For those of you that process your own deer how long does it take you on average ?
I can gut , cape ,and debone a deer in about 50 minutes but it seems to take several hours to trim it , cut into steaks , gind , package, then clean up. I got to learn to get faster at it or get others to help so it goes by quicker. Post any tips you got
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"The believer is happy. The doubter is wise."
We usually let our deer hang or age four about four to five days in fourty deg. The process lenght is about three hours, start to cleanup per deer. Then we will freeze, or soak it for a couple days to extract blood if needed. Then we will grind with spices to whatever we what, sausage,brats,polish ect.... Which again is a start to clean up process, which is also a ton of fun with your hunting buddies.
My only advice is - get some more friends to help! Seriously, I haven't found any great shortcuts when processing deer meat - it takes me a long time too. But if you have 3-4 people working on it, you can get it finished pretty fast. I'm pretty picky about my meat - I take the time to get all the tendons, fat, connective tissue, etc. cut out- that's what takes the longest. Usually it's a family/hunting buddy effort all working together if we want to do it pretty fast.
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"Speak softly and carry a big stick - you will go far."
-Theodore Roosevelt
I agree its worth it. I get very picky as well with removing connective tissue ,silver skin , fat or anything else that isn't good eating . I think it makes a big difference too.
I just went camping with my son and the boyscouts where i brought venision steaks and they loved it. They couldn't stop talking about how good it was asnd the best venision they had ever had. I just wish it went faster. I want to make sausage but I know that is going to be a bunch more tim as well
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"The believer is happy. The doubter is wise."
I gernerally do it with a couple of friends and we generally get the entire processing done in about an hour we have a walk in freezer that we generaly let them hang fora few days and try to do a couple at the same time as long as we have the tools of the trade out and on the table. it is worth it to do your own we even make our own sausage I just don't trust taking it to a butcher because you dont know if they mix it with someone elses stuff and I have heard of guys bringing in deboned meat with leaves and burrs and twigs in it and I dont want my family eating that stuff.
So my best advice get a couple of friends and help each other out
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Mathews DXT
30"70#
Rage 2 blade
Flash Point Sight
QAD Ultra Rest
Winchester SX2
TC Encore .50 cal
I don't care how long it takes. I'm meticulous in doing it. I enjoy doing it and have no problem taking my time, trimming and doing everything right and just the way I want it.
I basically skin and quarter a deer one night in about an hour, taking extra time to get a full cape whether it's a buck or a doe (we have the hides tanned).
Take the backstraps and quarters and put them in the fridge and process the meat over the next couple of nights a couple hours at a time.
I take trimmings and neck meat to the butchers for grinding and packaging.
Total time might be as many as 5 hours, but there isn't a lick of bone, tallow or sinew on any of it and it's all properly vacuum packed and put in the freezer and cut just like I like em (thin cut steaks mostly.)
I agree with Doefever, I enjoy the process as part of the hunt. It's the only part of it I'll enjoy a beer with too!
Alot of you other guys answers are pretty much the same as mine. I am pretty much the main butcherer of all my hunting buds. I usually do seceral deer a year. It is funny how they can't seem to do it without me there, even though we have been doing it for years!! I guess it is good to be needed.
I usually just do mine by myself. Sometimes I just take a vacation day, crank the music up and go at it. I do steaks, roasts, buger etc. I doeverybit all myself. I would say by the time it is cut up, wrapped and put in the freezer and everything cleaned up and put away, Ihave 5 to 6 hours in it. Well worth it to me. I know that it is all my meat, there isn't any fat or silver skin on it. and I just have the pride and satisfaction of knowing that when I sit down to eat it, I did evrything from the scouting to the swallowing of the succulent venison!!! Can't beat it.
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Always be sure that when the hunt is over, you can look at the man in the mirror and know that he followed all the rules of a fair chase hunt, and gave the animal all the respect and honor that it deserves.
processsing deer
