olickey

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

younggun308

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.

Red Lion

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.

skeeter 7MM

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.

Windwalker7

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

mossy33oak

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.

DOUBLE-LUNG

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.

NBDeerHunter

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

trailer

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

lethalconnection

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.)