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Once you have tagged the deer, the next step is to field dress it. Don't cut the throat to bleed 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.
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Won't removing the hide prior to bringing it to you save you some time?
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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 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. There is no discount in price for skinning your own deer.
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Is it better to leave deer hang for several days before bringing it in?
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The sooner your deer arrives at our plant, the better. Our plant is in a controlled air and temperature environment. Fluctuation in temperature and contaminated air causes rapid aging in carcasses and quicker spoilage. Deer meat needs to be handled just like any other meat!
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Do you accept boneless meat?
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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 of hair, blood clots, and bullet, bone fragments, particles of food or feces. 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 its best condition.
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How should I package my boneless meat to be processed?
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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.
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How do the charges on cooked products apply?
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Dried, Jerky, Sticks, and Slab Jerky prices are based on starting weight. All other cooked products are based on finished weight, with the Beef and Pork included into the finished weight cost.
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May I package meat in plastic garbage or grocery bags?
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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.
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Do I get my own meat back?
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All deer are tagged and processed to your specifications. You receive your own deer on any fresh cuts and ground deer over 10 lbs. Breakfast sausage and any cooked products are done in large batches so it is impossible for us to keep deer meat separate. This should be of no concern because we are very selective as to which meat goes into sausage. The last thing we want is to ruin several hundred pounds of sausage because of a few pounds of bad deer meat.
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What about my boneless meat?
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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 25 lbs of deer meat in to ONE sausage product. There is also an additional fee of $15.00. These orders will be processed when all others are complete, usually sometime in March.
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How long will it be before my order is ready of pickup?
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We try to skin the deer in the order they are brought in. We then debone and process any fresh meat. Cooked products are then made up and orders are filled according to when deer was brought in. Time depends on how many deer we get in and this could be delayed due to Nebraska’s season, Kansas season, and a second Nebraska season running very close together. Orders without cooked products take up to 2 weeks. Carcass deer are processed before boneless deer orders.
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My buddy and I brought our deer in at the same time and he already got his back... where's mine?
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What you are having made out of your venison determines how long it might take. Some products just take longer to make. Also, the demand for some products is greater than others. As a result, we may have some orders ready for pickup before others.
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If I live out of state can you ship my finished deer products to me?
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Yes, we can ship orders anywhere in the continental USA. All order are shipped by UPS in Styrofoam coolers with ice packs. Depending on your location orders may require 2-day or 3-day shipping. You will be charged for all shipping and cooler costs. Orders must be paid in full before we are able to ship them. We will contact you prior to shipping to arrange for payment and confirm that you'll be there when the order arrives.
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