I recently harvested two full grown cow nilgai, sent them to a processer to be processed. Last Friday, I went to pick them up, meat netted is about 250 pounds with chorizo, breakfast sausage, hamburger, roasts, fresh grilling sausage, tenderloins and backstraps. I specifically asked them to cut the whole backstraps into thirds. Upon picking them up, and sorted them all out, just noticed that the backstraps have been cut up to small pieces weighing less than a pound, total weight is 13.5 pounds,,,I believe that 2 full grown cow nilgai should net about 30-35 plus pounds. Do you guys have an opinion on how many pounds of backstraps a cow nilgai roughly will net?

I would think a nilgai cow backstrap trimmed would weigh 6-8lbs each so definitely more than what you got back.

For what it’s worth I would never take any steak/roast cuts to the processor because I don’t know how they butcher them. I butcher most wild game like you butcher a lamb, but depending on how they cut an animal you can get wildly different results.

Been there. I have never taken anything to a processor. Split a nilgai with hunting party that was taken to a processor, not impressed.

That said I found nilgai back straps to be proportionally smaller than WT straps.

I stopped taking game to a processor years ago for this exact reason. I had a buck that I really didn't have time to process, so I took it in. I pulled the tenderloins prior to dropping off the carcass. I asked for the backstrap to be cut in thirds. What I got back was significantly smaller than the tenderloins. And the sausage was ruined, and the whole butchered amount seemed short. It wasn't the first time it happened to me, but it certainly was the last. We butcher between 7 and 10 animals a year. None of them go to the processor anymore.

Same here, we are going through a complete house remodel and we don't have time and the clean space( without the dust) to comfortably process the quartered meats for the grind and steaks, etc, its the reason I dropped them off at the local butcher. I stopped taking them to the butcher a long time ago when I was short a box after sending two doe WT to a different butcher I usually send them to. Once that happened, sent a call to my wife and said " Get the LEM grinder from Academy" when I bagged a buck the following year. We have done our own processing each year since then, learned to make grilling sausages and breakfast sausages by watching You Tube videos and jerky is easy to make in the smoker as well.

I watched a processor open a customer package from the cooler and hand out snack stick samples to a guy asking about making sticks.

I have never taken a game animal to a processor.

better have one you can trust.

They all have families to feed


with your game.

I process my own too. There are good processors out there, but I know the quality of the work when I do it. Also good family memories in making sausage etc. I look forward to knocking down a Nilgai soon.
Happy hunitng.

no way I would have ever used a processor

Unfortunately that happens way to often, as Buzz said find one you can trust is key.

I remove the Tenderloins, Backstraps and hind quarters for myself, the only I have processed is the front shoulder and neck for sausages and links and I take that to Cinnamon Creek for they do it right.