meat processing cost

[kyle dillehay]

Just wondering about how much it costs to have a 500 lb elk carcass processed into the basic cuts and grind? Thanks!

[MADMAX]

Figure on 200-300 bucks would be my guess
Depending on where
Call first

[10thmountainarcher]

Olson’s meats in enumclaw charged my buddy $300 for a spike whitetail that weighed maybe 60 pounds dressed.. I would suggest not using them for your elk. My brothers elk with a lot of snack sticks and breakfast sausage was $325 in Spokane.

[wadu1]

Check Mountain View Meets in Midland or Stewarts in Yelm for prices.

[Tbar]

Just wondering about how much it costs to have a 500 lb elk carcass processed into the basic cuts and grind? Thanks!

Do you have a 500lb hanging elk down? I think the going rate $.70-$1.00 a lb for cut and wrap.  Cured meats get really expensive.

[kyle dillehay]

No elk hanging, just wondering about costs for the future vs. processing it myself.

Thanks for the replies!

[LongBomb]

170lbs of meat made up into summer sausage, pepperoni and jerky ran me $500 last year

[blackpowderhunter]

basic cuts and grind you're better off buying yourself a decent grinder and doing it yourself.
if you want jerky and sausage made, just take some of the meat somewhere to have that made and save yourself a lot of money vs taking the whole animal in.
i purchased an LEM grinder and it's been great.  you also don't have to do it all at once.  i freeze 10 lb trim bags and throughout the year pull them out to make burger grind, bacon grind, breakfast suage, chorizo etc.  it's nice to have the flexibility 

[lastmk8]

Meat processing really comes down to knowing how often you feel you will be doing it.  If more than a few times then doing it yourself is the only way to go.  You will feel the satisfaction of knowing you yourself took that animal from field to table, and truly know it is your animal, (do you really know if it is your animal you get back from the processor???). 

OK, so you go with option "B", do this yourself, really the best choice.  First there are many you tube videos of processing anything you want, they make it look easy, it somewhat is easy, but it does take practice, nothing to be afraid of, hence why the grinder is the first purchase, hahaha..  Grinder, yes, get a good one, make sure it's a stainless commercial grade grinder, don't go with the cheap $100 model.  A good home use commercial grinder is going to be $300, deal with it, it will return your investment for years to some.  (think ground beef and pork here).  Practice wrapping meat, this is where you will separate the boys and men.  Poorly wrapped meat will lead to freezer burn and ruined meat.  I can claim, with verifiable evidence I have had no problem keeping processed game for two years in the freezer without freezer burn (not by practice, sometime "lost in the freezer".  We wrap all our meat with plastic first then wrap in butcher paper.  Yes, you can use the "foodsaver" vac suck bags but doing a whole elk will cost you 2 or 3 hundred dollars in bags alone. 

After the kill,.... now that you have that grinder laying around collecting dust until next year it is time to practice.  Go buy those 20# Chuck Rolls and 15# pork butts and grind away.  You will be completely impressed how much better your ground meat products are as compared to anything you buy from the supermarket.  When it comes to taste and grease by product there is no comparison, I have not bought ground anything is over ten years, I do it all myself and am that much happier and satisfied for doing so.  Our whole hunting and buddy network regularly have 'grind party's" when its time to fill everyone freezer with ground meat. 

Watch your videos, make a list of materials you will need, and go forth and conquer the meat world, remember, it is a life skill, when the crap hits the fan those who can kill and process meat will always hold the upper hand!!!!   

[ctwiggs1]

Olson’s meats in enumclaw charged my buddy $300 for a spike whitetail that weighed maybe 60 pounds dressed.. I would suggest not using them for your elk. My brothers elk with a lot of snack sticks and breakfast sausage was $325 in Spokane.

Something if smelly here.  I've used Olson's before and that's extremely high.  Did he have them hang it for a long time?  Did he have sausage/jerky done?  Basic steaks/roasts/grind couldn't have come out to $300.  If it really did, I would recommend calling Adam Olson ASAP and getting this squared away.

That being said....   I started doing all my meat 3 years ago and haven't looked back.  I bought a $150 grinder my first year at Bass Pro and it's paid for itself and with dividends.  Even if you just make steaks out of the backstrap/loins and grind the rest, you're still getting a lot of great meat.  You'll learn how to carve out various other steaks and roasts as you go.

Last year we went all out and did 40lb of summer sausage as well - man that was good!

[10thmountainarcher]

Olson’s meats in enumclaw charged my buddy $300 for a spike whitetail that weighed maybe 60 pounds dressed.. I would suggest not using them for your elk. My brothers elk with a lot of snack sticks and breakfast sausage was $325 in Spokane.

Something if smelly here.  I've used Olson's before and that's extremely high.  Did he have them hang it for a long time?  Did he have sausage/jerky done?  Basic steaks/roasts/grind couldn't have come out to $300.  If it really did, I would recommend calling Adam Olson ASAP and getting this squared away.

That being said....   I started doing all my meat 3 years ago and haven't looked back.  I bought a $150 grinder my first year at Bass Pro and it's paid for itself and with dividends.  Even if you just make steaks out of the backstrap/loins and grind the rest, you're still getting a lot of great meat.  You'll learn how to carve out various other steaks and roasts as you go.

Last year we went all out and did 40lb of summer sausage as well - man that was good!

He had some pepperoni snack sticks with cheese made. He did not have them hang it for any amount of time. Not sure what the deal was.. even if he had the entire deer made into pepperoni I don’t think it should have been $300. This happened two years ago now so probably to late to address it.

[ctwiggs1]

Olson’s meats in enumclaw charged my buddy $300 for a spike whitetail that weighed maybe 60 pounds dressed.. I would suggest not using them for your elk. My brothers elk with a lot of snack sticks and breakfast sausage was $325 in Spokane.

Something if smelly here.  I've used Olson's before and that's extremely high.  Did he have them hang it for a long time?  Did he have sausage/jerky done?  Basic steaks/roasts/grind couldn't have come out to $300.  If it really did, I would recommend calling Adam Olson ASAP and getting this squared away.

That being said....   I started doing all my meat 3 years ago and haven't looked back.  I bought a $150 grinder my first year at Bass Pro and it's paid for itself and with dividends.  Even if you just make steaks out of the backstrap/loins and grind the rest, you're still getting a lot of great meat.  You'll learn how to carve out various other steaks and roasts as you go.

Last year we went all out and did 40lb of summer sausage as well - man that was good!

He had some pepperoni snack sticks with cheese made. He did not have them hang it for any amount of time. Not sure what the deal was.. even if he had the entire deer made into pepperoni I don’t think it should have been $300. This happened two years ago now so probably to late to address it.

Something stinks there man.  I'm not accusing anybody of anything, but something is wrong with that.  Olson's charges a bit more for their sausage products (which they can get away with because of all the awards they have) but they aren't scandalous by any means.  It's too bad your buddy didn't deal with it when the time popped up.  I hate to see a decent business take a black eye on the internet over incomplete information.

Looks like you're from Buckley - maybe they charged a Buckley residence fee??   

[OutHouse]

To give you some perspective, I had a whitetail buck done by a guy up in the Methow and the total cost was about $240 as I recall. The deer was almost 150 pounds hanging. He did lots of cuts and roasts and the rest into burger and sausage. His cuts were exceptionally done and wrapped. The burger/sausage was cut with pork shoulder at about 20% I think.

[Tinmaniac]

If I am not mistaken butchers charge by hanging weight,meaning when you take it in on the bone you pay for bone weight as well.There is a reason why they weigh it when you drop it off.Simple cut,wrap and burger grind is fairly cheap.The more labor and time,like in the smokehouse,casings,spices naturally cost more.This is why there is usually a minimum amount of jerky,pepperoni or sausage that they will make.

[Blacktail Sniper]

If I am not mistaken butchers charge by hanging weight,meaning when you take it in on the bone you pay for bone weight as well.There is a reason why they weigh it when you drop it off.Simple cut,wrap and burger grind is fairly cheap.The more labor and time,like in the smokehouse,casings,spices naturally cost more.This is why there is usually a minimum amount of jerky,pepperoni or sausage that they will make.

 

[10thmountainarcher]

Olson’s meats in enumclaw charged my buddy $300 for a spike whitetail that weighed maybe 60 pounds dressed.. I would suggest not using them for your elk. My brothers elk with a lot of snack sticks and breakfast sausage was $325 in Spokane.

Something if smelly here.  I've used Olson's before and that's extremely high.  Did he have them hang it for a long time?  Did he have sausage/jerky done?  Basic steaks/roasts/grind couldn't have come out to $300.  If it really did, I would recommend calling Adam Olson ASAP and getting this squared away.

That being said....   I started doing all my meat 3 years ago and haven't looked back.  I bought a $150 grinder my first year at Bass Pro and it's paid for itself and with dividends.  Even if you just make steaks out of the backstrap/loins and grind the rest, you're still getting a lot of great meat.  You'll learn how to carve out various other steaks and roasts as you go.

Last year we went all out and did 40lb of summer sausage as well - man that was good!

He had some pepperoni snack sticks with cheese made. He did not have them hang it for any amount of time. Not sure what the deal was.. even if he had the entire deer made into pepperoni I don’t think it should have been $300. This happened two years ago now so probably to late to address it.

Something stinks there man.  I'm not accusing anybody of anything, but something is wrong with that.  Olson's charges a bit more for their sausage products (which they can get away with because of all the awards they have) but they aren't scandalous by any means.  It's too bad your buddy didn't deal with it when the time popped up.  I hate to see a decent business take a black eye on the internet over incomplete information.

Looks like you're from Buckley - maybe they charged a Buckley residence fee??   

I hear ya, I thought it was a crazy price at the time, but neither of us knew any better. I’ve always done my own processing so I thought that was just the cost. It was only after my brother got his elk done that we realized how outrageous the price was. In their defense, the pepperoni sticks were the best I have ever had.

[ctwiggs1]

 

They are that good.  I've made it clear to my hunting partner that my next bear is going to be 100% breakfast sausage.  I'll either do it at my house with their mix or just have them do it. 

[hawks33]

Just had 215lbs of quartered elk done...steaks, burger, and roasts. $188

[CackleBird98]

Do it yourself.  Can pick up a hand grinder at Goodwill for around 10 bucks, and freezer paper and tape for around 20.  Then you don't have to trust some ying yang butcher with your hard earned meat

[Lady Grouse hunter]

I think its REALLY Important to HANG a carcass for at least 7 days to age it! I myself went up and Smelled how sweet it was after the meat shrunk and the membrain(just under the hide) had sealed to the muscle. Then they're's the price of  {cut &wrapped} IF one has no means of doing this (a meat saw, etc.) then pay for it, just shop BEFORE you drop!

[RockChuck]

Cost is to much! Do it yourself you will be much happier getting cuts and package sizes you want and the satisfaction of doing it from start to finish! pretty easy once you do it a coupon times. A Grinder can be had cheaper then having one done. It’s just time consuming.

[Lady Grouse hunter]

DO YOU have a MEAT LOCKER @ 41o to hang for 5-7 days? This IS part of one will pay for including Cut/wrap soo meat has NO air and does Not get freezer-burn. Most DO NOT how to do this... I'd say pay for it just shop and when on harvests an Animal be ready to take it in right away or the Beetles/flys will ruin it quicklY!

[Lady Grouse hunter]

Soo maybe I'm missing on something? Are those who get an animal processing it ON-THE-SPOT? NOT IT must be aged as it really makes a BIG difference in quality of the meat one worked SOO hard for/planned that yearly trip to go get it!

[ctwiggs1]

Sometimes I hang it, sometimes I don’t.

If you took my doe that was processed same day last year and put it side by side next to my old mans beef that he has professionally done, I’d take the doe every time.  You can’t beat the taste of victory.

There really isn’t a wrong way to do it.  It’s meat.  Don’t let someone else’s la-de-da personal standards hold you back from doing whatever you want to do. If you want to send it off, do it.  If you want to cut it up yourself, do it.

[KFhunter]

didn't Rinella do a big podcast on hanging meat or not?

Ya he did

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/butchering-and-processing/ask-meateater-is-hanging-meat-worth-it

[hal]

game is usually the same price as domestic meat. $.75 per lb hanging weight. I use two butchers and they are both the same.

[Hillbilly Zen]

I wonder where the pre columbian natives had their meat cut and wrapped and stored at 41 degrees?  It aint rocket science, it’s meat.  Cut the big chunks into smaller chunks and put it in your freezer! 

[doubletall]

To give you some perspective, I had a whitetail buck done by a guy up in the Methow and the total cost was about $240 as I recall. The deer was almost 150 pounds hanging. He did lots of cuts and roasts and the rest into burger and sausage. His cuts were exceptionally done and wrapped. The burger/sausage was cut with pork shoulder at about 20% I think.

My last Methow deer was done by Thompsons but as far as I know they closed up shop.  Who did your whitetail?

[goldenhtr]

basic cuts and grind you're better off buying yourself a decent grinder and doing it yourself.
if you want jerky and sausage made, just take some of the meat somewhere to have that made and save yourself a lot of money vs taking the whole animal in.
i purchased an LEM grinder and it's been great.  you also don't have to do it all at once.  i freeze 10 lb trim bags and throughout the year pull them out to make burger grind, bacon grind, breakfast suage, chorizo etc.  it's nice to have the flexibility 

 

[goldenhtr]

Soo maybe I'm missing on something? Are those who get an animal processing it ON-THE-SPOT? NOT IT must be aged as it really makes a BIG difference in quality of the meat one worked SOO hard for/planned that yearly trip to go get it!

We do NOT hang our deer/Elk, once back to camp and cooled down we cut it up into steaks,roasts whatever. Put into freezer bags and get it on ice if in camp or in the freezer if home. Never taking game to a butcher again, yes had one bad experience and was taught how to do it myself.

[WapitiTalk1]

Just a couple of company pricing comparisons (these are for your basic cuts.. roasts, steaks, burger).   

Western Meats (Tumwater) - $1.09 per pound for elk.
Bear Ridge Smokehouse (Morton) - $225 flat rate per elk.
Stewarts (McKenna) - $1.19 per pound for elk. 

You're looking at around 250 lbs of boned out meat for a mature bull, and about 170-180 lbs of boned out meat on a mature cow. 

[scrapperdude]

last elk I butchered cost around $10.00 for some trimmings and $20 for vacuum pack bags, my sheep I just did last week cost me around $10.00 for vacuum pack bags and a 6 pack of beer for my hunting partner to help me cut it up 

[brew]

Just a couple of company pricing comparisons (these are for your basic cuts.. roasts, steaks, burger).   

Western Meats (Tumwater) - $1.09 per pound for elk.
Bear Ridge Smokehouse (Morton) - $225 flat rate per elk.
Stewarts (McKenna) - $1.19 per pound for elk. 

You're looking at around 250 lbs of boned out meat for a mature bull, and about 170-180 lbs of boned out meat on a mature cow.

I have had 2 different family members work at Stewarts for a time and would never have them handle any of my meat.  Take the plunge and buy some equipment and do it yourself.  As far as keeping the meat cool I can go on Craigslist right now and pick up a couple working refrigerators for free.  Its not that hard.  A little leg work on your part and some disinfectant will pay for itself. youtube is a hell of a tutorial

[PolarBear]

I think its REALLY Important to HANG a carcass for at least 7 days to age it! I myself went up and Smelled how sweet it was after the meat shrunk and the membrain(just under the hide) had sealed to the muscle. Then they're's the price of  {cut &wrapped} IF one has no means of doing this (a meat saw, etc.) then pay for it, just shop BEFORE you drop!

Deer and elk are not like cattle and you get very little benefit from hanging them other than to cool them down.  They don't break down like beef.

[PolarBear]

Just a couple of company pricing comparisons (these are for your basic cuts.. roasts, steaks, burger).   

Western Meats (Tumwater) - $1.09 per pound for elk.
Bear Ridge Smokehouse (Morton) - $225 flat rate per elk.
Stewarts (McKenna) - $1.19 per pound for elk. 

You're looking at around 250 lbs of boned out meat for a mature bull, and about 170-180 lbs of boned out meat on a mature cow.

I have had 2 different family members work at Stewarts for a time and would never have them handle any of my meat.  Take the plunge and buy some equipment and do it yourself.  As far as keeping the meat cool I can go on Craigslist right now and pick up a couple working refrigerators for free.  Its not that hard.  A little leg work on your part and some disinfectant will pay for itself. youtube is a hell of a tutorial

Same here.  I love the Carlsons (owners) but would never take any wild game or even beef to have it butchered there.  You will not get all of your meat back, it will be a combination of several deer or elk that are butchered at the same time and divided by the number of carcasses.  Many butcher shops do that.

[Bushcraft]

Unless one simply doesn't have the time to process a game animal, it's beyond me why people just don't do it themselves.

Given some of my less than stellar experiences with butchers (with attempted fraud in one instance), there is no way in hell I'd hand over something I worked so hard for to someone else. Most people would puke a little in their mouths if they knew what the average butcher is okay with tossing into the grinder.

It's very straightforward. Field to feast...you know exactly how your meat was handled and you'll derive a tremendous amount of satisfaction from doing it all yourself.

- Cutting board.
- Fillet knife and sharpener.
- Big bowl for silver skin, fats and other carcass refuse.
- Grinder.
- 1 Gallon Ziploc freezer bags. (to put grind in and chill before grinding)
- Costco plastic wrap with the handy cutting slider.
- Reynolds freezer paper.
- Packing/shipping tape.
- Sharpie for writing date, animal and cut description.
- Preferred amber nectar of the Gods in sufficient quantities.
- Good music.
- Good friends (and/or at least a willing wife to help keep tension on the wrapping. )

Get to it!

[Skyvalhunter]

Thanks for all your help that was easy

[boneaddict]

     I saw your list and thought what the heck. How complicated can this be..... then I read it.   

[jagermiester]

DO YOU have a MEAT LOCKER @ 41o to hang for 5-7 days? This IS part of one will pay for including Cut/wrap soo meat has NO air and does Not get freezer-burn. Most DO NOT how to do this... I'd say pay for it just shop and when on harvests an Animal be ready to take it in right away or the Beetles/flys will ruin it quicklY!

Sorry but I have to say....
This could not be any further from the truth. I am aging two deer right now in beer fridges they are sitting at 40 degrees. Last weekend I processed a cow elk that hung for 7 days This weekend I will process and grind and package and make pep sticks and meatballs and enjoy every minute of doing it and consuming it. The garbage that you get from some butcher shops may not even be your own animal. I completely understand that some people may not want to do that but those of us that do most definitely process a superior product. Some people do not believe in ageing but I also believe it helps in the consistency / tenderness.

I will say that I have used butchers that have done a great job for me at a good fair price. After doing it enough though I have found that I prefer to do it with my kids and family, its just something that brings us together and we have a sense of pride in it.

[Angry Perch]

DO YOU have a MEAT LOCKER @ 41o to hang for 5-7 days? This IS part of one will pay for including Cut/wrap soo meat has NO air and does Not get freezer-burn. Most DO NOT how to do this... I'd say pay for it just shop and when on harvests an Animal be ready to take it in right away or the Beetles/flys will ruin it quicklY!

Sorry but I have to say....
This could not be any further from the truth. I am aging two deer right now in beer fridges they are sitting at 40 degrees. Last weekend I processed a cow elk that hung for 7 days This weekend I will process and grind and package and make pep sticks and meatballs and enjoy every minute of doing it and consuming it. The garbage that you get from some butcher shops may not even be your own animal. I completely understand that some people may not want to do that but those of us that do most definitely process a superior product. Some people do not believe in ageing but I also believe it helps in the consistency / tenderness.

I will say that I have used butchers that have done a great job for me at a good fair price. After doing it enough though I have found that I prefer to do it with my kids and family, its just something that brings us together and we have a sense of pride in it.

 
I just really enjoy the process, and get better at it each year. It is really satisfying to have a table full of gorgeous meat that I took from the woods to my belly.

[Dhoey07]

Just a couple of company pricing comparisons (these are for your basic cuts.. roasts, steaks, burger).   

Western Meats (Tumwater) - $1.09 per pound for elk.
Bear Ridge Smokehouse (Morton) - $225 flat rate per elk.
Stewarts (McKenna) - $1.19 per pound for elk. 

You're looking at around 250 lbs of boned out meat for a mature bull, and about 170-180 lbs of boned out meat on a mature cow.

I need to shoot bigger elk 

[elkchaser54]

I brought my elk trimmings to be made in to burger to a butcher last year and when I got it  back they had ground it so fine it was awful. Ruined nearly 50 pounds of meat, leaving me with meat that had the consistency of Taco bell beef.  I bought a grinder and did it myself this year. So much better and it gets done exactly the way I WANT. Haha

[hal]

usually $.75 per # hanging weight. Usually same as domestic meat.

[KFhunter]

I get everyone in on it



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[jagermiester]

Awesome KF Hunter