Cost of butcher bill for my elk!!!!!

[pilebuck]

My spike this year was quartered in the field to get down the mountain I got home did everything else myself I only do steaks and roasts the rest I brought to my butcher got jerky summer sausage and breakfast sausage.I also want to get a grinder then I can do it all I believe your price was fair.......

[wildmanoutdoors]

From the sounds of your post you both took your elk there and was charged 260. Was that for both?

[Mike450r]

Sounds about right.   I do my own but have to say I wouldn't feel guilty charging that to process an elk.

[RB]

Heck I paid more than that for a 153 pound Deer $286.55. First Deer I have harvested in about 7 years, and I had to work the following two days after I shot it. The temp was right around 55 plus degrees and the days after I got off work were booked. Had to call around and some could not even take it. So yeah it was a lot of money, but I had 20lbs of pepperoni, 20lbs of summer sausage, 10lbs of jerky, loin chops, tenderloin and 45lbs of burger made out of it, so I am happy and the stuff tastes great!

I have in the past either made my own jerky and burger, or canned it, but just did not have the time.

[MuleySniper]

Backstraps, loin, couple roasts.....Easy DIY. You can take the rest in boned out for burger,sausage or whatever aND save yourself a lot of coin

[mfswallace]

Sounds really high for 128 lbs that was already quartered and especially if you only had steaks and roasts cut and wrapped 

I process my own animals into steaks, roasts and make my own jerky. A good vacuum seal and wrap and there in the freezer.
 All I usually have my guy do is take my grinder cuts and make burger or pep or brats since I can't do it as well as his 25+ years of experience can...

[Boss .300 winmag]

Heck I paid more than that for a 153 pound Deer $286.55. First Deer I have harvested in about 7 years, and I had to work the following two days after I shot it. The temp was right around 55 plus degrees and the days after I got off work were booked. Had to call around and some could not even take it. So yeah it was a lot of money, but I had 20lbs of pepperoni, 20lbs of summer sausage, 10lbs of jerky, loin chops, tenderloin and 45lbs of burger made out of it, so I am happy and the stuff tastes great!

I have in the past either made my own jerky and burger, or canned it, but just did not have the time.

That's actually not bad for all the speciality stuff plus cutting and wrapping. 

That's about what I will end up paying for just 65lbs of pepperoni/summer sausage to get done.

[nitro]

NO not for both of them it was 260 a elk!!! He said that 260 was the price to process elk and deer was like 125 or something and that that is what he charged for the past 14 years. Two years ago i had owens meats do my spike and it weighed 154 or something 4 quarters and some rib and neck meat in a bag and my bill was like 145 nothing even close what i was charged today.

[Dmulcahy]

I brought my elk to matts custom meats in kelso. 211 lbs cost 170$. That was my first time bringing an animal there and they did the best job I have ever got from a butcher...

[C-Money]

At $100 a deer and over 200 for elk.....we started doing it our selves a few years ago. It's easy and rewarding to know exactly what you are eating. I'll never go back to a butcher.

[Stein]

It took me a whopping 12 hours to completely process my own rag horn two years ago and it was the first one I had done myself.

That included grinding, wrapping, freezing everything including heart, liver, neck, ribs, all of the meat.  It also included a ton of detail trimming and getting rid of bunch of hair since I didn't do the best job in the field.

For a professional butcher, I would expect them to be able to bang it out in 3 hours.  They won't do the detailed trimming I did and he only had the quarters.  Actually, someone who knows what he is doing and has a serious grinder should get the quarters done in 2 hours.

So, you paid about $50 - $100 an hour plus a few bucks in paper.

Personally, I would never send an animal into a butcher.  You pay a pretty high fee, don't get as good of a product back and half the time I wonder if I even get my animal back or are missing parts.  I have received other guys fish very often in AK and always go through every hardship to take care of the meat.  The biggest reason is that butchering it myself is part of the process and it makes me one notch happier on the scale when I serve it to my family.

Nothing against butchers, they simply can't afford to take the time I can to put out the very best product exactly as I want it.

[h2ofowlr]

Del Fox!!!! - I had the same crap happen to me.  I usually like to cut up my deer, but the boys filled there tags on opening day and I had 4 deer to deal with.  I cut and wrapped two and took in just the quarters for two deer and a tub of scraps for sausage.  I figured they would way everything and I would pay for the weight.  I get the call to come and pick it up.  I head in and I get the bill and about crapped.  I had 60lbs that I dropped off.  Because I had 7 quarters, due to one blown up really bad, I had to pay the min of charge of $89 per deer + tax.  I figured the bill was going to be less than a $100 and it cost me just under $200.  I was pissed.  The gal says the sign was on the door.  We couldn't find the sign and then she located in the game book mixed with the other papers. 
Either bring the whole animal in or it boned out.  Otherwise you will be getting stroked.

[nitro]

If you do the math and take 282.36 and divide that by 128 you come up with 2.20 lb  that is just out rages for elk process for steaks, burger and breakfast sausage in my eyes. maybe its me but this truly makes me want to learn more and process my own meat.

[Kuduman]

I'm not a tight wad by any means but on three occasions I have delivered elk, bison and deer to different butchers. On the elk and bison I KNOW I didn't get all my meat back and on the deer all I got back was burger and was told the steaks were given to another customer earlier that day......... here's your bill.........

I do it all myself now. 

[Stein]

If you do the math and take 282.36 and divide that by 128 you come up with 2.20 lb  that is just out rages for elk process for steaks, burger and breakfast sausage in my eyes. maybe its me but this truly makes me want to learn more and process my own meat.

We just paid $0.53 per pound hanging for cut and wrap of our beef and that includes 21 day dry age.