Cost of processing

[NCHillbilly]

Thats why I say its done got expensive to hunt.

What does paying a processor have to do with hunting? That's not something you have to do.

 

[Mauser]

My local processor is 115 for a doe 125 for a buck,standard cut. Smoked sausage is 5$ a lb.jerky is 10$ a lb summer sausage is 12$ a stick. Only reason I see prices is when I drop a deer off for someone else. We process our own.

 

[buckpasser]

Awhile. How long does it take you to turn a live buck somewhere in the woods into a dead one laying in the back of your truck? But, I wouldn't turn a whole 200# deer into cased smoked sausage to begin with. Too much other good stuff I want out of there, too.

Not too long to get him dead normally. I hunted twice this year before shooting and killed him on hunt #3. That said, I like hunting and dislike butchering.

Okay, so let’s say you save the steak cuts, roasts, etc. on said deer. How many hours to get him to the freezer? I want smoked sausage.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Hunting is done got way to expensive!

Agree!!!
Every one should see how difficult it is, how expensive it is, not to mention how miserable it is to share the woods, and quit soon!!

 

[buckpasser]

A few hours for sure. Not including the passive time (waiting for the sausage to bloom after smoking and smoking) because during these periods you can do anything else you need to do.
Im one of the only people I know around my house who processes their own deer. Most people I talk to quote two reasons for not doing it. Not enough room or not enough time. I think both are excuses to avoid saying “I don’t know how to do it.” I have processed a lot of deer in a kitchen barely big enough to fit two people at the same time in. The same people who say they have no time have no problem sitting in a recliner watching football all day or going to a bar for several hours in the evening. I also think most people crave convenience and leisure and don’t like to do anything that gets in the way of that. It’s why there are so many landscaping companies, companies that come wash your car at your place of business, etc.

With that said, I’m all for however anyone else decides to spend their time or money! Process your own, or don’t is good with me.

I’ve got access to a walk in cooler, a meat room (stocked with tools) and a smoker. I did process my son’s buck into fresh sausage Saturday before last. He enjoyed it. Except for seeing his joy I had zero fun doing it. It tastes good, but so does my processor’s sausage. This is not a lack of knowledge or excuse on my end I can promise you. It’s just not the best use of my time.

 

[Waddams]

Processors are definitely more than they used to be. I think it's a bunch of contributing reasons. Inflation recently, I've been told by a few processors that DNR has implemented more regs on them related to tracking hunter licensing that has increased their costs to comply and keep their licensing. Some decided it isn't worth the trouble and closed, so there are less of them now as well. Supply of their services vs. demand for them has driven up the cost - the ones staying the course some are expanding freezer space to keep up with more demand which raises their costs.

I didn't use a processor this year. We butchered it all ourselves, I aged on ice in the backyard, but then took what I wanted ground and cubed to a butcher shop near me. They weren't a true processor but with the meat deboned, they ground and cubed what I wanted. It was about 65-70 lbs. My home grinder is smaller and slower, okay for one deer but for a higher amount, I sprung to pay the butcher to do it. He did it in about an hour and half. Paid $1.25 per pound for his services. It was 3 deer total that were taken all the same day (I didn't grind/cube all the meat, backstraps and a few larger cuts were kept as steaks and roasts).

The butcher also makes summer sausage, regular sausage, and bratwurst. I now want to go kill another 1 or 2 and this time when I'm done aging, do the same, take him the deboned meat but have him turn it all into some combo of sausage and bratwurst. The field dressing/quartering/deboning doesn't take me long, I'm getting proficient enough with it that I'd rather do it myself and finding this local guy that can handle large loads of grinding and cubing - the $$ is worth my time saved and I still don't spend the same I would having a processor do it all.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Not too long to get him dead normally. I hunted twice this year before shooting and killed him on hunt #3. That said, I like hunting and dislike butchering.

Okay, so let’s say you save the steak cuts, roasts, etc. on said deer. How many hours to get him to the freezer? I want smoked sausage.

Half a day, maybe, of active work, if you have all the casings, seasonings, and stuff on hand, plus a few inactive hours for smoking and drying. Probably a lot less time than you spent sitting in a stand. I like butchering. And consider it part of hunting, maybe the most important part.
If you're doing cured stuff like summer sausage, pastrami, and such, you have some down time invested while it cures, but you can do anything while that's happening.

Also, you don't have to do all this at the same time on the same day, by any means.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Not too long to get him dead normally. I hunted twice this year before shooting and killed him on hunt #3. That said, I like hunting and dislike butchering.

Okay, so let’s say you save the steak cuts, roasts, etc. on said deer. How many hours to get him to the freezer? I want smoked sausage.

I gut in the field. 5 minutes
I skin at the house. 30 minutes including prep and clean up-longer if we’re standing around the pole yakking.
In a cooler for several days.
Work up roasts, steaks, hams, cubed and ground. All vacuum sealed (whole cuts with butcher paper also). About 4 hours for the wife and I. Again, being generous.

On a rainy day we will thaw out the ground and do sausage. About 1 hour of prep. Few hours of smoking. Cool and eat.
Another day we will do jerky. About an hour of prep (in the extreme) then dehydrating all night. It’s nice to wake up to a house filled with smoked deer aromas.

Not much investment in the best meat on the planet

 

[livinoutdoors]

I dont do anything for myself. I have people for that. My time is worth more. I hire it out.

 

[Dutch]

Processed 2 medium sized does Saturday, from the cooler to the freezer was about 5 hrs. That was for 40 lbs of ground packaged in 1lb bags backstrap steaked, 10 packs of cubed and a gallon ziploc of shanks, plus the hearts. Liver goes to my dogs.

A hog takes about 3 hrs for pork chops, patty sausage and cubed. Smoking adds another 6-8 hrs, but I rarely smoked 'em. Prefer Conecuh sausage anyway.

 

[buckpasser]

Half a day, maybe, of active work, if you have all the casings, seasonings, and stuff on hand, plus a few inactive hours for smoking and drying. Probably a lot less time than you spent sitting in a stand. I like butchering. And consider it part of hunting, maybe the most important part.
If you're doing cured stuff like summer sausage, pastrami, and such, you have some down time invested while it cures, but you can do anything while that's happening.

Well, you’re faster than me. I need an hour to go shop for a Boston butt, some legg’s seasoning, casings, possibly more vacuum bag material, etc. then break out the knives, clean the table, put the grinder back together from where I cleaned it last time, then figure in skinning, carrying off the bones and guts, then deboning and stripping off the silver skin, chopping up the pork and pork fat, grinding, then mixing and grinding again (sometimes), then casing, cooling and arranging on the smoker (after getting that thing fired up, then babysitting that, then putting back to chill, then vacuum sealing, marking date, putting up. Not to mention the cleanup of all said gear. Naw, that ain’t no half day. That’s a long full day with two missed hunts and a sore back from bending over the meat table. I’ll pass.

But hey, if you’re worth anything over $9.13/hr and don’t like hunting anymore, you come out waaaay ahead.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Well, you’re faster than me. I need an hour to go shop for a Boston butt, some legg’s seasoning, casings, possibly more vacuum bag material, etc. then break out the knives, clean the table, put the grinder back together from where I cleaned it last time, then figure in skinning, carrying off the bones and guts, then deboning and stripping off the silver skin, chopping up the pork and pork fat, grinding, then mixing and grinding again (sometimes), then casing, cooling and arranging on the smoker (after getting that thing fired up, then babysitting that, then putting back to chill, then vacuum sealing, marking date, putting up. Not to mention the cleanup of all said gear. Naw, that ain’t no half day. That’s a long full day with two missed hunts and a sore back from bending over the meat table. I’ll pass.

But hey, if you’re worth anything over $9.13/hr and don’t like hunting anymore, you come out waaaay ahead.

I bet you'll spend hours and days and $ prepping and planting food plots, hanging and moving stands, scouting, filling feeders, and all that though. What's the difference? It probably takes you an hour and a half to take that deer to the processor, drop it off, and come back home. Sounds like you're just lazy and think cutting meat is beneath you. I don't. I didn't pay somebody to find and shoot my deer, and I ain't gonna pay somebody to do my job of taking care of my kill. I guess you eat at a restaurant every morning and night, too, so you don't have to buy groceries, clean dishes and pans and carry off trash?

And what is the Boston Butt for? I make pork breakfast sausage from that. Boston Butt is not an ingredient in my deer sausage. I put pork fat in there. I pick it up at Ingle's while I'm shopping for something else and store it in the freezer. Guts stay in the woods. Bones go in the trash can or get boiled for stock.

 

[buckpasser]

I believe in doing whatever specialized work I can. That’s because it is expensive and the savings are large enough to justify it. I even do some taxidermy. Processing for savings???

 

[buckpasser]

I bet you'll spend hours and days and $ prepping and planting food plots, hanging and moving stands, scouting, filling feeders, and all that though. What's the difference? It probably takes you an hour and a half to take that deer to the processor, drop it off, and come back home. Sounds like you're just lazy and think cutting meat is beneath you. I don't. I didn't pay somebody to find and shoot my deer, and I ain't gonna pay somebody to do my job of taking care of my kill. I guess you eat at a restaurant every morning and night, too, so you don't have to buy groceries, clean dishes and pans and carry off trash?

And what is the Boston Butt for? I make pork breakfast sausage from that. Boston Butt is not an ingredient in my deer sausage. I put pork fat in there. I pick it up at Ingle's while I'm shopping for something else and store it in the freezer. Guts stay in the woods. Bones go in the trash can or get boiled for stock.

My guys rarely sell pork fat, so that’s how we get the fat. They keep beef fat I use for hamburger, but not pork. As for all the assumptions you made, no. The last thing I did to prep my spot was RX burn it. I went in blind, with my climber and rattled in a nice 10 point. My processor is on my way home, so another poor assumption. I know you want to make me a stereotype and your way best while mine is stupid, but it’s not gonna work out.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I believe in doing whatever specialized work I can. That’s because it is expensive and the savings are large enough to justify it. I even do some taxidermy. Processing for savings???

I don't process for savings, even though I do save a bunch doing it myself. I do it for personal satisfaction, and because I believe it's my responsibility when I take something's life, to try to use it to its best potential to the best of my ability.

 

[sprewett]

This may have already been covered in here if so sorry.
I am by no means slinging mud at anyone who takes their deer to a processor, ain't nothing wrong if ya aint got time, don't want to, and can afford it. For the price of a processor fee you can buy a nice grinder at Northern tool that would grind the tree bark off a pine tree to coffee. It also comes with sausage accessories. Also you can 100% control how your meat is processed.
It is timely and frequent knife sharpening but it is worth it at least to me.
But to each is own.

 

[NCHillbilly]

My guys rarely sell pork fat, so that’s how we get the fat. They keep beef fat I use for hamburger, but not pork. As for all the assumptions you made, no. The last thing I did to prep my spot was RX burn it. I went in blind, with my climber and rattled in a nice 10 point. My processor is on my way home, so another poor assumption. I know you want to make me a stereotype and your way best while mine is stupid, but it’s not gonna work out.

I never said your way is stupid. I just said that I think the opposite that you do about it. You are the one insinuating that I'm stupid and wasting my time processing my own meat that I kill, which is my own responsibility, and something that I really enjoy doing to boot. You do what works for you. You are just exaggerating making like processing a deer is one of the Labors of Hercules. It ain't. It don't take that long, and can be fun and enjoyable.

 

[buckpasser]

I never said your way is stupid. You are the one insinuating that I'm stupid and wasting my time processing my own meat that I kill, which is my own responsibility, and something that I really enjoy doing to boot.

I’m good with that, but there will be no charges pressed for using a processor. I’m pretty sure.

 

[kmckinnie]

.

How long does it take y’all DIY butchers to turn a 200lb deer into cased smoked sausage?

4 to 6 hours. Then if I smoke it maybe another 4 hours. So let’s say 8 hours.
We have nothing better to do. I don’t blame anyone for going to a processor. We grow a lot of garden stuff too.
To us it fun to do like cooking. Fishing. Garden work. It ain’t like I’m hunting today. Will kill the right hog in a few days. Wife may kill another buck. I may shoot a doe.
Working couples hard to find the time to do it.
I always want to do different types but my wife is tge regular bread and butter type. When we make hamburgers meat a deer about 3 hours. Cube if do that too.
We have taken a few to get done. No complaints like the cost or amount back.

 

[elfiii]

I do most of my breakfast sausage from pork butts, but we do a lot of brats and Italian sausage with deer. I have never made deer summer sausage, I want to try that next.

Ven summer sausage is the bomb.