What do you look for in a Processor?

[wm742]

My brother in law and I have been tossing around the idea of opening a cooler in Greensboro. I currently use a guy in Eatonton. Most in this area probably know him. I have been very happy and have dropped off my limit to him this year. We are not trying to take anyone's business and I have talked to him extensively about the idea.

However, I have noticed that the demand is still high in Greene County, as well as some of the neighboring counties.

My question is, what do you look for? Besides cheap prices and room in the cooler, what do you like and not like about places you have been?

 

[Deerhead]

That would be a great seasonal business and should make good money.

I look for a clean facility and one that can handle a large number of deer. In other words a processer that does not having to turn customers away. Of course options of how the deer are processed, roasts, burger… A big plus is a variety of sausage flavors, for a small nominal upcharge.

If you open a processor please post on GON.

Good Luck and wish you success!

 

[catch22]

1. clean
2. easy to find and convenient to access
3. reasonable prices for standard cuts (burger cubed etc)
4. I dont want it to smell like rotting guts when I arrive
5. I want my meat not someone elses
6. A quick/orderly way to take my deer and my information and what I want done with the deer
7. vacuum sealed meat
8. ample cooler space
9. a friendly greeting when I arrive to show that they appreciate my business (I have used processors that seem like they are doing you a favor and are downright rude. I use them once)
10. id prefer just a few sausage options if you can do them all equally well.

 

[Doc_Holliday23]

I need to have reasonable expectation that you are open and accepting deer before I drive all the way there.

I want the meat from my own deer.

Meat should be packaged well so it can last.

 

[Shadow11]

I've used 4 processors up here in nega over the past 25 years. I can't say I disliked any of em. There have been a few times when 3 out of the 4 were full by thanksgiving, though.

I'm not great at skinning/quartering up a deer. I always mess something up, whether I cut it wrong, or too much hair, drop a piece on the ground, can't find a tool i need, etc.

I like to cut up and make my own jerky. I always thought it would be a great idea if someone had some kind of express service, where they skin/quarter up/cut tenderloins out of the deer and put the meat in my cooler the same day. These pros can probably do that in 30 minutes or less. It takes me 3 hours, lol.
I would gladly pay 50 bucks for this service, and I would likely kill more deer per yr as well.

 

[chrislibby88]

What others said, clean facility. Nice friendly staff. Plenty of sausage options, non-standard cut options. Hang the dang deer long enough to age the meat. 5 day minimum. There’s a lot of places that only hang them 2-3 days. Fine with ground or sausage, but I like it when they let the meat age properly. I want well trimmed meat. No hair, no bone dust from running the saw. I prefer processors that vacuum seal, but butchers paper is ok, just east to hide poor work under the butchers paper. I’m not really worried about the cheapest prices man. I will happily pay more for good service and quality work. And it’s annoying when the good places fill up, but it is what it is. Costs a lot to run a giant cooler, and reputable coolers fill up fast.

 

[TurkeyH90]

I want MY deer. That's the absolute most important thing. I want to cut my cube steak with a fork. I'm always gonna quarter my own and bleed it out so I don't want to pay $100 when I did alot of the work.

 

[Hunter922]

Clean.
Vacuum seal.
Don't act like a schmuck. The only one around us has one guy there that has no customer service skills at all. Problem is he may be one of the owners.

 

[tad1]

Hang the dang deer long enough to age the meat. 5 day minimum. There’s a lot of places that only hang them 2-3 days. Fine with ground or sausage, but I like it when they let the meat age properly.

Give this man an AMEN!!
This is where cooler space is important! When the processor start getting full, they want to turn your deer around, but the meat science know that aging is important meat quality factor.
That’s another reason that people like me don’t want to process my own deer. Sure I could quarter it up and leave it draining in a cooler for a week , use probly 14 bags of ice at $2.50 a pop.

 

[sea trout]

@wm742 yes you're right the demand IS HIGH!!!!!
Good luck with your business, I encourage it.
The past post's have all made great true statements that most look for in a quality deer processor!

Me and my families #1 concern is mystery bites! I hate mystery bites. When we're enjoying an outstanding spagehtti on a cold winters night watching our favorite show and start chewing on somthing nobody knows what it is but we know it aint right. It ruins the whole spagehtti sauce for us.
If you wouldn't want to eat it then don't put it in the grinder!

#2 yes we want OUR deer.!
Many hunters work hard to get that broadside boiler room shot, get the guts out quick, cool the deer carcass down quick.
We don't want someones elses deer that may have been shot in the guts, then the pelvis, then the back of the head. Not gutted and on the ground at camp all afternoon.

If you wanna go above and beyond other coolers then charge for it. If you and your workers are happy with the profits then you'll be happy at work and continue to do and be one of the best. People don't mind payin for the best!

Wife n I used to use a NE GA deer processor after we had our kids and didn't wanna do our own anymore. We used him for about 10 years the they shut it down a few years ago. They were the best in my book. Clean facility, friendly, more than fair price, and no mystery bites!
After they shut down we tried a few NE GA processors and then we just started doin our own again. We know what we put in the grinder. But wife n I are very busy these years, we'd rather drop em off and pay a great facility we like and trust

 

[tad1]

I’ve taken a couple deer to dorminey‘s near Carnesville and thought that was an impressive operation. The old fella running the place was super friendly. They also had some glass windows you could watch the processors work. Really clean operation, and the smoked meat sticks are tasty.
Been to a few others with mixed results, fairly shady, seeming operations, not super clean, left me with uneasy feeling about it. One I’ve been using lately vacuum seals the roasts, making it easy to thaw them in a pail of water in the fridge.
Specialty products can be hit or miss. Some people really like that stuff. When done right it can be great. But done poorly is pretty bad.
Prime example jerky that is severely over salted. Maybe this is done to ensure food safety but I’ve had some I had to rinse off it was so bad. Some sausage too is a little overkill.
A good clean grind and roast cuts, and I’ll do the cooking myself most of the time…

 

[KKrueger]

Vac sealed bags is a nice touch I think.

 

[Todd E]

Everybody has it covered above.

If you're talking about the place I think you are, I used them over and over for years. One hour drive for me. Each trip took away at min 2.5 hours of my time.

I want specialties like they do. That's why I went there.

My local place is a nasty disgusting place. I can't fathom why trucks are wrapped around it each night. Absolutely gross!!
I go one hour north to a place. Just normal cuts. But clean, no odors, get my deer, and employees treat me as a friend.


I say again...... specialties specialties specialties

 

[Core Lokt]

1. clean
2. easy to find and convenient to access
3. reasonable prices for standard cuts (burger cubed etc)
4. I dont want it to smell like rotting guts when I arrive
5. I want my meat not someone elses
6. A quick/orderly way to take my deer and my information and what I want done with the deer
7. vacuum sealed meat
8. ample cooler space
9. a friendly greeting when I arrive to show that they appreciate my business (I have used processors that seem like they are doing you a favor and are downright rude. I use them once)
10. id prefer just a few sausage options if you can do them all equally well.

THis pretty much sums it up.

I worked a at processing place, didn't get paid but could do my deer for free. Me and dad have always done our own but a friend has the setup, WI cooler, grinders, cubers etc. Be prepared to say no when you can't take anymore in. That is what shut down my friends place.. Piling deer on top of one another on the cooler floor doesn't work no matter how cold it is in the cooler.

We worked nights and weekends, 6-7 of us. You have no time for personal life . We started out doing our own and for friends then it opened up to the public. It was good for several years but producing bad meat shut it down. I actually quit because I saw it coming but friend wouldn't say no on taking in deer.

Me and dad still do our own there but that is it.

 

[Kev]

I haven’t had a processors perform satisfactorily in years. I don’t think deer can be properly processed in the masses. Too much fat, silverskin and tendons to trim out. I don’t trust anyone, so I just do my own.

 

[buckmanmike]

All of the above and have room/parking for your customers. I've have seen pickups backed up into the road to enter. Also have to park a long ways from the door to pickup your processed deer. Luckily the processor helped carrying the cooler.
Number 1 thing though is to have a clean/sanitary facility.

 

[GSUQUAD]

sometimes I just look at the help and watch them and know my deer is gonna stink like tarsal glands based on how they handled the skinning and hanging. Good help, which may be hard to find. I’d gladly pay a higher price for a better quality product. If I drop off a deer at a processor it’s for time saving and convenience and I’ll pay the premium for that if it’s good quality. Let the others pay less elsewhere and get their stinky meat back. Also if I specify no fat in my grind and get fat in it, I’m not happy. If I get back 40 lbs on a 210 lb buck with good shot placement, I’m not happy. I don’t like to subsidize joe blows 65 lb fawn with my big buck, joe blow needs to know what he is getting and why. And inversely I expect back less meat on a 90 lb doe if that’s what I drop off. If I get back giant buck backstraps on a little doe I’m not impressed knowing I got someone’s buck in my bag. I’ve seen some filthy well known places with filthy practices that I refuse to go back to and once refused to pick up the deer I dropped off and if you knew why you probably wouldn’t pick it up either. These days if I go to a processor I try to designate that meat to chilis and spaghettis and save the meat I prepared myself for the meals that don’t have strong flavors to hide the stink. I do more and more of my own because the only local place that was consistently good the owner died a couple years ago. Now I try to make a processor the last resort but would love to pay someone that does a good job again one day as it is a lot of work. I think the problem you may face with my preferred approach is that a lot of hunters I run across are joe blow and won’t understand the quality they get back for the price and won’t understand why their shoulder shot fawn wont produce 60 lbs of sausage.

 

[Core Lokt]

One thing people don't understand is on a well placed shot, you only get 1/3 of the live weight back in processed meet. I have personally weighed yearlings, does and bucks of all different weights and it holds true regardless.

I killed a 180lb deer and should get back 150lbs of meat. Oh no you won't.

 

[gma1320]

Clean, clean, clean
Did I mention clean!
Deer processed individually so I know I get my meat back.
Vacuum sealed preferred, freezer paper at the least. No Styrofoam meat trays.
Good sausage.
As others have mentioned, friendly service. I know it is a tiring job, that takes up a lot of your time. But that doesn't mean that you have to be a posterior orifice.

 

[gma1320]

One thing people don't understand is on a well placed shot, you only get 1/3 of the live weight back in processed meet. I have personally weighed yearlings, does and bucks of all different weights and it holds true regardless.

I killed a 180lb deer and should get back 150lbs of meat. Oh no you won't.

Far to many people don't understand this.