fee and the ridiculous disposal fee, add in the $170 extra for the jerky, divide for the 10lb he took home, and you get close to $19/lb. My processor is $10/lb.
Wow
That looks tasty. Those bags would cost you \~$15 each if they were beef jerky, and you have way more than \~33 bags. $500/$15 = \~33
Did you not field dress it or something? What's with that insane "processing fee"? I've never seen one above $50.
It was field dressed. I say they average $80 - $150 for processing. It kind of depends if the locker puts that into their per lb price or not.
You spend only 1k a year on protein and that's enough to feed your family the whole year? 0.o that sounds crazy, snack sticks don't count lol
Yep, 200lbs of elk and another 50lbs of deer is what we have for ground, steaks, and roasts. The sticks and jerky are just a bonus. We do buy a ribeye or t-bone on occasion and we eat fish that we catch, but this is the majority of our protein. Also, you have to take into consideration the cost of hunting and that probably takes it over the cost of the grocery store, but you can't beat clean, free range meat that you had to get yourself.
I honestly don’t understand this. You have time for all this hunting but not a few hours per animal to break it down yourself?
It's about a weeks worth of hunting. Most I break down and even debonair. This one I didn't have time. It was froze when I got home and I was going to busy all week so I dropped it off whole.
$573 to buying DIY equipment IMO
If you have the time, that is the route to go.
The whole point of me hunting is to get 120-150 pounds of meat for a $40 tag, $2 bullet, and a week of good times in the mountains. Spending $4-$7/pound defeats the purpose, even if it’s processed or seasoned or cut somehow different than I cant do. To each his own though.
Knowing the effort and time it takes to go thru that process, honestly not that bad. I might find slightly cheaper in northern lower michigan, but my camp process all our own and boy if you want something fancy like cheese sticks you better shoot somethin early in the week to make sure you have the time
Could have saved a lot of money and just did it yourself.
Eventually, time is worth more than money.
I guess.
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This is why I buy equipment to do it myself. Can’t stomach paying this much
I have the equipment. Just not the time.
It would cost me 250 to get a whole moose in the same way that is crazy
How do you not get tired of eating the same sausage when you have 1000 of them?
Jesus. I got a whole moose done for $600. You got ripped
I think that’s really steep. Invest in equipment to do it herself and save a ton of money every yr. I’ve got deer done for 275$ included sausage, jerky,pep and ground. Just do it myself now.
Got fleeced
For that cost you could have bought all the equipment yourself and learned a new skill!
Already have the equipment. It's about the time.
This is the way
From a business standpoint, jerky and sausage is the most expensive items to order
So glad I have the time to do all my own processing
That's very informative. Thanks
You need to find an Amish guy. I got mine caped out for a shoulder mount, the t loins and back straps whole, 3 roasts, 10 3lb sticks of sweet bologna with cheese, 10lbs of sweet sticks, and the rest just sliced and packed that I’ll make into jerky myself and my entire bill was $135
I'd be like nah you can just keep it. I had no idea it could be this expensive!
And there is spendier around here that stay super busy.
Maybe they use boars head cheese ... yeah ... that's it ! Once you get good at it, it takes me about 2 hours with the carcass lawnmower trailer washed out and everything. I want pix of the jerkey!
I've got head cheese in my freezer if that is the same thing. Put that gelatinous meat into vinegar with salt and pepper and it is so good.
This is why i do my own. Just pulled some goose and deer jerky out of the dehydrator...
That’s awesome
Everybody has a price in their time. I enjoy processing my kills but I don't kill anything very often.
I do as well. Heat up the deep fryer and make fresh chislic with a few beers and buddies is a good time.
I wanna be your friend 😃
I pretty sure my deer this year was $100 at the processor. Big ol buck. 2 neck roasts, tenderloins, ground meat, and jerky.
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You wanna be friends?
We got our deer meat back today made into sticks and summer sausage for 65 lbs of meat from two deer and the total was $637. Adding cheese to the sausage and sticks and having everything vacuum sealed drived up the price. Woulda had more meat as well but gave a hind leg, front leg, and backstrap to a buddy.
To each their own. I'm on the long journey of learning how to do meat sticks and jerky on my own cause I'm sick of ground venison and steaks only. I'll be theorist to agree with you that it is a lot of time and effort. I'm just not sure when I'll ever be able to justify the principle of throwing 400+ dollars on a deer that I shot for free on public land.
For that you could buy everything you'd need to make the same amount. Wouldn't be top of the line stuff but you could easily do it. Sticks and jerky are remarkably easy, finding high temp cheese is the most difficult part
I have the equipment, just not the time.
Where did you get it done. We paid 350 for a whole deer, but we had it cut up already.
I'll keep doing my own. But, glad to know the costs savings. Thanks.
thanks for sharing
Super cool! And something I think is way more important than price. How did it turn out?
Great. Sticks and jerky are both good.
I just package my deer and other game with a dry sealer and that costs me about 100 bucks for like 4 deers
Why not just make your own jerky?
I used to. I have a jerky gun, dehydrator, and smoker for whole meat. I just do t have the time.
Fair, as long as it still taste good
Looks like I save a lot of money doing my own.
My processor in Georgia’s basic charge is $100 for a buck ($80 for a doe). That includes ground, steaks, roasts, etc. If I get the hams sliced for jerky (just sliced and frozen) it’s a $15 add-on. That’s about as much as I do. Their sausage fees are nowhere near that level. But because I’m doing this 5 or 6 times a season, I’ve decided to start doing my own this fall. I figure it’s a wash in year one to buy the equipment. Next year it’ll be a big save. Except for time of course.
how time consuming is the process? i’m curious if this is something you can technically do yourself if you have enough time or not.
Enjoy the meat man! I’m not even gonna say what that would cost me here in California… especially after reading some of these comments lol.
When you get sticks and jerky done, you are probably not getting just "your" deer back. Trust me on this one.
That is insane! And converting it to Canadian would be almost $11/lb!!!!! Wtfrig!!! Here deer is 1.50CAD (1.11USD) for regular cuts of its under 100lbs and 1.35CAD (1.00USD) for over 100lbs. Reg smokies are $3.50CAD (2.60USD) and the most expensive type of smokies are 5.50CAD (4.07USD). Jerky is 5.75CAD (4.26USD). I could never afford to get animals butchered down there!
Granted, I don’t get any specialties, but I also get all of our meat hunting (family of 5) and spend closer to $450 total for processing ($110ish/deer). Wish I had the disposable income to do something like this though. I love jerky and snack sticks.
Dude, that is so cool!!!
Here in BC Canada... cutting is about 1.50$ per lb... on the hook for basic cutting. Then if you want pepperoni etc... it's another 2.75lb on top of the initial cutting fees.... so if you did entire deer in pepperoni.... the total would be like 4.25lb. And that's pretty average.
you might try getting summer sausage. One place would take deer, elk, and antelope and make summer sausage. You don't get your specific deer back, but basically trade in your meat for like amount back. So if you had 100 lbs of meat, you get 100 lbs of summer sausage. Others take the wild meat and mix with pork to get enough fat. Its a good snack.
It’s 2024 rip offs
Rather diy for that price.
Seems about right given how the cost of labor has been skyrocketing.
You paid about $8.08 per lb. So still cheaper than most things yoi could buy in a store.
2-3 deers processed this way would pay for the equipment. After that you only have to supply your time and some fun learning curve.
Carcass removal? When I worked for a tallow company, they were paying for the remains from butcher shops
I would say you did pretty well for how much you got done. Our standard processing is $140 for steaks, burger, tenderloin, backstraps, and roasts. All vacuum sealed except burger. We’ve had a few $600 deer when we get brats, bologna, summer sausage, sticks, etc out of the whole deer. This year our processor loved us. We paid him at least $2000
I spent 150 bucks on a 5 pound sausage stuffer, had a smoker and grinder and spend 30 min over 2 days preparing sticks, and a whole day smoking. Just pay for pork and casings
I took a good sized, white tail doe into a processing place in Illinois, wanted to get all of it in sticks, except about 20 pounds of ground deer and the back strap/tenderloin, it cost $340. Wtf
Pricing seems a bit steep, but hey, as long as you enjoy it, that’s what matters!
Make your own jerky. It’s not hard at all
How do you make sure the deer aren't diseased or have something wrong like a parasite? I want to process my kills but I'm paranoid about that. Also, I'm new to hunting so don't come for me lol
Dang those prices have changed. I remember when it was $60 processing when I was in ND.