Based on Big Daddy's thread How much do you pay at the butcher shop? How do you have him do it? How much burger, sausage, sticks, brats? If you do it yourself, how much do you have in your equipment? How many deer did you process before you broke even? Paper, or vacuum seal? What mix for you sausage or deer sticks? Do you make jerky? Finally, what does a doe and/or a buck cost you at the processor vs in your shop/home/garage? I know what I want to do...please advise!
I paid to get mine done. $90 processing fee, and then $ per item. I usually get brats, sausage, and ground (mixed with BACON). My big doe this year will cost me under $200 all done. Not the cheapest, but it frees up my time and keeps the wife happy by not having to cut up a deer in the garage.
The absolute basic burger and steaks package from a local amish guy runs us only $40 (actually $35 but tip). He does a clean and very basic cuts so one deer is good for that. But just like my buck this year, he cut backstraps out and then threw the entire rest of the meat in a box for us to take to get processed into sticks/sausage and such else where....$35 caping fee and $25 processing for meat. Dude's ridiculously low, but no hair and removes most fat (will admit leaves more than some people do).
Do it myself Good set of boning knives...$100 1800w table top grinder from Amazon...$100 (I think) I'm on my fifth deer and it runs like new Heavy duty freezer bags...That's it. I don't make sticks or Jerky. Just roast, Steaks, and ground.
So I have learned; That I should keep the wife happy I could pay up to $200 for a doe if I want certain things done I need to find an Amish Butcher
My wife helps. It's money in the bank rather than to the processor. Burger is like $4/lb so If I can get 40lbs of ground for next to nothing (about 45min of my time including setup and take down). I'm going to do it. Is it a PITA? sometimes yes. Most of the time we get the whole family involved. My 9 year old loves running the grinder.
All myself. Grinder is only around 100 knives and everything else probably total around 250 but i have done at least 25 deer
Iv never paid for it. Grinder $50, with a hand grinder back up, vacuum sealer $120, rapala fillet knives $13. Saves a lot of money and takes "maybe" 2-3 hours to completely process and clean up
Costs me $60 for basic cut. Got 73lbs of meat, over half ground but quite a few steaks, a few roasts, and the back straps of course.
I always do my own. For my household, we do 4-5 each year. I cut the straps and loins into chops and burger most of the rest. I do leave a roast or two, and some stew meat. No way am I paying the kind of money some of these places charge. If I want sausage or dogs, I'll make my own. For the cost of a couple deer done commercially, you can be all set up to do it yourself. Edit to say, I did buy a heavy duty grinder....but about 15yrs ago. 1hp I think? It was about $300 back then. It doesn't even slow down really, and has reverse. I would recommend at least 1/2 hp. I've probably ground up 100 deer with it, and its like new. I also have a 2ft x 3ft x 3/4" thick cutting board. I think I paid like $75 for it. Makes life real easy...put it right on my island. My grinder has stuffing tubes and all that, but I usually don't make dogs, etc.
That sounds very reasonable. Where they get you is when you get into sticks, jerky, dogs, etc. Buddy of mine paid $275 for a 60lb dressed doe last year. He offered me a deer stick to try, I told him I couldn't afford to eat one. LOL
Do all my own. $330 for grinder, $100 for vacuum sealer, $10 for kershaw filet knife. Steaks and roasts get wrapped in shrink wrap and then wrapped in freezer paper. Burger gets vacuum sealed in 1.5# packages. Im running 1% or under on meat/fat in my ground. Since I bought the grinder we have done 1 bear, four deer, and two elk. I think it's way more than paid for.
Yeah it's all in the customized stuff. Like I said average around here is $60 for pure basics...highest is $90 and lowest is around $35. Clean and quick to get meat off bone is all we care about when not getting custom sticks or sausage.
I hunted elk in Wyoming last year. Before I went hunting, I checked with a couple of wild game processors in Cheyenne to find out what it would cost me to have an elk processed with just standard processing. The rate was $1.38 lb. to $1.85 lb., hanging weight. You figure an average bull will weight around 450/500 pounds with a cow about 350/400 pounds, all dead weight. The last cow elk I had processed cost me $90 so you can imagine my "sticker shock." Won't ever be going to a game processor again.
Yeah that adds to the price a lot! But my butcher isnt that bad lol. I got 22lbs of sausage on a doe a last year and it was $75 i think. But yeah all that does jack the cost up.
Started processing everything last year. My dad has an old commercial grinder. Might be 40 years old. Works fine. My grandpa actually saved it from a fire in a locker years ago. My dad saw it at a sale he was auctioning and bought it because no one was bidding on it. I bought a sausage stuffer last year that I believe was on sale in the spring at half price. $100 +-. I have a big cutting board and filet knife. ($50) Received a vacuum sealer for Christmas a couple of years ago. (around $70?) I bought a dehydrator. (around $60 I think) I also bought a cheap slicer last year. ($50) The slicer isn't great, but it was cheap and I expected that. Now all I have to do is buy the casings, seasonings, or anything else that I want to make. I've processed 2 deer this year with another one ready to process in the fridge. We usually keep the loins for steaks and marinade to grill. The back rounds/steaks I'll make into dried venison and jerky. Any trimmings we put into sausage later in the season. I freeze all the grind to make later in spring or when I get a chance. I'm new to the sausage making, but it doesn't seem to be too bad. The dried venison is really easy to make. I smoke it. I smoked summer sausage last year that turned out good. Smoked some brats last year that I got too dry. I enjoy doing it when I have the time to do it. Saves a lot of money. Also allows me to know exactly what is going into the meat. I'm pretty picky cutting up the meat and getting clean. Trying a new idea for the front shoulders. Low and slow cooking to see if we can't find a better way than cutting into grind meat. Lots of connective tissue in the front shoulders/leg. Going to brine, smoke briefly and then slow cook in the oven.
It is a lot more work. Worth it IMO. But work none the less. I'd rather be watching football, or hunting on Sunday, but I'm grinding up my deer instead. It saves me a ton of money though. and I'm a cheap A$$.
It would be nice to process my own deer but I don't have the place to do it. So I am confined to a processor. I paid about $100 last year for my doe. Sent from my XT901
