Hubby shot an elk last night...who processes their own meat ?

[unionwirewoman]

Hey Chicken-mama....We use what we call "beef chubs " along with our suet....The chubs are the 5 lb packages you buy at the store that have the most fat content in them . Works great for making the meat stick together and also tones down those bucks that are really in the rut .

 

[Opa]

I've been processing my own venison for over thirty years and normally take 8-10 deer each year. There is now way I could afford to pay to have that many deer commercially butchered. More importantly, no commercial butcher could spend as much time a I do trimming. A few years ago the GF worked for a commericial processor. She came home after her first day telling me that she would never eat any of the meat that went out of there. She said that it was no way as clean as ours and most of it smelled when it was brought in. When I'm trimming I always go by the rule "if it's white, it ain't right". Congratulations on your hunting sucess.

 

[kodiakchicken]

We process our own most of the time. DH got two deer on a hunt and a friend gave him a hindquarter of a beef he shot (with the rancher's permission). He processed all that himself. After doing a moose a few years ago though, I draw the line at anything bigger than an elk. A friend wanted to go in halves on a buffalo but didn't want to pay processing costs. I said I'd pack my bags and leave first!

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
We're definetly on the same page ! My aunt who was a butcher for 20 yrs taught me . I can hold my own ....but my hubby called one of his dads friends who was a butcher to help cut . I have to tell you I've never been so horrified in my life ! Not only did he leave ALL of the fat on....he didn't even skim off the dried layer ! I picked so many hairs out of that grind bucket before I made hamburger...I could have made a pillow !

 

[SterlingAcres]

I've never taken a deer (or anything really) to a processor. My biological father has... and that was a big part of why I didn't eat pork as a child. It was a slaughter house for suckling piglets. That traumatizes an 8 year old.

That being said, we've (my stepdad, brothers and I) always done all our own meat.

 

[unionwirewoman]

I really think there's something to be said about us who take the time to process our own meat . Alot of us can't afford it or feel that the price is too high (not to mention the quality of the product !) . I think it makes us appreciate where this meat came from , and to do the best we can do . It's one thing to just go out and shoot it , granted sometimes it's hard won , but it's another to actually dig in and support your family . I'd like to say hunting is a hobby....I do like horns , but when it comes down to providing for your family....horns or not ...meat is meat . I can't say I enjoy myself when I'm doing it ....but there is self satisfaction knowing you helped to put food in your families mouth . I'm so proud of each and everyone of us who do this...just remember to pass this down to future generations !