deer processing
 

Any of yall cut up your deer yourself? I was thinking about doing it this year and then just takin meat to get sausage and stuff made, try to save a buck. Anyone know any sites that tell you how to cut it? thanks

RE: deer processing
 

There has been a commercial showing a video on how to do it all on TV lately. I can' t remember the number. I' ll try to catch it and shoot it back to you. I' m gonna order it next time it airs.............:D

Oh Yeah.........I always cut up my own..........doesn' t look too good sometimes but eats the same.[:-]

RE: deer processing
 

I do everything on my own. Of course it does help when we had a store in the family for over 100 years, and did deer processing for 14 or so years. The first time I ever did any deer processing I was 4 years old. Im almost 20 now. Ive had some experience. I' ll try to find some websites that might have something.

Found websites: http://www.youlllovevenison.com/index.htm http://butchershopproductions.com/

There are a lot of webistes, and places where you can buy seasoning and equipment. Enjoy

RE: deer processing
 

Process my own, the past year me and my brother went a step further at a very good cost.

We purchased thru my wholesale business a Meat Band Saw/Grinder/Sausage Stuffer Stainless Steel roller moving table (23.5" X 18.5" ) with 18" movement groove to allow you to easliy cut even the largest pieces of meat.

I tell you this does all the major work now:D not a bad item for it' s cost of 314.00 not including shipping.

RE: deer processing
 

sorry here' s the picture of the meat band saw

RE: deer processing
 

Started doing our own 2 years ago. Not much to it. Get the skin off and you can see all the big muscles. Once you know the anatomy a little bit you will get pretty fast.

I debone everything. Cut everything into steaks and chops and grind the rest. I would not recommend using a saw that cuts through bone these days :( Better safe then sorry.

Learn where the muscles attach and you are all set. The backstraps and tenderloins come out very easily. I just remove all neck meat and take off both front legs at the shoulder.....bone them out for cuts and grind. Find the hip joints and remove the back legs........debone and you have steaks galore with some leftover grind. Pick between the ribs if you want and get any brisket meat to add to your grind pile. That' s it.......fire up the grill.

My butchering kit was $100 from Cabela' s.......worth EVERY penny. Knives are SCAREY sharp which you will appreciate when doing a whole deer.



We got a hand grinder for $40 works great. Some Zip Loc freezer bags and the freezer is full. Never had meat get freezer burned or taste bad.

One thing you will learn is how much meat a well placed shot saves. I did a couple deer that were shot poorly with slugs and it was unreal how much meat got wasted.

RE: deer processing
 

Another good idea to prevent freezer burn is to buy a vaccuum sealer and you can seal everything and even wrap it in freezer paper, not sure on costs, but im sure they aren' t too expensive

RE: deer processing
 

I have never used anything but Zip Loc freezer bags to store my venison. In over 16 years of hunting I nor anyone in my family has ever lost a piece of meat to burn.

We do eat it at a pretty good pace though ;)


The only way a piece of venison gets burned at my house is on the grill :D

RE: deer processing
 

Some of these vaccume sealers come at a hefty overhead price, but I' ll tell you what! You' ll be glad you got one in the end. These things preserve everything for a long time. Heck, I when i cook soup or chili or pretty much anything else, I make extra, vaccuum seal it, throw it in the freezer, pull it out a couple months later, boil the bag, cut open, and serve.

Before i was married I' d buy a couple steaks at a time, cook one, seal the other and it would last a very long time.

It would definatly work well for packing deer meat.

RE: deer processing
 

A good way to prevent freezer burn is to wrap the meat in saran wrap first then put it in the ziplock. Allows less air.

RE: deer processing
 

I cut up all my own deer too. It is very simple just follow the instructions given by atlasman. I also do it on the side with a buddy of mine and we get $70 a deer. You get pretty fast and efficient at it after you have done a few. We wrap with saran wrap then freezer paper. Keeps the meat real well this way. The only extra piece of equipment we have is a commercial grinder for those who want us to burger up their bulk. That is what takes the most time besides wraping. We love it when the customers want bulk for sausage. I also like to leave my meat in big chunks not cut up into pieces then wraped due to the fact of less air space between meat which keeps the freezer burn down if it is in the freezer for a long time. We go through ours rather quickly so that is not a problem.

RE: deer processing
 

I process my own. I keep the meat in large pieces and vaccume seal it. Just separate the large muscles and seal them in a bag. It is very fast and easy. I can do a whole deer and have it in the freezer in about 45 minutes. I cut mine up when I am ready to cook it. I never know how I am going to prepare the meat. Much of the meat on the hind quarter can be used as steaks or roasts. I like to do the same with the backstrap as well. Or what is left of the backstrap after the first day.:D

RE: deer processing
 

try this site out, hope it helps

RE: deer processing
 

http://www.cals.wisc.edu/media/news/...processing.pdf
try this site out.

RE: deer processing
 

I just finished butchering one last night. I got the deer on Saturday.
Get a good knife, hacksaw, and clean container to hold all the meat.
1. hang the deer by the back legs.(make cuts between tendon and bone.Insert a stell rod or gambrell through both)
2. skin the deer down past the neck
3. cut down along the spine(both sides)from the hip to the neck. Remove the backstraps buy cutting along the ribs or by pulling the meat away.
4. cut out the insde loins if not damaged.
5. grasp front leg and cut at shoulder cartiledge. Repeat for other leg.
6. cut all meat from the neck area( can use as a roast if cuts are large)
7. cut away the rib cage at the hip(reducing the weight)
8. place both hind 1/4' s butt down on flat surface and cut both sides(end to end) 2 inches or so from the center. Your cut should be even with the hip/leg socket. Stick the tip of the knife into the socket and cut the tendon holding the joint. This will free the 1/4. Cut remaining meat from the rump area.
9. cut off legs where muscle begins.
Now you have a big container of meat. If its late I usually store it in the fridge for no more than 3 days.
Try to remove all fat, membrane and bloodshot meat first.
Use the front shoulders for stew or ground meat. cut and cube
Cut the straps about 3/4 inch thick removing the shiny membrane first.
Cut the hinds by following the bone. this will give you 2 big chunks of meat. The bigger muscles can be seen. You can seperate these pieces and use these for your steaks or even a roast. Use all reaming meat for either stew or ground meat(cut and cube)

I too use Ziplocks...They work great for the ground meat.
I have done at least 50 deer this way and works good..Just take your time. The more you do the better and faster you will get.

Good luck!