Boneless meat percentage

[smith88]

Just a quick question, what do you guys expect to get back as a percentage when you get an animal custom cut? 40, 50, 60%??

[DiabeticKripple]

40-50% depending on how much meat was destroyed by the shot.

[smith88]

High neck shot on an elk. Very little meat loss.

[waldedw]

According to the meat butcher / trim guide here is what they say.

A 1200 lb. steer on the hoof with 1/2" fat and average muscle mass will yield approx. 750 lbs. of dressed weight bone in beef, that 750 lb. dressed carcass will yield approx. 490 lbs. of boned out trimmed meat.

I would assume the same percentage would be close for wild game.

[Dubious]

Originally Posted by waldedw

According to the meat butcher / trim guide here is what they say.

A 1200 lb. steer on the hoof with 1/2" fat and average muscle mass will yield approx. 750 lbs. of dressed weight bone in beef, that 750 lb. dressed carcass will yield approx. 490 lbs. of boned out trimmed meat.

I would assume the same percentage would be close for wild game.

Dont forget moisture loss from hanging them in your garage for a 10 days.

[smith88]

Originally Posted by Dubious

Dont forget moisture loss from hanging them in your garage for a 10 days.

That wouldn't affect the weight from on the rail to the amount of cut meat. And live weight of an elk is hard to get haha

[Duramaximos]

Suggestion, perhaps find a hunter willing to show you the ropes for your first deer or two.

Well worth the investment in equipment. A good vacuum sealer ($200), and a decent grinder ($250) would be a good start.

If space is an concern consider buying a dedicated freezer and a stand alone temp controller ($250 + $50). The controller will let you run the freezer at 2C while you process quarters into roasts, and grind. When everything is packed up, remove the controller and let everything freeze solid. Poor man's walk in cooler. This hack has saved me on a number of warm weather harvests when leaving things to hang in the garage was out of the question.

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[old dog]

Meant to ask if the rib cage and backbone was with it. I normally just take in the four legs with bone in. And bone out the back straps and neck meat and rib meat

[fishnguy]

This year’s young bull provided me with 77 kg (~ 170 lbs) of nicely but not wastefully (though some may disagree) trimmed meat. This excludes the rib meat because for the first time I cleaned and cut the rib cage for barbecue or something. There was little, if any, meat waste due to the bullet penetration; it was a very clean shot.

Last year, a bigger bull provided me with 88kg (~ 195 lbs) of nicely trimmed meat. That included rib meat as well. There was some, but not much at all meat damage due to the bullet. It was, like yours, a high neck shot.

The least I got from an elk was about 65 kg (~ 145 lbs), if I recall correctly, which was a young cow (very little to none as far as shot meat goes as well).

I have no idea how much any of the mentioned above weighed before processing, so I can’t tell in terms of percentage. Nevertheless, 117 pounds you have received seems pretty low. In fact, I got that much off a deer. But then it could also be a very nice young cow you shot (I have no idea how much any of the animals I ever shot weighed before processing).

I have never used a butcher even though I don’t particularly enjoy processing myself.

[WeaselBeard]

Originally Posted by Duramaximos

... If space is an concern consider buying a dedicated freezer and a stand alone temp controller ($250 + $50). The controller will let you run the freezer at 2C while you process quarters into roasts, and grind. When everything is packed up, remove the controller and let everything freeze solid. Poor man's walk in cooler. This hack has saved me on a number of warm weather harvests when leaving things to hang in the garage was out of the question...

Do you have any photos or setup images (even internet images) of this? Sounds like a nice 'hack' as you put it.

[smith88]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have found some "evidence" and spoke to F&W and they are conducting an investigation. I will post more information when able.

[reddeerhunter]

How small are these bull elk some guys post? My last 3 went 640,670,670 on rail. Wainwright bulls.

Of which 390 avg lbs deboned meat came off.

I always assumed a cow 400 on rail and bull 650 as norm.


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[reddeerhunter]

How small are these bull elk some guys post? My last 3 went 640,670,670 on rail. Wainwright bulls.

Of which 390 avg lbs deboned meat came off.

I always assumed a cow 400 on rail and bull 650 as norm.


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[brewster29]

Any bull in the 600's is huge if you're talking the same language: skinned, legs and head off. Those would be old and well fed.

[silver lab]

I’ve seen two bulls that were 350+ and they didn’t hit 600-650lbs on the rail. You shoot some incredibly big bodied elk..... I would doubt this elk didn’t weigh that much on the hoof, most don’t.

[smith88]

Thanks for all the replies. I have spoke to some friends and found 4 or 5 other people that believe they have been shorted by this butcher.

The butcher said they have another elk to do and they want me to bring my meat back and compare it to this other elk.

I am going to take a meat cutting course and do all of my own meat. Does anyone have a good local butcher supply store in Medicine Hat or north Calgary/Airdrie?

[AndrewM]

Originally Posted by smith88

Thanks for all the replies. I have spoke to some friends and found 4 or 5 other people that believe they have been shorted by this butcher.

The butcher said they have another elk to do and they want me to bring my meat back and compare it to this other elk.

I am going to take a meat cutting course and do all of my own meat. Does anyone have a good local butcher supply store in Medicine Hat or north Calgary/Airdrie?

CTR refrigeration (high caliber) are great out of Calgary. You don’t need anything fancy though. Sharp knife and your good to go.

[summit151]

Originally Posted by silver lab

I’ve seen two bulls that were 350+ and they didn’t hit 600-650lbs on the rail. You shoot some incredibly big bodied elk..... I would doubt this elk didn’t weigh that much on the hoof, most don’t.

Agreed !


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[calgarychef]

Maybe the butcher didn’t “short” anyone. It could be that he just throws away a lot, which isn’t acceptable either but it’s not like theft.