That's a great price. I wouldn't bother doing myself for 45 bucks. LOL. I usually pay $75 for the same service you have mentioned. if it's cold enough, I do it myself. The cost of vaccum bags on an average deer runs me about $20, labor free, plus 12 pk.

 

Not sure I would hunt if I had to pay $75 to get my deer processed, not sure there is $100 worth of meat there ($24 tag + $75 proc. fee).

Meat

 

I guess if you were looking at it solely from a price standpoint then deer hunting is not real affordable. After all you left a lot of other costs as well. (weapon, clothing, stands, gas to/from, etc.)

I think around our place a basic processing fee in somewhere in the $50-60 range although I have not used that service for several years. I do my own and if I was simply doing the basic processing I think I would have a hard time justifying my own service over paying the $50-60. When I figure in my time and hassle it would be tempting. However, doing it myself adds confidence to how it is processed. I just have to think that for $50 they could not be paying too much attention to detail. (fat/tendon trimming, damaged meat trimming, etc.)

 

No matter what way you look at it, it's still much cheaper than beef and healthier for you to boot. I do not buy much beef because I use so much venison. The exception is when I run out of steak/chops in the late summer and have to buy beef from Butcher. Cost for me runs less than $1.50/lb if I use someone, around $ .70 /lb if I do it myself. You can even buy ground beef for that amount, let alone better cuts.

 

I eat it because it is much better tasting than beef and healthier to boot. Only red meat that is high in protein with very little saturated fat.

The math side is the way the wife looks at it, she adds up price of tag and the processing fee and tells me that it really isn't worth it. I just tell her neither are those 42 pairs of shoes you have hanging in the closet!! And we can't even eat those!

Lg_mouth

 

I just paid $64 at Warner's up above Marysville for 30 packages of burger, 3 roasts, 8 packages of steaks, 8 packages of chops, and 2 packages of tenderloin. Worth every penny, if you ask me. You pay them by the dressed, hanging weight of the deer. My doe, dressed out was around 90lbs. I can give anyone the number if you are interested.

Justin

 

Good laugh LM!
Try this on:
Price of deer tag $24
Cost of stand/supplies/gas $ 200
Cost to process meat $ 75
Look on wifes face as you hang the mount on the living room wall? - Priceless!

 

Now I don't care who you are THAT is funny!

 

I got my deer processed Augusta, Oh at Country Cuts.

I paid 56.00. I paid an extra 6 bucks to have pork fat added to my burger.

 

Mine has always ran 50-60 bucks.

 

do any of the processers mix pork in with the deer when they make breakfast sausage? How much extra is that?

 

Depends on the processor as to the cost, My suggestion would be to do your own. Take the ground venison, get some ground pork shoulder from your butcher, add seasonings and blend by hand. Make into patties or roll into logs, wrap and refreeze. Patties take a little longer, but quicker to thaw out.

 

do any of the processers mix pork in with the deer when they make breakfast sausage? How much extra is that?

I believe most will add pork in upon request. The cost is usually whatever the cost of pork is at that time.

 

do any of the processers mix pork in with the deer when they make breakfast sausage? How much extra is that?

you have to, since deer is such a dry/lean meat... otherwise it would burn right up. its included in the charges of the sausage processing.

 

I always add beef or sometimes pork to my burger anyway even when doing it at home. it is just too tough to fry up the burger without some grease fat in the skillet. I usually add around 20% beef to my ground venison.

 

thanks, I will make sure to ask

 

Pork fat lasts longer in the freezer, and generally tastes better than beef fat. Rule of thumb is to add 30% fat to meat.

I've been processing my own deer for years. I wouldn't have it any other way. I know for a fact that some of the larger processing places weigh your deer, then give you a generalized portion of the cuts of meat according to that weight from any deer. Meaning- you could have shot a smaller doe because you prefer their taste, yet you come home with the meat from some one elses 7 year old grandpa buck. I want the meat from the deer I shot. I want to pick all of the hair off the meat. I want to cut all the tendons out of the meat to be ground, ect....

 

I agree that the pork fat does taste better. I did not know about the pork fat lasting longer. I guess I will make the extra effort to put pork in from now on. The last batch I did I put in some beef that we already had and the wife commented that she did not like it as well.

I have often heard that about not getting your own deer, although I have never talked to anyone who worked in the locker to confirm or disprove it. Like you said, I am sure they dont take the extra time that I doo to remove all ofthe hair and tendons.

 

I'd just be happy with 5lbs of jerky and about 10 links of trail bologna. How much would that cost??? Some trail bologna covered with a little Yoder's horse radish, a tiny bit of mustard on a club cracker.....mmmhm...delicious! I ain't into deer steaks too much.

 

Most processors charge around $3 a pound extra to make trail bologna, jerky, smoke stick, ect...This can really add up.

Sausage takes up very little extra time to make. The things you mentioned include extra time for drying, smoking, curing, or whatever.


I helped a butcher process deer for eight years (during the season). He was extremely picky about the amount of gristle and fat from the deer that went into the grinder. Most of the bigger processors figure time is money, and trim nothing from the scraps. Venison fat has a very gamey and bitter taste, and does not freeze well at all. When I do my own sausage with my deer, I trim off every bit of fat and silver skin.

I buy what the butchers call "picnics". They are big pieces of cleaned hog fat with a little meat left on them. I cut these up. I weigh out 10 lbs of cubed and trimmed venison scraps, and add three and a half pounds of the cubed up hog fat. I add my seasonings, and let it sit in a tupperwear tub overnight. I then stuff it into natural casings with my sausage stuffer, freeze it for an hour or two, and vacuum pack it. I have a few of my neighbors save me those styrofoam meat trays throughout the year, and pack the sausage on those.

 

I never have any fat added to my deer. Yes this process means that burgers are hard to cook. I think the taste is better with nothing added. Speaking of the taste I just had deer stakes tonight.

 

There are 2 processors near Athens that I know of that charge $45-50.

One of them can make sausage, Bologna, jerky, etc.

The most important part to me is that they both have large walk in coolers for hanging the deer

 

I get mine done at perfect's in Johnstown Ohio. Yes, It is expensive at around $90, but well worth it. All meat is vacuum sealed and you get several different variations on how you want it cut. Also, you can get some made into summer sausage that is the best ever.

Obviously, living near Columbus makes processing more expensive. Alot of you live in the country, where it is cheaper. What am I to do? I say who cares. pay what you have to pay. I could do it myself, however, would spend an entire day making my garage into a bloody mess, my wife unhappy, and probably not get the most of the meat. I know it is expensive, but it's always cheaper than drinking and doing drugs!!!

ski

 

I have not done it for a couple or three years but I used to take a bag of venison to the local locker (Dee Jays in Fredericktown) to get summer sausage made. I have never attempted that myself. What I do is bag up about 35-40# of chunnked venison and take it in to them. I have already cleaned and trimmed the meat so I know what I am getting. I really like their recipe for sausage which is why I go back to there. By the way the price from what I remember was like $1.50/lb to make and then whatever the price is on the pork at the time. I think it ended up somewhere around $2.00/LB when finished.

 

Hey Lundy, if you could get me some contact info on those Athens area processors, I would appreciate it. The main reason I go with my local guy, Li'l John's Deer Processing, is that I can drop the thing off the night I shoot it, no matter what time. I evening hunt mostly and it is sometimes 8-9 pm by the time I let the deer lay, track, gut, drag out, check in, and then to the processors. There is another local guy who only takes deer until 5 pm, which doesn't work for me, I have no where to hang the deer at my house, so it has to go to a processor the day I shoot it.

Anyway, contact info would be great. Thanks for all the replies OGF.

lg_mouth