Processing equipment
 

Hello all, I'm just wondering what equipment you folks use when processing your deer or other game. I have a buddy who says that you absolutely have to do it on a a stainless steel table ,you have to use a bone saw(to cut off legs,split hams ets)and before you begin you have to hang it for at least three days.

I have an old laminate top desk that I butcher on with one knife,and I don't age venison at all. This works for me. What kinds of stuff do you have to have and what things do other people use that you do just fine without?

Thanks :)

RE: Processing equipment
 

I thought you would've gotten answers by now.
I think it depends what you want to do with the meat. If you want to make burgers or chili or something, you'll need a grinder. There's some other things you might need, but I think it all depends. There was a great deerprocessing video that was posted on this forum, I think it disappeared when they updated the forum.

RE: Processing equipment
 

You do not need a stainless steel table and do not need a bone saw. Try to be careful and hygenic, but you are not doing surgery. Aging depends on personaly preference and temp. I usually like to give a couple of days if weather is cooler/cold, but butcher same day is warmer/hot.

RE: Processing equipment
 

As far as the SS table I disagree, it is very hard on your knife edges.I use poly butcher blocks(basically large cutting boards) I wipe down with anti bac spray then rinse with extremely hot water and wipe dry before/after each job.A good meat hand saw is handy but not required to debone. I use mine to take off the lower leg, release the rib cage from the rear(after the straps and flank is removed)and split the hips..not needed but it makes it easier for me to work solo.

As far as what you need: boning knife (or 2), steel, cutting top, brown wrap and freezer tape are all that required to debone. Other things that you may require are vac packer, grinder, meat saw, mixer, smoker, etc depends how far you want to take it.

I don't believe in aging wild game, I do believe in benefits to allow it to relax which takes 12-18hours post mortise but as far as leaving it hang no. Cutting warm meat isn't the easiest, so if no way to keep it coolI will quarter, remove straps and place in the fridge over nightbefore cutting and wrapping. Used fridges are cheap and a dime a dozen so if you have a garage or shed to store it maybe something to consider if you hunt in a warmer climate or early season. When doing this I let my meat come to ambient in my garage then quarter and fridge it, so I don't get a ton of moisture...much like a wet room at the butcher!

The first cuts out of any game for me are the tenderloins, if left they skin over very quickly.

RE: Processing equipment
 

A couple sharp knives and a meat grinder is all we use.

RE: Processing equipment
 

I guess you guys will laugh at me for this one but I use an old kitchen table my mom was gonna throw away and I stapled a sheet of linoleum that was leftover from my kitchen floor onto the top. It cleans off super easy and is not hard on your blades. Plus it fills the center crack of the table so no gunk gets down in it.

RE: Processing equipment
 

There used to be a great link on the Kentucky DNR site. No longer a free video. I was lucky enough to copy the link and copy the video to my desktop. Previous replies prety much sum up what ya need. The best noted information is to cut the meat when cold or partially frozen.

RE: Processing equipment
 

I have a table that is not SS and it works fine. Just make sure you keep it very clean. I also have a couple of good boning / butcher knives along with a meat saw. i quarter my deer and then I completely debone the quarter and cut my steaks from there and anything that is not steaks gets bottled.
backstrap and rounds are usually cut 1/2 to 3/4 thick

RE: Processing equipment
 

Mossy, nothing to laugh about. Excellent idea...;)

RE: Processing equipment
 

I have a bunch of stainless steel hooks to hang the animals, a big table that we put a 4'x3' piece of 1/2" plastic(stuff they use for cutting boards)on the table then we have about 6 boning knives straight from the butchers and a bunch of different steels to keep the knives sharp, as well as little meat hooks that you use with your hand to pull the meat away from the bone as you cut the connective tissue(really handy), as well as a meat slicer so we can slice beef fat(we wrap the fat around our roasts and it keep them really moist while cooking and gives them a really nice flavor, remove when finished cooking the roast.)

RE: Processing equipment
 

That is one impressive set up you got there lethal.

RE: Processing equipment
 

butchering w/ a cold budweiser

RE: Processing equipment
 

There's no way those choice looking roasts are from what's in front of him.As far as a butchering table, man you don't need anything fancy. Somewhat level and stable will do.

RE: Processing equipment
 

A lamanate table top that I lay across a couple saw horses, a couple sharp knives and a steak hammer is all I've ever used. I'll bone out all the meat and lay it on freezer paper in a fridge I have in the garage and then I'll work on cutting and wrapping for the freezer.

RE: Processing equipment
 

Skin over and trimmed away will produce a normal cut. He said they hang for 1-2 weeks so this isn't an uncommon by product. I just finished cutting up a moose some buds shot on tuesday am, it was 1/4'd and in cooler the entire time (less transport). While it never looked black it was skinned over pretty good andneeded1/8"plus trimmedoff the exposed surface. The meat underneath looked fantastic and smelled very good. ThoughI personally would have tackled earlier, minimize wastage being the only reason.

BTW...Beer isas essential to canadian garage processing as a knife and steel;)!

RE: Processing equipment
 

Yep when you let the meat hang for a while it produces a thing hard black skin on it and you want that cause it stops bacteria for infecting the rest of the meat, all you do is trim the skin away and underneath there is nothing but prime meat.By the way that guy in the pic isnt me its my uncle, hes been a butcher his whole life so its kind of good to have him around if you know what i mean.

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I just hang my deer, skin, and use a knife and a hack saw thats it.

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I just debone mine as it's hanging , which is only just long enough to bone it out since I don't "age" mine . If you do it right you don't even have to gut them , just skin and debone .

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OK so new questions. Who has done that quarter without gutting method? and does anyone use just a plain ole fillet knife to one out the deer?

RE: Processing equipment
 

Nope and nope. I find a fillet knife has to much flex for my liking. All I use is Victorinox Fibrox Boning and Slicing knives.

RE: Processing equipment
 

I bone mine out when I clean them...You can seperate the three main muscles in the hams, fillet out the backstraps, remove the shoulders and remove the inner tenderloins by making a small incision at the short ribs and sliding my knife between them and the backbone and pull them out, usually don't gut the deer...If someone wants a whole ham, I seperate the ball and socket joint with a good, stout knife...I only use a saw to cut the front legs off.

I use my wife's Kitchen Aid mixer, with a grinder attachment to make burger...Just thaw out the roasts, slice into strips and feed into the grinder as needed...If I want "cubed steaks" I slice the backstraps or ham roasts about 1/4 to 3/8 inch and pound with a tenderizer hammer, or batter and fry up as they are...

My main knife has about a 3 inch blade on it...I can skin and butcher with the same blade...I just use a large cutting board for slicing up roasts.

RE: Processing equipment
 

I like a sharp boning knife -- narrow bladed knife with a flexible blade, for getting the meat off the bone. I use a bone saw to take off the feet, but that is the end of my need for a saw. Actually, I also use the bone saw to cut free ribs and cut up other bones. I store these bones and later boil them to make venison broth which I freeze and use for various cooking purposes. If this is inconvenient for some reason -- like I am hunting a long ways away from home -- I may omit the saving of bones for making venison broth. I take out the backstraps and tenderloins whole, while others may use a saw to cut chops which include the backbone. I wrap my meat in heavy plastic wrap a couple of times and then in butcher paper, thus I have no need for a vacuum packer. I do like to work on a wooden cutting board but have used a plastic cutting board in the past. I hunt deer in Oklahoma, and the weather rarely lets me leave my deer hanging several days. The deer meat I get after hanging only overnight (let rigor mortis come and go) has tasted pretty good so I'm not inclined to pursue any special actions to age the deer longer.

I once cut up and packaged two pronghorn antelope in a motel room in Gillette, Wyoming. Anyone else ever cut up and package a game animal in a hotel room? Hey, I left the place clean when I was done!

On my elk hunt this year I am adding a digital scale so I can weigh meat pieces and cut them into meal-sized portions accurately. Admittedly this is an unnecessary elaboration, but the scale can be used for other purposes in our kitchen anyway.

RE: Processing equipment
 

I agree that a stainless table is not the best work surface as it will dull your blades. I like the idea of the poly surface and was inclined to find a big slab, but after thinking about it I think I'll find 2 or three that will cover my work surface but still fit in the dishwasher when I'm done. I know my poly cutting board in the kitchen comes out a lot cleaner that way!

The DVD Deer Processing 101 does a fantastic job of instructing/demonstrating the process of taking a deer on the ground and turning it into table fare.

-- FLIX