Game butcher for deer in the metro?

[grate8]

i am going to hopefully shoot a deer this year.

anyone have a recomendation for a bucher in the metro? do most places charge $80-$100?

[dewey1980]

Jordans Meats in Woodbury,does a real nice job for me,family owned

[grate8]

thank you

[PerchJerker]

Not sure what their current situation is for deer processing, but in the past I've used Von Hansons and really liked them a lot

[TylerS]

If you want to save some money, buy a game processing DVD and do it yourself. I've been butchering my own deer since I was 18. I bought a step-by-step video and went from there. It takes some work the first time, but nowadays I can whip through them fairly efficiently. Once you've butchered your own deer, you'll never pay to have it done again. Besides, this way you KNOW you're eating your deer. Lord only knows what you get back from a butcher....

[mnguy152]

2x what he said. But i take the trimming to a butcher in feb to make sauage or what ever else i want that way I know he doesn't have any other deer meat there.

[reinhard1]

i am a retired butcher and have proccesed deer on my property for years on the side. but i dont do it any more. cutting your own deer is always the best way to go but not everyone can do it for one reason or another. if you have your own grinder and stuffer or stuff from the grinder that is even better. of course i do my own deer and some for my friends and make my own sausage. the issue of getting all of your deer back has always been there. in my opinion the larger processing place you take your deer the less chance you have in getting your deer back especialy when it comes to sausage. just because you bring say 20 lbs of trimmings back doesnt mean they will do one batch just for you. most places make sausage by batches of certain weights, say 50 or 100 lbs at a time. your 20 may not be enough so someone elses meat will be added to make one batch. most will explain that to you so you should accept that or do your own. you may find some butcher that does it at their residence and may do a smaller batch for you where only your meat will be used. that is what i did with fresh sausage because i did not do smoked at that time. invest in a grinder that you can afford and learn to make your own. there are plenty of places to get portioned spices and casings or you may just want to make it bulk. good luck.

[mabr]

RH1, Glad to see your not completely stuck in our other favorite forum.

I used to live where we had liberal seasons on deer and I would take in 1-2 deer every year for breakfast sausage and summer sausage and it was reasonably cheap.

With the areas I hunt now and being able to take up to 7 deer Ive thought about doing it again. BUT man I see what some spend and to me there is no way for it to make sense. What could a person expect to spend for all the spices and ingredients to make breakfast sausage. I realize recipe matters, but im looking for something along the lines of a Jimmy dean or similar.

I cut up ALL of my deer usually 4-5 per year(wife and I have it down to a science) But it never fails by late summer all we have left is what we call junk meat (front shoulders etc) and we just end up using it in the crock pot. Id love to make my own sausage that was GOOD. Maybe even consider some burger (never been a big fan of deer burger though)

So who better to ask than a pro.

[reinhard1]

you can get your basic seasonings from hamms meat supplier down the road from you on 65. their number is 763-755-0180. also the county market store on round lake blvd. here in andover in the meat dept as some seasonings on top of their service case which are cheap{i believe one pack was under 3 bucks]. they are for 25 pound batches and they have a breakfast, italian, and bratwurst pac. i have tried the breakfast and it was a good seasoning but i use all seasonings as a base and then jazz them up with other stuff like blueberries, bacon, hot pepper, jalopenos, onions ect. i've made brats with wild rice also. once you experiment with a little here and there to your taste it can be fun. the only thing i keep for the grill is the hind quarter and the back strap all the rest go into trimmings that i pre weigh in ten pound bags that is later incorporated with beef and pork trimmings depending what sausage i would be making. for example swedish sausage requires venison,pork, and beef, cooked potatoes, onions and seasoning. great for holidays or anytime. this will my first year to do smoked sausage on my own. i will try not to screw up too much but once i get it down look out. polish and summer sausage is on the agenda this year and more varieties as i get it perfected if ever. i hunt in northern minnesota and am lucky to get one deer so i depend on my brother and son-in law for more if we are fortunate to get more. so if you ever need help let me know. good luck.

[mabr]

I will take you up on that so be careful. Besides that we can talk politics as well.

How much pork fat would be needed for say 40 pounds of breakfast sausage. And is that the only fat I would need to add?

[reinhard1]

in general the mix is half and half. but i do not use 100% pork fat. i use whats called picnic trim. its a 50% fat and 50% meat pork trim roughly. i get it from a buddy who still works as a butcher and can order it for me from a wholesaler. cubs on round lake blvd. also has 10lb. bags of course ground pork which i have used at times but last year it was 1.69lb and i see its up to 2.49lb this year. deer processers usualy use venison,pork, and beef belly meat in equal amounts in their smoked sausage in equal amounts. there is big money in deer saus. now some fresh sausage i use pork butt with a heavy fat cap like italian sausage for example with my venison when i little leaner sausage is required. but for breakfast and brats the above mixture is what i use. last year i only made 30 pounds of spicy breakfast sausage because we came up with only one year. i have made larger amounts over the years when we were more blessed with venison. good luck.