I really wanted this place to be good, but after two chances over two different years, I'm done. The first processing was two years ago with a mule deer. The yield was shockingly low for a healthy deer--something felt off, but we chalked it up as a fluke and moved on. Fast forward to this year, and we gave Meat Cleaver a chance at redemption. Big mistake. We specifically requested the entire deer be made into jerky meat. What we got instead? Only 12 lbs of jerky, and the rest turned into burger without approval. That is not what was asked for, and not what we paid for. After raising the issue, they "made it right" by donating 10 lbs of jerky back to us, which honestly just felt like damage control rather than accountability. At that point, the trust was already gone. To be fair, the front office staff is polite and accommodating, and communication was friendly. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. When it comes to the actual product--the meat processing itself--it's just not good. If you can't follow clear instructions or deliver consistent yields, then it doesn't matter how nice the front desk is. 22 lbs of meat off a deer that is well over 200 lbs is inexcusable. read more

Originally dropped off 2 elk on 11/23(mine and my buddies). Had never used these guys in the past, but after years of hearing nothing but positive feedback from others, decided to give them a shot. Had a pretty unpleasant experience at drop off with a mouthy, younger gentleman who unloaded the animals. Not the end of the world and looked past. Dealt with Jeff, the apparent new owner, on giving the cuts we wanted to have and what sausage we wanted done. Once finished, Jeff said to expect an email within 3-4 weeks from drop off date of 11/23. Simple enough. As of 12/23, my buddy nor I, had received any communication or emails. I emailed them to see when we might be expecting to pickup our processed meat. Received a response back 12/26 "CLOSED TILL JAN 2ND. WILL BE IN TOUCH SOON....MC". Ok, no problem, I expect and appreciate them being closed for the holidays. Received an email 12/30 stating my order is ready for pickup. Arrive on 1/2 to pickup my order. Upon picking up, I asked Jeff when my buddy can expect an email or be notified that his animal is ready. Gave Jeff my buddy's name, he looks it up in the computer, and tells me "well, we don't go in order of the tag numbers or the order of when they were dropped off". Ok, whatever. Get home, start unloading my meat from coolers and start placing into the freezer, only to notice a strong 25% of the vacuum sealed packages, the vacuum seal had failed and the meat had frost or freezer burn inside the packaging. Not only that, but I only received 3 packages of Elk tenderloins with 1-2 tenderloins, about the size of a 1/2" thick hockey puck.... There was absolutely no damage done to the tenderloins or backstraps on my animal, and no reason there should have been any trimmed out of what was dropped off. Decided to take a look at the drop off and cut sheet to see if maybe I am missing something and confirm what the drop off weight was. Guess what?!? No drop off weight given! I specifically quizzed Jeff when we dropped off our animals how much meat we could expect to receive back from a full size cow elk. His reply, 175 pounds. What did I receive back, per their invoice? 233 total pounds. To make matters worse, I don't know what kind of pork fat they mixed in with the burger(I requested 10% pork fat be mixed in), but when trying to make patties, this is the stickiest, greasiest meat I have ever touched. AND, the smell is horrendous. I would highly recommend steering clear of this business, if you have the expectation of receiving back the animal you dropped off, in edible condition, and feeling satisfied with the outcome or your hard earned harvest. read more

Recently went hunting with my boss, and had some deer meat processed here. Had never been hunting before, and Im glad that Meat Cleaver processed the deer. Tasted great and would come here again read more

This is the second time I used Meat Cleaver. And the last. I brought in a moose that I harvested from northern British Columbia. In hindsight, they did not take care to sort the meat as I had it labeled from the field (hind quarter, front quarter, backstraps, etc.). Thus in the end, I got all of about 6 packages of steaks (two, 1-inch thick steaks per package per the front office rep) from what should have been nearly 60 inches of backstraps. The rest I can only guess went into grind meat rather than being cut into steaks since they could never find any more steaks in the freezer. That or they went to someone else. I had a portion of the meat that was ground made into italian, german, and chorizo sausage. Several packages were labeled as such when I got my processed meat. The rest were unmarked package of ground meat, presumably just straight grind. However, I had had at least 5 unmarked packages turn out to be italian and/or german sausage. Very hard to plan a meal if the package of meat isn't labeled and you are playing "guess the grind" every time you pull a package of meat out of the freezer. The seasoned sausages are very tasty so I will give them that. I can't recommend to anyone to go to Meat Cleaver after this last experience. read more

Terrible. Do not go. staff were not helpful. Their paperwork says I should have received 179 lbs of meat. I currently have 132 after 2 trips and a few phone calls. Employee says owner is Jeff now? I know many who have had great service as recently as last year, and it seems to have changed. read more

Had a great experience with the meat cleaver after my elk hunt! Got an elk and dropped it off within five minutes of being there my elk was offloaded and had an accurate completion time with a nice cut sheet to pick what cuts of meat I desired. Will go back here read more

I have used them for the past 6 years, but I will never use them again. I dropped off my meat there and they weighed all 4 quarters, and a bag of tenderloins and backstraps. They had the weights for the quarters and backstraps listed separately on my cut sheet. They called me roughly a week later to pick up my order. When I was going through the meat I realized that there were no backstraps and tenderloins. I contacted them and they said I did not bring any backstraps or tenderloins in and they even produced a fake cut sheet with a note that someone had added that said no backstraps or tenderloins. I then forwarded them the original cut sheet which they had emailed to me at the time I dropped off my meat. The original cut sheet had no such note. Additionally I pointed out that the weight of the backstraps and tenderloins was still listed on their falsified cut sheet. Once I pointed this out they said they would look for my order and told me they would reach out to me by the end of the week which they did not. I followed up with them the following week and they said they needed a few more days to complete my order (your guess is as good as mine about what that means since my meat had already been processed). I showed up in a few days to collect the rest of my order. They dumped a bunch of random meat in my cooler shut the lid and put it in my car before I had a chance to look at it and walked away. The guy was generally acting suspicious. So I opened up the cooler to take a look. There were only 3 packs of loin meat the rest was predominantly ground. These packs were for the most part poorly sealed with ice forming on the insides of the packs. These did not include labels or packaging like the rest of the meat I had already picked up, and as I rummaged in the cooler to look for more loin meat. I found a note labeled "DONATION". I suspected that this wasn't even my elk. I went back inside and said there was only 3 packs of loin meat and let them know that I wanted the rest of my meat. At this point they seemed visibly upset that I wanted the rest of my meat. They went back to the cooler and came back with what I would estimate as 1/3 of the loin meat that they actually owed me (I have processed the backstraps and tenderloins of my elk in years past so I have a good idea about yield amount), but at this point I was so pissed and fed up that I just took the meat and left. read more

Absolutely fantastic! We had them process two steers for us and I can 100% say we will be heading back here again once we're ready for the next one. Everything was vacuum sealed and cut well but I just loved their willingness to explain how the process works to my son. Also called with a question well after business hours and was pleasantly surprised that they answered. Over the top customer service! read more

Meat Cleaver - Well labeled and vacuum sealed meat. - Meat Shops Near Me - Denver, Colorado

First impression was good when dropping off my quarters. Took 6 weeks to process, was lead to believe that it would be quicker but it is what it is and understand its a busy time. I weighed my elk prior to bringing it in so I would have an idea of what I was working with. The problem I encountered was when I received my invoice for pickup, I noticed that the drop off weight they listed was double what I brought in. I checked out my original cut sheet and they had never filled in the weight or else that would have caught my eye and I could have rectified it at the beginning before anything was cut. Could have been an honest mistake or maybe they were pulling a fast one on me. Would think that my weight in vs weight out would have shown them that something was off when I brought it up but they weren't having it. Either way I had to pay it to get my meat. Will be trying someplace else next time and lesson learned to ensure I have the weight listed on my cut sheet at drop off. read more

Used the Meat Clever wild game processing to process a cow elk. the packaging was great but the Ground elk not so good. I almost broke a tooth when I bit in to a cooked Elk Burger that had a small piece of bone in it. We have found small bits of bone in our ground elk several times, as well and small bits of tough gristle. I used their service based on reviews, but these reviews are not my experience. Sorry...take it for what it is worth... I will never use the Meat Clever wild game processing ever again. *** Buyers beware!*** read more

Easy, quick process. Meat was done perfectly! As long as meat cleaver is a business, I'll be taking all my wild game there.

Extremely friendly business owner. Well organized. I have brought in several animals this year, and each time he has offered me a tour of the facility. Nice quality packing materials. read more

Just met this company after it was recommended to me. I have tried a few wild game processors and Meat Cleaver is now the one I will use. The ownership strives to provide excellent service to the big game hunting community. I confirmed that the animal dropped off is the one I take home and not going into a community of product. I highly recommend this company and feel as a community of hunters we support those that support us. Very clean, reliable and organized Can't wait to drop my next animal here to get processed read more

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Excited to see what I had when I pulled up, and happy to talk hunting every time I've been by. Fast return on the processing. Nice options and great prices. Staff always helps guide me with what cuts I can use for different purposes and how much I can realistically order. You can tell they take pride in and enjoy their work. read more

Awesome service and cuts! Great staff and expedited service! Will definitely come back

I have been using them for about 20 years now with zero problems. The products are good quality and the pricing is reasonable. Hope to use them for years to come. read more

First time using them, brought in 2 quartered antelope. Great service. Quick turnaround. Packaging was great. Will definitely be going back soon! read more

Meat Cleaver - 2 antelopes - Meat Shops Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Friendly staff and quality finished product! Was told this is where Aron Synder takes most of his game and decided to give them a try with a muley from 4th rifle season. Excellent decision! Will be using the Meat Cleaver for all my processing needs moving forward. Thanks again for the quick turn around during the busy season, you guys rock! read more

I went in for information and left with a sale. The staff is very friendly and professional I will absolutely be going here in the future

Great custom beef processing! Every year we get a beef from a rancher friend. Tried Meat Cleaver for the first time this year to have it processed. They did an excellent job, at a reasonable price! Followed my cutting instructions exactly, vacuum packed all the cuts, froze everything solid, and boxed them up with the boxes labeled as to contents and the net weight. I will plan to use them again and definitely would recommend them! read more

What a great experience. Brad was very helpful....took meat promptly.....helped with deciding what products to order and we got our meat back in TWO days. He even brought us out some Jerky to taste. Class act and I will be going there every successful big game season. Much different than their local competitor ROCKY MTN MEATS. Will never be going to that business EVER. Extremely RUDE and seem ungrateful for your business. read more

I took my first elk here to have processed. They were very friendly and provided quick service at fair prices compared to other processors. My meat turned out really well and I was very happy. Everything was packaged neatly. The jerky, jalapeno cheddar sausage, and other meats were really good. read more

Read my review for Steve's Meat Market! That is why the Meat Cleaver is now the place I take my game! Good prices, products and excellent customer service! read more

Great job processing elk and vacuum packing the meat. I like the way they freeze meat in a box and makes it easy for transport and freezer storage. Only gripe is I don't like their jerky. It's dry and crumbles. Steves' Meat Mkt. arvada still has the best jerky. read more

Quick service and fair prices. You get your own meat! They started processing the leg quarters as soon as we brought them in. Love the jalapeno cheddar sausage. read more

All I have to say is bone dust how can jerky have bone dust the worst Jerky I've ever had

Sorry to write a negative review about a small business, but we very dissatisfied. We brought in a 2-3 year old cow elk to have butchered, what we got back is not the same. The loin cut is so tough we are unable to chew it - akin to an old bull elk. The flavor of the rest of the meat is also off -akin to an old bull elk. We won't bring our meat here again to have butchered. read more

May not be the cheapest shop in town but I would argue they're the best. Quality packing and quick service. Had my cow elk processed there last season and I couldn't be happier. read more

They did a great job of cutting up my deer and vacuum sealing it all. Wasn't a fan of their hot sticks though. Too dry. Ground up burger was great. I'll take another deer there again and just do steaks and burger. read more

Great place with awesome people. I used to go to Steve's Meats...never again. I've brought Elk, bear, and hogs to MK and everything was great. Packaging is very durable in the freezer as well. A+ Shop. read more

My husband has been hunting for over 50 years, and so I have been cooking wild game for at least that long. So I definitely am picky about how the meat is processed. In all of these years, we have never found a place (and we have tried many) that matches the way Meat Cleaver processes our elk and deer. They vacuum package it in exactly the amounts we need, since there's now only the two of us; it's always ready when they say it will be; and it stores perfectly the way they seal it. Best of all, for years I refused to cook venison burger (it always tasted too gamey for me), but now I use the ground venison just as often as ground elk in recipes calling for ground meat. With the care they take in making ground venison, it comes out lean and grills wonderfully with just a little olive oil rubbed on the burger and topped with Montreal Steak Seasoning. read more

I have used the Meat Cleaver for all my processing for several years. They are great. All the meat is vacuum packed and ready to go quickly. There is never a hassle about dropping off your animal (they even came in after hours in a blizzard a few years ago when I dropped off an elk) or storage fees if you need an extra day or two before picking up your order. I can't recommend them enough. read more

friendly staff and fast turn-around time. smaller batches ensure you get YOUR meat back, and not just X lbs of deer or elk, etc. products are packaged and boxed professionally. read more

Brad made our trip to Meat Cleavers a pleasure. Just dropped off our Elk at Meat Cleavers after horrible past experience with Rocky Mountain Meats. Brad ensured us the meat we left would be the meat we get back. Looking forward to getting our meat back. . read more

They do an awesome job of processing. Have had three animals done here, and have never found a single piece of hair, bone etc. They vacuum pack the meat which is awesome for keeping it freezer burn free for a long time. I do not care for their snack sticks or jerky at all, in fact I think its terrible. Weird consistency and not good flavor. Save the money and make your own. I will continue to use them for processing, but will never buy any jerky or snack sticks again. The summer sausage is good. read more