1. How should I prepare my deer for
processing?
Once you have tagged the deer, the next step is to field
dress it. Don't cut the throat to bled it. Remove the internal
organs. Don't forget the anus. You may wish to split the pelvic bone.
The hind legs will generally cool out better if you do. Rinse out the
body cavity with drinking water to remove any blood or other
contamination. Use only drinking water, not water from a creek, river
or mud puddle. If it is a warm day or it will be awhile before you can
bring the deer in for processing, you need to use several bags of ice to
begin cooling down the deer. Place one bag between the hind legs and a
couple in the body cavity. This is crucial for keeping your deer in top
condition for processing.
2. Won't removing the hide prior to
bringing it to you save you some time?
Removing the hide from the carcass prior to transporting
the carcass to be processed, increases the likelihood of contamination.
We must trim all of this contamination from the carcass prior to
processing it. This trimming reduces the amount of meat that you will
receive in the form of delicious steaks, roasts, and sausage. It takes
at least twice as long to trim a carcass of contamination as it does for
us to skin the carcass in our facility.
3. Do you accept boneless meat?
We are happy to accept boneless meat that you or someone
else has processed. Please make sure that your meat is clean and free of
contamination. Contamination may be in the from of hair, blood clots,
bullet, broadhead or bone fragments, particles of food or feces. We
suggest that you take a moment to look through the boneless meat prior
to packaging. You will often find contamination that you were not
aware of when you check the meat over. You may bring the meat to us
fresh on the day or the day after it is cut. If you are unable to
bring it to us the next day, please freeze the meat to preserve it in
it's best condition.
4. How should I package my boneless
meat to be processed?
We recommend 1 gallon plastic zipper bags. These are
small enough to freeze fairly quickly in your freezer. They also
defrost quickly. Packaging this way will help to insure that your
boneless meat is of the highest quality to make sausage.
5. May I package meat in plastic
garbage or grocery bags?
No, Definitely not. These types of bags are made from
recycled plastic that may contain chemical contaminates. Only use
plastic bags that are approved for food storage. Also, when you package
meat in 20-30 pound bags, the meat may take a week to freeze, increasing
the food safety risk due to bacteria growth.
6. Do I get my own meat back?
When you bring a deer to us for process, all the steaks,
roasts, and hamburger are definitely your own meat! Also if you order
solid piece cuts such as Dried Deer or BBQ Deer you will also get
your OWN meat back.
7. What about my boneless meat?
We take great pride in our ability to process your deer
in a wholesome manner. There is really no difference in the quality of
the boneless meat between deer to be used for sausage. Therefore we do
not keep the boneless meat for sausage separate in small batches. To
get your own meat back in a sausage product, you must have 100 lbs of
deer meat in to ONE sausage product.
8. How long will it be before my
order is ready of pickup?
That depends on the time of year and how successful your
fellow hunters have been. We skin and cut your venison shortly after we
receive it. The trimmings for sausage may be frozen to be processed
later. As we make sausages and get the variety of products needed to
fill your order, you will be notified by telephone to pick up your
venison.
9. My buddy and I brought our deer in
at the same time and he already got his back... where's mine?
What you are having made out of your venison determines
how long it might take. Some sausage products take longer to make. The
demand for some sausages is greater than others. Our processing
schedule is adjusted accordingly. As a result, we may have some orders
ready for pickup before others.
