You hunt a Deer , take it to the Butcher, and they tell you "ALL VENISON GETS MIXED TOGETHER, UNLESS YOU SAY YOU WANT YOUR OWN . " And then they charge you extra for giving you your own Venison back. Who came up with that idea ????

Ya dont think id leave my meat if they said that

Depends on where you go. No one in North Dakota does that that I’m aware of. Didn’t even know that was a thing till my brother who lives in Colorado Springs told me about it. He said he found somewhere else that doesn’t do it that way.

I dont even know how that can work legally.

That's why I always do my own.

Around here they give you your own steaks and roasts. All the scraps that will be ground or made into jerky are weighed and then you get that weight back, plus the weight of any additives, like fat, once it's all processed. It's much easier for a butcher to prep and clean up after a few big batches, than it is to do hundreds of small batches of all the types of sausages, meat snacks and jerky that people want.

I skin and quarter and Diane does the finish work on the deer I kill.

Keith

it would sure be a huge time saver

especially when making batches of sausage

however there is a reason I have been cutting my own since 2002

At least they told you. Your well cared for animal mixed with a gut shot left for a day and a half animal, maybe some old beef, mmmmmm, yummy. Batch work at it’s finest

They do that around here if you ask, they do not volunteer that information. Keeps me busy during season, helping other cut their animals.



Owl

Lots of places do that here I think it's terrible.

I do my own and enjoy it. I come from a nice line of meat Packers. My friends will come by for me to do theirs also. I don't charge but they tend to give me a cut. It bumps up my venison freezer nicely.

My father in law, now 85, worked his entire adult life in a packing house. Retired in his late 70's.

Watching him butcher a deer is incredible. I've butchered a lot of deer but he is literally 10 times, or more, faster and efficient than me.

Don’t like that idea. My deer are cleaned immediately after being shot. Transported to our cleaning shed, skinned, gutted, and rinsed with cold water to speed up cooling. The deer is moved about six feet into a walk-in cooler with a big fan. Used to be a beer truck. The body is chilled, dried, and aged. No hair. Excellent quality. No blood shot meat. Head and neck shots mostly.

I would not wish to swap my meat with someone else.

Butcher your own is all I can say not that hard they are there to produce money not great meat.

I enjoy processing deer almost as much as hunting them.

I learned that from a butcher 20 years ago. I went to pick my deer up and the box was real light. I asked where the rest was? Then he explained his percentage of meat calculation. They hang it on a scale and come up with a % and reduce the percent for any bullet holes. That is what you get. Not what they cut off your deer it is an assembly line. He said they do thousands of animals and can't do one for each person. I do understand his process with his volume of business.
But we bought our own equipment and never went to a butcher again. Saved a ton of money and know what we have.

i never knew you could pay someone to butcher for you when i was a kid. we did all our own. chickens hogs beef deer and elk.

a local slaughterhouse here does that. 30 cents more a pound to get your own back.

we have been doing our own for years. I know ours are done right.
one place we hunt the owner has a lot of destruction tags.
we process prolly 25 per year. lot of work but we enjoy it.

The butcher here is suppose to give you your own deer back. I brought him a deer and he said it would be ready in 2 days. Just getting steaks and roasts cut.

The next day I heard that 3 guys from Quebec brought him a deer and wanted it done by the next day cause they had to go home.
I told my wife right then and there that there’s no way he’s going to give me my own deer back.
Got the call the next day saying he’s behind in meat cutting and my deer will be done in another week.

Quebec guys were gone home...with my deer most likely.

I never went and got the meat when he called and said it was ready. I will never say another word to that guy. A butcher should never lose the trust of their customers.

Talk to someone that has worked for a seasonal deer processor and you’ll probably never consider taking one there again. Do yourself a favor and do it on your own - the meat will be much better handled and prepared and you’ll get more satisfaction out of it. Vacuum pack your cuts and ground and it will still taste fresh for 2-3 years after you put it up.

X2

Walked through a cooler of deer helping a friend drop off his deer. I do my own now. The way some guys take care of their deer is not good.