Butchering cost

[Rcar3y]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

 

[weblyish]

The only butcher near us who would take carcasses in fur is now gone. The rest won't touch it due to the need for separate area to process the in fur carcass

So I wish you luck but you may struggle

 

[Bowland blades]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

Nobody gets good without starting up pretty rubbish ! Perhaps just get a mincer for when it goes pear shape ? You will get better by doing not by paying a butcher

 

[Sandy25]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

I completely agree with Bowland Blades.

I was very apprehensive about butchering my first deer (roe), so watched lots of videos on you tube beforehand and read through as many books as i could. I had only done rabbits before, but moving up to a deer wasn't much different .

Take your time, make sure your knives are sharp, and just give it a go.

ATB,
Sandy

 

[VSS]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

Why not have a go at doing it yourself?
It's really not very difficult.

 

[Bowland blades]

I completely agree with Bowland Blades.

I was very apprehensive about butchering my first deer (roe), so watched lots of videos on you tube beforehand and read through as many books as i could. I had only done rabbits before, but moving up to a deer wasn't much different .

Take your time, make sure your knives are sharp, and just give it a go.

ATB,
Sandy

When i started stalking and bringing in deer for the house , i had done thousands of rabbits , birds , fish etc from a kid in short pants literally! it took ages and was not pretty . Today i go really fast but I have to slow down if someone wants specific things because i will just stray from the plan

 

[Buchan]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

No idea, but probably worth it as you are a beginner. Plenty of you tube videos, I really like the hunting life approach: but this will take you time. Fine if you like it, but to get vac packed etc is a good few hours. So weigh it up.

 

[AGR]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

I think you might pay 65 ish just for the roe, supplied skinned, not many butchers take them skin on. Do the muntjac yourself for practice!

 

[TringSaint]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

Have a crack at it - start with the roe as it’s easier to skin - break down the primals (shoulders off, loins off, haunches off) and have a bag for the trimmings.
The munty will be a sod to skin so take your time and cut away at the join between the connective tissue, skin and meat.

 

[Tim.243]

I have got a Muntjac and Roe buck carcass hanging and I have plans to take it to a butcher for my own consumption. I would like them to butcher it down into usable cuts.
I am into deer stalking for the food aspect. I think an important way to present game to others - friends at dinner parties etc is the presentation of the product. And whilst I would love to learn the butchery side, I currently have two carcasses that need processing.

So my question is this - how much do you think is a fair price for two carcasses to be butchered down into usable cuts - steaks, loins, slow braising cuts, mince etc etc and vac sealed for freezing? Has anyone had this done before - how much usable meat did you get per carcass and how much did it cost for butchery

Thanks all!

R

You just need to follow the lines on the meat, the loins are either side of the spine with a clear line down the flank.
Besides you have to start somewhere at some point. The steaks won't be very big off the muntjac, I have made muntjac Schnitzel a few times and it is very nice finger food.

 

[TringSaint]

When i started stalking and bringing in deer for the house , i had done thousands of rabbits , birds , fish etc from a kid in short pants literally! it took ages and was not pretty . Today i go really fast but I have to slow down if someone wants specific things because i will just stray from the plan

The first deer I shot and skinned was a munty and it looked like I had skinned it with a chainsaw!!
Even now after 350-400 deer under my belt I struggle to make a super clean job of a munty - I’m so used to cwd that I rush it a bit and end up with tears in the haunches!

 

[Bowland blades]

The first deer I shot and skinned was a munty and it looked like I had skinned it with a chainsaw!!
Even now after 350-400 deer under my belt I struggle to make a super clean job of a munty - I’m so used to cwd that I rush it a bit and end up with tears in the haunches!

I try hard not to end up with hair everywhere with processing CWD and normally fail LOL . Munty ? no problems ! Are you maybe using a less than razor sharp small knife . I use my Caping knife (see here below) or The muntjac knife

 

[TringSaint]

I try hard not to end up with hair everywhere with processing CWD and normally fail LOL . Munty ? no problems ! Are you maybe using a less than razor sharp small knife . I use my Caping knife (see here below) or The muntjac knife

Knife is razor sharp but I pull more than cut and that’s the issue.

For cwd, the trick to not having hair on the carcass is not to shoot them!!! Kaboom, tish!
Seriously, it has to be a head shot if you don’t want much hair.
The ones I shot a couple of weeks ago were horrific - their winter coat was just falling out in handfuls!

 

[Gmm243]

I butcher all my own sika but bring reds to a local butcher (skinned). I don't have a mincer so it is easier to pay him to do that and make the burgers etc.
He charges around £40/50 for a red. That will be burgers,steaks, mince and roasts. Bar the burgers and mince all will be back to me vacuum packed and everything labelled.

 

[sauer]

I used to do locals deer kills for them for their own use but on my EHO inspection it was brought up I shouldn't be doing it if not a full AGHE ( scotland) Been checked with FSS etc and she was right so had to stop.
I charged £55 for a roe done to your requirements and vak packed in 600grm bags of mince or dice ...burgers 1/4 pounders in packs of 4 all labelled etc.. saddles trimmed etc all bonny
A red I used to do for £75
This with you supplying carcass and me skinning also ....and you taking away skin and carcasses bones for disposal
You'll struggle to find someone "legal" to do it and I don't know any AGHE who will

Paul

 

[Camdig]

I take deer to a butcher they all must be skinned, I pay a kilo price for processing, a Roe buck is usually about £30-£40 which includes burgers, vac packs and labelling it also includes waste disposal.
It's much easier for me to skin and drop off and pick a couple bags of vac packed meat.

 

[AlexD]

I used to do locals deer kills for them for their own use but on my EHO inspection it was brought up I shouldn't be doing it if not a full AGHE ( scotland) Been checked with FSS etc and she was right so had to stop.
I charged £55 for a roe done to your requirements and vak packed in 600grm bags of mince or dice ...burgers 1/4 pounders in packs of 4 all labelled etc.. saddles trimmed etc all bonny
A red I used to do for £75
This with you supplying carcass and me skinning also ....and you taking away skin and carcasses bones for disposal
You'll struggle to find someone "legal" to do it and I don't know any AGHE who will

That is a fair price. Head shot or lower neck shot deer are fastest to skin & butcher, but for me at least, time on the body depends so much on where it has been shot, and what with.
The suggestions to the OP to learn to butcher, are good, but not everyone is of the mind to do it, especially if the shot has made a mess of the internals,. You are providing your locals/clients a good service in doing it for them.

When I showed my oldest daughter and my son how to prepare a deer, at ages 7 to 10 or so, they got stuck in. On my youngest daughter, I left it until she was 18, and the response was that she said it was an emotional trauma: a reaction to the smells, seeing things close up - she is doing a medical degree, now a few years older so midway through it. I told her it is the best way to understand anatomy. In her uni, she cuts up dead people in the anatomy class, without any problem, but still avoids getting stuck into the full grallock and butcher, though she eats venison nearly every day, and cooks all her own meals with it once it is in plastic as nice joints. Everyone is different, and some just do not like the smell of a full deer.

 

[weblyish]

Hiya

If you are Essex then Jim Riley of DVGM (Cambs) will do a great job of teaching you how to do it yourself and prepare some butcher quality produce - teach a man to fish etc



Also the government list of AGHE might be of use to you in hunting for somewhere to take yours

Approved food establishments

Lists of approved food premises and types of establishments approved by us and local authorities.

www.food.gov.uk

There is a mega excel file you can either open it up and search for your council but I used ChatGPT fed it the file and asked for ones within my district which had large game AGHE and give me a list with phone numbers
Worked fine for finding someone to take a few carcasses when I was travelling

 

[GlennUK]

Nobody gets good without starting up pretty rubbish ! Perhaps just get a mincer for when it goes pear shape ? You will get better by doing not by paying a butcher

sounds just like me, couple of butchery knives, bone saw, a mincer and some enthusiasm!

 

[sauer]

lets face it..... majority of us ... i mean amateur stalker's not professional cullers are shooting or should be for the freezer so if your shooting them that's only half the job...the work starts and if your keeping them or handing in to a game dealer objective is the same ...
to produce to standard good quality venison or a larder ready carcass in its jacket.

step further is breaking it down into primal or haunch and shoulder roasts etc and saddle on the bone

step further your into dice or cube cuts or breaking down the primals into steaks etc ....

best bit of advice id give anyone starting is buy a semi decent mincer .....your trim pile will get smaller as you get better with practice but you will always have trim ....often some me best meals are form humble mince or ground venison as our yank brothers call it....
mince & tatties ( im a jock )
bolognaise
cottage pie ( stalkers pie technically)
burgers of course
sausages once you've gained a bit of confidence
lasagne

honestly if you have a kitchen table or clear bit of worktop ....your good to go ...few bowls.... a 5 or 6" semi flec boning knife and a bone saw your good to go !.....
Scott Rea project on you tube is a must and very good for the beginner to start off

once you've had a couple of decent meals with your own kill broken down by yourself ...you know what exactly your feeding your family, what's gone into it ... you'll be hooked...

maybe if you ask around local or on here someone may help / show you basics to get going..... if you were closer id gladly show anyone wanting to learn basic breakdown and get most out of their carcass

for me that's the whole point .....

i understand professionals and amount they get .... cant eat every carcass but I've met a couple "hobby stalkers" who just wan to pull a trigger and wont eat it ..... tin hat on...if that's the case go shoot targets

if anyone is in Angus area and wanting to learn im more than willing to have you round to my larder and show the basics of breakdown

its not too difficult ...christ if i can rattle out some thing that looks semi decent anyone can .....

i take my hat off to proper time served butchers and some of the stuff they can do


Paul