butcher your own deer???
 

I was thinking about trying to butcher my own deer. I have absolutly no knowledge on how to go about doing so....is it a complicated process??? Im alittle nervous because i dont want to mess it up. I was thinking about picking up a video or something....any suggestions?

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

there are some videos on how to and that would be a good start. What did you have in mind , just steaks and hamburg. thats what I do . I bone out the meat then let it set up in a freezer for awhile then use a slicer to slice steaks. I take the meat for hamburg to a butcher they grind it for me. I get some bacon added to it. Want to try something good try baconburgers. Its not that hard to do. If you mess up just eat your misteaks. you get to pick all the hair off , you get all of your meat, and you get your meat.
Go for it. good luck.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Call 1-866-eat deer good product good
video,worth the call!!!:D

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

always butcher and cut up my own deer.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

In 30 years of deer hunting I' ve never had a deer commercially processed. I always do my own. Quarter them out and filet out the back straps and tenderloins. Don' t forget to cut the meat off the neck for grinding up into chili meat. If you can, put these in a fridge for a few days and it will be alot easier to work with. Then, debone the quarters. Fronts will be mostly for ginding but some good quality meat for chunking into stew meat. Rear quarters can be cut into steaks,roasts, or stew meat. Don' t be afraid of it. The more you do the better you' ll get. Besides, you' ll know exactly how your venison was handled from field to freezer. Good luck.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

I' ve always butchered my own. But then again, I didn' t eat store bought beef or pork until I was almost 20.

My dad raised livestock and we' ve always butchered our own.

Quarter the deer, chill it in an ice chest and then debone it.

Cut the back hams, tenderloins and backstraps in to steaks or fry meat, the rest can be used for stew, ground or roasts. The neck makes a couple of good roasts.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Gun season we always do our own. But we have got it down pretty well after 9 years. Backstraps whole, roasts, and scrap for whatever. Bow season depends, most of the gun hunters don' t bow hunt so there is not a lot of help. This year, my brother and I both got one on a Thursday, recovered one late evening/early morning, and the other mid morning. If we had cut them up, we would have missed the weekend.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Here' s a good link with pics to get you started.

http://www.indianasportsmen.com/foru...=&threadid=201

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

I had always taken my deer to a butcher to get processed. However over the last two or three years the prices of getting one processed have skyrocketed in my area. They are not asking for around $125 to have the deer processed and the meat wrapped in freezer paper. A little too rich for my blood so I had the neighbor give me a " how to" course on how to butcher one. I am still no expert at it by any measure but I do now know what to take and where to cut. :)

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

$125..... wow PA. That could get expensive. Let' s see (Z x $= $$$$) Z being numbers of deer. Holy mackrel, I could have had the other half of the Ferrari.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Guys the reason for increase in prices are -
1. health department
They want a complete scrub down of every thing and I mean
complete before butchering any other animal.
Not just a wash up A complete scrub.
2. Insurance
Do you have any idea how many butchers get sued?
Hunters think they did not get all their meat.
A field dressed deer weighing in at we will say 150 lb
will not get you 150 lb of meat.
Go down to a person that proceses deer and ask about what they go through.
3. Rising cost.
Paper cost more.
help cost more
electric prices out of control
saws & grinders do wear out
4. Some people are just greedy

Don' t get me wrong I' m not sticking up for them.
This is just a little of what a good friend of mine goes thru
every year.
Ps: I butcher my own then I get the cuts I want!

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

This year i decided to start doing my own and it can be very overwhelming to say the least.The first one is the most difficult--then it gets easier each time you do it.If you don' t have a meat grinder you might want to try cutting everything you can into roast or steak cuts.I would say if you have any friends that could show you the basics first hand would be the best route.jmho.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

I do my own. Started probably 6-7 years ago when I was living at home it was much easier with my mom and Dad helping. Now I chop em up by myself nad it can get a bit long. My girlfriend helps, but complains that I should pay to get it cut up. As rough as it is to deal with, I can' t bring myself to paying someone for it.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

I normally butcher around 20-30 deer a year. It' s hell hunting with old lazy men who just want to shoot them!;)
Really the guys I hunt with are in their 60' s and I' m in my 20' s. I don' t mind it as long as it doen' t stop me from hunting my deer.
I usually quarter them. Freeze the backstraps whole, butterfly the tenderloin, cut the hams into steaks, freeze the shoulders whole, and cut the neck out for roast. I will also freeze the ' extras' along with the neck for roast. This process usually takes about an hour and a half per deer.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Can one butcher a deer with only a really good sharp knife, or do you need all the saws and whatnot?

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

After a 25 year absence, I got back into hunting about 4 years ago. (You know the drill -- career, business travel, soccer, scouts, band). My cousin had me work beside him on the first buck I got and it really helped. I' ve now butchered several more on my own. I recommend working with someone for the first one so you can learn the landmarks. I have a video, too, which helps. I bought a reasonably-priced butcher set (under $30) which sharpened up nicely - skinning, boning, and butcher knife, clever, meat scissors, steel. And a good bone saw. I do shoulders, neck, torso, hind quarters. I bone everything and divide into roasts (shoulder, top, round, loin, t-loin, etc), prime stew, and grind. If you' re patient and do a careful job cleaning and trimming, you' ll get high-quality meat. I think most hunters ought to butcher their own. Give them a greater appreciation for what they accompished and a good understanding of anatomy. Good luck.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

i skin and quarter my deer filet the loin and backstrapps and cut as much of the meat off the neck as i can and put it in a cooler layering it with ice to cool down quicker. i gennerly leave it in the cooler for 2 to 3 days draining the water off and adding ice as needed. if i harvest a deer near home i just field dress and hose off and put it in the walk in cooler for 3 to 4 days.
i cut the loin in half and freeze it. i bone the hind quarters and grind it into burger or cut steak. the frount quarters i bone and grind into sausage salamie or whatever. (the shoulders are a poor cut of meat has a lot of ligaments in it.)
a bone saw and a good knife is all you need if you have access to a grinder it would be nice. bone saws are cheap and there are ways around the grinder. like a food processor. do not be afraid it is easy

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Yes badshot you can but a saw helps even if its only a hack saw to cut the ribs, neck, or hooves off to make the deer more manage able. But this all can be done with a knife at the joints. All except for the ribs. MMM ribs:)

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

You guys are doing a lot of work. The people in Pennsylvania who pay all that money to get their deer cut up....that is robbery! I killed 2 deer so far this season--one with a bow and one with a rifle. I took them to the same local processor to get them butchered. The first one cost me $45. He skinned the deer, cut it up completely into steaks, tenderloin and stew meat. He then wrapped it in individual, meal sized packages.

The second deer was slightly larger. This time, I paid $108. I had it cut into steak and tenderloin. Since I already had plenty of packaged meat for stew from my first deer, I had the stew/roast portions of the second deer processed into summer sausage (beef and pork added), slim jims (beef and pork added),(delicious by the way), and a local concoction called Watson burger (venison ground up with pork added along with onions and peppers). The increased cost was for the addition of beef and pork as well as the necessary smoking to make these 3 products. As a side note, a friend of mine recently killed a 186 lb buck....he got it made into steaks and 46 lbs of slim jims.....he loves ' em.

I plan to to make jerked venison out of many of my steaks myself.
It all makes for additional variety in eating venison. Come on up to upstate New York and get yours!

Clint

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

my first deer this year was $160 for half Summer Sausage and half slim jims.
my second deer was larger but about 140, dont remember what all it was cut in.
ive been thinking about cutting up my own all year to get the parents off my back about how i cant keep huntin cuz it cost too much to get it processed. Im planning on killing a small one next to try to cut up myself. thanks for that link with the instructions whoever posted it, it will probably help

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

David,

I don' t even want to imagine how much it would cost you if you had to pay those prices....considering how many deer you shoot every year....:D. Speaking of which...did you get one up there in New York yet? :)

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

up here in Ontario the going rate is 55 dollars flat rate cut and wrapped if you skin yourselves , significantly more if you want sausages made ............
- used to be 40 cents a pound with $40 minimum ............

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

I paid for my first one 34 years ago. I' ve butchered every one since - always by myself. Takes 2 to 3 hours, depending on what I' m going to do with the meat. I use two knives. One is my buck folding Hunter 110. With that knife, I skiln and debone the deer (while hanging). Hang it head up. If you' re not going to cape it, start high on the neck, being carefull about hair. Every joint is easily cut with a sturdy knife, once you know where to cut. Take the legs off at the knees. Once done skinning, take a propane torch and lightly singe any hair that gets on the meat. Deboning is pretty easy while the deer is hanging. Experince will make it easier each time, but it really is a quick part of the process. Deboning probably only takes about 20 minutes once you get the hang of it. You do not want to have any bones in the meat. The bone marrow can add a foul taste to the meat.

The next step is to cut the fat and muscle membrane from meat. I use a razor sharp filet knife and do it just like I would take the skin off a fish filet. This is where most of the time is spent. Small muscles that are a pain to de-membrane are set aside for sausage, or marked so they are used first. It' s the fat on deer that can cause problems. It is not like beef or pork fat. It spoils easily and has a worse taste.

At this point, I then cut the meat into portion sizes and whether I' m going to use it for jerky, roasts or steaks doesn' t matter too much. The sausage meat has been set aside, so the rest can be prepared however you want. Through this process, it' s important to keep the meat clean and dry. Do not wash it. Clean you knife freqently and keep them sharp. If the meat gets wet, dry it with paper towels.

When you freeze it, make sure it' s double wrapped. I' ve come up with a wrapping technique that will keep it from getting freezer burnt for a couple years. First. I use a plastic wrap that I put around the meat to eliminate all air. The plastic wrap clings to the meat and has no air spaces, not even a tiny one. This is important!. Then wrap it in freezer paper or airtight plastic bags. If you have a vacuum sealer, that is great. Be sure to date the packages.

If you shoot a lot of deer, get a grinder. It will pay for itself in a heartbeat. Buy a good one. Over the years, I come up with good recipes for sausage mixes. It costs pennies on the dollar, compared with the pre-mix packages, available to make sausage. Deer meat that you properly butcher yourself, tastes better, and for some reason, you end up with more. It really isn' t all that difficult. After a couple deer, you' ll feel like a pro.

RE: butcher your own deer???
 

Yep I did. It was a lot of work but to me, just another enjoyable aspect of the sport. Grilled up some steaks and chops last night and had to beat the boy off with a baseball bat.[:o] The wife and him really like venison so it' s a treat whenever we have it. I did order a video on how to do it to see if there' s an easier or faster way. I also bought an old cast iron grinder from Cabelas years ago that does a good job in making burger.:)