how much packaged meat can I expect

[elkaholic]

ok guys - whats your opinion - guy takes in a cow elk weighs(hanging ) at the shop 215 lbs. 4 quarters clean -just meat

 

a questions - should he age it ?

 

archery kill- not a lot of wasted trimings.

 

wants like 40 lbs of burger - how much suet does the butcher add? does this add weight or not ?

 

what should he get from the processor

 

If ya ask the colledge experts they say 65% average so 215 x .65 = 139 lbs

 

One meat cutting formula states -quote"Typically, the "hanging weight" of the beef will be about 60% of the live weight of the animal. From that weight, you can expect to receive about 65 to 70% of the hanging weight in packaged meat due to trim loss, bones, etc"

 

heres another formula for figuring deer

100 lbs live weight X 78%=78 lbs field dressed weight x 75%= 58% hanging weight x 75%= 43 lbs of edibale meat

 

by this one you'd figure approx 90 lbs of meat

 

we usually get people saying they got ripped off from the processors .

 

 

Any comments-

 

lets just say bedoned for the record

 

i know the one is for beef the other deer but its what I could find goggling

we all know elk is a lot leaner than beef

[antlers]

I have worked for several processors and there is alot of loss as they weigh it when you bring it in with the bone and then cut the bone out. Alot of it depends on the processor and how good they are. Some processors waste alot and that is unfortunate. I know Jeremy Browning here in Payson and he learned from the same guy I used to work with and you can clean alot of the bone and save alot as we were taught. The suet or beef fat added is usually a rough estimate and used to be included with the price. As far as aging it, I like to allow it to age a few days as it sometimes takes the game taste out of the meat. So I would say yes hang it for awhile if you can.

[.270]

when ya get it back, weigh it, and that's how much you get. the quality of the butcher has a lot to do with it. and also, its amazing how much a carcass compacts when you cut it up and package it. main thing to worry about is how good o' job the butcher does. with a good butcher, you're gonna get all the edible meat there was on the carcass. take out most o' the bones and such, and the weight shrinks considerably. again, take it to a good butcher. with a clean shop. we used to alway try o add about 10% beef fat to the burger, but anymore prefer it with no fat. Lark.

[azslim]

My rule of thumb is I get between 100 and 130 lbs of meat out of a cow elk. But I do it myself, it is all boned out and very clean - when in doubt throw it out, why save an ounce of meat if it will make a lb of good meat go bad.