RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
I have always cut mine up as soon as I can. I then let it sit for 24 hours or so in the fridge and then package and wrap it for freezing. The one thing I do with the hams is take the meat off by sepeating it along the grain lines. Takes a little time, but it makes up nice small roasts that are perfect for my wife and I. There are also a few glands hidden in the fat between the different muscles. We cut out the backstrap and tenderloin, halve the backbone and seperte the front quarters. We have a Dutch oven that is large and will hold the front quarters, we cook them whole then strip the meat and freeze then cook the front half of the backbone and neck the same. Not a hard job, and as you note, even if you screw it up it all still eats.