Not my meat ?

[deerslayer#1]

Wow.......just picked up some venison and they gave me the wrong order. They said thats what you ordered, thats what you got! I ordered Brats and recieved pepper sticks. I went home , found my copy of the order, and they gave me the wrong meat. I went back, showed them the paperwork, and guess what ? Give us back the meat, and come back next week and we will make it right. I asked, "where are you getting the meat for my Brats"? They say, "we get extras"?? So I asked did they expect me to eat deer meat that someone else brought in, haveing no idea of how well it was cleaned, or taken care of? Yep, anything we send out (sausage, brats ect.) is mixed together and you eat what someone else brought in. Wow.......I seriously didn't know that. Is this how its done? I can almost understand the mix up, but damn, I'm not sure about eating someones deer meat ? Also, how do they get extra meat, like brats? I'm talking about 30 lbs of brats, not just a pack of burger. The big problem I have is that this place gives me back the best tasting hams, burger, and brats I ever ate??
Would you accept someone elses meat? Or is this how it's always done, shut up and eat it?

[ozzgood2001]

happens all the time. saves money. you cant expect to send out your meat just to be processes when then can send everyones out at once. i dont blame em personally its just good business. im sure they dont have extras persay. they will just order yours accordingly on their next order.

[wally-eye]

Almost every processor that I know of and have used always operate that way for special order items, ie: brats, sausage, jerky etc. They take a lot of left over parts from a lot of animals and grind them all together to make the items. It would be cost prohibitive to operate any other way.

I know I dropped a deer off and with the regular cut I had 10 pounds of summer sausage made. When I picked up the order they went to a separate freezer that contained probably 100 lbs of summer sausage sticks. Pulled out 5 of the 2 pounders and said there ya go. I knew the answer but I did ask if they used my deer for that sausage. They said yup 10 pounds of the venison went into a container with 95 other pounds of venison and its all mixed together.

I have had concerns about this but have never gotten any bad vension products (jerky-sausage etc) from any of the processors I have used over the last 50 years. They all do it that way and if they didn't the average person couldn't afford the extra cost for a "single order".

I personally don't feel its that big of a deal but thats just me. The place I took my deer to processed over 2000 deer this year since Oct. 1st. so its a common thing.

[north_of_mackinaw]

All I can say is I know that's NOT how it's done where I get my meat ground. :yikes:
But then I know the guy pretty well and he's done our grinding for years.I wonder what kind of volume the place you took your meat deals with?
Another option you might want to consider is buying your own grinder?

[huntingfool43]

I would be willing to bet most places do the same. They need X number of pounds to make a batch so more than 1 person's meat is mixed together. A guy I know makes sure he takes in enough meat(his brothers put in theirs to) to make a complete batch so he knows it is his meat he gets back but that is the only way I know of.

[Kelly Johnson]

Ever work in a cammercial Kitchen or butcher shop?

Guys...theres just no way to do it order to order, deer to deer and not be doing it till July.

Brats, summer sticks, Breakfast sausage etc....this stuff is a time consuming process. If they had to do every 10-20lb batch they'd be there months. Only common sense to do 100lb batches and bang it out at once.

[William H Bonney]

Ninety percent of the big processors do it that way. Personally,, its not for me. Who knows what other people do to their deer or where they got 'em,, road kills, TB zone, a gut shot deer they found a week later and it "seemed" ok,,, etc.......:16suspect

[uptracker]

I'd be pissed too. I personally don't take my deer to a processor just for that reason......and cost obviously. I'm pretty sure Rountree near Jackson does your deer and yours only. They weigh it up, tell you how much you have to work with and you get yours back. It can take a while though like Kelly said.

[merrill hunter]

deerslayer,
pm me for some ionfo on a guy in merrill who does make the finest deerstick and summer sausage you've ever chewed.

[Dangler]

This thread is exactly the reason I started butchering my own deer 25 years ago. Do it yourself and you know exactly what you're getting.

I package my own large cuts, but take my burger trimmings to a guy 4 miles away that processes 100+ deer each season in his self-built shop. He grinds it while I watch and I help if needed. I know that I'm getting my own meat without any contamination from somebody's tainted meat. I've watched him trim meat out on other deer, and feel confident that I would get nothing but the best from him even if I'm not there to "supervise".

After reading this thread, I'm feeling pretty lucky to know this guy. If you're not satisfied, maybe you should shop around a bit.

[SR-Mechead]

This thread is exactly the reason I started butchering my own deer 25 years ago. Do it yourself and you know exactly what you're getting.

I package my own large cuts, but take my burger trimmings to a guy 4 miles away that processes 100+ deer each season in his self-built shop. He grinds it while I watch and I help if needed. I know that I'm getting my own meat without any contamination from somebody's tainted meat. I've watched him trim meat out on other deer, and feel confident that I would get nothing but the best from him even if I'm not there to "supervise".

After reading this thread, I'm feeling pretty lucky to know this guy. If you're not satisfied, maybe you should shop around a bit.

I do the same thing . I take my burger and watch them grind and package it. I know what I'm eating . Eating another persons deer is not for me.:)

[Landsend]

Years ago, I used to help my dad butcher his deer. We would do them together, and had a good time doing so. He got too old and retired from hunting, and I decided to just send in my deer to be processed.

A few years ago, I decided I'd give it a shot to save some money for the kids at Christmas. I spent a half-day pulling meat, and seperating. I had a friend that had a dehydrater, a meat grinder, a sausage setup, and he offered his services. For the last few years, we've been processing our own deer and couldn't be happier. I too am one of those freak-ish people that don't want someone elses deer. I sat out in the woods, scouted, fed, etc.......I want MY payoff, not roadkill.

[Riva]

1. Butchers must process your deer into sausage, spicey sticks, jerky, etc., by doing it in large batches. Sorry to disapoint ya, but your deer represents and/or contributes about 1/50th of a "batch" in order to make summer sausage. I regularly order thiese 10-pound summer sausage rolls from a local processor in order to give all of the rolls away as gifts to friends and/or co-workers. I am the most popular guy on the block come December. At the same time, I know that the processor merely buys the summer sausage from a larger packing house(s) and that there is no way in hell that "my deer" is anywhere near .00003% part of the final product! That said, nobody has ever complained about the $25 roll of summer sausage that I gave them free of charge as not being the deer that I shot a few weeks prior.

2. Then again, you can always purchase the equipment neeeded to grind your own sausage. Regrettably, by the time you're done, each roll of sausage ultimately will cost you about $200 per roll when it's all said and done. But, at least, you'll have the gratification of knowing that nobody else's deer is mixed in with yours. Big price to pay to be "kosher".

3. Don't have any portion of your deer processed into anything but steaks and chops. Don't even do hamburger for that too can be "mixed".

[RIVER LADY]

The only way to know for sure is to do it yourself. All of it. If I killed it, I'm doing everything needed to get that meat the frig, freezer and table.
The main reason I want and have to have venison is for the purity of the meat. No antibiotics, steroids, etc. Seems like a waste of my efforts to send it to the processor.

[Bassman Dan]

Do it yourself. To me it's all part of the experience. Not to mention you will save some cash. When you do it yourself, you will also get better and larger cuts and nothing will be wasted. Processors work fast and waste alot. Do you really think all the steaks you order from the processor are from your deer?

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Do you really think all the steaks you order from the processor are from your deer?

Yup, where I take mine (when I don't do it myself). They do 1000's of deer each fall. You will get YOUR deer back.(not nessasarily the burger or sausage). Your meat stays with your ticket on 2-3 trays, oackaged and frozen together. Country smokehouse in Almont on M-53.

[Ralph Smith]

Been doing it myself for quite awhile now. Process my own, and friends and family. all done bonless,wrapped and frozen. I take the meat to be burger to a grocery meat store and they grind it while I wait. I stand right there and watch it go through the grinder and back into the tub I brought it in. I then take it home and weigh it out,wrap and freeze. only thing I take in is if i want summer sausage or pepper stix, and go to a small meat market that does your own. Best way to do this is freeze what you want for sausage, and take it in around july of following year, not many being brought in then;) :D Will be doing my own sausage when i can afford equipment, and it definately won't be $25 a roll like mentioned above. I enjoy doing it, so no charge for my time to myself:lol: :p

[ganzzer60]

Although I usually get a "regular cut" I sometimes suspect even the steaks and chops I get may not be from my deer. When you drop a deer I have seen the clerks write "med" or "large" on the tag. This indicates to me that they return a certain amount of packages or pounds of meat, not specifically your venison. I have been shopping for a grinder to process my own. I would rather do the work than eat mystery meat.:sad:

[answerguy8]

Do you really think all the steaks you order from the processor are from your deer?

This is why I only hunt in swampy areas where the deer only eat skunk weed. Then I sloppily gut it and drag it through the muddy water. And then I drive it around town for a few days, regardless of the weather. Then when the processor doesn't give me my deer back I figure I've had an upgrade.:D

[jme]

A guy at work asked the processor how much meat he'd have to supply to make sure the sausauge was 100% his own. He was told 200 pounds! I fully understand that the processors need to do it in batches.

I've processed every deer I've ever taken and countless others for friends. Love it. For me it's part of hunting. I used to take the scraps to a processor to be ground into burger. A couple years ago my wife gave me one of the $100 meat grinders from Cabela's. What a great investment. After 3 deer it paid for itself. I bought one of those 'Jerky Blasters" from Cabela's which allows me to make jerky from the ground venison. The grinder can be used to mix sausuage, although I've never made any. It's fantastic. So...my recommendation is to cut up your own deer,buy a grinder and pick up the jerky blaster. Then you're absolutely certain that the deer you're eating is your own.

[adam bomb]

most commercial meat processing places do things this way. like previously mentioned, its the only practical way to do things. then, when something like this happens, the bitter truth reveals itself.

things like this are the reason i process my own meat. its really easy to do. and it starts with field dressing. skinning, quartering and deboning are all quite easy as well.

i wont lie, its expensive to set up. but, a grinder in itself will go a long way. there are many attachments available.(brat stuffers, cubers, etc.) then, if you need a band saw or a special brat stuffer add those things later. a smoker isnt a bad item to have on hand either. this stuff isnt cheap, but well worth it IMHO.

theres a wealth of info out there on how to make your own brats, summer sausage, hams, etc....L.E.M. is a company that has allot of processing equipment, seasonings, processing DVD's, etc...

http://www.lemproducts.com/contact.html

plus its cool to eat something you made yourself. you can add whatever "flare" you want that may not be available at a commericial meat processor...and best of all, YOU KNOW ITS YOUR MEAT,and how it was cared for.;)

[William H Bonney]

This is why I only hunt in swampy areas where the deer only eat skunk weed. Then I sloppily gut it and drag it through the muddy water. And then I drive it around town for a few days, regardless of the weather. Then when the processor doesn't give me my deer back I figure I've had an upgrade.:D
:lol: That's kinda what I was thinkin'. Take in tub full of scraps, sinews, and fat and walk out with a nice 5lb roll of summer sausage.:evilsmile

[answerguy8]

:lol: That's kinda what I was thinkin'. Take in tub full of scraps, sinews, and fat and walk out with a nice 5lb roll of summer sausage.:evilsmile

Now you got me thinking. And I'm thinking road kill....:evil:

[glockman55]

There are some good Private Processors out there, I do my own, but my brother has this ole gal cut rap and freeze his, she does a great job. I use to take mine to a butcher shop, until I saw the room they dumped the whole deer in waiting to be cut up. It was a room about 16'X16' and the deer were just piled on top of each other about 4 deep. And the tags were gone. Some of these deer were Field dressed very poorly. even if I got my own deer back (I'm sure I didn't) It was already contaminated by the others. Made me sick. Never again.

[north_of_mackinaw]

I didn't see anyone else mention this yet, We got one of those seal a meal things when we lived in Alaska. It makes taking care of your own frying venison a snap. I know this is off the thread topic but figured it was a good tip while talking about butchering your own deer.

[BallsRdragn]

http://www.joessmokinrecipe.com/

Stuff is GREAT! and it's yours! :corkysm55

[daddyduck]

There are some good Private Processors out there, I do my own, but my brother has this ole gal cut rap and freeze his, she does a great job. I use to take mine to a butcher shop, until I saw the room they dumped the whole deer in waiting to be cut up. It was a room about 16'X16' and the deer were just piled on top of each other about 4 deep. And the tags were gone. Some of these deer were Field dressed very poorly. even if I got my own deer back (I'm sure I didn't) It was already contaminated by the others. Made me sick. Never again.


:yeahthat: My thoughts excactly when i saw the same thing.
And we had a mild november this year..:sick:

[outdoor_m_i_k_e]

ok well it goes both ways, depends where you take it but i disagree with a lot of you that say that you are guaranteed not to get all just your deer back. . i personally work for a processor, and have taked deer to him before i worked for him, i skin deer for him with one of my buddies and there are others that do the cutting, and every deer from the moment it comes out of the back to your truck, until you get the meat back, has a tag or tags(depends on what type of meat, i.e. jerky, sausage,steaks. etc) and i know for a fact when you walk out the door with the meat. it is the same meat you brought in. . a lot of times i hang around when they are cuttin up so i have seen it also! the person does not do 2000 deer a season, but we do several hundred, and he does not advertise either, yet he has a great reputation and some people drive 2-3 hrs just to have him do their deer every year. . him and all the cutters work at a meat dept at a grocery store so they know what they are doing and trust me its worth it! any one want a name or phone number PM me, be happy to help you out, especially with the troubles some of you have had!!

[michigander II]

This is why I only hunt in swampy areas where the deer only eat skunk weed. Then I sloppily gut it and drag it through the muddy water. And then I drive it around town for a few days, regardless of the weather. Then when the processor doesn't give me my deer back I figure I've had an upgrade.:D
That was great, laughed:lol: :lol: my *** off!!!!!

[gman12]

I got a video from Gander Mtn. for about $10 and it shows step by step. Their is also a website that shows this http:rochester.rr.com/sevenzero/

[uglystick]

man i will do my own from now on i have seen the way people handle there deer not good

[lawnboy]

Shoot I know that even the hamburger here by me is not from my deer. They weigh the meat going in a huge hopper and then just weigh what comes out the grinder. Which has some of mine, some of yours, and some of the next guys.

Heck, I went to another place down the street from my house and ordered sausage. I go to pick up me order and the guy tells me that he ran out. You think he would give me a price break? No way, he just offered me other meat that he had from other deer.

[Dangler]

These posts make it clear that not all processors operate the same way, which reinforces my statement that, if you're not happy with the practices of your processor, shop around. You can't generalize that every processor is gonna grind your meat in with somebody else's.

[fulldraw]

My dads buddy had that happen to him a few years back killed him and his son killed two deer in two days took them into town in the U.P. to get them processed. When he picked them up he got two brown grocery bags for two deer. He asked were is the rest my deer, they said that is all you get.

That is why I process my deer myself, from the time I gut it to the time it is my freezer I know how it is handled.

I was blessed this year to take 2 deer and I had over 150Ibs of meet to show for it. Try to get that much meet from a processor.

[trainwreck]

I have butchered approx. 75 deer, 10 elk and 16 caribou over the years and from an average size deer thats boned, trimmed well of tallow and silverskin the meat will fit in two grocery bags. If you are averaging 75 lbs. from a deer it probably includes all the bones,ribs,neck, tallow etc. Caribou don`t always provide 75 lbs. of boned meat depending on shot location and they are around 400 lbs on the hoof!

[Horseshoe]

I too started doing it myself for all the above reasons. I know exactly what I'm getting and I'm getting exactly what I want. Deboned, thickness of cut, cut up chunks for stew, whatever. I also got one of those electric grinders and it will pay for itself very quickly. I'm not sure what they get / pound for salami / summer sausage, but here is what you would invest for the first time around doing it yourself.

Electric grinder $100. "High Mountain" summer sausage making kit $14. And around $12 for 6 lbs of boneless pork to mix with the venison. Mix with 24 lbs of your venison and you end up with ten 3 lb sticks of very good summer sausage. After you put it in the tubes, it sits in the fridge for 24 hours. You cook it right in the oven and it comes out really great. This first batch with the grinder included in the cost would be $4.20 / lb. Any time after that will be right around $.87 / lb.

The jerky mixes with a jerky gun are awfully good too.

[Dangler]

trainwreck,
I haven't butchered quite as many deer as you (close, though), but I agree that your average whitetail will fit into 2 grocery bags. For example, I killed a 175 pound (dressed weight) 10-pointer in Indiana this year, butchered and deboned the meat and had 10 pounds of pork added to the burger, and it still fit easily onto one shelf of my upright freezer with room to spare.

fulldraw,
2 bags for 2 deer does sound a bit light. Maybe they were a bit small, maybe they were a bit shot up. I've seen some processors throw a bunch of meat into the trash if it had the slightest bit of bloodshot in it. They don't want to pack nasty meat for you. I spend HOURS cleaning my meat to get the nasties out but still salvage every little bit of clean meat. Most proceesors don't take that much time.

[Ralph Smith]

Been butchering my own and friends and families for last 15 years, and I'd say you get about 1/3 of dressed weight in bonless meat if not shot up bad. The way I clean them is pretty meticulus as far as getting all talow,silverskin etc. out of meat. I cleaned 2 this year, both does with 1 about 130lbs. dressed and other about 150lbs. Each deer had over 22 lbs. of meat that was ground while I waited at butcher, and this didn't include neck that was saved off each for roasts. I burger front shoulders,all side meat,brisket and trim ups after cutting steaks. The boneless steaks,chops,stew meat and roasts are about same weight all together as burger meat. I'd say off 2 does weighing total of around 280, I got atleast 90lbs. of bonelss meat with half being for burger before adding pork. When I'm done there's nothing hanging but upside down skeleton with only front shoulders off the carcass. Everything else is picked like a crow would:D

[Ontario Gunner]

Used too take it too a couple who did them in theyre garage,, they did a ok job always got back the deer you brought them,, didnt get back the weight you should have though. For $40 a deer I guess it should be expected.They werent keeping it for themselves,, they did a deer in 40 minutes,, no way you get everything you should if you can cut and wrap a deer in 40 minutes. They do about 200 deer a year and probably 20 or so moose.

Now we always cut up our own deer that way you get it cut the way you want it. We usually cut front quarters up into cleaned cubed meat and package in 5# bags. 4 or 5 of us combine our cubed meat and we take it too the suasage maker in mid-january after hes had the big wild game and X-mas kielbasa rush. We have him make up kielbasa and pepperonis with it and split it equally,, best way to do it. Hes not real busy at that time of year, and we always get back the meat we brought him.

[doublelunger35]

Deerslayer#1, I had the same experiance about 6 yrs ago now I will only use one place for my venison sausage and that is Merindorf meats in mason MI they have the best service and taste of all that I have tried. They will only use your meat to make a batch of sausage. 35lbs batch. How they get extra is that when they make a batch of jalapeno with cheese they add 10lbs of cheese 5lbs of jalapeno 10 lbs of pork (to make it stick together) then when I get the batch back it is 52lbs of sausage not just 35lbs. and they are consistant I have had 8 batches made over the years and the are the same every time.

[answerguy8]

I was blessed this year to take 2 deer and I had over 150Ibs of meet to show for it. Try to get that much meet from a processor.
Hmmm....Bone in? Hide on? Head roast? That's a lot of meat from 2 deer.

[Anita Dwink]

Some wear spikes. I butcher my own and help others occasionally . Most of the processors watch for vension gone bad. All they need is one tainted one to slip through and bad word of mouth doesn`t wash out. I think we have all heard the "all I got back "stories. There are a lot of variables that will effect the taste of the meat ie where hit, how long before it died, how long before recovered , dressed out properly, seasoned, age and how it is cooked. When I hear the it tasted gamey I tell them that something wasn`t done right along the line. I prefer to do my own . The grinder paid for itself years ago. I have done a couple batches of summer sausage and helped with Brats. Working on the smoker for Deer Sticks. If you don`t want to do your own , word of mouth will point you in the right direction.
3 afternoons before I start to get ready for the 07 season.

[Munsterlndr]

I butcher my own and I'm very fussy about trimming all of the fat/silverskin etc, off of my meat. From an average sized doe (115 lbs) I usually get around 35 lbs of meat.

[oldrank]

$100 grinder from meijers a sharp knife and a couple buddies working in the meat line = my meat.....lean and trim cuts and $65 saved per deer.....

[kdogger]

That's the way it work at those fish cleaners too!

You bring 'em 2 dozen perch, they give you somone elses 2 doz perch from earlier...

[spoikey]

I certainly understand not wanting someone elses venison. I have been processing my own for years. My question is, how can you be so fussy about your venison and not think a thing about eating any kind of meat out of the grocery store?:yikes:

[harrisonhunter]

Try one yourself sometime. Spend $100 on a grinder and your set. We do all our own. Takes about 4-5 hours to do one myself. From hanging to freezer and every cleaned up afterwards. You get what every cuts you want. And you can package whatever amount in each bag.

[One Eye]

Yep, that is why I will be returning to processing my own in the future.

Dan