self butchering
 

i was looking at which butcher to use in my area not a lot of them

and i thought about doing it my self but do not wont to kill myself either

how do you guys do you own and how do you keep it cool enough also where do you do it do you have a room built for it or do it in your kitchen

or where any tip to the prosses let me know please

RE: self butchering
 

Its easy enough to quarter a deer - and pull out the backstraps. Then - you can put the portions in the bottom shelves of a refrigerator, loosely covered until you have time (5-7 days if need be).

Sometimes - I'll completely de-bone - and then trimand cut steaks & roasts on my time - and then package.

RE: self butchering
 

the way my father and i do ours is we lay down something so we don't get blood everywhere. then we hang the deer on a game hoist, head pointing to the ground. then we skin the deer. after which we take out the tender loins, back straps, and rear hips and front shoulders, and whatever meat we can get from the neck. we try to use all the meat we can. i feel horrible if we waste any i figure i shot him, the least i can do is eat as much of him as i can. since that is what i had planned from the beginning. then we clean the meat up real good in the kitchen after we have quartered it into small enough pieces. then what ever meat i have left over (fat and scrap meat) i through in the dehydrator to make into snacks for my dog during duck season. so in a sense none of our deer goes to waste. hope i helped.



William


P.S. If anyone has an easier way please let me know.

RE: self butchering
 

I usualy do mine int he garage. Ill quarter it up and take the backstraps out and from there Ill take it into the kitchen and cut my steaks and roasts and do all my triming. Like mentioned before if you run out of time just stick it in the fridge and finish it up in a day or to. The best tip I can give you is trim all the fat and membrane and make sure it is very well rinsed before you package it.

RE: self butchering
 

ummm...why would you want to butcher yourself? That would be painful!

Now THAT would be hard to accomplish!

RE: self butchering
 

I've been cutting my own for a few years now, and it's really worked for me. I start out by laying down a tarp under my hoist in the garage, then skin and gut the carcass, then I just cut off as many roasts as it will allow after removing the back straps. Any remaining meat gets trimmed off in stew meat chunks. If you don't need fancy cuts this is pretty simple to do and saves you a good chunk of change. The freezer is in the laundry room right next door to the garage, I simply allow the wrapped cuts to cool long enough to put into the freezer once I'm done cutting. Cutting your own is pretty strait forward with this method, and not difficult at all.

RE: self butchering
 

For a fee of $30.....I have mine done. I quarter mine and place a bag of ice in a cooler. Put the meat on top of the one bag of ice.....and place another bag of ice on the meat. Let sit for 5 days or so.....then take to the processor.

My processor also donates his services for the family I donate venison to.......so the first three deer I take in '07 will be handled in this fashion.

I did it myself on my first deer, ever, last year.....and it took 3 hours with help that knew what he was doing. For the price I pay.....I won't ever do it myself, again.

RE: self butchering
 

It's really a pretty painless process to do yourself. I hang them in my garage. Skin the deer. Debone the hindquarters, take out the straps, take out the inside loins, take of the front legs, trim excess into cubes for stew meat and throw it all in the extra gigerator in my garage. I come back when I have time and cut into steaks, roasts, leave whole, or whatever the heck I want to do. You can have a deer skinned, quartered, and"on ice" quicker than you think when you get the hang of it and develop your own system.

That's the best tip of all. Deer fat aint taste no good [:'(]

RE: self butchering
 

Weve been doing our own for many years, I used to be a butcher soprocessing 1-5 deer for me is nothing. Hang the deer by the neck, if its good in cold oout in the shed liek steady temps around 30-40 I like to let it hang for a bit, skin it out, we start with the front legs, cut them off half way up the leg, toss the lower legs to the dogs, cut around the shoulder blades remove the front 1/4's cut them up for steaks, stew meat andtrimmings, then take out the back straps,(these are not tenderloins people, tenderloins are located INSIDE the deer:D) trim them up and cut into steaks, remove the hind quarters in one piece, then cut down the middle, take out the roasts, and everythign else goes into steaks and trimmings for burger. Grind all the trimmings, then run through stuffer and stuff into 1lbwild game game bags. They stack nicely in freezers and keeps the meat fresh longer. 1 deer about 1-1/12 hours of total work.

RE: self butchering
 

Like you said,not difficult, but it's good to have someone show you first time. It can be intimidating.

RE: self butchering
 

We've always done our own deer. Just like everyone else has stated, hang em up, skin, quarter, take out the loins and straps (prepare immediately with butter, onions, garlic, and a couple eggs of your choice), cut your steaks and roasts, wash everything before packaging, grind up scraps for burger meat or dry the scraps for snacks. We usually do this on thanksgiving day or the day after (while watching a Packer game and disposing of said loins and eggs).

RE: self butchering
 

Worst case scenario is you end up with a lot of hamburger and not much for steaks and roasts. Like everyone said it really is pretty straight forward. Just remember, before you put it in the freezer, make sure all the fat, membrane and hair is off the meat. It's amazing how a couple hairs with keep someone from enjoying their meal later on. I've seen an online video somewhere showing how to do it also, so do a search and you willno doubt find something. At our shack, we figure once night falls and while we are preparing dinner, that's when we get the deer registered, skin it up and start deboning. When you have a couple guys it goes fast. Usually about 1 1/2 -2 beers apiece and the deer is on ice.;)[:-]
Dandbuck

RE: self butchering
 

That is a great idea.

RE: self butchering
 

After paying $212 to have my deer butchered and made into jerky and sausage one year I knew that was my last time taking it to a proccesor. Most places around here are like $80 just to have your basic cuts. We do it all ourselves. It really isnt that hard and if you know what you are doing you can have it cut and packaged in an hour or two.

RE: self butchering
 

Its pretty standard just as everone stated, definately hang it as it makes it much easier. It would help a lot if you could have someone experianced step you through it the first time. The one thing I would add is get the skin off it ASAP as soon as you get home, helps the flavor and lets the meat cool faster...and less chance for hair to get everywhere....since i hunt a more northern climate, i can let it hang untill cool most of the time.

RE: self butchering
 

Sounds like your pretty good at it. Who showed you?;)

RE: self butchering
 

For those of you that want to start making your own hamburger and sausages this grinder is very inexpensive and will definitely get the job done.

http://www2.mailordercentral.com/lemproducts/prodinfo.asp?number=R341

RE: self butchering
 

I started doing my own last year. I use to cut the meat off then have it ground at a local shop. Bought my own grinder at Christmas last year. One thing I do different then most here, I use a Tupper Ware container that will hold 1 pound of ground. I lay plastic wrap over the container, pack in the meat, then wrap the meat in the plastic. I then wrap the meat in freezer wrap. Meat that has been in the freezer for 10 months is still in very good condition since it is protected by a double layer. Thebutcher who did my antelope in Wyoming last year double wrapped the meat and it has been excellant. I bought a digital scale to weigh the meat this year for when I mix the spices for breakfast sausage.

RE: self butchering
 

First I quarter the animal and I have a spare fridge that I use to cool it down aasap and I let it in there for about 3-5 days and then I butcher it. I do not worry about a cool room because I only pull the peices out of the firdge that I am butchering at the time. this works great. Next best thing to having a walk in cooler in my opinion.

RE: self butchering
 

Check out this video:
https://www3.dgif.virginia.gov/estore/proddetail.asp?prod=VW250

RE: self butchering
 

cARROL
I would be interested in your recipe for breakfast sausage!
Thanks
Dandbuck

RE: self butchering
 

That sounds about right :D

RE: self butchering
 

It also depends on who you have eating the meat. My wife is a city girl to the bone and wont eat a piece of meat that she cant tell the cut of. is it doesnt look like a steak she wont touch it. That usually send me to the processor every year unless I am makeing a lot of jerky and tamales.

RE: self butchering
 

I've been doing it for years and have it down to a science by now. Usually it's a great time spent in the barn with my Dad and whoever else is there for the hunt and we enjoy a few choice beverages and tell stories about the ones that got away. I really enjoy the time we spend butchering.........

I hang head down, skin, pull out inside backstraps, trim out the outside backstraps, then move on to quarters. I remove the front quarters from the carcass and trim everything I can thats not bloodshot and toss in a bucket which we later use for burger. The rear quarters I can actually debone on the carcass without removing. I will get the entire rear quarter off in one piece, then using my hands seperate the major muscle groups into 3 sections per rear quarter and then cut into steaks and/or roasts. If it's a really old deer then the whole rear end goes into burger or trimmings to be sent to a butcher that does sausage, salami, or hot dogs for me. I'm usually able to get a complete deer done and through the whole process (except grinding burger) in maybe an hour and a halfdepending on the amount of story telling that is going on.

Onereally important tip that works well for me is DO NOT scrimp on your bags. Good quality freezer grade ziplock bags will keep your stuff good for MUCH longer in the freezer. I also wrap everything in saran wrap first, squeeze out the air, then put into the freezer ziplock bags......this keeps them from freezer burning. I have had deer steak that was2 years old with no freezer burn with this packaging method.

RE: self butchering
 

I usually do about the same as everyone just has mentioned. I hang it up with my game hoist,head down, skin it, gut it without busting anything, take out the tenderloins, and quarter it up. After wards i take it in the house and clean all the hair off. If it is cold enough out side i will let the meat cure for a couple of day s hanging up. Then i put the meat into a cooler filled with ice and plenty of salt. I change out the water once a day for about 5 days. On the fifth day i take it up to the meat center and have it turned into jerky, burger, sausage, and cube steak. However this year i am planning on investing on some proccessing equipment and do it all myself. I am not sure but i am wondering if my butcher will sell me some fat to mix in with the burger and sausage. Afterwards you couldn't tell if it was deer from my honey hole or beef from the supermarket. YUM!!!

RE: self butchering
 

MartinJaguarArcher, most butchers will in fact, sell you the fat to mix in. That's what we do.