I want to get into cutting up and processing my own deer but I have no idea where to start and what tools I would need. If you experienced guys can post any tips or even links to some tools I will need that would be great. Looking for basic cuts of meat and chop meat. Thanks in advance
Butchering your own deer
lunghit
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I want to get into cutting up and processing my own deer but I have no idea where to start and what tools I would need. If you experienced guys can post any tips or even links to some tools I will need that would be great. Looking for basic cuts of meat and chop meat. Thanks in advance
Bare minimum? Sharp knife and butcher paper. Simple enough. Debone all the meat and separate the muscle groups. Slice in to steaks or stew meat. Wrap in paper. Done. You can get a cheap grinder at harbor freight or somewhere and it’ll give you the ability to have some burger. Then maybe a vacuum sealer. But in my earlier days I did the butcher paper with steaks and stew meat.
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best option for burger
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Might consider a place to hang, skin, and quarter that has lights and water.
Good sharp knife and decent grinder. Like deer310sg my bother and I went in halves on a nice LEM grinder.
Enough freezer space for a few deer if you plan on eating deer year round.
Good sharp knife and decent grinder. Like deer310sg my bother and I went in halves on a nice LEM grinder.
Enough freezer space for a few deer if you plan on eating deer year round.
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another advantage to field quartering and packing them out: you get home and the deer is already in quarters.
make sure you have a sharp knife, processing and cutting up a deer dulls a knife pretty quickly.
When cutting up the hinds/legs, follow along and pull apart the muscle tendons to keep the roasts intact; this is a little bit more involved but yields a tastier, more consistent texture cut of meat. sure, you can bang through the meat and cut it apart, but trust me, those roasts are all worth it!
make sure you have a sharp knife, processing and cutting up a deer dulls a knife pretty quickly.
When cutting up the hinds/legs, follow along and pull apart the muscle tendons to keep the roasts intact; this is a little bit more involved but yields a tastier, more consistent texture cut of meat. sure, you can bang through the meat and cut it apart, but trust me, those roasts are all worth it!
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Ive been cutting meat and processing venison for 40 years.
Good meat butchering starts immediately after the kill.
Good job field dressing, take your time.
No reason to rush now!
Keep the meat dry, do not rinse anything other than inside the cavity then make sure to hang to dry and cool the meat.
Do not rinse exposed meat,Water on exposed meat will breed bacteria.
If the air temperature is consistently at 40 or below you can let hang for a few days.
A sharp 6" semi flexible knife is important, learn how to use a sharpening steel to maintain an edge.
Venison separates at the seams very easily, take your time and you will be able to see every piece of muscle before putting a knife to it.
A vacuum sealer is the best option for storing your meat. Before I start sealing I will place all steaks, roasts, stew etc. on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer to firm the meat. Add a folded paper towel to the inside of the open end of your bag to help absorb any remaining moisture when sealing.
A quality meat grinder is also nice to have because you will have trimmings from the deer to do something with. If not either get to a grinder right away or freeze the pieces to be ground later.
Make sure to remove ALL fat and silver skin from all meat, this is the reason for gamey tasting venison
Hope this helped and I would be glad to help you with any other questions you might have.
Good meat butchering starts immediately after the kill.
Good job field dressing, take your time.
No reason to rush now!
Keep the meat dry, do not rinse anything other than inside the cavity then make sure to hang to dry and cool the meat.
Do not rinse exposed meat,Water on exposed meat will breed bacteria.
If the air temperature is consistently at 40 or below you can let hang for a few days.
A sharp 6" semi flexible knife is important, learn how to use a sharpening steel to maintain an edge.
Venison separates at the seams very easily, take your time and you will be able to see every piece of muscle before putting a knife to it.
A vacuum sealer is the best option for storing your meat. Before I start sealing I will place all steaks, roasts, stew etc. on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer to firm the meat. Add a folded paper towel to the inside of the open end of your bag to help absorb any remaining moisture when sealing.
A quality meat grinder is also nice to have because you will have trimmings from the deer to do something with. If not either get to a grinder right away or freeze the pieces to be ground later.
Make sure to remove ALL fat and silver skin from all meat, this is the reason for gamey tasting venison
Hope this helped and I would be glad to help you with any other questions you might have.
Depends on what you are looking for. For me I have evolved over the years. Plus one, on the Victorniox knife, Cleaver was a more recent addition for me for cutting down ribs to a size that can be packaged. Vacuum pack is really preferred, though meat wrapping paper will suffice if you intend on consuming all product inside of three months for example. Hand meat saw is nice as well. I prefer ground venison more often than other cuts. Quality meat grinder is really nice.
If this all seems intimidating start off with the knife & move forward as you can.
If this all seems intimidating start off with the knife & move forward as you can.
How do ya like the LEM grinder? Looking to upgrade pretty soon
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Lots of good info here, it is rewarding to pull out a piece of meat that you processed. You can get sausage spices from a butchershop and grind a pork butt together and have great eats. Don't waste time on shanks, just cut them to the length you want and they are great in a pressure cooker or slow cooker. There are also scent glands in the rear hams so when separating muscle groups look for them and trim them out.
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Watch some of the bearded butchers or other stuff on youtube. There is no shortage of people on there telling you how to do it. A good knfe will get you thru the process. I use 1 knife and no saws. At the end of the day you are the end user so as long as you are happy with the end product it was a success.
I have found that we use more deer meat as burger than anything else, so i save backstraps, tenderloins and a couple big roasts from the hind quarters and grind the rest. I usually wait til I know I'm done killing deer for the year then I get a total weight and add 20% of that in brisket
I have found that we use more deer meat as burger than anything else, so i save backstraps, tenderloins and a couple big roasts from the hind quarters and grind the rest. I usually wait til I know I'm done killing deer for the year then I get a total weight and add 20% of that in brisket
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Sharp knife, cutting board and Food Saver (will hold a long time in freezer) and Butchering Deer by John Weiss to follow the first few times.
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We love it, it's a beast! Money well spent, we got ours on sale and some other savings can't remember. $500 grinder for around 1/2 off. Has done numerous deer, bear.
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A good knife of course is a no brainer, meat tubs, get 2. One for deboned, other for ground. We use 20% beef suet, "fat" added to ground for moisture, texture.
A cheapo scale to weight portions for vacuum sealing. We get our sealant bags off Amazon in bulk a fraction of cost compared to wally world.
A cheapo scale to weight portions for vacuum sealing. We get our sealant bags off Amazon in bulk a fraction of cost compared to wally world.
Nice! I’ll probably pick one up in the near future. Thanks
I’ve come around to doing as much as possible in the field at the site of the kill. It gets rid of any gamey taste. Last time I field-dressed then skinned the deer one quarter at a time right there on the ground (much easier when the deer is still warm). I’d then cut that quarter free and place in a game bag, which I’d hang on a tree to get it cooling quicker. Repeat with all 4 quarters.
The game bag set I got had a fifth bag for loose meat, which I would use to keep the loin, tenderloin and neck meat. I brought 2 coolers in my vehicle to hold the game bags then I got ice on the way home to get that meat cooling as fast as possible.
At home, I kept the coolers under a shady tree with the drains open, and then I would just replace the ice on top and in between the quarters. As the ice melted, it would bring out the blood with it. We brought in one or two quarters each evening and cut them up for chops, roasts and grind meat.
From what I read, gamey taste is a sign of meat spoilage – yuck. This method helped us to avoid all of that and get the precious meat cooled down quickly.
The game bag set I got had a fifth bag for loose meat, which I would use to keep the loin, tenderloin and neck meat. I brought 2 coolers in my vehicle to hold the game bags then I got ice on the way home to get that meat cooling as fast as possible.
At home, I kept the coolers under a shady tree with the drains open, and then I would just replace the ice on top and in between the quarters. As the ice melted, it would bring out the blood with it. We brought in one or two quarters each evening and cut them up for chops, roasts and grind meat.
From what I read, gamey taste is a sign of meat spoilage – yuck. This method helped us to avoid all of that and get the precious meat cooled down quickly.
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Yep, check out the bearded butchers, we’ve used a good number of their tips and techniques.
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I have an Outdoor Edge knife set and I change blades from skinning, to gutting, to cutting out the ass etc. I'm paranoid about cross contamination since my family eats it
LEM #8 grinder + a vacuum sealer and you have an awesome setup. I also have an Electric hoist to hang it
LEM #8 grinder + a vacuum sealer and you have an awesome setup. I also have an Electric hoist to hang it
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