LoneStar Smokehouse — Local services in Manvel

During the 2019 deer season, I was literally driving by this place with deer in a cooler going to a different processor. My wife saw their sign and asked if I ever tried them. As any deer hunter knows, you don't just "try" some place to process your deer. That is a big no-no. You base this very important decision on word of mouth from other hunters, or if you're real lucky, you got a free link of sausage from a buddy (that stuff is like gold, you know). Anyway, a little voice in my head said, "Try them!." And you know what? I listened. On a total whim, I pulled a fast u-turn and pulled into the parking lot.

Upon entering the facility, the first thing I noticed was the aroma. Ode to joy to the scent of smoked deer sausage. My salivary glands came to full attention and started pumping!! Based upon the smell alone, I knew there was a great chance of getting good sausage made at this place. In addition, I was extremely pleased with the cleanliness. They're clean and organized. The staff is over-the-top friendly. They do a great job of walking you through the options but allow you to come to your own decision. One very important point is that you get your deer processed and you pick up the same meat you brought in. They don't mix your meat with anyone else's meat. What you bring is what you get. That is EXTREMELY important to me because I make double sure I keep my venison iced properly and I don't want mine given to someone else while I end up with their nasty spoiled meat. The final straw was a random stranger I talked to in the parking lot. It was his first time as well but he was referred by his son-in-law. So I guess you could say I got a referral from a referral.

Here is what I've actually tasted. In link sausage, I've tasted jalapeño and cheese, Cajun, and pepper jack. I can tell you that the Cajun was my favorite. I had several pounds of the Cajun made and it disappeared out of my freezer faster than my brother-in-law when the check shows up at the restaurant table. The pepper jack is also delicious. The jalapeño and cheese was equally as good but was on the spicy side. If you like spicy, go for it. You won't be disappointed. Excellent flavor.

So now it's the 2020 deer season. I went back today to drop off more venison and when I checked-in on Yelp, I realized I'd never written a review in 2019. Well shame on me. Without further ado, here is the review. I sure hope it helped you.

Bottom line - if you're a deer hunter and you live anywhere close to Manvel (and by close, I mean an hour or so) and you want to have YOUR deer processed and get YOUR deer in return and have great tasting sausage to boot, then try this place. You won't be disappointed....

Updating my review from 4 years ago. I was previously satisfied with Lonestar. I put up with a few minor complaints given the close proximity to my home. However, the last few years my satisfaction has reduced. 3 reasons, the last reason I just discovered is the final straw for me. I will be taking all my processing elsewhere.

1. Processing time - process times have become increasingly longer the last couple of years. Last year I was told 3-4 weeks for a full grind (which is the longest I’ve ever been told for grind everything). I didn’t get a call that it was completed until 5 or 6 weeks.

2. Questionable meat return quantity - I didn’t weigh meat at drop-off, but all the deer I’ve had processed (across multiple processors) I was questioning the amount I received back.

3. Foreign sharp metal shard in Chili grind - This weekend was the final straw when we found a sharp piece of metal in our chili grind. 100% it was not from my deer. The metal was not from my broad head. Luckily this was caught when it was bitten into after cooking, or this could have been much worse.

Below is my original review I took a deer here last year and will be using them again this year! I was extremely happy with the processing time, clear labeling of each package and how everything was vacuum sealed. Their facilities are clean and you don't have to leave your own cooler behind when dropping off. I recommend the jalapeño and cheese...

This year was my first time trying Beaver Creek and I was mostly satisfied (about 90%). The only complaints I have against them is a few of our meat packages weren’t vacuum sealed very well and were already opening up by the time we got home. The other thing is on 2 or 3 occasions found a small piece of bone in the meat.

Other than those things Beaver Creek is much better than other meat processing places we have used before. They have tons of flavors that you can add to your meat. We used “Old Fashion” which has sage and a few other seasonings and it was phenomenal! Their prices are pretty cheap compared to what we have paid at other places. One aspect that was really nice is they don’t take your ice chests from you, but instead transfer your meat over to their containers. This way you are able to take your ice chest home and not have to leave it there for a few weeks.

Even with those few complaints I think we will be taking our deer to Beaver Creek next year. Next time we will probably try some of their other...