Anyone ever had issues with a butcher screwing up?

[cook0501]

 i recently picked up my deer from the butcher and they screwed up when they processed it they miss read the cut card and ground the whole darn deer.  they gave me a discount for it but i am not happy.  what should i do or what would you do.  i had my wife pick the meet up today and that is when we noticed the problem..  any input  would be great.  well the discount was they didn't charge me for the brawts i ordered. 



i guess on the bright side i have a freezer full of ground lol..........

[nw_bowhunter]

I have had this done twice... it is total BS. One deer was done so poorly that the jerky and pep sticks spoiled. The jerky tasted like the paper it was wrapped in. Honestly I complained and he offered to shoot me a deer and butcher. I was like no way!!! In end I got screwed. Really all you can do is ask for your money back, discount, etc.

This sucks man.. sorry about what happened. I guess now you will be coming up with lots of reciepe with hamburger. I would cook the hamburger to make sure it came out okay.

[cook0501]

we had some of the brawts and they were good.  plan on having some of the burger this weekend.  it is very discoraging because i am very picky on how my animals are cut and never had this happen.  i've heard stories of people not getting  part of their animal but maybe some elses but not this.

[alecvg]

My first deer we brought up to a guy in Canada, and he didn't cut along the bone, but cut straight through the bone, so there were chunks of bone in the steaks, it was very annoying.  Then the jerkey tasted like rubber, it was horrible.

[ICEMAN]

I have never used a butcher. Never. Heard too many stories.

We take a ton of time to butcher our game. There is no way possible that I can see a butcher taking the time necessary to cut an animal, wrap, etc...and still make a profit.

[NWBREW]

I geuss I should'nt ask you what butcher but can you say what city he was in? I have had the same thing happen to me and when I asked him how it happened he told me that when they butcher deer they get so many that you get charged for the wieght and get what it comes out to in meat, could be any number of deer not just yours. That pissed me off because I know how I take care of my meat in the field and I've seen deer hanging at that locker that looks like someone drug it behind backhoe before it got there. It took about 3 years but I've now got  an awsome butcher. Don't be afraid to look around, it's well worth it.  

[Jamieb]

There are videos on the web that show how to bone out a deer and what cuts are what. Its pretty easy to take out the backstraps, loins, and a couple of roasts at home, cut and wrap the steaks, chunk up the rest of the meat from the deer, take that to a butcher to have ground. If I have a skinned deer hanging, it only takes me about one hour to bone the whole thing out, cut steaks, wrap the steaks and roasts, and I trim the fat off the meat to be ground. Google is your friend, there's a ton of info out there.

[PWN Kurt]

I once had them forget a box of meat once.  When I caught it on my invoice, they were able to dig around and find it.  All the meat was pretty good.

I was wondering why so many folks buy the meat grinders/sausage makers and the smokers...but I guess if you've been screwed by a few butchers...

I've often wondered though...what if they cut your meat with other stuff that they can't sell as filler?!  For example, pork butts that didn't move in the display, get ground up in your deer to add a little bulk?

Kurt

[Grizzlykiller]

Well I can relate. I've been the only meat cutter here in town for the last 20 years and over that time have done many many moose, musk ox, reindeer and caribou.
 I see the same group of guys year after year coming back to have their meat processed and being a moose hunter eater myself I can appreciate as well as anyone the work involved in securing a freezer full of whatever it is that is coming thru the door. I continue to take a lot of pride in the final product that I return to these guys and am doing only one animal at a time so there is none of that mixing of the meat going on. However I know that it's standard practice at most shops unless your bringing in a pre-determined minimum.
Many of these guys are so busy that slowing down to do your 40 or 60 or 90 pounds of grind is out of the question. Grind is grind to a lot of these places and you'll get your 89 pounds back but it may not be the 89 pounds you brought in. Sounds like a lame way to do business but when they have hundred of pounds to run most are not doing it in blacktail deer size loads.
 As for the carcass you drop off it's a pretty basic job to whip thru that and make sure it's going out with the name that came in on it. It's the grinding where the mixing of "flavors" occurs.
Finding a guy you can trust I suppose is the key. As it is in anything we are not experts in. We all have our area's of expertise. Meat cutters are the same as mechanics and plumbers and you name it. Some are excellent some are learning some are rip offs.
As for what to do about your mix up? What is there left to do. Oops.
 Sucks but it happens. I guess it is up to the two parties to find common ground huh?
I know the feeling of frustration felt on both sides.
Having long ago lost track of just how many moose and whatever else has come thru I still remember the one time I blew it. One time. I had a guy come in who wanted the whole moose ground except for the loins. They had boned it and dropped off a pile of coolers with the loins in sections in one of them. I make a habit of writing down the instructions on every job and while dealing with this guy got busy with a phone call, another customer wanting to show up and my kid showing up wanting to take the truck.
 Long story short I ground it all. Spaced out the loins and ran them thru.
 When the guy showed up he was pissed and so was I but at myself for being sloppy.
 I couldn't get over feeling like an idiot and it didn't help him reminding me I was one.
He left grumpy with no charge for the 500 some pounds of grind that he and his brothers split and I told myself that that will only happen once.
So there. Mistakes are made I guess it depends on how they are handled that determines who is happy or not. Just my viewpoint.

[billythekidrock]

On the first bear I killed Stewarts spelled my name with an N instead of an R and everytime I called (for 6 weeks) they told it was not ready. Then they called me and said my stuff had been done for 8 weeks and could go bad.  I showed up and the casings had mold on them. Not really a big deal since it could be wiped off, but it rubbed me the wrong way considering I had called over and over. I ended up giving most of it away just so it wouldn't spoil.

A few years later I screwed up and went back to Stewarts and they screwed up the amount of standard vs spiced sausage. (I don't like hot, and most ended up hot)

I realize that my issues are small compared to others, but I will never suggest Stewarts.
I will buy beef jerky from Stewarts when I am in the area, but I will never take a game animal there again.

It is not always easy to butcher at home, but deer and bear go fairly quick. Elk are a whole other subject. But when you can gurantee the meat is yours and trimmed how you want it, it is worth it. When I get tired of the butchering it will be time to stop hunting.

[bod]

+1 on Del Fox in Stanwood.

[Gutpile]

I've had butchers screw up and I'm done with them except for specialty items. Jerky, sausage etc.

Sonnenberg's in Spokane blows. Not only do they not EVER get the order right, they don't even care when they get it wrong. No sorry, no discount, nothing. I used to use them all the time and since the last screw up 3-4 years ago I've never been back. Two years in a row they told me the one box of cuts was all that came from my deer. Both times I said NO F*****G WAY that was a big deer. They went back in the freezer and "found" more. They did the cuts all wrong, and they never smoked enough jerkey.

Remember that. Sonnenberg's they suck. Not to mention all the Bums and crack whores who hang around that place.

what should i do or what would you do.

What can you do? Nothing really but just don't use them ever again.

[bobcat]

We don't take our deer/elk to butchers except to have boned out meat ground. I'm far from an expert at cutting meat but it's pretty simple once you've done a couple. If I can do it, anybody can do it. Deer are really easy and can be done in hardly any time at all with a couple guys. Elk, of course, are more work, but heck last year my uncle and I did four elk in a couple days. I just like my wild game too much to trust anybody else with it.

[NWBREW]

I cut out the backstraps, loins, and a roast or two for lunch meat and take the rest of the bone and send that to the butcher for pepperoni and summer sausage.  It seems to be easier that way and cheaper.  So far i have had no problems with Del Fox in Stanwood.

 I used to go to D-F in stanwood myself. They never screwed up my order either. The problem I have is I want back the same deer I brought in even if it's ground. Don't get me wrong I understand that when butchers get 40+ deer a day it's practical to grind many deer up at once and give the customer (GROUND). That,s just not for me. My butcher is in snohomish, 40+ years with his own shop and I know I get back what I brought in.You guys have a point, DIY -probobly the best way to go.

[bobcat]

I forgot to mention, when I take meat in to be ground I won't take it in when they're busy with other deer/elk. The four elk we did last year, that was in August, so I took that in right away as I wasn't worried about it getting mixed up with other people's elk. But many times I will just store it in the freezer until there are no hunting seasons going on, and then take it in so I don't have to worry about my meat getting mixed in with others.