Butcher Honesty?

[SeaGoat]

Ive often wondered if the pig(s) you turn into the butcher are the pigs you pick up from the butcher?

[chewie]

honestly, i doubt much of it is what you get. or if you do, you'll not get all of it back, as the butchers kids have to eat too. that's why we do our own.

[wy_white_wolf]

Depends on the butcher. Some are very good at making sure you get back what you take in, others not so good. Just like anything else. Choose your butcher carefully.

WWW

[Stephen in SOKY]

Happens more with beef than pork.

[CJBegins]

I know our butcher returns our meat. We had a sow butchered that really could have used more fat on her bones and we picked up the meat last week and it is very, very lean. Makes for interesting bacon!

[CountryWannabe]

Well, I can't believe that EVERY butcher out there is crooked! We have used a couple of different ones and found one that works with us and that we trust. We mostly butcher everything but beef at home, and those we have killed, skinned, gutted and hung then cut into 6 pieces for me to cut into package sized portions. Ask around your friends and see who they use. A good reputation will follow just as surely as a bad one.

Mary

[jwal10]

Actually I think the smoked meats are the thing you don't get your own back the most. Many larger places just give you the lbs you had off your animal minus shrinkage. Harder to keep track of in larger facilities. I have had places tell me "a fat hog is a fat hog". Well not if you raised it better. I guess if you raised it poorly you might get "improved" meat....James

[SeaGoat]

Yeah thats what I was wondering..
If you put your hogs on special (ie. non gmo, all organic) diets, how do you know it wasnt a waste of time.

I guess a smaller butcher would promise better returns.

Same with deer processors.
With all those deer coming in how do you know its "your deer" youre picking back up?
Pretty much figured it was weighed and percentaged out

[SkagitBrooms]

Some are honest and some aren't. We took deer in to have burger made once & I'm almost certain it wasn't our meat. Decided to do it ourselves from now on.

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by wy_white_wolf

Depends on the butcher. Some are very good at making sure you get back what you take in, others not so good. Just like anything else. Choose your butcher carefully.

WWW

That pretty well sums it up.

But even the honest ones, it's still factory work to them. They fly thru it, and don't really care what goes in scrap barrel and what goes in your pile.....they get paid on hanging weight....and that was established before it entered the cutting room.

I like to take a bit more time, trim up what I want, package in sizes that fit us, and so on.....the things you can do if you do it yourself.

[1shotwade]

I always do my own butchering. One year my brother won a free deer butchering from ducks unlimited. He wasn't going to us it so gave it to me.I had killed a yearling and did it up myself and got 38 pounds of meat. I killed a doe (bout 100 lb) a week latter and took it to be done. I got back 42 pounds of meat. I thought it should have been over 50 pounds.I think what happens is they don't take the time and care to trim the bones etc. that I do for my own use.Not to say they are dishonest but rather in more of a hurry.I continue to do my own butchering and always will as long as I can.

[jwal10]

I do my own, always have. I look at other peoples meat from a processor and know I don't want any of it. Especially game meat. I pull all the silver skin, all the tendon, never use a saw. I used to haul livestock to the packers. Been in every butcher shop in 6 county area, may have seen 5-6 I would have used. Now those are run by minorities, NO WAY. Now maybe 2-3 good ones left. IF they sell meat out of the place, you might as well buy your meat there, the good stuff is in the display case. I am sure there are still good butcher shops around, just have to find them. There is a little one here near the lake, they only butcher and smoke, man and wife, very good people, very clean place and they respect the animals....James

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by SarahFair

Ive often wondered if the pig(s) you turn into the butcher are the pigs you pick up from the butcher?

How much does he weigh? Not the pig, the butcher.



geo

[Limon]

Originally Posted by SarahFair

Ive often wondered if the pig(s) you turn into the butcher are the pigs you pick up from the butcher?

It really depends on the butcher. The honest ones around here tell you upfront that their sausage recipes are huge batches. They mix meat from multiple animals to make that and what you get is based on what percentage of the mix came from your animal.

[65284]

I won't use a processor that also sells meat! Too much opportunity and temptation to filch a few pounds here and there. Said filched meat is extremely profitable, nothing invested in the hog and they got paid to process it. That's better than a double dip.

[highlands]

Some butchers are very good. Some butchers are not. We've had a lot of problems over the years. Sometimes you have to put up with their thievery because they're the only option. This is a large part of why we're building our own USDA inspected on-farm facility for processing our pigs each week.

We did get quite fortunate and the butcher we've been working with for the last three years or so is very good. Yes, sometimes there is a mistake but when there is they fix it. They don't steal and they don't try to substitute meat. Shop around and try different butchers available and when you find a good one, cherish them.

[Appalachia]

I grew up butchering all of our own. I can see how it would be intimidating, but its really not hard if you have the equipment.
I'm sure there are honest processors out there if you ask around, but I like having 100% control over the process. If you're not getting YOUR animal back, you may as well buy it from the grocery store. Probably cheaper that way in most cases anyhow.

[tinknal]

From what I've seen the vast majority are honest. I've worked in meat processing. As noted, anything ground and smoked is done in large batches unless you pay a ton more, it just isn't economically feasible to do individual batches. It would cost 10 bucks a pound. You should get your hams and bacons back, but they will be smoked and brined in with the rest.

As for venison, it depends a lot on how the deer was shot. I've seen many deer with massive gunshot damage, and it is not always evident from the outside. Most processors also do not bone out the rib meat.

[opportunity]

I use small mom and pop places that only do 1-2 animals a week. I know it's mine considering the care they took when I brought in two animals that were nearly the same size they had every thing labled as to who was in that package. I have used big facilities and I'm sure we didn't get back what we took in.

[Rustaholic]

Originally Posted by SarahFair

Ive often wondered if the pig(s) you turn into the butcher are the pigs you pick up from the butcher?

I had enough pigs butchered by a local farmer back when he was doing that.
He would not cut up my hogs unless I was standing right there.
I saw everything as it was cut up and put in the boxes.
I kept track of what my weight tape said and what I weighed after I got home. I also charted the hanging weight and the weight of the fat that we rendered. When I had to start using a real butcher shop I knew what to expect. I was never disappointed in them. Besides when I fed three pigs 20 bushels of pears during their last two and a half weeks I know what that meat tastes like. We did get our own pork back. The deal with them was that if you took them three or more then the sausage batch they would do would be all yours. The hams and bacon all had our tags on them too.The last three that I took in the guy said they were the best looking pigs he had seen in a long time. Feed them good and treat them good. Eat them good. Ernie Red and Muffy were three fine tasting critters.