Ebels General Store — Local services in Clam Union Township

This was our first time using Ebel’s for meat processing, and unfortunately, it was not our choice—the farmer we ordered the ¼ cow from chose to use their facility.

This was also our second time ordering ¼ of a cow. Previously, we had an excellent experience with Byron Center Meats, where the processing and cuts were done perfectly. Unfortunately, this time with Ebel’s, we are extremely dissatisfied with the results. What we have now is an expensive mistake sitting in our freezer.

The meat was poorly cut, and the quality of the processing is far below expectations. The sirloin steak, for example, is inedible and nothing like what a sirloin steak should look or taste like. While I understand that the flavor of the meat can depend on the animal, I also know that proper butchering and processing significantly impact the final product, and Ebel’s failed in this regard.

Every chuck roast we received was a 2-pound bone-in cut, which is much smaller than expected. Normally, chuck roasts are boneless and at least 3–4 pounds. This is standard for most processors, but apparently not at Ebel’s.

When I called ahead with processing instructions, I specifically requested the burger meat to be as lean as possible. They did not follow this instruction, and the burger meat we received is extremely greasy. It’s impossible to grill or even form into proper patties. When I called to address this issue, their response was dismissive: “It is what it is, and if you want leaner burger, you might want to go to the store and buy it.” Excuse me? I already spent a significant amount of money on this meat, and their dismissive attitude and lack of accountability were incredibly frustrating.

The staff, including the manager, were unhelpful and dismissive, leaving me feeling gaslit and unheard. I would strongly recommend avoiding Ebel’s for meat processing. Their service and quality have left me deeply disappointed, and I’ll be taking my business elsewhere...

• UPDATE* I recently spoke with Rich from Ebels, he apologized numerous times and has offered to try to make this right by replacing the items that were not sealed properly and also replacing the portion of the order that was incorrect. We still have to drive an hour and a half to pick it up which cost money but I'm grateful he was willing to at least do something. I have not picked the products up yet but plan to before long! It did take almsot 2 months for any response, but I understand they like most others are busy!

We ordered a whole hog (over the phone) to split with another family. Spoke with Dana while ordering and she seemed helpful but a bit rushed/irritated that I needed help selecting best cuts at the time! When they called to tell us our order was ready the total was almost $100 more than what our projected max should have been! We drove 1.5 hours to pick up the meat and when I looked at the invoice I realized we had a fee of $90+ for smoking. Never once on the phone did Dana mention that smoking would be so much extra per pound. I politely brought this to Dana's attention and she was quite rude and could have cared less! Also our meat was not processed correctly. We ended up with about 20 pounds of ground pork...it was suppose to be ALL sausage(1/2 of it links the other 1/2 ground sausage). Several "vacuumed" packs were not sealed properly and meat covered in ice. Also after speaking with others it seems as though we were shorted on a few cuts of meat. I have called asking to speak with a manager/owner somebody other than Dana and have received no response! We have bought products from Ebel's for years but this has really changed our thoughts of...

I like there meat sales there great, but I do have a complaint about my last visit. I bought some strip steak slab and don’t think i received all of the steaks. So I call to see it maybe there was some left behind because the store was very busy. Well after almost 2 weeks of phone tag I finally get to talk to the manager he said that that was about the right amont. Well I have gone here many times to hit the sales and had them cut thicker and received more steaks then I did this last time. Strip slabs are usually longer then 15 inches. I picked one of the biggest that was there spent more and got less don’t make sense. It’s a 20 minute drive to get there so 40 minutes of driving to get I believe screwed. On what I thought was a great deal. My brother and I take a monthly trip to pick up a slab. This visit I spent $160 in meat purchases last was $150. That’s just me my brother spends in the same ball park. I won’t be doing it again for awhile not unless you make it right...... not a good feeling when your pretty much told that’s just the way it is, when you know other wise. A 15 inch New York strip slab!!!come on!! The small ones are longer...