Hi Guys,
I am fairly new to deer hunting. I have only taken a doe two seasons ago. Anyway, I have been reading alot about the cuts of meat from your deer. And I know everyone loves backstraps. Are these the tenderloins. When I got my deer back from the butcher I had tons of groud, roast, and sasauge, and like 4 or 6 packages of tenderloins. Would these have been backstraps? Also, is there any good information out there on field dressing and butchering?

Thanks
Bassn

I' ll take a minute or two to research good field dressing books for you, but I' ll answer your first question first. Between the rib cage and the hams of any animal, along the spine, you have two cuts of meat - the tenderloins and the backstrap. The backstrap is along the outside, the tenderloins along the inside. If your butcher gives you several packages (and a large quantity) of ' tenderloin,' then yes, your tenderloin and your backstrap is being packaged together.

No the tenderloins and backstraps are two different cuts of meat. The tenders are located on the bottom of the spine just in front of the pelvic bone. On a deer they run about 12" " long. Backstraps on the other hand are the strips of meat that run the length of the back. these are the pork chops you might say if you were talking about a pig. They are two different muscles. Backstraps are the longismus dorsi muscle and the tenders are the multividous dorsi musles.

All I could suggest is doing a search on the internet and you are sure to find what you want. Field dressing is different with different people. Example, my brother likes to hang a deer by its neck when field dressing. He also likes to break the pelvic when he dresses them. I do all mine on the ground. I also cut out the anus before hand so I dont have to break the pelvic.

Its like anything, the more you do it the better you get. Also going with an experienced hunter will give you loads of good info..

As for cuts of meat. It depends on who does the processing. I do my own, so I cut my steaks a little different than most meat plants. Also the names for the cuts are different in different places. Example, back strap and shoulder loin as well as tender loin. The best thing I can suggest is to search the inter net. Pictures can be found showing all the basic cuts. Also when you learn more about the cuts you can request exactly what you want from the Butcher.



Good luck.

Easiest place to learn what you want to learn - right here!

http://www.whitetaildeer.com/howto/fd/

Field dressing....

http://www.whitetaildeer.com/howto/butch/

...and butchering...

Look at a center cut pork chop. The large muscle area is the backstrap and the smaller muscle is the tenderloin.

I have always done it myself. Dad taught me early then in our club, I slowly graduated through the jobs. I knew had arrived when I was allowed to butterfly the backstraps!

I have a good video that I' ll get the title of. The backstraps slip out pretty easily, like filleting a fish. The tenderloins are small but they usually hit the pan right after the butchering ends anyway. The hind-quarters I seperate at the ball joint. I take the whole piece into the kitchen where I an spend some time on it. Each muscle group is seperated easily and it seem if you explore with your hands, looking for the leg bone, you can find each. These are my steaks and roast cuts. Your best bet is to watch someone do it.

Greg

The backstraps are the same cut as a pork loin. The tenderloins are where FL/GA Hunter said in his post. The tenderloin is a cut that hardly ever comes back from the butcher, a good reason to butcher your own deer. Plus I' ve seen too much freezer burned venison from meat wrapped in butcher' s paper. I have my own way of doing it that keeps much better.

Good Luck this season!
Mark
http://www.buckhuntersecrets.com

Bassn,

I' ll suggest the same book to you that I recommended to Troy R in an earlier thread. Go to your public library, bookstore or Amazon.com, and look for a book called Butchering Deer, by John Weiss. It is a very good book that covers field dressing, skinning, aging, butchering and cooking deer yourself. I read it ever year prior to the season opening as a refresher, and have always found it to be a very easy read, but definitely worth the time.