Gour-Mart

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by omega50

How do you carefully process a fully frozen bull elk?

We carefully field dressed, skinned, and removed the feet before the animal froze overnight before our journey home. We cut away some of the hemorrhaged meat to minimize meat staining. Double wrapped the animal in two poly tarps, and loaded it into my truck with a Bobcat.

[Bowhntr4life]

I've always processed my own deer until about 3 years ago when a close friend recommended Gour Mart to me. I was dealing with Daryl, the owner, directly and he did a great job on my first deer. I've since taken 5-6 more deer and a bull elk. I had different varieties of sausages, jerky, smokies, and lots of normal plain cuts done and they've done a great job every time.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I would talk to Daryl about it. It must have been a disgruntled employee or something because Daryl takes great pride in his work. It's unfortanate for both parties.

[Bowhntr4life]

On a side note...congrats on the bull elk!

[Jack&7]

Originally Posted by Who Da Fisherman

First you have not let given them an opportunity of responding before going off the deep end on here. Some of the things said and shown are far-far from proper but give them an opportunity. There may be some reasons as to why (disgruntled employee etc)
They are as most places like this closed on Sunday to respond to your call.
If it was me I would not call but go down ther and discuss thus one on one.
Second when you picked it up did you not expect the packaging? If not bad on you.
I have in the past had subpar wrapping and redid the few packages myself, way easier than losing sleep.

HUH? I hardly call this "going off the deep end". I think Gibson's answer below is spot on. There shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. Do it right the first time. Whomever did the hack job on this carcass obviously accepted full price for it knowing full well that sub-par product was leaving out the door. As a business owner (and as a butcher specifically), your reputation means EVERYTHING! I think the onus is on the business owner to make sure the customer is getting exactly what they asked and paid for. If the final product isn't up to standards, I would be tackling that box of meat to make sure it didn't leave my shop. In other words, there is NO acceptable "reasons as to why" this should happen. It is either done right, or it isn't done.

Did you pay full price for those subpar wrapping jobs in the past? If you were willing to let the butcher get away with that...then bad on you.

Not picking a fight with you WDF, but Gib is not the type of guy to come on here, fly off the handle and bash someone. I think his review is fair and honest and it appears the business owner has some explaining to do.

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

The opportunity to fix this problem begins with doing it right the first time. In that case my response would be writing a positive review instead of warning others of the product I paid for being unsatisfactory.

So sorry to see this, Gib. I have always done my own with my dad. Yes it is a crapload of work and ma take longer, but your experience is exactly the reason why. I have heard too many horror stories and don't trust anyone. And to have your animal that required so much time, energy and $$$ to attain be hacked up like this would cause me heart palpitations.

That being said, my neighbor has taken a few animals to a wicked butcher in Olds: Kerik's Meat Market. Great old guy...good to talk to and competitively priced. And I spent some time in the back of the shop....clean and organized. Plus all your meat is guaranteed YOUR MEAT. Tubs are tagged and numbered.

[V_1]

Originally Posted by Bergerboy

^^^^^^^^^

This is why I butcher my own critters.

Yep, DIY is the best.

BTW butchers tend to lie they don pool meat but they pretty much all do. At least in peak season.

[edmhunter]

Originally Posted by albertadeer

Not true at all...lol

Though you might get satisfaction from butchering your own. I've done a few.
Nothing compares to a master butcher at work. Bone in chops can be amazing if cares for properly.

For bone in work all you need is a ban saw, watch your fingers!!!! With a little practice anyone can be as good at cutting then any butcher I ever met. It's not exactly rocket science. Making quality sausage is a whole different ball game. All you need to make killer Jerky is a good smoke house

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by Bowhntr4life

On a side note...congrats on the bull elk!

Thanks man! Now I will focus on getting one with my archery tackle.

[vcmm]

Originally Posted by V_1

Yep, DIY is the best.

BTW butchers tend to lie they don pool meat but they pretty much all do. At least in peak season.

That's pretty bold generic statement. This kind of attitude is why there is less shops doing it. Eventually because of people like you no shops will do it.
Glad you know more than the people who have invested a life time of knowledge and money in to it. It's no different than having a good mechanic. You have go through a few unsavory characters to find a good one.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by vcmm

That's pretty bold generic statement. This kind of attitude is why there is less shops doing it. Eventually because of people like you no shops will do it.
Glad you know more than the people who have invested a life time of knowledge and money in to it. It's no different than having a good mechanic. You have go through a few unsavory characters to find a good one.

I agree...I know several stand up guys who separate meat and make sure everyone gets their own back.

LC

[vcmm]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I agree...I know several stand up guys who separate meat and make sure everyone gets their own back.

LC

Yup, Something went wrong here. I grew up around the Gour-Mart and have eaten their products.Lets see what the outcome is for the O.P.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Before I decided on Gour-Mart, I did some investigating. The reviews from trusted members on this site, as well as friends who provided reviews of the shop, were positive. I have given my business to several wild game butchers over the years, with the majority of service providers delivering good results. In that time, only Gour-Mart has fallen below what I deem acceptable from a wild game butcher.

For a new customer, this is upsetting. Granted, mistakes happen. I don't mind the odd hair that makes it into the final product. When it happens in conjunction with several other key performance issues, it becomes apparent that the service I paid for was not the service delivered. Never have I found bloodshot meat in any final cut and wrapped meat from a butcher. I pay to have it removed, trimmed and wrapped.

This does not take away from people who have used Gour-Mart for years with great results, but it does lend credence to what a new or existing customer could receive when trusting their harvest to this company from this point forward.

The pictures explain themselves.

[iliketrout]

Sorry about your luck TFG. Having been in countless camps with you and witnessing first hand the incredible care you take when field dressing and hanging in the field, I know that this must be devastating to you.

I hope this gets made right, although I'm not sure what that would be. I'm really looking forward to hearing an explanation from the owner. I've had some of the sausages from there which were really good. I was really looking forward to having a local butcher instead of our traditional guy out of town. I can certainly say that I will be checking out other butchers instead of sticking with my plan of going to Gour-Mart in the future. Too much time, money, and effort is expended to risk having your harvest disrespected like this.

[Mike_W]

Man those steaks look nasty and I cannot identify what they are.....From that picture I doubt your animal was hung for a week looks like they took a frozen carcass to the bandsaw IMO. I would never use a butcher that uses a band saw for wildgame.

I usually do my own butchering but with my schedule and warm weather I took my bull and my dads (Both shot opening day of rifle season Sept 17th). Where we hunt I have access to a game cooler after staying nice a cool for three days I arranged to have the 8 quarters butchered at Schlecker Meats just outside my home town of Stony Plain. And I would let the back straps, loins and other sausage cuts age in my fridge in the garage and butcher myself.
I was hesitant to use a butcher from reading threads like this but in talking with Dean he seemed like a stand up guy, all other reservations were put to rest when I backed my truck up to his meat locker at 10 PM it was clean, well lit and had several beef halves hanging. Dean commented on the great condition my meat was in and assured me the quarters will age for 7 days then be butchered.. On the ninth day I got a call that my meat was completed the day prior and should be now frozen solid and ready for pick up.

I am nothing but happy the meat is outstanding butcher excellent and wrapped great I don't think I could do it any better myself!!

[omega50]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

We carefully field dressed, skinned, and removed the feet before the animal froze overnight before our journey home. We cut away some of the hemorrhaged meat to minimize meat staining. Double wrapped the animal in two poly tarps, and loaded it into my truck with a Bobcat.

Was trying to figure out why the guy would cut through the poly tarps.
Where they frozen into the meat?
Whole thing sounds like a nightmare.
Cutting through the tenderloins does not worry me unless he was directed to remove them before cutting-which he could not do because everything was frozen and sounds like he was trying to get this whole frozen elk onto his rail.

Then a week in the cooler would have thawed the elk-then cut and refreeze might account for some of the appearance of that meat.
Bad deal all around

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by omega50

Was trying to figure out why the guy would cut through the poly tarps?

The tarps were not frozen onto the meat, I wrapped the carcass a few hours after skinning and letting hang in the cold so that the tarps wouldn't stick.

When I arrived at GM, I partially unwrapped the carcass and backed my truck up to the rail outside the back door. This is when the owner mentioned that it would require cutting. I agreed to his suggestion, he is the expert. Before I could stop him, or ask why he was cutting in the location he chose, he was through the tenderloins. Being the choicest cut of meat on any animal, cutting though it with a bone saw doesn't make sense. Because the animal was still laying on the tarps, they were hit by the saw. Accidental yes, sloppy - yes. Normally not a deal breaker, but worth mentioning as it is another strike, much like the hair on the final product.

Originally Posted by omega50

Then a week in the cooler would have thawed the elk-then cut and refreeze might account for some of the appearance of that meat.

The owner did say he would hang the carcass for a week to thaw and age the meat, at no additional charge. When the carcass was cut, it would've been thawed. In my opinion, this does not substantiate a legitimate reason for wrapping up bloodshot, and untrimmed meat.

On a positive note, the meat is delicious. I trimmed the steaks, and washed them thoroughly and fired them on the Weber last night for supper. Glorious flavor, but it required eating around some bone chips.

[The Cook]

I took 2 deer there about 10 yeaars ago, paid extra for no bones and the first roast I thawed out had a bone. I often wonder if my clean killed prairie deer gets mixed up with a gut shot mountain deer. I have never been back. My wife and I butchered two deer on a Sunday afternoon and for a hundred and fifty bucks we bought a grinder and a vaccum sealer.

[Bushrat]

Could it be that someone requested odds and ends and scraps be wrapped and frozen for their dog and some of them somehow got mixed in with your meat? Stranger things have happened.Open up a couple other packages and see what they look like. Otherwise it looks to me like some trainee didn't know what they were doing and was too stupid to ask..

[omega50]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

The tarps were not frozen onto the meat, I wrapped the carcass a few hours after skinning and letting hang in the cold so that the tarps wouldn't stick.

When I arrived at GM, I partially unwrapped the carcass and backed my truck up to the rail outside the back door. This is when the owner mentioned that it would require cutting. I agreed to his suggestion, he is the expert. Before I could stop him, or ask why he was cutting in the location he chose, he was through the tenderloins. Being the choicest cut of meat on any animal, cutting though it with a bone saw doesn't make sense. Because the animal was still laying on the tarps, they were hit by the saw. Accidental yes, sloppy - yes. Normally not a deal breaker, but worth mentioning as it is another strike, much like the hair on the final product.



The owner did say he would hang the carcass for a week to thaw and age the meat, at no additional charge. When the carcass was cut, it would've been thawed. In my opinion, this does not substantiate a legitimate reason for wrapping up bloodshot, and untrimmed meat.
On a positive note, the meat is delicious. I trimmed the steaks, and washed them thoroughly and fired them on the Weber last night for supper. Glorious flavor, but it required eating around some bone chips.

.My comment was more directed to the wet mushy appearance of the meat

[J D]

I find it hard to get solid reviews on butchers many start with 1 cutter and never switch or have lower standards.

Personally I cut my own meat now for about 12 years and Gour-mart is actually the last cutter I used. Lets just say my experience motivated me to learn to cut my own meat.

Good wild game cutters are hard to find

[walking buffalo]

The hunting gods are telling you to butcher your own game.

A call and some Crown and I'll be there to help on the first one or two.

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

The hunting gods are telling you to butcher your own game.

A call and some Crown and I'll be there to help on the first one or two.

Where do we call?

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

The hunting gods are telling you to butcher your own game.

A call and some Crown and I'll be there to help on the first one or two.

By all intents and purposes, cutting my own meat is the best answer to this issue. When I butcher my next animal, the Crown and your invite are open WB!

[hardy]

Go easy on the crown when butchering. You think unwrapping blood shot meat is bad....how bout unwrapping one with your finger in it hahahaahah jk!

[edmhunter]

^^^^^ Excellent advise! Coast on beer By the way Outdoor Edge sell and great DVD series on butchering

[hayseed]

I have been doing my own butchering since I was a kid. Works for me as we have the saw and all we need. Heck my wife and I with our 2 kids have cut and wrapped 2 deer and a moose in a day no problem. That includes deboning all trim to be used for jerky or sausage. If you have the room and time, its the only way to go.

I remember when I was young with my Pa and Uncle doing up a moose or elk with a hand saw. All steaks and roasts, ribs, you name it. Worked for your steak and whiskey those days...

[stob]

sad sad sad ... used Smokey Farm meats in Chestermere / CY for years until he closed shop ... have used Vern at Savoury Meats in Sundre for the past few years on the advice of locals and the experience has been nothing short of exceptional / no batch grinds / best trimmed cuts I have ever had & great sausage and garlic coil etc etc etc. People drive their animals in from Lethbridge to Grande Praire. A touch more expensive but worth every penny at twice the price. These are hunters who know the business / service / and everything else in between

[hardy]

Originally Posted by edmhunter

^^^^^ Excellent advise! Coast on beer By the way Outdoor Edge sell and great DVD series on butchering

I actually bought that dvd set and the knives to go with it. Really well done in my opinion. I have been butchering my own for quite a few years but the dvd showed me some tricks and info I had not thought about before.
The knives are kinda cheap but they do work well, they just dont hold an edge all that long. The shape of the handles are really nice and the blade shapes really work well for individual tasks when skinning deboning and butchering!

[GreenCanada]

When I was preparing to hunt this fall, I did some research and asked around to friends and fellow hunters to find a reputable butcher.

I had heard from a few friends that Gour-Mart had recently undergone a change in ownership and that the quality had decreased. This was just word of mouth and I took it as that.

My biggest consideration for choosing a butcher was one who ran a clean shop and did not pool the game they received. I.e. you bring in 50lbs of venison and you get 50lbs of venison back (but it will be a mixture of all that animals of the same species brought in around the same time, not just yours).

By going to a butcher that pools meat, you end up paying less but IMO you get back an inferior product. Well, you could back a superior product if you don't trim the meat, remove the hair, and cool the carcass as quickly as possible after killing it. So you save some money, but if you provide exceptional quality game that was properly cared for and cleaned then you get back an inferior product. Not all hunters take the time to pick off all the hairs, trim the silver skin, etc.


The above is why I chose to go with a butcher that would process my game and return the same back to me. Since I process my own steaks and roasts, I just needed some sausages and ground processed.

I decided to go with Rocky, of Rocky's Sausage Haus near Edmonton Tr and Memorial Dr, in Calgary. I had sampled a number of his venison products before (through a friend) and was thoroughly impressed. The price was definitely reasonable for the quality and the turn around was also great, considering how busy he was.

I have and will continue recommending his business to anyone who is looking for a quality butcher at a great price. Top notch product, very personable guy and a great communicator.

[molly]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, OP. We have used Gour-Mart for about six years for sausage, and have been very pleased. Darryl provides a cell number on his answering machine and only lives 10 minutes away, and he has always proven accommodating. We butcher our own, so cannot give an opinion on that. I know he was trying to sell last year but it fell through.
I concur with some others on here; have you complained to Darryl? I would think he would try and rectify things somehow if the results are that bad...

[edmhunter]

Although I butcher my own animals, I have all of my sausage done at Victoria Fancy Sausage in Edmonton. Their shop is extremely clean, all the staff are very friendly and the owner Allen is TOP NOTCH.

I highly recommend them to anyone that wants to have their game processed professionally and especially is you want out of this world, delicious sausage.