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Any Good Meat Processors in MA?

Broc

Broc

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I am going hog hunting in FL. But, FL has very few processors near Tampa. AL's, which looks to be awesome, is taking two weeks.

So I am thinking of quartering two hogs, check them on my flight back and having them processed here.

Any good inside of 495 or somewhere between Boston and Worcester or Boston and the Cape, or near Reading up north ...?

This is plan B in case I can't find anyone over there.

I would watch a video and do it myself, slowly, but FL is hot AF, so this is probably bot a good idea.

The more I research Florida, the more it s*cks.
 
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Broc said:
I am going hog hunting in FL. But, FL has very few processors near Tampa. AL's, which looks to be awesome, is taking two weeks.

So I am thinking of quartering two hogs, check them on my flight back and having them processed here.

Any good inside of 495 or somewhere between Boston and Worcester?

This is plan B in case I can't find anyone over there.

I would watch a video and do it myself, slowly, but FL is hot AF, so this is probably bot a good idea.

The more I research Florida, the more it s*cks.
Click to expand...
Do it yourself when you get home.
 
Broc said:
No space here. Although I would love to have animals hanging outside and watch my retard neighbors sh*t themselves.
Click to expand...
Why would you want to hang it, is dry aging pork a thing? You don’t need a lot of room to bone out the quarters, you could do it at your kitchen table. If you want to come to hingham you could use our facility, we have a killer vacuum sealer that works great.
 
Broc said:
No space here. Although I would love to have animals hanging outside and watch my retard neighbors sh*t themselves.
Click to expand...
Get a spare fridge for the cellar and toss the meat in there. You don’t need to hang it outside. Wet aging in the cryovac before freezing is just as good.
 
dezignguy said:
Why would you want to hang it, is dry aging pork a thing? You don’t need a lot of room to bone out the quarters, you could do it at your kitchen table. If you want to come to hingham you could use our facility, we have a killer vacuum sealer that works great.
Click to expand...
It’s not about “dry aging” but aging to allow the enzymes to break down the meat and develop flavor. Look up “green meat” you need to let things sit around a bit after dying before cooking.
 
38ExtraSpecial said:
Get a spare fridge for the cellar and toss the meat in there. You don’t need to hang it outside. Wet aging in the cryovac before freezing is just as good.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of leaving it in the cooler 3-5 days, draining it every day and adding ice as needed while at my parents house down there. Then freezing it.

If it is not too big, I will fly with the quarts and slowly cut it here.

You think a fridge is better?
 
Broc said:
I was thinking of leaving it in the cooler 3-5 days, draining it every day and adding ice as needed while at my parents house down there. Then freezing it.

If it is not too big, I will fly with the quarts and slowly cut it here.

You think a fridge is better?
Click to expand...
Fridge is better not to deal with the ice and temp swings. If they have an extra.

Careful with trichinosis with those beasts
 
Broc said:
I was thinking of leaving it in the cooler 3-5 days, draining it every day and adding ice as needed while at my parents house down there. Then freezing it.

If it is not too big, I will fly with the quarts and slowly cut it here.

You think a fridge is better?
Click to expand...
You best leave your hog alone while at your folks place. [laugh]

Then again, the good doctor could surgically disect it with you.
 
Jay77 said:
Would you do it again is the question
Click to expand...
100%

This stuff doesn't bother me, and I know exactly what I am getting.

My cuts are not the best, but this is how you learn.

After about 3hrs, I did slip and stabbed my hand, a good 1-1.5" straight in to the side of my thumb. [laugh] ... the dude helping me quarter it earlier that day also cut himself.

I ended up with 42lbs of meat. All but one rear leg and ribs de-boned and I had to throw away one rear leg due to an infection.

Already cooked one small potion of loin and a rack of ribs. Left in the fridge for 4 days, marinated for 8hrs, grilled.

I already told my buddy, next year we are not taking the deer to a processor. He agrees.

The guy helping me quarter it did it all without gutting it. I found that interesting and he didn't pierce any organs in the process.
 
Broc said:
100%

This stuff doesn't bother me, and I know exactly what I am getting.

My cuts are not the best, but this is how you learn.

After about 3hrs, I did slip and stabbed my hand, a good 1-1.5" straight in to the side of my thumb. [laugh] ... the dude helping me quarter it earlier that day also cut himself.

I ended up with 42lbs of meat. All but one rear leg and ribs de-boned and I had to throw away one rear leg due to an infection.

Already cooked one small potion of loin and a rack of ribs. Left in the fridge for 4 days, marinated for 8hrs, grilled.
Click to expand...
Super cool, I want the details on this hunt and how you planned/booked this.
 
Spartan65 said:
Super cool, I want the details on this hunt and how you planned/booked this.
Click to expand...
I can give you more details during a meet or over PM.

The biggest challenge in booking any hunt, now that I have done Michigan and FL, is planning what to do with the meat after and how to bring it home.

To bring it home, I have a checked bag with 4 ice mule collapsible coolers. I can fit all this frozen meat. From Michigan to MA, I put ice in the coolers at 6pm, got home at 1am and the ice didn't melt.

I found this meuch better than checking a cooler because most coolers will weight 12-15lbs, that is wasted weight, where the checked bag weights around 8-9lbs.

Also, you can bring as much meat as you want on the carry on, so you can easily bring a full quartered deer in a carry on. Just make sure it is frozen, TSA doesn't like liquids. If it isn't frozen, check it.

If I don't have space for clothes or the bag gets too heavy, I plan to ship all my clothes back.

Once you solve the bringing it back challenge, you have the challenge of what to do with the meat there. Because FL is hot, if I didn't have my parents here, I would have kept it in a cooler topped with ice until I fly back. I know the Ice Mule coolers will keep it cold and a decent cooler will keep it as cold or colder than a fridge, so it is fine.

If staying for longer you need to freeze it somewhere. If renting an AirBnB or staying at a lodge, you can probably use a freezer.

That is it. I can give you details on booking it and how it works.
 
38ExtraSpecial said:
Cook that sucker till it’s done and then some more. You don’t want any more parasites than you have.
Click to expand...
Brucellosis and Trichinosis, can't f*ck with those.

But no need to overcook it. All you need is a temp of 145 degrees and the bacteria are done. I will make some of those ribs sous vide, see how they come out.

The loin was amazing, hard to f*ck that up.

I have some nice pieces of ham that I am looking forward to cooking.

20231224_103905.jpg
 
Conclusion... you can shoot a 300lbs pig, quarter it and fit it inside a checked bag. Or, you can check a cooler.

Most of the weight of these animals is head, thick skin and fat.
 

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