What about bringing frozen meat? Why can't you take it all year?

We take frozen meat from August 15th to September 14th and then again from January 10th to 19th. When hunters start using the antlerless deer tag on September 15th, we get swamped with fresh carcasses. In order to do the best job of processing those carcasses at just the right time to get the best yield of safe venison, we must process these fresh carcasses according to a strict time schedule. Frozen meat must be unthawed and then processed immediately. There isn't time to do both frozen meat and fresh carcasses together. We insist on giving you with the best product we can provide. Reserving frozen meat for these specific times ensures we have time to concentrate on each product separately.

Moses Oliver got 2!

Moses Oliver brought in a 6 point and a 3 point buck.

Ever wanted a tour?

If you ever have questions about how we process your beef, venison, wild hogs, or alligators, just ask. We do all our processing onsite and are more than happy to show you around. Click on the title link for a quick photo tour. This is Jean Parks hard at work packaging Peppers and Cheese Smoked Sausage! Jean has worked with Cordray's for over 3 years. She helps in the packaging room during the weekdays.

How do I bring venison to Cordray's Venison Processing?

Bringing your venison in to Cordray's can be done is several ways. We prefer you bring whole unskinned freshly harvested carcasses. We will clean and wash the carcass and hang it whole. We also accept deer that you have skinned and cleaned according to safe handling practices. You may also bring in fresh venison pieces kept on ice. Frozen meat is accepted from August 15th to September 14th and from January 10th to 19th. Please note our operating hours to avoid a wasted trip.

Paul Decker and Butch Cooper brought in 2 nice bucks

Paul Decker's buck was an 8 point and Butch Cooper's was a 9 point.

Jamie Hurteau and Jake Casa got an 11 1/2 footer!

Jake and Jamie landed this big alligator! The season runs until next Saturday, the 11th.

How long can I keep venison in the refrigerator or freezer ?

At Cordray's we make every effort to process your venison so that it will last as long as possible. This includes being "fanatical" about cleanliness. Clean, bacteria free meat will have a much longer shelf life than meat that is poorly handled. You control much of this factor by your safe handling of the deer in the field or during transport. Once we get the meat, we keep it at the proper temperatures, process it as you have instructed, and then package it for you. Fresh cuts are vacuum-sealed and frozen. As long as the seal remains intact, these may be kept a year or more in the freezer. Ground meat is packaged into airtight plastic tubes and tied. These also keep a year or more at freezer temperatures. When unthawed, fresh meat should be used immediately. Spoiled meat has an obvious odor and feels "sticky" or "slimy" to the touch.

Cooked products - anything smoked and ready to eat - are also vacuum sealed in plastic bags. These may be kept in the sealed bags for up to three weeks as long as the vacuum seal remains unbroken (there is no air in the bag). Once you open the bag to use part of the package, leave it open in the refrigerator so the product can "breathe". Smoked meats tend to mold if tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. For best flavor retention, store cooked venison in the freezer and take out only what you will use immediately. Even jerky, which has a refrigerator storage life of months, has better flavor if kept in the freezer until you are ready to use it. Our forefathers kept dried venison jerky for months, but you can bet it tasted like shoe leather!

Hunter Mueller came in with Guy Kessler for his first!

Hunter Mueller brought in a 10 point buck as his very first deer!

An 11 point!

Boze Brewer got this big buck Sunday evening. It had 11 points!

If you've never had a deer processed by Cordray's, you don't know what you're missing.

All fresh cuts are trimmed, vacuum sealed, labeled and frozen. We keep your meat separate and you get back your own meat in fresh cuts. Smoked products are the only batched items. We package your meat family style. Each pack will contain a one meal serving for a family of 4 - usually 4 to 6 pieces. Roasts are cut in half unless you request otherwise .If you have other specialty cut needs please ask, since we will gladly customize your order.

Roasts: There are no extra charges for roasts of any kind.

Shoulder Roasts-Front shoulder roasts are cut bone-in.

Neck Roasts - An old time favorite, these small roasts work well in a crock pot.

Ham Roasts - The large meaty back legs can be bone in or boneless and left whole or cut in half.

Loin Roasts- (Sometimes called backstraps) These long muscle strips along the back of the deer are cut in half and packaged separately.

Tenderloins- The small "breakfast loins" are inside the body cavity along the backbone.

Steaks: Sliced steaks are included at no extra charge.

Loin Steaks - Sliced loin steaks come from the tender back muscle. Sometimes called "grilling steaks", we recommend having them butterfly cut to give you a bigger steak. You can also have them cut through to get medallion size steaks. Unless you request otherwise, our steaks are cut about 3/4 inches thick and come packaged with 6 per pack.

Ham Steaks - Sliced ham steaks come from the leg muscle. When you slice the whole ham, you will get a nice variety of different size steaks, all about 3/4 of an inch thick and packaged 2 to per pack.

Antlerless Days

SC Lowcountry Antlerless Deer Harvesting Information for 2008*

Antlerless deer have less than 2 inches of visible antlers. In SC there are three methods of antlerless deer harvesting. We, at Cordray's, strictly adhere to the DNR rules regarding antlerless deer harvesting and will check for all required tags and licenses.

1. The Antlerless Deer Quota Program sets the number of does (or antlerless deer) to be taken from a certain property. Application is made to the SC DNR and adhesive tags are issued for the land owner.
2. The South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department has set the following days as Either Sex Days for private land in the listed zone. See the SC DNR web site for confirmation or for other counties. Limit two antlerless deer per hunter per day. These are for gun hunts on private land.

Game Zone Map This map shows the new 6 zone structure and lists all the antlerless dates for the state.

Zone 6 Lowcountry

• October: 4, 11, 18, 25

• November: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

• December: 20, 27

• January: 1

See the DNR Rules and Regulations book for other zones.

Why can't I pick up or drop off a deer early in the day on Sundays ?

Cordray's Venison Processing has grown from a small backyard part-time business to a growing operation that hires over 20 employees and is open for 82 hours per week. For our sanity, spiritual life, and health, we must have some time off each week. Even though you are a friend, opening the shop for that "just a few minutes" it takes to check you in or out disrupts our one morning of rest. We open at 6 p.m. on Sundays. Please follow our operating hours, and understand when we are unable to help you on Sundays before 6 p.m.

We've been opening on Sunday mornings just for alligators from 8 to 10 am. Then we close and open back up in the evening at 6.

Bill McKinnon won a tree stand

Cordray's Big Buck contest awards a tree stand every two weeks for the deer with the largest dressed weight. The first 2 weeks ended on August 30th and Gedney Howe IV's 125.4 lb. buck won. The second 2 weeks ended on September 13th and Jeff Stone's 112.5 lb buck won. Somehow we never got a picture of that one. We haven't heard from Jeff about picking up the stand, so if you know him, give him a call!
Bill McKinnon, your buck with the weight of 158.2 makes you the winner of the weeks ending Sept.27. Come by and pick up your stand. We'll all just have to wait to see if somone takes your place next week!

Mike Cisco's deer

Mike Cisco brought in this big 10 point. Its live weight was 191 lbs.