josh...just josh

I have been hunting for years, but only in the last few years have I started getting really serious about it. I grew up going on drives with friends and family and would always have someone there to help me dress and process the deer. This year I'm going out by myself and would like to do it all the processing myself. I have been doing as much research as possible but I still have some questions.
I don't plan on mounting or hanging the deer. I read on another website that some people don't remove the intestines or the bladder, just the heart, lungs, etc... do you guys think that this would be ok if you weren't going to hang the deer? I don't think that this would interfere with any meat and it would be nice to not have to deal with the pelvis or anus...
I'm thinking about just skinning it as soon as I get home with it, cutting off the legs, cutting out the backstraps and the loin, cutting what I can from the cape and neck, and then putting it all in an ice chest with salt/water/ice for curing and getting rid of the blood that way. What do you guys think?

noidurism

i haven't been hunting that long. 5-6yrs. and i've never heard of that. i don't think i would try that. also how are you going to get the inner loins out? any cut or sliced organs/guts can/will taint the meat.........

Robert L E

You need to learn how to clean deer properly to get the best end product. Those people who do not gut deer usually are in a warm climate or have to pack meat out. They take just the shoulders, hams and back strap and leave the rest for the scavengers. They do NOT age meat with the bowels still in place. If ice is needed due to warm temperatures the meat (or the ice) is usually sealed in plastic so ice (and ice water) is not actually touching the meat.

If you are queasy about disemboweling your game, buck it up and get over it. A pelvis saw is really handy for field dressing. With the pelvis split, getting the anus out is easy and neat without spreading around the contents.

An advantage of field dressing the deer is that the bowels are left for the eagles, crows or coyotes and you do not need to figure out what to do with them at home. Also, the carcass starts cooling right away if the deer is field dressed.

We have butchered a lot of deer, making roasts, jerky, sausage and burger. We have NEVER soaked meat. The bullet that kills the deer and field dressing it is all the blood removal we do.

Do it the right way and not the easy way. It sounds as though you should volunteer to do more of the work yourself and keep butchering with your friends and family. I do not butcher alone.

josh...just josh

Thanks for the advise guys. The reason that I don't plan on hanging the deer is that I dont really have time. I really need to get the kill and most of the butchering done in a weekend. If I can bring a cooler of deer sections home with me that would be fine. It's a two and half drive back home and I don't get much time off. I'm not really queasy about dressing the deer, I've done it before with guidance, I just thought that this would be easier. I've read in quite a few places that people put there meat directly in a chest of salt ice and water and age/cure it that way. Is that not a good way to do it?

jerseyhunter

What ever you do , don't let the meat sit in any water, bloody or otherwise. Sounds like you should just field dress the deer and let a processor handle it from there. If you don't have time to handle the deer properly you should't be hunting.

josh...just josh

well thanks for your opinion on whether I should be hunting or not

I know that the salt water and ice soak is actually a common practice. As long as you drain the water daily I've been told it works great for curing/ removing blood from the meat. I plan on processing my fall deer in the traditional way, but I just thought that I would explore other options that I have heard about. I actually read about leaving the entrails in on a how-to website for deer butchering

SouthernSportsman22

No offense but the way you are describing on how to cure a deer is the technique I used in middle school to cure a chicken. However, we did not eat the chicken at the end of the semester. I would suggest fully gutting your deer in the woods or asap and carry some of the meat home with you on the weekend and finish the processing. I'm no expert in this area myself. Everybody can always be taught new tricks.

richwrench

I'm no expert butcher, but I've been soaking meat in slushy ice-water for years with great results. I don't know why some people are against it - maybe they will post some reasons. If you live in a cold area, you can hang your meat for several days to age it, but here in FL that weather is very scarce. I've soaked rabbits, squirrels, quail, deer & hogs with great results. Even friends who are only casual meat-eaters enjoy the flavor. Like I said, I'm no expert, but it works well for me.

hunt12ga

Don't know what to tell you about the ice-water aging, but I do know that you should get the insides on the outside as quickly as you can. That gut pile has a bunch of nasty stuff that can ruin your meat in no time.

Depending on the size of the deer you are going to take, you may be surprised how easily one can fit into a well-organized refrigerator for final preparation later. I always gut my deer in the woods where it lands unless I am only minutes from the house, in which case I sometimes gut it while it is hanging. Either way, I get it done FAST. Then, if time or weather determines that I must rush, I will skin the deer, quarter it, and bone out the legs. I butterfly my loins on the spot, as it can be done quickly. I then put the boned-out sections into big plastic bowls that I wrap with plastic wrap and then stick in the fridge. It can sit in there for a couple of days until you have enough time to get down to cutting and wrapping. It's not all that time consuming, and is very rewarding to know that you were part of every step- the kill, the cuttin, the cookin, and the eatin. (I hold the latter in very high regard )

*twodogs*

What you are describing is called brining. I've never brined my vension (live in a cold climate that allows me to hang for extended time) but I brine poultry and geese all the time. I does change the flavor of the meat somewhat - slightly salty but not overpowering by any means so long as it doesn't set in the brine for more than 24 hours. What brining does more than anything is yield a juicey cut of meat.

When I deep fry turkeys, they always go into a brine solution overnight. I've also brined a brisket for the smoker and that turned out great. I don't see a problem with brining your venison if that's what you want to do.

As far as gutting - field dress it as quickly as possible - the quicker you get the internal temperature of the meat down, the better tasting it will be. Blood is the first thing that spoils and gives wild game that "wild" taste people complain about. I've had the best success when I hang my deer for 6-8 days. It lets the meat cure and it's much easier to butcher since the meat is devoid of blood which firms it up for the knifes.