deer cut up along

[Osagetree]

Nice of you to take the time to share with us.

I sure some have learned much from your efforts here!

Doing it yourself makes it better on the table!

 

[JockC]

Shaun has done a fantastic job, but I'd add one variation.  Save the upper leg bones, cut into four inch sections with a butcher's saw, do the same with the shanks, and cook a s-l-o-w osso buco recipe (similar to his braised shank recipe, with half a dozen or ten tomatoes (plum, with some paste or dried tomatoes, and maybe a couple of spoonfuls of A-1), lots of garlic, one or two onions, lots of wine, and some orange rind zest.  Be sure to use more liquid than for a traditional braise, set it outside to cool for a night, and remove an ungodly amount of fat the next morning. Tremendous flavor will have rendered out of the marrow, and most of the tendons, ligaments, etc. will have converted into gelatin.  This stew will make you very popular and strong like bull, though the sounds of marrow being sucked out of the femur puts off the fainthearted.  Probably not the ideal meal for a first date, though if she goes for this you have struck gold.

FWIW, I just tried a jumbo batch in a pressure cooker, which didn't seem to do the gelatin conversion as well.

Shaun, I want to eat a meal at your place sometime.  And you're always invited here in Evaro, MT.

Now, a question for the larger group--I see and hear talk about roast or smoked ribs.  I've never really found a way to do them that was worth the trouble.  Anyone have any ideas?

Though my ex-wife took the cookbook, I know of a heart recipe that's incredible.  The recipe requires slicing the heart, so it doesn't matter if it already has a clean two or three blade slice through it...

[Alsea]

You guys are making me hongry...lol!

Eating's my favorite part...

Nice tutorial there Shaun...if you start by pulling the hide on the hind legs down past the tendon, while he's still on the ground or in the pickup bed, BEFORE you hang him on the gambrel, it's a lot easier (and cleaner hairwise) than trying to work around the steel after he's up in the air. Wish I could just pop over and show you how easy it is, but I'm clear up here in the northwest corner, dang it!

JockC...ribs grill good with a little smoke, lots of pepper and a good Bar-B-Que sauce. Be sure to leave the flank on if you're gonna grill. Greasy! Yeah! Good!

Sometimes I bone out the ribs (in between) and smoke the strips for jerky. The tallow makes for some mighty tasty jerky.

[Brian Krebs]

We have a 'regular cut'; which is steaks;roasts;and burger.
 We take the rib meat and toss it in with the burger.
 normally we mix in about 10% beef suet; and grind it twice. You can buy suet at the grocery store in the meat section or ask a butcher for some.
 deer fat is not suet- on a beef it is only found around the kidneys...its not fat from outside the body cavity.
 I don't like roasts; so I steak all I can and burger some- and make the rest into smoked summer sausage.
 In the shop; the meat is wrapped as Shaun describes; when I wrap for myself- I use just over the counter freezer paper.  In 30+ years I have not had a freezer burn problem.
 I might be damning luck by saying that- but its true.
 As a fall professional meat processor I applaud Shauns gift to us here!  

[Linc]

Very good tute Shaun.I've been cutting up deer this way for 17yrs.It is time consuming but well worth it when it is time to eat it.Also with wrapping that way,I've had venison in the freezer for 4 yrs with no ill effect.(Packages do get lost in the freezer.LOL)

[Linc]

Meat off the shoulder blades on a larger deer can also be cut up into finger steaks.On smaller deer we just grind up the shoulder meat.

[Guru]

Shaun, Most excellent!!! Thanks for taking the time to share with the gang.

Same method our family uses,very easy!

Blows me away that people will pay so much $$ to get this done by someone else.

Good stuff!!!     I'll bet this will go into the archives....

[Shaun]

Jerry (Alsea) is right about cutting the leg skin before hanging. This will save some step ladder balancing knife work. I do it unless I am dog tired, beat up and bleeding - which is how I usually am after getting back to the barn with my deer. Often hunting alone and dang heavy deer will wear a fellow out.

A hand bone saw speeds some steps but you can learn where and how to cut the joints with some practice. A good knife kept sharp is a must.

RECIPES - Note: There is a separate forum for this, so lets not get too far off in that direction on this topic & forum. I figure getting them in the freezer is part of the hunt and some future use info is important for cuts and packaging.

Then again - JockC, that osso buco sounds great. I will make sure to stop by your place next time out west. I love to cook. Game dinner at my place just about every day and company is welcome.

[Bucket]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together Shaun.

Looks like we went ot the same school of butcherin'. I do mine almost exactly the same.

[Joe D]

Shaun
Well done tutorial.    
By the way, what year is that VW Bug? It looks mint!

[Tom Leemans]

Oh dang, I am hungry now. I can remember a particularly good season where we had a "deer processing day". There was something like 7 or 8 deer to do that day. We cut some chops from one of the loins, cleaned off a big piece of steel and laid it on the barrel stove and cooked them babies up with butter, right there on the stove.

[Meathook]

Here is something I just started doing.  

I start the slow cooker with a bag of dry onion soup mix and some water.  As I am cutting and come across a piece like the shanks (fore and aft)or any other semi tough or fibrous piece. I toss them in the slow cooker.  Let everything cook for 5-6 hours or more.  Then turn it off.  When the meat is mostly cool.  You will notice most of the bad stuff has melted away.  The stuff that hasn't you can pull off.  I then take this delicious seasoned meat and vacuum seal it for sandwiches.  Nothing like onion soup seasoned venison with some horseradish sauce on good bread.

You can also cook it unseasoned as well and grind it  for spaghetti meat or for other places some cooked ground works. Or seal it as is and pull out a package and mix it with BBQ sauce for some pulled venison. Or even make a soup.  

For me I end up throwing a lot less meat out that I get frustrated trying to get totally cleaned up. I let the cooking separate it and it is delicious.

[JockC]

Until reading Shaun's hanging post I had forgotten what a pain hanging a deer alone was after a day of hunting.  Scent, hair, blood, fat, and ticks all over me and my sore muscles.. I bought a gambrel on sale and a chain block used a few years back, smile every time I use them, and wonder what the hell took me so long.

[bbassi]

Good Tute Shawn. Man, for a buck, that deer sure had a lot of fat on it!

FYI - Speaking of fat, here's one for all the bird watchers/feeders here. Birds LOVE deer fat. We have done experiments with hanging onion bags of deer fat next to beef fat. The birds will usually completely consume the deer fat before they touch the beef fat.

[Little Tree]

great post Shaun, got me thinking about a winter trip down there to cut some hedge and eat like a king in your kitchen! I need you to help me in the recipe department, the best venison I have ever had was about the half dozen times you have prepared it! These last two bucks of mine I was able to age just perfectly in an almost constant 38-40 degress for about 5-6 days. The deep redness completely converted to a beautiful rosy pink!, even the sirloin.  Most of the cuts were completely relaxed. Should be some good stuff. That big 200lb. nine pointer is some of the most tender meat I have ever had. I am going down to pull some out of the freezer right now! Thanks again for the thread esp. the three separate pieces of round.

[beachbowhunter]

Shaun, I need help following your first instruction...

"get one of these...."  :mad:  

Thanks!

[Tom Leemans]

Meathook-
I do the same thing but I put in some beef broth sometimes.

[Pinecone]

Well done, Shaun!

Claudia

[Deadsmple]

Nice job    I'm with you all the way. I too think the ribs are a waste of my time.

By the way, nice beetle. what year is she? I'm no expert but if that's a factory color I'm guessing '72?

[Shaun]

No the crankshaft was not cut out of the deer, though it might be good with the "old boot" braise method.

Yep, its a '72 Superbeetle restoration. Changed from factory orange to factory green. Trying to drive my way into a flashback. Nearly ready for roadtrippin'.