On the ground, on the pack, into the truck ... then what?

[Zvestal]

So, I'm new here and didn't spend a ton of time looking, so forgive me asking a question already answered elsewhere. I'm new to hunting, going after Colorado elk, and I'm thinking (optimistically!) through all scenarios.

Do most folks process their own after kill/quarter/pack/truck/drive home? I have been thinking game processor/butcher but I have not made arrangements in advance.

I'm in Fort Collins if anyone has a recommend. Thanks!

 

[Jn78]

Processing at home is the way to go. If you can keep your meat cool, clean, and dry, it is fine for a week or more, so you can take your time. Also, processing is pretty intuitive - the big muscle groups really show you where they come apart. For what its worth, I dont cut steaks or remove silver skin before I freeze. (I do remove fat.) I just leave whole muscle groups whole. That way when I thaw them, I can cook a roast, cust up fajita meat, stew meat, or steaks. Also, for shanks, just leave the bone in, cut the meat and bone into portions, leave all the connective tissue, and slow cook them until the meat falls off the bone. It is fantastic for tacos and bbq and that eliminates lots of butchering time. Also, if you are pressed for time, it is ok to freeze big bags from the grind pile. Just thaw it when you are ready to grind. If you need help during the process, just pull up youtube videos.

 

[2ski]

I've never made arrangements to have meat processed. I just show up to a processor and if they're busy, watch as everyone unloads their animal, ooh and ah over the nice ones with everyone else, shoot the shit with everyone, sample their jerky and sausage,, and then back up when its my turn. As a kid, going to the processor was one of my favorite parts of the hunt. When I had to start paying to have an elk processed....I didn't like it as much.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I learned to process my own meat. Love it!
You have complete control over all the cuts.
You know the chronological history of the meat from the time it hit the ground to your freezer.
Doesn't get any better than that.

When I started hunting I heard/read too many stories about butchers, not getting the correct amount of meat back, etc. I didn't want to take any chances.

I never used a butcher but there is nothing wrong with going that route. Just make sure that butcher has good reviews/recommendations.

 

[Zvestal]

Processing at home is the way to go. If you can keep your meat cool, clean, and dry, it is fine for a week or more, so you can take your time. Also, processing is pretty intuitive - the big muscle groups really show you where they come apart. For what its worth, I dont cut steaks or remove silver skin before I freeze. (I do remove fat.) I just leave whole muscle groups whole. That way when I thaw them, I can cook a roast, cust up fajita meat, stew meat, or steaks. Also, for shanks, just leave the bone in, cut the meat and bone into portions, leave all the connective tissue, and slow cook them until the meat falls off the bone. It is fantastic for tacos and bbq and that eliminates lots of butchering time. Also, if you are pressed for time, it is ok to freeze big bags from the grind pile. Just thaw it when you are ready to grind. If you need help during the process, just pull up youtube videos.

This does seem smart and not too hard. Do you use the vacuum seal bags and all that? I’m so tired of buying more stuff to support this nasty elk seeking habit ... plus it’ll be like a jinx if I get all geared up! Well I hope not. I do appreciate the note regarding spoilage/available time. I thought it was like a hustle before it goes bad in a few hours type thing.

 

[Zvestal]

I've never made arrangements to have meat processed. I just show up to a processor and if they're busy, watch as everyone unloads their animal, ooh and ah over the nice ones with everyone else, shoot the shit with everyone, sample their jerky and sausage,, and then back up when its my turn. As a kid, going to the processor was one of my favorite parts of the hunt. When I had to start paying to have an elk processed....I didn't like it as much.

Haha, right? When you put it like that, visiting a busy processor kinda sounds fun. And I guess if they are busy take it as a good sign.

I can see it both ways at this point. I might actually think of DIY ... but sausage and jerky sounds 1) awesome, and 2) maybe more work and time that I don’t have. I dunno. I’m gonna make a few calls locally at least and see what the deal is.

 

[Zvestal]

I learned to process my own meat. Love it!
You have complete control over all the cuts.
You know the chronological history of the meat from the time it hit the ground to your freezer.
Doesn't get any better than that.

When I started hunting I heard/read too many stories about butchers, not getting the correct amount of meat back, etc. I didn't want to take any chances.

I never used a butcher but there is nothing wrong with going that route. Just make sure that butcher has good reviews/recommendations.

Good point ... never thought about the chance of a butcher skimming Off the top but I guess it could happen. And the whole point for me has been forest to table ( plus a crap ton of fun) so why not manage it start to finish.

so, ah at this point I’ll go and start researching how to get it done. And see if there’s a cool freezer bag system that will make things simple and quick ish. Free time is a limiter as always.

 

[2ski]

You can cut up yourself and take the scraps to get made into sausage. Do some research. See who makes the best sausage. And drop off scraps, telling them you don't have a timetable, they can get to them when they can.

 

[sndmn11]

.

I'm in Fort Collins if anyone has a recommend. Thanks!

Spencer used to work at the processor in FOCO until the owner retired and the business closed. He loves in that area, but will go anywhere really. He comes to your house and you get all the benefits listed above of doing it yourself, but without the effort, needed knowledge, and investment in equipment. He has cut meat for me, and the yield was more than we have had before, and the cuts I wanted. It was also less expensive, quicker, and no effort from me.
I took advantage of his knowledge and now have confidence enough to buy the equipment and will give it a go this year myself. Watching it happen a few times first was great, and being able to ask questions at the time it was happening was priceless.

https://m.facebook.com/highcountryharvest/?ref=m_notif&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic

 

[CoffeeGoat]

I've done it myself, but had lots of friends in the Denver area that have had great experiences at some of the local processors. It certainly isn't rocket science but a good butcher is expensive for a reason.
At the minimum you probably need good knives, cutting boards, a grinder, and probably an extra set of hands. A vacuum sealer is helpful, though some folks wrap it all in plastic and paper. As long as you have some place cool to store it, aging it a week before processing is no problem. It's definitely a whole nother skill set so if it seems like too much this year don't sweat it, find a local processor and roll with it.
This year I'm gong to try a hybrid route, a new friend of mine used to be professional butcher and has the whole set up. I'll process it with him and hopefully learn a bunch.
I think Randy Newberg had a video where they walked a cow elk through a professional processor, lots to learn.

 

[Jn78]

This does seem smart and not too hard. Do you use the vacuum seal bags and all that? I’m so tired of buying more stuff to support this nasty elk seeking habit ... plus it’ll be like a jinx if I get all geared up! Well I hope not. I do appreciate the note regarding spoilage/available time. I thought it was like a hustle before it goes bad in a few hours type thing.

I have a vac sealer but I just use it for ground. I make my bags the length of my freezer shelves and flatten them out. They stack well that way. However,, the plastic hamburger bags would work fine - you can get them on Amazon cheap.

I use saran wrap and butcher paper for all the rest of the meat mainly because it is super easy. I don't know which is better, vac seal or saran wrap and butcher paper, but either is fine for 2+ years.

Regarding spoilage, I will frequently get home from a trip and put quarters in the garage fridge for a week or so before processing. I actually think it is more tender that way versus butchering or deboning immediately. On my first few elk, I got home super tired, unloaded the truck, and stayed up half the night processing because I thought there was a huge rush. I just ended up waking up with a bad hangover and dirty gear everywhere.

A final tip - eat the heart. Most guys don't bring them out, but they are good. Last year I scavenged 3 elk hearts from other guys gut piles.

 

[Jn78]

Another thing you can do is put your grind pile meat in gallon size bags and freeze it until you are ready to grind, just get all the air out before freezing. It is totally fine to thaw this stuff out two or three months later, grind it, and then refreeze. This might be helpful if you don't have a grinder - you don't have to buy one before your trip.

 

[Zvestal]

You can cut up yourself and take the scraps to get made into sausage. Do some research. See who makes the best sausage. And drop off scraps, telling them you don't have a timetable, they can get to them when they can.

Indeed that’s what I had started to envision. Kind of a hybrid.

 

[Zvestal]

I have a vac sealer but I just use it for ground. I make my bags the length of my freezer shelves and flatten them out. They stack well that way. However,, the plastic hamburger bags would work fine - you can get them on Amazon cheap.

I use saran wrap and butcher paper for all the rest of the meat mainly because it is super easy. I don't know which is better, vac seal or saran wrap and butcher paper, but either is fine for 2+ years.

Regarding spoilage, I will frequently get home from a trip and put quarters in the garage fridge for a week or so before processing. I actually think it is more tender that way versus butchering or deboning immediately. On my first few elk, I got home super tired, unloaded the truck, and stayed up half the night processing because I thought there was a huge rush. I just ended up waking up with a bad hangover and dirty gear everywhere.

A final tip - eat the heart. Most guys don't bring them out, but they are good. Last year I scavenged 3 elk hearts from other guys gut piles.

This is SUPER helpful, thank you. I’m starting to see my way through , in the off chance I make something happen for a change. Good tip about the heart. I ate cow heart once. Mrs V didn’t care for it. But it was probably a fault in the preparation rather than the muscle.

 

[Zvestal]

Spencer used to work at the processor in FOCO until the owner retired and the business closed. He loves in that area, but will go anywhere really. He comes to your house and you get all the benefits listed above of doing it yourself, but without the effort, needed knowledge, and investment in equipment. He has cut meat for me, and the yield was more than we have had before, and the cuts I wanted. It was also less expensive, quicker, and no effort from me.
I took advantage of his knowledge and now have confidence enough to buy the equipment and will give it a go this year myself. Watching it happen a few times first was great, and being able to ask questions at the time it was happening was priceless.

https://m.facebook.com/highcountryharvest/?ref=m_notif&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic

View attachment 216116

That’s a great resource. I might try and look him up. I found that business on google I think but it does appear dormant.

 

[sndmn11]

That’s a great resource. I might try and look him up. I found that business on google I think but it does appear dormant.

It is not dormant, I sent him one person this week and was communicating with him last night.

 

[5MilesBack]

I spent the last two days processing my moose. Had him home Sunday evening in coolers and then started on Tuesday. Finished grinding ~270lbs yesterday evening. I just grind it right into ziplock freezer bags, smoosh it down, push all the air out, and zip them. They stack well in the freezer and they last for quite some time. I do the same for roasts and backstrap.....ziplock and push the air out. As a side note, I've never seen so much fat on an animal. It was 2" thick in places. Had to remove that just to find the backstraps while breaking him down.....crazy.

 

[sndmn11]

I spent the last two days processing my moose. Had him home Sunday evening in coolers and then started on Tuesday. Finished grinding ~270lbs yesterday evening. I just grind it right into ziplock freezer bags, smoosh it down, push all the air out, and zip them. They stack well in the freezer and they last for quite some time. I do the same for roasts and backstrap.....ziplock and push the air out.

You got 270lbs of ground?!? The one I helped pack out the other day he said was about 400lbs on the bone quarters, and straps other loose meat.

 

[archer85]

If the meat will not be sitting around in the cooler for a long time and you can keep if cool, the best and cheapest option is obviously to process yourself. Some situations may call for a different option. On a Colorado elk hunt in 2017 myself and a buddy packed in and I got a bull down the first night. We were there for a week so we packed the bull off the mountain and then took it to a processor in town. The meat was packaged and frozen for the trip back home when we came off the mountain to leave. I have also processed one at a buddies house while in Montana, but you have to make the call whether it's worth the time if you are trying to get back out on the mountain. Maybe spending the money on a processor is the best option.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

This does seem smart and not too hard. Do you use the vacuum seal bags and all that? I’m so tired of buying more stuff to support this nasty elk seeking habit ... plus it’ll be like a jinx if I get all geared up! Well I hope not. I do appreciate the note regarding spoilage/available time. I thought it was like a hustle before it goes bad in a few hours type thing.

No need for vacuum sealer. Just wrap a meal sized chunk in saran wrap, followed by butcher paper, and masking tape to close it up. Use a sharpie to label the cut of meat. I've eaten meat that's 7-8 years old from the freezer using this method with no issues.