Taking a Deer to the Butcher

JJRND · #1 10-20-2009, 03:58 PM

I'm new to hunting, and before I harvest any animals I want to know the steps I need to take to butcher the animals. I want to take any deer I harvest to a butcher to be made into jerky, sausage and pepperoni. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Whether I take the deer home and age and cut out the meat myself and then just take the meat to the butcher? Or just take the deer to the butcher and they'll do the aging etc. Also can anyone recommend a butcher in southern Alberta? Thanks!

#2 10-20-2009, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJRND

I'm new to hunting, and before I harvest any animals I want to know the steps I need to take to butcher the animals. I want to take any deer I harvest to a butcher to be made into jerky, sausage and pepperoni. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Whether I take the deer home and age and cut out the meat myself and then just take the meat to the butcher? Or just take the deer to the butcher and they'll do the aging etc. Also can anyone recommend a butcher in southern Alberta? Thanks!

If you just want sausage and jerky, I'd debone the meat, being carefuly to keep it clean and hair free. No need to age meat being made into sausage so just freeze it in large Ziploc bags and take it to the butcher. You are likely best to keep the tenderloins and backstraps for the bbq but again, no aging required. Deboning the meat yourself will save you a ton of cash.

Scott N · #3 10-20-2009, 04:09 PM

I've tried some of my hunting partner's stuff that he had processed at Mountain Sausage in Lethbridge and it was very good. Back Country Butchers in Cowley is also very good.

kevpack · #4 10-20-2009, 04:22 PM

Try the Chopping Block in Glenwood, they have a hook on a pulley block, skin it right there, slides right into the cooler, try their breakfast maple sausage, yum yum

JJRND · #5 10-20-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevpack

Try the Chopping Block in Glenwood, they have a hook on a pulley block, skin it right there, slides right into the cooler, try their breakfast maple sausage, yum yum

Do you have a phone number or address for this place?

Mountain Guy · #6 10-20-2009, 07:42 PM

De-bone it yurself,as the butcher will probably weigh it and charge you the weight,bone and all.
Especially if your wanting what you suggest.
You should consider learning to cut it up yourself. Deer are small enough that it's quite manageable to do it yourself.
To make the task easier,wal-mart sell ( at least used to have ) a hard cover book called something like '' feild dressing and cutting'' big game. It has pictures to guide you through the process.
For jerky you should also consider doing it yourself. It's fairly inexpensive to get the meat ground at the butcher , buy a $20 jerky gun and some of the many brands of dry jerky cures out there, and have at er'. YOu can use a dehydrator or the oven. Pretty simple.

JJRND · #7 10-21-2009, 02:58 PM

Does anyone have any information about the Chopping Block in Glenwood?

Soreneck Racing · #8 10-21-2009, 10:25 PM

I have used the chopping block for two of my deer last year and I know a couple of other fellows that have used them. Its a father-son operation, pretty small place (mind you Glenwood is a pretty small village!)

They did a fine job on my two deer. $.49/pound hanging weight for the basic processing. Drop it off and go back and pick it up cut/wrapped/frozen. If I remember correctly one of my deer was $54.00 last year

One fellow had some pepperoni and jerky made by them, but it was overdone-very dry. If you are looking for the basic stuff done-use them-otherwise try Mountain Sausage for the speciality stuff. I like the Mtn Sausage jerky and pepperoni.

If you have any interest, it does not take much to cut and wrap your own. I learned from reading stuff here on this forum and other sites on the net. The library has some books as well. My first attempt at butchering was not pretty, but I believe that I will become better with more practice. If it is cool enough, I will be processing more of my deer at home.

Hope that helps!

hwkirby · #9 10-21-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJRND

I'm new to hunting, and before I harvest any animals I want to know the steps I need to take to butcher the animals. I want to take any deer I harvest to a butcher to be made into jerky, sausage and pepperoni. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Whether I take the deer home and age and cut out the meat myself and then just take the meat to the butcher? Or just take the deer to the butcher and they'll do the aging etc. Also can anyone recommend a butcher in southern Alberta? Thanks!

The more you can do yourself the cheaper it will be in the long run. Deboning a deer is easy and requires very little skill. Nothing to wreck if it is just being further processed into jerky sausage etc. As SH mentioned above be sure to remove hair, fat and bone fragments and the like to make your eating experience that much more enjoyable in the future. Larger game (elk, moose) is a different story though. You can watch videos and take a class to learn how to make cuts from your big game animal. But if you can afford it and want it done right take it to a local butcher shop and have it done professionally. You are on the right track looking for reccommendations, not all butcher shops are created equally!
Most big game does not need to be aged very long if at all imo. Again especially if your going the sausage route. Game typically has little to no exterior fat and just dries out to fast. Leaving a "jerky" type crust over the lean meat which just has to be cut off and thrown away later. Lots of wasted meat and labour for nothing.
Your deer tag will have most of the information needed for the butcher to process your game. However, some take more information to be on the safe side, and it would not hurt to take in your certificate as well. With the new computer generated tags you will have to take in your license.
Good luck!