? for hunters that butcher their own deer
12-16-2003, 07:44 PM
#21
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Geneseo NY
Posts: 107
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
I try and skin them while they are still warm, but not always. Sometimes I get home late and I am just too darned tired after a long day of hunting so I hang them at night, and then skin them out the next day. I don't find it too much more difficult to skin them when cold than warm. However, if it is too warm in my barn for them to cool down quickly, I will skin them out whether I am tired or not. I quarter them, and put all the pieces in big rubbermaid storage container for anywhere from 3 - 10 days depending on the temp. Then I butcher, wrap and freeze. It usually takes me around 3 hours to cut up and freeze a normal sized deer. (The little ones take less time
) I cut steaks, roasts, backstraps, tenderloin and stew meat. I had 4 to do this year and it didn't take me all that long to do them all. Give it a try. Sure, the first one probably will take quite a while, and won't look too pretty, but it sure is better than paying $115 for someone else to do it. There also is some satisfaction in knowing that I did everything from the harvest to the table.
) I cut steaks, roasts, backstraps, tenderloin and stew meat. I had 4 to do this year and it didn't take me all that long to do them all. Give it a try. Sure, the first one probably will take quite a while, and won't look too pretty, but it sure is better than paying $115 for someone else to do it. There also is some satisfaction in knowing that I did everything from the harvest to the table.
12-16-2003, 07:59 PM
#22
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,693
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
Thanks guys for the advice. This has helped greatly. I don't see paying a processor to butcher my deer again. Can't wait to try it out - one more weekend of muzzleloader and a week of bow left with doe permit in my pocket.
12-16-2003, 11:57 PM
#23
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Free Union, VA
Posts: 750
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
IF you don't yet have a gambrel, a 1 inch thick stick will do the trick. just spread the deers back legs as far as they go, measure about how long to make the stick, sharpen on both ends, slip it thru that little tendon spot behind the knee and secure the legs to it with a piece of cord. A gambrel is nice but in a pinch, you can do without.
David
David
12-17-2003, 05:31 AM
#24
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fredericksburg Virginia USA
Posts: 13,672
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
Like others here who butcher their own I bone my deer out, when you do this for the first time you look at the deer and think, "Man where do I start to cut?".
Well believe it or not the meat and bones will tell you where to cut. The first thing I cut off is the front legs, when you pull them away from the body you will see where the muscle from the leg has membrane over it that is clear, take the tip of your knife (MUST BE SHARP) and while applying pressure outward with the leg gently cut the membrane only, you will notice that every time you cut membrane the leg will pull away from the body further exposing more membrane, continue to cut membrane as you pull and if it is your first deer you will be in for a surprise, the whole leg will come right off with out you ever having to cut through a joint, a deers entire front leg attachs no where to the rest of the skeleton of a deer. Set both legs aside.
Now I go to the deers back, you will see a white line running right down the center of the deers back. If you push on this white you will feel the top of the deers spine right beneath it, take your knife and start a cut (I hang my deer by the hind legs) just barely to one side of the white line with the tip of the knife going towards the spine, almost immediatly you will feel the knife tip hit bone, pulling the flesh away from the spine/knife adjust the cut of the knife to where you are cutting the flesh right off the spine, keep cutting and pulling deeper along the spine until you hit bone again, now take and pulling the flesh away continue this cutting until you have reached the neck, what you have done is the first major cut to remove the backstrap and almost every piece of meat off the "carcass". Return to the top/tail and using the tip of the knife start cutting everthing away from the bone all the way down that side of the deer. There will be parts as you work your way down that you will decide to totally seperate or bypass (the hams/hindquareters I save for last), as you are working your way down freeing the flesh from the spine and ribs magically you will discover the backstraps, they seperate out from the rest of the meat and bone all by themselves with very little cutting once freed from the spine and ribs. Repeat for other side.
Now go to the inside of the carcass, you will see some muscles attached to the inside of the spine by some tendons, these are the tenderloins (YUMMY), remove them by cutting the tendons free from the backbone. Now with the exception of the hams the only thing left on the carcass is the meat inbetween the ribs, you can simply cut it free and use it for jerky, or if you don't feel like messing with it leave it.
Okay now you need to free the hams/hindquarters, returning to the very top of the deer (hanging up side down) starting at the tail area using your free hand to pull the flesh away take the tip of the knife and follow the bone around the entire hip freeing the flesh from the bone until you reach the hip joint, keep trimming the meat away from the hip bone until the only thing holding the ham to the carcass is the hip joint, moving the carcass back and forth cut through the cartlidge/membrane holding the hip joint together until the ham is free, repeat this for the other ham and do what you wish with the carcass, the hindquarters are now free.
Now take and lay on a table one of the quarters and have a look at it before attacking it! You will see places where all you see are tendon and bone, cut the tendons from the meat (not the bone), start pulling the meat away from the bone using your knife tip to cut any tendons from the meat and meat free from the bone, keep pulling the meat away from the bone until the meat is totally free from all the bone. You can speed this up by looking at the leg and you will see a whiteish looking line, if you push down on this line you will be able to locate the bone underneath, make a cut down through the meat to the bone and start freeing it up from the bone(there are 2 sides to the legs, one side will have very little meat before you hit bone, the other will have a lot of meat leading to the bone, do the cut to the bone on the side with little meat.)
Two notes, all of the above involves the deer already being skinned, and 2 the first deer is the hardest, you will get better and faster with each one and will learn where to make every cut. Remember the worst mistake you can make still makes good burger, stew or jerky!
Well believe it or not the meat and bones will tell you where to cut. The first thing I cut off is the front legs, when you pull them away from the body you will see where the muscle from the leg has membrane over it that is clear, take the tip of your knife (MUST BE SHARP) and while applying pressure outward with the leg gently cut the membrane only, you will notice that every time you cut membrane the leg will pull away from the body further exposing more membrane, continue to cut membrane as you pull and if it is your first deer you will be in for a surprise, the whole leg will come right off with out you ever having to cut through a joint, a deers entire front leg attachs no where to the rest of the skeleton of a deer. Set both legs aside.
Now I go to the deers back, you will see a white line running right down the center of the deers back. If you push on this white you will feel the top of the deers spine right beneath it, take your knife and start a cut (I hang my deer by the hind legs) just barely to one side of the white line with the tip of the knife going towards the spine, almost immediatly you will feel the knife tip hit bone, pulling the flesh away from the spine/knife adjust the cut of the knife to where you are cutting the flesh right off the spine, keep cutting and pulling deeper along the spine until you hit bone again, now take and pulling the flesh away continue this cutting until you have reached the neck, what you have done is the first major cut to remove the backstrap and almost every piece of meat off the "carcass". Return to the top/tail and using the tip of the knife start cutting everthing away from the bone all the way down that side of the deer. There will be parts as you work your way down that you will decide to totally seperate or bypass (the hams/hindquareters I save for last), as you are working your way down freeing the flesh from the spine and ribs magically you will discover the backstraps, they seperate out from the rest of the meat and bone all by themselves with very little cutting once freed from the spine and ribs. Repeat for other side.
Now go to the inside of the carcass, you will see some muscles attached to the inside of the spine by some tendons, these are the tenderloins (YUMMY), remove them by cutting the tendons free from the backbone. Now with the exception of the hams the only thing left on the carcass is the meat inbetween the ribs, you can simply cut it free and use it for jerky, or if you don't feel like messing with it leave it.
Okay now you need to free the hams/hindquarters, returning to the very top of the deer (hanging up side down) starting at the tail area using your free hand to pull the flesh away take the tip of the knife and follow the bone around the entire hip freeing the flesh from the bone until you reach the hip joint, keep trimming the meat away from the hip bone until the only thing holding the ham to the carcass is the hip joint, moving the carcass back and forth cut through the cartlidge/membrane holding the hip joint together until the ham is free, repeat this for the other ham and do what you wish with the carcass, the hindquarters are now free.
Now take and lay on a table one of the quarters and have a look at it before attacking it! You will see places where all you see are tendon and bone, cut the tendons from the meat (not the bone), start pulling the meat away from the bone using your knife tip to cut any tendons from the meat and meat free from the bone, keep pulling the meat away from the bone until the meat is totally free from all the bone. You can speed this up by looking at the leg and you will see a whiteish looking line, if you push down on this line you will be able to locate the bone underneath, make a cut down through the meat to the bone and start freeing it up from the bone(there are 2 sides to the legs, one side will have very little meat before you hit bone, the other will have a lot of meat leading to the bone, do the cut to the bone on the side with little meat.)
Two notes, all of the above involves the deer already being skinned, and 2 the first deer is the hardest, you will get better and faster with each one and will learn where to make every cut. Remember the worst mistake you can make still makes good burger, stew or jerky!
12-17-2003, 07:24 AM
#25
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Winthrop NY USA
Posts: 161
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
I butcher all my own deer but I'd like to watch a professional to see how they do it so fast. It takes me an hour or so to skin and quarter. But then it takes quite a bit of time for me to finish it off. Separating the cuts, trimming all the fat and silverskin, grinding, vacuum sealing, labeling, etc. The neck alone takes a goodly amount of time if you don't leave it as a roast. Plus I usually try to get as much off the ribs as I can. (I don't take the meat between the ribs).
Around here (Northern NY) skinning, cutting and wrapping with cost you approx $40 plus the hide.
Around here (Northern NY) skinning, cutting and wrapping with cost you approx $40 plus the hide.
12-17-2003, 10:44 AM
#26
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fredericksburg Virginia USA
Posts: 13,672
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
nny one reason some butchers can do the job so quickly is they are strictly taking the main cuts and pitching the rest, some of them do it right though. Like you I have always been amazed how quickly a good meat cutter can work.
12-17-2003, 03:06 PM
#27
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,693
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
ORIGINAL: Tazman
... if it is your first deer you will be in for a surprise, the whole leg will come right off with out you ever having to cut through a joint, a deers entire front leg attachs no where to the rest of the skeleton of a deer. Set both legs aside.
... if it is your first deer you will be in for a surprise, the whole leg will come right off with out you ever having to cut through a joint, a deers entire front leg attachs no where to the rest of the skeleton of a deer. Set both legs aside.
I have hunted for 24 years and never ever knew this until I watched someone cut up a deer the other day. Blew my mind. No sockets - just meat and tendons. Unreal.
Thanks for the great info Taz!
12-17-2003, 03:19 PM
#28
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Fremont, NE
Posts: 552
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
WOW!! This blows my mind!!!! I have hunted now for 16 years and processed my deer every year and have always done it the hard way. Tazman, you really are the man and have probably saved every one a lot of time. From all of us, Thank you!!!!
12-17-2003, 05:19 PM
#29
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ontario,NY USA
Posts: 509
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
I used to pay $48 per deer to get them processed. It has since gone up to $65. I have processed deer myself. This year I did both of them. I saved the tenderloins and backstraps but don't particularly care for the steaks. I ground up most of it. I bought a #32 hand grinder from Bass Pro and it does a great job with a little elbow grease ! I use the brush lopers to cut the legs off at the joints. I also bought one of the $19.95 butcher kits from Gander Mt this season and it worked like a charm. If you leave the deer hanging too long ,the tenderloins seem to shrink .
12-18-2003, 03:59 AM
#30
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fredericksburg Virginia USA
Posts: 13,672
RE: ? for hunters that butcher their own deer
I have hunted for 24 years and never ever knew this until I watched someone cut up a deer the other day. Blew my mind. No sockets - just meat and tendons. Unreal.
