DIY butcher or do you pay?

[Robhood23]

Anybody have or know where to find a good tutorial on this?

[lpcjon2]

I do my own and always will.I heard stories of guys who saw deer stacked up in freezers and you never know what meat you r getting and from who's deer. Plus think about how many they may process and if they are a clean facility.

[House]

Always have done it myself.  Couple weeks ago a few of us butchered 3 elk in one day, three days later another elk and a deer.  All I got was the deer, but still came home with about 160 pounds of cut/wrapped/froze meat...can't beat that!  To me it is not work, more of an extended part of the hunting experience.  I actually love the butchering process, although my back had had enough by the end of the third elk that particular day!

Enjoy, it's all part of the trip.

Travis

[mmgrode]

I butcher my own animals.  If I'm hankerin' for some bacon to be made I will take some scraps to a processor, but all the steaks, roasts, etc. are cut and wrapped by me.  I like to know exactly where my meat has been and how it's cared for.  Butchering the animals yourself adds a bit of satisfaction as well...in my opinion.

[magnus]

There was a tutorial in the how to section on butchering. Not sure if it's still there.

Keeping the Faith
Magnus

[mscampbell75]

I used to take it to have it deboned and ground up in burgers or sausage.  It got kinda costly ($75-100) depending on the size. Thats times 5-6 deer/year.  You do the math.

Started doing my own bout 5yrs ago.  I'll be doing my from now on unless I were to hit the lottery. And being I rarly play, the odds are agianst me.

[Red Tailed Hawk]

I have always done it myself and probably always will.

[formerbutcher]

I cut my own. I think there getting around 70$'s a deer to skin cut/grind and wrap in these parts.

[ishiwannabe]

75$ here per deer. I have only ever had two done by a processor, the rest have been done at home. The two I had done were both due to working and warmer weather, I prefer to hang them for a few days, weather permitting.

[Raineman]

I do both. If I get one in the early season when its hot, I drop it off on the way home right in the butchers walk-in. A "regular cut" which is roasts, backstraps, T-loins, and ground, cut, wrapped, frozen, labeled is $60.

When the weather cools off and I have some time to hang it, I'll do it myself. Usually I'll do straps, loins, cut the hams up for jerky, and rest is ground.

Whoever posted "backstraps without silver" is spot on, and if I have the time available and a cool day or two to hang, I prefer that way. Freezer paper and tape is much cheaper.

[ishoot4thrills]

If I kill a deer on a weeknight after work, I'll check it in and then give it to somebody I work with that is wanting one, or if I have the funds and the slaughter house is open, I'll take it to them at $75.00-$85.00.

If I kill one on a weekend when I'm not working the next day, I'll go ahead and process it myself. I don't have a very good place to do it, like a garage or basement, but I manage to do it myself on the weekend, if I have the time and it's colder outside, like in November or later.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I do my own unless I'm in a situation where i can't get it cut up before it spoils.  I usually won't hunt if I don't have time to butcher though.  My uncle used to be a meat cutter at the piggly wiggly so I learned how to do it at a pretty young age.  I still can't keep up with him though.  He can butcher a deer faster than I can package it.

[twitchstick]

Thanks for all the replys. Every year I have a few people bring deer and elk because of the quality of the local butchers. I am cheap and it helps pay for my butchering equipment and some hunting supplies. Most I will help them with it and teach them to butcher it for little or no cost at all. I have deer coming in tonight I am doing for free to help a young couple out. I think more people would do it if they had the time,if they knew how easy it is. Thanks agian.

[Steve H.]

Doing it ones self = self reliance and competence, its kind of the traditionalists way!

[David Yukon]

I do it my self to! I just got a moose this year and it took me the equivalent of a day to do my half, that gave me 300lbs of dress meet... It is a lot of work but I like it and Iknow what I'm getting!!
Cheers
p.s. a moose up here run in the $350 to get done by a butcher!

[Ragnarok Forge]

I do it all myself.  Quality control and aging are all perfect when I do it.  Never know at a butchers what is happening and whose deer or elk you might get.

[beetlebailey1977]

Most all of mine go to my processor.  I pay $70 and they do it all....skin, gut, hang, cut up, vacume seal, and freeze.  Usually get it back in a week to 10 days.

[bawana bowman]

Always have and always will do my own. Don't like processors because You never know what deer the meat came from that you get back. I know how my deer are cared for after killed, and prefer to have the meat from that deer and not have it mixed with meat that someone else didn't care for properly.

This is just my feelings on the subject. Don't mean to say all processors combine meat from different deer but I know many of them do.

[Hopewell Tom]

I've done my own deer ever since I got a "bunch of cut up meat in a box" ( would best describe it)from a local guy.
I debone it in my basement,set up on a table with sheet and cutting board. All the bits and bites go in a box and off to a friends to be ground for burger and Hot Mexican sausages. Steaks, a few roasts and some stew meat. As this is going on, I have a large roaster on the Coleman simmering away with some "Buck Head soup". I always do an European mount on the heads, you know, bleached skull and antlers. Do that ONLY outside. The cooking has a "slight" odour.
I like the self sufficient feel of doing my own processing.

[penrosefred]

We always do it ourselves