You see the signs all across the state this time of year. Most are found on back roads and rural locations. Some read, “Deer Processing” or “Deer Butchering.” Some are fancy, professionally-made signs while others are hand-made.
This cottage industry is short-lived, lasting from the start of the expanded archery season in early September through the end of muzzleloader season in mid-December. While it is a short season for these deer butchers, they provide an important service for Maine hunters, getting the meat from field to table for those lucky enough to fill their tag.
While some hunters may chose to butcher their own game, most don’t have the necessary equipment or know-how to tackle the job. For those of us who lack the skill, ambition or gear to turn a field-dressed deer into a package of steak, chops or hamburger, a trip to the deer butcher is an integral part of the hunting experience.
One local deer butcher, Tom Hart of South Auburn, has been turning hunting memories into fine table fare for more than 28 years. A retired Auburn firefighter, Hart worked as a butcher in several local slaughterhouses and processing plants, garnering the skills and knowledge to process deer while working on beef.
But for Hart, it’s more of a pleasant hobby than a job.
“I enjoy talking to the hunters,” he said, as he tidied up his garage-turned butcher shop.
While his two-car garage serves to house his truck in the offseason, come fall, his processing equipment takes over and his truck sits outside.
A chain hoist makes light work of hoisting a deer into the air, hanging near his cutting table. A meat saw is used sparingly, as Hart prefers to bone the meat to avoid getting bone chips in the finished product. A grinder turns scraps into deer hamburger and a slicer shaves thin minute steaks, perfect for frying.
It was evident that cleanliness is paramount to Hart. “You won’t find a deer hair in any of my meat packages,” he boasted, as he brushed down a freshly skinned deer with a nylon brush. A bucket of bleach solution stood at the ready to clean tools and sanitize the work surface of his cutting board.
Hart will custom-cut a hunter’s deer. The most commons cuts he makes are steaks, chops, minute steaks, roasts, burger and tenderloin. For hunters who enjoy fried sausage, Hart has a breakfast sausage seasoning mix and a sweet Italian sausage mix that he adds to ground meat.
Aside from chatting with hunters, Hart has a good idea how the deer herd is doing, based on his observations while processing them.
“This year, the deer are very fat and in good condition. Yours had this much fat on its back,” he said as he indicated a thick layer using his fingers. “Your neighbors haven’t been in with any yet,” confirming my suspicions that hunting has been slow in the woods of South Auburn.
When asked if he hunts, he quipped, “I don’t have time during the season, and I’m too tired to go into the woods.”
Hart typically gets up at 3:30 a.m. and works on deer well into the afternoon, typically putting in a 12-hour day. Hart thanks a long-standing customer base for keeping him busy.
“I have some paying customers, but I also work on the barter system, cutting deer for those who have done me favors over the years,” Hart added.
For paying customers, depending on what special cuts they want, an average deer will cost around $50 to be processed, estimating that it takes two or more hours to process a single deer. When you add in the cost of having the bones and fat hauled off, which Baker Commodities does for $20 a bucket, and the electricity for freezers, and butcher paper and tape, there is not a lot of profit in the deer processing trade. After a fall filled with long hours and tedious work, Hart says “I don’t want to see another deer until next season.”
To get the most out of your deer, Hart recommends that hunters do a thorough job of removing the organs from the cavity. He also suggests hanging the deer by the hind legs before dropping it off at the butcher’s house, to ensure the blood drains from the meat.
“Try not to paunch it, (shooting it in the stomach) as that tends to ruin the loins,” he cautions. My shot met with Hart’s approval. I shot a large doe through the lungs and the bullet traveled through the deer, hitting only ribs without damaging any shoulder meat.
Hart truly enjoys chatting with hunters as they drop off and pick up their deer. When I picked up my meat, I brought my 4-year-old daughter along for company. She was fascinated with the deer, as well as Hart’s dog that was tied outside. She also loves deer meat. As a special treat, Hart made a package of tender minute steaks with my daughter’s name on it and presented it to her. She proudly placed “her” deer meat in the freezer at home, eagerly awaiting a meal.
Who knows, if Tom Hart continues his trade, we may be able to take her first deer in for processing.
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