Deer Processing and Waste

[gonzoso]

So it seems like the inclination amongst trad hunters is to do like to be self sufficient in matters related to hunting.

So do most here butcher their own deer?

My first deer I got butchered by a local place ten years ago when I was 16.  They gave me back a paltry amount of meat, just the main cuts and I was disappointed as I remembered that deer being heavier!

I butchered my first deer at 21 and it took a while but I got a lot of meat out of it.

I think it's the attention to detail that I can afford as I'm not pressed for time.  I use pretty much all the muscle for meat.  Not counting the backstraps or quarters I got about 12 pounds of meat off the deer this year and it was not a huge doe.  I'm pretty sure this would have been wasted at the processors, for me I ground it all up and it will be chili and burgers!

Aside from that I was able to save and scrape the hide and remove the brains for dressing the hide at a later date, and I removed the sinew for backing a bow I plan on making in the near future.

Any other good uses for other deer parts?

[KodiakMag]

The little pieces of meat that are to small for steak you can use for stew instead of just burger. You can also use that for the bacon wrapped grillers...MMMMMMM. The neck meat I usually make into jerky.

[nightowl1]

I have never taken an animal to be butchered. My family can have a deer from shot to cleaning up grinder in 3 hrs. Not bad at all.

If I'm by myself for the job I have to admit I'm not near as thorough, but I still get the meat.

This year I will be saving the hide also, though I'm not going for the brain tan yet.

I use anything I feel like eating off the deer. I'm a river rat from southeast Texas so that means alot.

Coby

[David Dumke]

I think the main reason people will go to the butcher is the lack of time to do it themselves. And the butchers ability to mix the ground venison with either pork or beef(that's be big debate around these parts.
 I personally never understood it. I know it can get dry, and agree when it comes to sausage because of the casing(most sausage I see isn't cased however), but taking steps to prevent dried out venison while cooking seems to be the better option.

I've never had the chance to try cooking just pure venison because nobody ever has it.

Also, I don't know about anyone else but you can add the heart to my list of meat. Great eating, was always a treat when my grandfather would bring home a deer and we would have deer heart and potatoes with gravy a few nights later. Mmmmmmmm so good.


God bless,

Dave

[Bjorn]

It depends, my son and I arrowed 2 Elk and got 300 lbs of meat from the processor when we were hunting in Utah, he did a great job and it was worth every penny. Big hogs go to the processor too. Animals that are 100 or so pounds we tend to do ourselves when we have time.

[LeeBishop]

I have only butchered one doe in the past. It was a rush job because it was warming up and the flies were trying to get at it.

I'd like to process my deer entirely, but I haven't gotten around to building myself a facility and I don't have the equipment to do it the way I want to.  I'd like to be set up with one of those nice electronic grinders that you can make sausage and what not with.  It will have to wait.

But I know a lot of the meat is being thrown out and sent off to a rendering plant or something by the butcher. They run through so many deer that they don't have the time to pick things clean. Even the small scraps can be used for simple things like jerky.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

You can use the bones with some of the meat that is still on it to make Broth for soup. It is excellant.

Roast and then throw in a stock pot with celary and carrots and such.

mmmmmmmmmmm......

We bone out all of our deer. It does not take very long, the trick is to have a good supply of sharp boning knives.  We package everything in small roast size packages and cut steaks from that as we need them. All scraps becomes ground meat. No pork mixing, just deer.

[gonzoso]

Originally posted by LeeBishop:
I have only butchered one doe in the past. It was a rush job because it was warming up and the flies were trying to get at it.

I'd like to process my deer entirely, but I haven't gotten around to building myself a facility and I don't have the equipment to do it the way I want to.  I'd like to be set up with one of those nice electronic grinders that you can make sausage and what not with.  It will have to wait.

But I know a lot of the meat is being thrown out and sent off to a rendering plant or something by the butcher. They run through so many deer that they don't have the time to pick things clean. Even the small scraps can be used for simple things like jerky.

It doesn't take much! I use a gambrel to hang my deer, I made it in metal shop in tenth grade, but you could whittle one out of a stick in about ten minutes.

I use that, and a hatchet, hacksaw, and three knives, a siz inch boning knife, a little 3-4" knife, and a large butchers knife.  But I do almost the whole thing with the little knife to be honest.

Oh and a gut hook.  I could really do the whole thing with a knife with a gut hook and a gerber freeman or some such fixed blade knife.


So you only need

Gambrel
1-3 knives
Hatcher and or hacksaw
Cutting board

Unless you reside in a mental institution you could probably do it with what you have lying around your house!   :D

[gonzoso]

Oh and judging by how yesterday went I would like to add

Rubbing alcohol and bandaids to the list
 

[two4hooking]

Yup!

Save the leg and back sinew
Hide for tanning
Bones make great stock (broth)
Heart gets diced and fried with eggs
burger makes sausage, bologna, jerky and burger!
Roasts, steaks, chops
Antlers for tools and handles
tarsal glands get saved and frozen for future hunts

I can butcher, vaccum pack and clean up everything in about 3 hours typically.

MMMMM - I'm hungry now!

[John Scifres]

Here's a great deer processing how-to done by Shaun Webb a couple years ago:    Deer Cut-up Along  

I like cutting up deer.  It really adds to the whole experience for me.  Plus, as you said, the meat is better cared for than it was by the "pros" I have used in the past.

[Lost Arra]

No one else pickles the heart just for a little variety?

Elk:

 

[44charlie]

Deer Heart sandwiches yum! yum! Favorite part of the deer!!

alway sell my hide at a local tannery. Don't get much for them but they don't go to waste.

[LeeBishop]

Originally posted by gonzoso:

It doesn't take much! I use a gambrel to hang my deer, I made it in metal shop in tenth grade, but you could whittle one out of a stick in about ten minutes.

I use that, and a hatchet, hacksaw, and three knives, a siz inch boning knife, a little 3-4" knife, and a large butchers knife.  But I do almost the whole thing with the little knife to be honest.

So you only need

Gambrel
1-3 knives
Hatcher and or hacksaw
Cutting board [/b][/QUOTE]


I have a gambrel I bleed the deer out before I take them for processing to help cool the meat down and keep bacteria from growing quickly.

I'm just one of those people that likes to have their "space" to do things in.

I want to build a little cleaning shed that is for nothing but cold storage and processing. I want to be able to hang my deer up for a little while and then process everything and package it. In order to do that the way that I want to, I need a nice big countertop with large cutting boards glued on and a set of knives that don't leave the shed for only cutting up deer and game.

When I have that shed built in the future, then I will do everything myself.

[koger]

The wife and I usually kill 6 deer a year, does us the whole year. I grind the rough cuts such as shoulders, make few roasts out of the ham and stew meat, but grind every scrap I can find. I got a grinder last year from Northern tool, on the advice of folks here, and it is great, for only $99 and shipping. Me and a buddy both took elk in Col. last year, and we got them home boned out on dry ice. He and I ground, packaged, and cut steaks and roasts, did a whole elk in 4hours! Did mine the next day. We also can a lot of deer, cram all the chunks you can in a pint or quart jar, teaspoon of salt, enought water to cover it, and pressure can on #11, pressure, for 90 minutes with quarts, 70 for pints. The KY fish and wildlife has an excellent DVD, on deer processing, and is how I do it now. You hang the deer on a gambrel as you mentioned, skin hide all the way down and let drap over the head, then has a step by step cut for all the major roast and steaks, strips every speck of meat off the skeleton. When done, the skeleton is still intact, just take off the gambrell and roll upinto the hide. I usually place these by my favorite blind for coyote hunting and they make great bait! Only need 1-2 sharp knives, no hatchets, or saws. DVD cost is$16.95 I believe, you should really check it out.

[Thebear_78]

I normally take my animals in to be processed but they are generally quartered out in the field.    The quarters and taken in to get processed, I cut up the backstraps and either can any scrap meat or take it in and have it ground.   We usually like to hang our meat in a walk in cooler or reefer van for several days, up to a couple weeks,  it really helps tenderize the meat.   A big bull moose can be pretty tough if you don't age the meat.    

The quality of the meat is better, packaging is better and I don't have space to work on that much meat at once.   We have don't it ourselves a few times but its well worth the money to have it done.    

From my large cow last year I got just over 400 pounds of meat back from the processor for $350 bucks and it was all well wrapped, well cut, sausage was excellent.    With my limited hunting time I'd rather spend another couple days hunting than cut a hunt short and try to deal with this meat.

We have specific waste laws in alaska that stipulate all edible meat must be harvested.

[gonzoso]

Originally posted by koger:
The wife and I usually kill 6 deer a year, does us the whole year. I grind the rough cuts such as shoulders, make few roasts out of the ham and stew meat, but grind every scrap I can find. I got a grinder last year from Northern tool, on the advice of folks here, and it is great, for only $99 and shipping. Me and a buddy both took elk in Col. last year, and we got them home boned out on dry ice. He and I ground, packaged, and cut steaks and roasts, did a whole elk in 4hours! Did mine the next day. We also can a lot of deer, cram all the chunks you can in a pint or quart jar, teaspoon of salt, enought water to cover it, and pressure can on #11, pressure, for 90 minutes with quarts, 70 for pints. The KY fish and wildlife has an excellent DVD, on deer processing, and is how I do it now. You hang the deer on a gambrel as you mentioned, skin hide all the way down and let drap over the head, then has a step by step cut for all the major roast and steaks, strips every speck of meat off the skeleton. When done, the skeleton is still intact, just take off the gambrell and roll upinto the hide. I usually place these by my favorite blind for coyote hunting and they make great bait! Only need 1-2 sharp knives, no hatchets, or saws. DVD cost is$16.95 I believe, you should really check it out.

What I do is hang the deer, then pull the hide down.  I cot off the legs below where the meat ends to make working easier.

Then I pull off all the meat from the ribs and tenderloins, then the shoulders.  When the body is basically ribs and spine I cut around the hindquarters and use a hatchet to pop out the hip joint.

I pull the quarters off intact because in warm weather I like to season them in a cooler with ice for a few days before I finally process them in the kitchen.

Your technique sounds better for  cooler weather though!

[AKP]

I'll process my own if I have time to hang it up and take my time with it.

[monterey]

For me, it can be a matter of time, but also a matter of weather.  A deer or elk killed in mid September in the CO rockies can end up subjected to a lot of heat.  If I bring an animal home and the temp is 90 or 95 deg and the flies are everywhere, then a processor is the smart option.