Oh deer! Processing venison doesn’t have to be a pain

ISHPEMING — As we near closer to deer season, it’s important to remember to have your meat processed. Whether you’ve got a fresh kill, or a hunk of meat sitting in the fridge, this time of the year is the best time to get your meat processed.

The best part? Someone else can do the processing for you.

“Even right now, before the gun season starts, I think guys are cleaning out their freezers and saying ‘hey why don’t I make something out of this or get something made?'” said Glenn Andrews, better known as Smokehouse Glenn.

And you don’t have to get just steaks…processing gives you a variety of options.

“Everything from snack sticks, jerky, summer sausage, bratwurst, if you see it in the store here, pretty much we can make it out of venison,” said Andrews.

If you’re waiting for the right time to get your meat processed, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go in as soon as possible. Numbers, along with the temperature, are higher than normal this time of the year.

Andrews said “This year looks like it’s really good for venison; we’ve gotten quite a bit more in here from bow season this year than in the past years.”

Although the processing is out of your hands, there are a couple of things you need to take care of first.

“The deer that we get in here need to be skinned and quartered, but we can take care of them from there,” said Andrews. “You just want to make sure it’s cleaned and taken care of.”

Normal turnaround time is approximately a week and a half, but the longer you wait, the chances are you won’t see your processed meat for at least a couple of weeks.