Mine was $300. Where I take it, everyone appreciates it when it isn't quartered -- certain hands make money off of doing that, and they get it done right. Also, it's nice to have it caped out perfectly rather than me messing it up. End of the day, everyone will have an opinion on what is right, and I'm good with that. We won't quibble over spending a couple hundred on processing meat once you realize what the bill is that went into it. It's about the experience, not a $ per pound

C'mon Buttercup, you get better as time goes on. Hang in there. Tall tables or the tailgate of a larger P/U can serve you well when deboning your meat. You did it yourselves and that should give you some pride. I am impressed.

Debone your own meat this year - what's next? A keeper red?

I have only used a processor the last 2 years(JT`s Deer Processing in Stephenville). I have all of mine ground so I can make jerky out of 10-15 lbs. of it and give the rest to family members who like deer meat. I have over 25 years experience as a meat cutter/ market manager and after cutting up and processing all of mine, my sons and grandsons deer since I started hunting I decided to try JT`s 2 years ago. It was a nice feeling to back up and have someone drag my deer out and me drive away and forget it. I read post every year about the high cost to process a deer and I shake my head. It was worth every penny to enjoy the hunting experience after killing a nice buck instead of dreading the cleaning, processing, packaging and cleaning up afterwards part.

The processor I use from time to time in Hempstead Arnold's, makes pretty good tamales and his price per dozen is cheaper than current street prices from someone's aunt.

I use the processor for a few things, we found he makes some really good stuff so I am wiling to pay for it. He is actually very affordable compared to other processors in a 50 mile radius of me.
Regular link sausage, jalapeno pepper jack cheese link sausage, tamales, jalapeno pepper jack cheese buck sticks, chorizo pan sausage, and breakfast links.

I always take and process the backstrap and tenderloins my self. When I cook it it's never the same way often enough to want to pay someone to cut it into steaks, etc. So I leave the tenderloins whole and cut the backstraps to feed my family of three.

I have already had 2 does processed by my guy this year so I am filled up on all our sausage etc. needs. So the next deer I shoot I will grind what I want for hamburger and I will make the traditional pan sausage we like. Also I will cut out the roasts for stew meat, making pastrami, and other various experiments of craft sausage.

Lol, I've processed all 15 deer from start to finish so far. It just takes tooooooo much time, and my time is limited. Paying to have it done makes more sense to me.

I appreciate the taller tables advice, my dads back wasn't hurting, but mine was killing me. Now that I think about it I'm 5 inches taller then him, so that does make sense.

As for the keeper red, that day will be glorious!

Joshua Deer Processing makes tamales

Yep, my dad has never processed his own deer before yesterday..... I told him that he should think twice about taking another deer. He said he's gonna have the next one processed! Lol

I usually get 12 lbs of jerky, about 4 rolls of summer sausage, some breakfast/german sausage links, the backstraps and tenderloins whole, and the rest I give to the processor.

From now on I'm gonna get more jerky...I like it the best.

What does it cost to have that much jerky made? My son had some made and they charged him over 30 bucks per pound and it wasn`t good at all. He said he couldn`t eat it.

Hell you can go to Bucees and buy beef jerky for less than that.

Most processors charge 6$/lb raw weight for jerky.

Few times do you start out doing something the best way. I have been skinning and deboning deer since i was in the first grade and every year it seems I figure something out that improves my process a little more. To me a big thing is cutting them up when it is convenient. Brought my wife's doe from the weekend home last week quartered on ice, I didn't cut it up till Thursday. With a good cooler and favorable outside temps I never had to add ice. I muscled out the quarters and trimmed the flank/ribs straps and tenderloins vacuum packed the steaks/roasts and froze the ready to grind sausage meat spread over 2 nights just in between when I made dinner and got the kids in bead. If you keep at it you will get a lot faster.

I pay $12 per pound for the jerky. It is excellent. I don't like jerky to taste like boot leather so he cuts mine slightly thicker and the flavor is really good.

Damn right...hell my buddy doesn't even gut his. Loads it up in the truck and drops off at processor....costs extra $50 to have them gut it but worth it to not have to screw with it. I've killed a couple in the evening and needed to get back home so did not gut mine either and just dropped off whole.

To me there is no work that begins. I have always enjoyed the fruits of hunting/fishing never minded skinning gutting or filleting deer/fish. I like knowing exactly how my food was handled, and it is carrying on a tradition. My kids and nephews take turns standing on a chair and turning the sausage stuffer and well supervised feeding meat into the grinder. Man miss my Opie after typing that.

I like jerky but it would probably break, extract my teeth

I get a lot of breakfast sausage, patty and link. Some jalapeno/cheese summer sausage. Backstrap steaks, steaks and roasts from hindquarters. The rest for stew meat and ground.

I've been tempted to do this. I always field dress with the thought process of getting the insides out faster so the meat cools down quicker. In hindsight, the time it takes to get it to the field dressing area, rope it up, get out the knives, field dress it, and then clean-up... I only save maybe 10 minutes compared to driving it straight to the processor. That is assuming they field dress it as soon as I drop it off.

Should've done this last weekend. Had a buddy out at my property - passed on a lot of does waiting on a specific buck to come. Naturally, the buck hit the areas we didn't hunt. Ended up staying Sunday afternoon for another hunt so my buddy would get at least get a doe. Since he field dressed it... the process took a bit longer and we didn't get back to DFW until 10pm. The extra $50 might have saved some grief from the wife for coming home later than expected

Does, everything that can be cut up in tenderized cutlets as possible, butterfly cut backstrap rest bacon burger. Bucks, butterfly cut backstrap, rest smoke sausage and bacon burger.

I came back from our doe management hunt and processed 2 and dropped 3 at the processor. Boudin, summer sausage (jalapeno cheese) and pan sausage, the rest is chili meat. I steak out the others and ran them through the tenderizer. All the back straps are ready for chicken fried steak.

we processed all our own for the first 40+ years of my life until my parents got up in age and just weren't able to do it any more, it was a family time together and process that we did everything including hamburger & varieties of sausage ... but it's a lot of work for a single person.

I normally drop off a field dressed deer at several different processors and most of the time it is just basic processing with backstrap & tenders pulled whole OR into tenderized steaks (for CFS or fajitas) and the rest into hamburger. Occasionally I will get a variety of link or pan sausage depending on freezer space.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My family & I make 50-100 dozen a year, making a bunch this weekend.

They're just for personal consumption though, not for hire.

I'm the meat, tamale sauce, & salsa guy. I hate spreading masa. I suck at it.

My first deer this year I just had processed regularly. Steaks, backstraps, tenderloins, and all the trim in ground.

My second deer I had all the trim go into bratwurst, german sausage, and breakfast sausage.