Deer Processing

The hunting season is only five days in, but many hunters are already enjoying the fruits of their hunts. "The meat's fantastic, you couldn't get a better meal," said Mike Cole of Cole Cuts. "It's normally 2-3 days depending how busy we are, so it's a pretty quick turn around."

Mike started his meat processing business, Cole Cuts, in 2002. Handling up to 350 deer a season, in addition to a full time job with the City of Duluth, he is also a busy man. "We've been pretty much to 100 percent capacity since the season started," said Mike.

With the unusually warm temperatures, Mike warns every hunter to take care of their meat properly. "The big thing is keeping it cool. With these warm temperatures, putting ice inside the cavity does help. But the big thing is keeping the hind legs from laying together because they're such big muscle mass, that's the first thing I see rotting on a deer," advises Mike.

He has been cutting meat for almost 20 years. Mike's wife Jessica is an integral part of the family business, a wrapper with her customers in mind. "The two most important things is that it's wrapped tight and that you have full coverage of the meat," said Jessica Cole.

Both Mike and Jessica Cole take pride in their product and enjoy being a part of the camaraderie of the hunt.