An average bull elk can provide 125 pounds of boneless meat. So it’s no wonder that most hunters want to process their kills into steaks, sausages and jerky.

At Custom Quality Meat of Craig, elk, deer and other animals can be turned into jerky, teriyaki sticks, summer sausage, pepperoni, salami, steaks, roasts and burgers. Hunters can choose how much of their meat they want processed each way.

But for owner Dave Tafoya to provide good, edible meat, hunters must take certain steps in the field.

That means getting the meat cool and bringing it in to be processed as quickly as possible.

Some hunters don’t realize that within eight to 20 hours after an animal is killed, “bone sour” begins, which ruins the meat and turns it greenish, Tafoya said. n