Bison Meat Processing

What kind of meat you want makes a difference in how it is processed and aged. For mature bull steaks and roasts to be tender (trophy bulls), the carcass should be aged a week to ten days at the processor, so please figure that into your timing when hiring a processor. If you want hamburger meat only, then it is not imperative that it is aged. Young bulls and heifers make the most tender meat. For mature bulls, take the best steaks and roasts – the rest all make great burgers.

To ensure that you get the cuts of meat that you want, contacting the processor and reserving the day your animal arrives to them is YOUR responsibility.

The processors listed here are for your convenience and past hunters have used them and have given generally good reviews. 

Processing Charges

For costs of skinning and process meat, please check with the processor you choose. Costs and meat yield vary and depend on how you choose to have the meat cut and how little waste there is from the kill shot.

Rough estimates of the amount of meat you may receive from your animal (yours may be larger or smaller, and depending on shot placement, there may be wasted meat):

Trophy bulls: 400 – 500 pounds
1.5 year-old bulls: 215-240 pounds

Shipping

Shipping varies from processor to processor. Generally, meat would be packaged in 70# containers (60 pounds of meat with 10# of dry ice). UPS second-day air is necessary to ensure that your meat arrives well frozen. We do not recommend shipping meat unless you are prepared to pay the high cost. Check with UPS for current rates.

Bison Taxidermy

For head mounts, tanning, and robes from hides in our area:

The taxidermists above can send in your hides for robes.

Mature buffalo bulls are obviously the best for beautiful head mounts or robes, but heifers bulls make nice skull or head mounts and small robes also.

If you can flesh, salt and send it yourself, then the best place for robes is Moyle Mink & Tannery, in

Heyburn, Idaho. 1-866-TAN-FURS (1-866-826-3877).

Mature bison bulls are obviously the best for beautiful head and shoulder mounts or robes, but young heifers and young bulls make nice

skull or head mounts and small robes also.