Chuck and Patty Ann Sandberg are the owners and operators of Cowboy Free Range Meats in Jackson, Wyoming. Every year between 1,600 and 1,800 antelope, sheep, deer, moose and elk are handled by this couple and their skilled crew. Over the past 7 years my family has used their services for elk and deer processing after successful hunts in Western Wyoming. In addition to their wild game processing, the Sandbergs have expanded ther selectons to offer organic and free range meat headed up by Patty Ann. PattyAnn’s web site is
www.cowboyfreerangemeat.com
You may email them at patty@cowboyfreerangemeat.com
So with hunting season upon us, I thought that a Q&A session with Chuck about meat care would be helpful to our readers.
What common mistakes do hunters make in meat care when they bring animals to your facility?
There are several mistakes hunters make when they 1st get an animal
down.
1) So often hunters wait too long to begin dressing out their animal. They should get their pictures taken ASAP then immediately starting dressing the animal out….they can continue telling the story while they are doing this and enjoy retelling it after they have finished.
2) Too many hunters do not complete the dressing out process…a) they tend to leave the lungs and the esophagus (wind pipe) in the animal. They also tend to not remove the entire urinal track and all the manure from beneath the pelvic bone located between the hind quarters. Removing the wind pipe is critical especially in larger animals, re: elk, moose and buffalo. The enzymes in the wind pipe will cause the front half to spoil in only a few hours, especially if it is warm out. The front end of these animals retains so much heat that people don’t realize how quickly they can ruin 1/2 of their meat. Removing the wind pipe on deer and antelope is not as critical simply because they do not retain as much heat, however it is still wise to remove it so as not to take any chances. Still, leaving any of the entrails in an animal will effect the quality of how good your meat will taste.
3) Too many hunters let their meat get dirty, whether it be dust and dirt or grass and leaves. The dirtier your meat is, the more these outside influences seep into your meat and change the flavor. You also loose more meat because your butcher has to cut away more meat than on a clean animal. Dirty meat is very typical among hunters who “bone out” their animal in the field. Though they seldom have spoiled meat, I would say about 1 out 10 hunters know how to properly bone out an animal. Those who do know how usually are prepared with a clean tarp or blanket to do the work on and also with enough game bags to put the meat into when they are finished.
4) Never put your animal in a creek or water tank to cool it down. The bacteria in the water may cause who knows what to start growing on or in your meat. If you do wash your animal off with a hose (or clean water) the growth of bacteria is still increase and your meat starts breaking down much sooner. Butcher plants that clean animals this way usually have an additive in the water that will keep unwanted bacteria from forming on the meat.
Do you prefer to have the animal skinned when it comes to your facility?
Butchers prefer animals to come into their plants with the skin on the animal. Usually there is a skinning fee, but the advantages to leaving the skin on are numerous. First of all, the skin protects the animal when once it is dead similar to the way it protects it when it was alive. Primarily it keeps the meat clean and give less surface for flies and bees to get to.
If you are going to skin your animal yourself, be sure to do it where you can keep it clean and have as many game bags to put your meat into as soon as your finished. Too many hunters try to save a few dollars by skinning their own animal when they do not know how to skin properly or do not skin often enough to be proficient at the task of skinning. Many times, self skinned animals come in with huge knife cuts through out the animal. They don’t realize how much meat has to be made into hamburger rather than steaks because their animal is all hacked.
What is the best way to keep meat in camp cool during an early season hunt?
The best way to keep meat cool in camp during the early hunt (as well as the
later hunt) is simple….a) keep your meat out of the sun!, and b)hang it up, do not leave it laying on the ground or in the back of your truck! Again, the skin will protect the meat if it is properly and totally cleaned of entrails and wind pipe. If you are going to have several days in camp, you should quarter you animal…and leave the skin on the quarters. If you are going to have your animal mounted, you should cape it out at least up to the head. Do this by cutting from the middle of the back, straight up the backbone to the hump between the ears. Then cut around the middle of the body and keep your cut behind the shoulders. Then skin forward from there. This should be done immediately after you have “semi” field dressed your animal. By this I mean only cut it up the belly far enough to get the main mass of gut out. When you are finished skinning the front of your animal for your mount, you can also finish your dressing job by splitting the rib cage and removing the lungs and the wind pipe. If you field cape your animal be sure to have game bags to put your meat in. If you decide to skin any part of your animal or all of it be sure to have game bags…they will protect your animal just as leaving the skin on will.
What can a hunter do to make processing his meat faster and easier for you?
Hunters can make my job easier by bringing their game in ASAP, by keeping their meat clean and by trying hanging tendon on the hind quarters. When you cut the rear legs of your animal, there are too lumps at the knee joint…cut in the middle of the lumps “closest to the ground”. This will be the “lower” lump of the two and also the “smaller” lump. Too many times the hunter cuts the large lump because it is the main joint of the knee, but this also causes you to cut the joint that holds the hanging tendon to the knee, making it more difficult to hang your animal from the hind quarters.
Many hunters worry about getting their meat back, how do you keep track of who’s is who’s during the Fall rush?
Every hunter we get will definitely get their own meat back if they will take the time when they first come in to make sure we put their name of all parts of their animal. ( ie: If you a have 4 quarters we would put 4 name tags on). These tags stay on the animal until it is removed from the cooler to be processed. We only put one animal on a cutting table at a time and your name tags follow your animal clear through the wrapping process until it is put on trays with your name on the tray. We never put 2 different hunters animal on the same tray. Any hunter is welcome to take a tour of how we cut and keep track of each animal…you can spend the whole day if you like…but you will know you are getting your own meat and all of it if you
will take just a minute or two to come watch how we do things.
What should a hunter know if he wants his meat shipped to his or her home?
If a hunter wants to ship his meat home, he can take it on most airlines as excess baggage or he can ship it via FED-EX. UPS will not allow more than 4.4 lbs of dry ice, which is not enough to keep your meat frozen during the shipping process Shipping averages about $3.00 and up a pound. Remember an elk might yield as much as 230 lbs… of pure meat…on top of this is the cost of preparing your shipment. You would be buying 3 to 4 shipping boxes, plus putting 10 lbs of dry ice in each box for overnight delivery and 20 lbs in each box for 2 day air delivery. A large bull could cost over a $1000.00 just for shipping cost. Our suggestion is to drive and bring a very large cooler….usually a 140 quart will hold most elk….but a very large elk or a moose will probably require another cooler.
What services do you offer, what do they cost?
Our basic cost for processing is 85 cents per pound of the “hanging” weight. This means, no hide, no head, no legs. Elk usually weigh between 300 and 400 lbs. This includes making the hamburger. Adding beef or pork fat to your burger is a little extra. We also offer pressed and ground jerky, salami, summer sausage and polish sausages, however these items are not made from your animal. They are made from the trim designated by each hunter if they want some of these items. These are made at in bulk at around 200 lbs per batch. They are a mixture of antelope, elk, deer and moose. Thus they are “wild game” products. Because of the volume we must do it is impossible to make any of these items from your own animal. We also offer “breakfast sausage”which does come from your own animal and is made at the same time as the rest of your meat is being wrapped.
We also have a small retail store, where we offer buffalo, elk and organic
meat. These are farm / ranch raised animals and are processed at USDA
plants located in Idaho and Utah. Our store also offers unique gifts for
any hunter to bring home. These include unique wild game cook books, special
seasonings for wild game, huckleberry products and many other gift ideas you
would not find in most stores.
Where are you located, and how can a customer contact you?
We are located at 1655 Berger Lane (P.O. Box 1618) Jackson, Wyoming 83001.Turn west at the last stop like going south out of Jackson, which is the
“HIGH SCHOOL ROAD” take your next right which is “GREGORY LANE” and your next right which is “BERGER LANE”. Go 1 block and we are on the left hand corner. We have a large white and black buffalo sign located in front of our building and are easy to find.
Our phone numbers are 307-733-4026 or 307-732-0496. During the heart of theseason we get so busy with customers standing right in front of us that the
phones can be hard to answer, so please leave a message or try calling back
later. We do check are messages several times daily and will get back to
you ASAP.
We are open “every day” including Sundays at least from 8am to
6pm….usually later when we know animals are coming in.
Our motto is “YOU GET YOUR OWN MEAT AND ALL OF IT”. This means we use yourown meat for steaks, roasts, burger and breakfast sausage. We never keep any of your meat of give it to anyone else.
www.cowboyfreerangemeat.com
patty@cowboyfreerangemeat.com
.jpg "Parachute cord can be used for a variety of uses")
Game Cart
Team Carry
Dragging