Saukville butcher shop gears up for hunters

At Blau’s Saukville Meats, there are two seasons — deer hunting and sausage making.

Owner Mark Blau said he has been keeping busy processing deer since bow season began and he is gearing up for more demand when gun season starts in late November. 

“It’s crazy all the time now. During archery and gun season, we are never not busy,” he said, noting on average he processes almost 1,000 deer per year.

He said he isn’t sure what to expect this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he believes there could be more hunters enjoying the great outdoors with family and friends because of the fresh air and space to keep socially distant. 

Since the pandemic began, Blau said, the retail portion of his business has picked up noticeably.  

“We are double slammed now because of the Covid,” he said.

The butcher shop at 501 E. Green Bay Ave. will celebrate 50 years of business next year. Blau’s father Harley opened the shop, which was once an old cheese mart, in 1971. Before moving to Saukville, Blau said, his father processed deer in his garage in the City of Milwaukee.

Blau has been processing deer most of his life and took over the family business in 1987. He said there are fewer butchers who process deer these days, making his schedule a challenge to meet customer demand.

“It’s really unfortunate that there are less of us now. I’m at the point where I will take what I can and that’s it,” Blau said, noting he had to turn people away two years ago. “I’m hoping people begin going back to the old days of doing it themselves. I hate to turn people away.”

Blau said the decline in processors is due to people not being interested in handling the blood and guts of wild game.  

“No one wants to work. That’s basically the bottom line. It used to be family and everybody would get into it, but it’s gotten hard to find reliable help over the years,” Blau said. “A lot of people who are experienced cutters are getting old and nobody wants to get involved in it too much.”

Blau, however, has found reliable workers from his bloodline — his son Ryan and nephew Stephan Kinnunen — who eventually want to take over the family business and keep the tradition alive. Other family members also help out during the busy periods of this season.

Blau said he will process deer until January, then will return to sausage making.

“During gun season, we don’t make sausage until after the first of the year because it’s just deer. Right now, I’m just trying to keep up with everything,” he said. “It gets to be hectic. There’s too much at once. I would like to take trimmings and make sausage from everyone’s deer, but you have to do both.”

The cost to process a single deer begins at $85 and can up go to $115, depending on the animal’s size and the types of cuts the customer wants. He said a popular trend among hunters is to have deer trimmings made into sausage and hamburger.

Blau recommends customers place their orders in advance to ensure they will get their cuts and sausage. 

“We’re hoping to take every deer that’s brought in, but we want you to be prepared to have other avenues in case we are full,” he said. “We may have to turn people away. I hate to say that.”