Nature Boy
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Google “the pod method”
Don’t forget to get the tender loins
Don’t forget to get the tender loins
Butchering tips
- Thread starter Axis II
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.308 Norma
Member
Deleted - repeated post.
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Get a good one. My experience with grinding deer meat is that the cuts you typically grind have a lot of sinew. I had a cheap grinder that would get clogged up often, and made grinding a real pain.
Another option is to find a local processor that will grind your meat for you. I had one who would do it for $5 and put it back into the freezer bags I brought it in. I'd wrap it myself once I got back home.
.308 Norma
Member
Yeah, clogging often with deer sinew was also our experience with a cheap grinder. But like I said in another thread, my wife's large Kitchen Aid stand mixer with meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments works great. Deer sinew is no match for it, and we usually only have to take it apart and clean it between deer - after we've finished cutting and wrapping one deer, and before starting on another.
However, I also said that large Kitchen Aid mixers don't come cheap, not even at Costco - which wasn't even around back when we bought ours. But they are useful for a lot more things than just grinding deer and antelope meat. My present belt size is a good indication of how many things my wife has used her Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make over the years.
Cemetery21
Member
Many years, we set up camp in a State park. They turn off the water and electricity in the winter, but allow unsupervised camping. We would gut a deer in the field or a river/lake access then hang it in the campground. The picnic tables are great for boning quarters. That was usually my job and I use a fillet knife. Sometimes 6 or 8 of us would get together with a buddy who has a commercial grinder and a 4' x 10' smoker on a trailer. Grind/mix/stuff your own summer sausage recipe and smoke it all night. It doesn't get much better. We also have a Mennonite butcher shop nearby. Take them boned meat and they make great summer sausage - got 76 pounds one year and gave a lot of it away to get through it all.
I started processing my own deer after my first one went to the locker plant. They threw it in on top of about a 4 foot deep pile in a 12x12 block building. I never was sure how careful they were or whose meat I got back.
I started processing my own deer after my first one went to the locker plant. They threw it in on top of about a 4 foot deep pile in a 12x12 block building. I never was sure how careful they were or whose meat I got back.
Random 8
Member
I'd skip the fish table and get a couple of folding saw horses and a sheet of plywood...unless you have an alternate use for the fish table.
mustanger98
Member
Well, I got a 163lb 8-pt processed last month... got about 48lbs of meat... cubed steaks, medium-hot sausage, and burger. Different processor... my usual was overrun that week... and they make good sausage too. I asked if brisket was ever done with deer and could it be done... no, really nothing there like with a beef. So, no deer brisket.
Y'all ever vacuum seal? I hear it works real well for a lot of different foods.
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.308 Norma
Member
Yep, we have one, and it does "work real well for a lot of different foods" - for a while.
In my wife's and my experience, the "vacuum" goes away after a while. We have even tried melting two seals, one above the other on each bag. They still leak, and eventually air gets in. I think, and this is just my own theory, that the air slowly makes it through the plastic - sort of like a child's balloon. A fully inflated child's balloon will only be about half inflated the next day, and a quarter inflated the day after that, no matter how tight you tie the knot in the end. I think the same thing happens to the vacuum inside those plastic bags you make with a vacuum packer. That is, air slowly leaks through the plastic. That's been our experience anyway.
Captcurt
Member
A good vacuum sealer, LEM grinder, and a smoker really come in handy. I have had 2 year old ham steaks that were as tasty as week old steak. The grinder is great for the scraps that don't steak out and the smoker makes my summer sausage. For shoulders and neck roast try putting them in a crock pot with water and Lipton's Onion Soup Mix. You'll start shooting them behind the shoulder so you save the neck and shoulder blade.
Youtube is full of great videos on the topic. There's not too much to it, just gotta have a plan, and then get your hands dirty. After your third or fourth one you'll have it down for the most part. As others have mentioned, Steve Rinella is a quality source of info, but there are many others online as well.
mustanger98
Member
Yep, we have one, and it does "work real well for a lot of different foods" - for a while.
In my wife's and my experience, the "vacuum" goes away after a while. We have even tried melting two seals, one above the other on each bag. They still leak, and eventually air gets in. I think, and this is just my own theory, that the air slowly makes it through the plastic - sort of like a child's balloon. A fully inflated child's balloon will only be about half inflated the next day, and a quarter inflated the day after that, no matter how tight you tie the knot in the end. I think the same thing happens to the vacuum inside those plastic bags you make with a vacuum packer. That is, air slowly leaks through the plastic. That's been our experience anyway.
I'll be watching for this. Thanks. When considered with Captcurt's post (quoted below), I wonder if difference in elevation might have something to do with it.
I already go for the broadside behind-the-shoulder/lung shot. Get more meat and they really don't run that far.
The crock pot, I really like... slow cook any cut till it's falling apart. LOSM or whatever seasoning's handy. That or to batter and pan fry steaks... whole wheat flour with garlic and either black pepper or cayenne... use the extra flour mix and whole milk to make gravy... preferably using a cast iron pan.
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Captcurt
Member
Your talking dirty to me now. You had me at gravy.
I have never taken a deer to be processed because I don't know of anywhere around here that I trust. There was a local guy with a little hole in the wall bait shop that several people told me was the "the place to go" but after talking to others I discovered he didn't even have a cooler....
So I have always done my own. Don't be intimidated by the gear, you really don't have to have anything but a knife and a place to work. A grinder is necessary but you can always freeze the meat now and grind it later. I have one of the hand crank models that gander mountain used to sell and find it plugs up with gristle easily but otherwise does the job. I freeze everything and then grind in small batches to make jerky or burger or what not. You really don't have to have a plan for the whole deer the day you butcher it, just get the meat off the bones and into the freezer.
I hang my deer by the hocks and skin them. A spreader/gambrel is nice but if you are handy you can make one out of rebar or even cut a board to the right shape. If you have the height you can leave the rear lower legs intact, if you are in a room with a ceiling you can score the lower leg bones with a saw (even swiss army knife or leatherman tools with a saw work) and snap them close to the hock. If you can't hang the deer, lay it on its side and do one side at a time.
With them hanging head down I start with the hams and just debone everything working my way down. The hams/hind quarter usually seperate into 2 large pieces on each side for me.As long as you don't hack around the hip socket too much you can do this without disjointing the leg and dropping the deer. It seems daunting at first but if you start grabbing the muscle and pulling on it you will see the seam where the muscle groups meet each other and will start figuring out how to seperate them. I don't mess around trying to make steaks or chops ahead of time, I freeze these pieces whole and then cut them how I want them when I thaw them to use.
The tenderloins can be taken out at any time, just don't forget them.
I always debate about whether to take the backstraps off next, or do the front legs and neck and leave the backstraps for last. There is a little bit of overlap in the neck area but either method works.
The front legs will fall off as you start trying to bone out the shoulders so just plan accordingly. Anymore I just pop a front quarter off and lay it on a plastic table to bone it out, but you could easily do the same on a tailgate.
I don't know how to get the neck off in a nice pretty roast, but most folks just grind it anyhow.
The only thing I really use a saw for is to take the skull off the neck. On a doe, I skin them to the back of the head and then saw just behind the skull and discard the head and hide together. On a buck I do the same but keep them and clean the skull up for a euro mount.
For packaging I use plastic wrap and freezer bags. I wrap the meat in 3 or 4 layers of plastic wrap as tightly as possible. Wrap it in different directions so you don't have gaps on the ends etc., Then put the wrapped meat in a freezer bag, squeeze all the air out as you zip it and put it in the freezer. I have had stuff keep for 2 years this way in a deep freezer with no freezer burn. I label the freezer bags with sharpie to tell me the date, cut of meat etc.
One thing to warn you just so it doesn't catch you off guard, I hang my deer up in my barn and do all this where I can hose them down. I wash them a lot. The membrane over the meat takes on the consistency of snot when you get it wet. If you watch a video of a butcher on youtube you will see a dry deer that has been hanging in a cooler and it will look rubbery with no slime at all. This doesn't hurt anything whatsoever, it is more important to get hair and bodily fluids off the meat than to have it nice and dry and pretty. So if you hose one down and find it a slimey mess, don't panic, either hang it til it dries, or just commence working, it won't matter.
I use about $10-$15 worth of packing material for one deer, and do all the cutting with a medium sized hunting knife (4" blade). That will get your deer in the freezer without spoiling and you can add gear and get fancier as time goes on.
So I have always done my own. Don't be intimidated by the gear, you really don't have to have anything but a knife and a place to work. A grinder is necessary but you can always freeze the meat now and grind it later. I have one of the hand crank models that gander mountain used to sell and find it plugs up with gristle easily but otherwise does the job. I freeze everything and then grind in small batches to make jerky or burger or what not. You really don't have to have a plan for the whole deer the day you butcher it, just get the meat off the bones and into the freezer.
I hang my deer by the hocks and skin them. A spreader/gambrel is nice but if you are handy you can make one out of rebar or even cut a board to the right shape. If you have the height you can leave the rear lower legs intact, if you are in a room with a ceiling you can score the lower leg bones with a saw (even swiss army knife or leatherman tools with a saw work) and snap them close to the hock. If you can't hang the deer, lay it on its side and do one side at a time.
With them hanging head down I start with the hams and just debone everything working my way down. The hams/hind quarter usually seperate into 2 large pieces on each side for me.As long as you don't hack around the hip socket too much you can do this without disjointing the leg and dropping the deer. It seems daunting at first but if you start grabbing the muscle and pulling on it you will see the seam where the muscle groups meet each other and will start figuring out how to seperate them. I don't mess around trying to make steaks or chops ahead of time, I freeze these pieces whole and then cut them how I want them when I thaw them to use.
The tenderloins can be taken out at any time, just don't forget them.
I always debate about whether to take the backstraps off next, or do the front legs and neck and leave the backstraps for last. There is a little bit of overlap in the neck area but either method works.
The front legs will fall off as you start trying to bone out the shoulders so just plan accordingly. Anymore I just pop a front quarter off and lay it on a plastic table to bone it out, but you could easily do the same on a tailgate.
I don't know how to get the neck off in a nice pretty roast, but most folks just grind it anyhow.
The only thing I really use a saw for is to take the skull off the neck. On a doe, I skin them to the back of the head and then saw just behind the skull and discard the head and hide together. On a buck I do the same but keep them and clean the skull up for a euro mount.
For packaging I use plastic wrap and freezer bags. I wrap the meat in 3 or 4 layers of plastic wrap as tightly as possible. Wrap it in different directions so you don't have gaps on the ends etc., Then put the wrapped meat in a freezer bag, squeeze all the air out as you zip it and put it in the freezer. I have had stuff keep for 2 years this way in a deep freezer with no freezer burn. I label the freezer bags with sharpie to tell me the date, cut of meat etc.
One thing to warn you just so it doesn't catch you off guard, I hang my deer up in my barn and do all this where I can hose them down. I wash them a lot. The membrane over the meat takes on the consistency of snot when you get it wet. If you watch a video of a butcher on youtube you will see a dry deer that has been hanging in a cooler and it will look rubbery with no slime at all. This doesn't hurt anything whatsoever, it is more important to get hair and bodily fluids off the meat than to have it nice and dry and pretty. So if you hose one down and find it a slimey mess, don't panic, either hang it til it dries, or just commence working, it won't matter.
I use about $10-$15 worth of packing material for one deer, and do all the cutting with a medium sized hunting knife (4" blade). That will get your deer in the freezer without spoiling and you can add gear and get fancier as time goes on.
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