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Old 09-04-2019, 05:06 AM
  #11  
archeryrob
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Western Maryland
Posts: 195
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Ok, back on the track of processing game, I like this video by Grant Woods
and he does a good job showing how to debone one. I helped my daughter do her first with my supervision while working from home.

We have a deer cooler we built and when its warm we hang them in that to cool them so we can relax after the kill and drag. If it is not cold out, you need to cut that deer up right away and put the meat into buckets in a fridge or into a cooler and on ice. A deer killed in the early morning is far easier than a deer killed in the evening if you have to bone it all out that right then because its not cold enough out. I have not hunted or passed on deer before having the deer cooler because i thought about the work and the heat at that moment. .We have a fridge upstairs and a basement fridge I can put buckets on the bottom shelf. One with roast and back straps and one for grindage.

There is three good roasts in each hind leg and an extra loin. Two back straps up the spine. Two small tenderloins inside at the hind legs. The shoulders and the neck. The lower legs are only worth grinding or made as osso bucco and I don't like bothering with this, so I grind. Front shoulders pop off with a knife and you can bone the scapula out and make a tied roast if you are careful, but you'll probably not do it right the first time. The front leg cuts good for stew meat chucks and deer works good when wet cooked like that. The neck is difficult to bone into a roast without the bones, I grind it as I make hot dogs, sausages, summer sausage and stuff peppers with ground deer. The flank meat on the ribs is coated with fat and hard to get meat away from it. Deer fat is awful! It's strong and will over power your meat. It's great for black powder lube and stuff like that, but not for cooking, IMO!

Do not seal or freezer paper wrap for deer until it has treated for at least 24 - 48 hours. You want rigor to release on the muscles before putting it up.
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