Processing Deer
 

Just wondered how many of you process your own deer, and how many take them to a slaughter house. Also how do you prefer your deer cut up, I have alot of friends that are getting backstap, ribs and the rest ground, just wondered??

RE: Processing Deer
 

after i soak mine for about a week i take them to be processed, i kept the backstraps and tenderloins out though, i keep them , but i get alot a burger, cube-steaks,chunks fer stew, and etc, and sausage, and jerky.

RE: Processing Deer
 

I usually take the tenders and loin out and bone the rest. After deer season is over I have all the boned meat ground into burger. Last year I boned out a pig and mixed the two together and had summer sausage and hotlinks made. Thats what I will probably do from now on because them hotlinks are gooood.

RE: Processing Deer
 

We do our own, as the temperature allows. i'm not big into getting sausage, jerky, etc, made at the butcher. we'll get a few roasts out of the rear, the loins, and grind the rest. we like doing it ourselves a lot better for one, because it saves money,and two, we can get more out of it, because we will only do a few, where as butcher will do more deer and is on a time schedule, they may not try to get as much meat out of a deer than we will.

And it sure is fun to get the guys together for a night and butcher some deer.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Processing Deer
 

I cut the backstraps into 1 1/4&quot; mini Filet Mingons, and take the tenderloins out whole. I then cut the neck into 2 roasts, 1 large and 1 small. 1 shoulder roast from each side (2). The hams I seperate into the indivudual muscles and steak them out. When the muscle becomes too small for a decent steak I toss it aside for grind. Some of the individual muscles in the hams are too small right from the start.....so they are set aside for grind as well. The meat from the shanks (lower legs) is painstakingly trimmed to be devoid of connective tissue and tossed into the grind pile. I've never had much luck with the ribs b/c I usually take off the &quot;flank&quot; meat, also sometimes called the skirt, and use it for grind as well.

When I grind my burger I add about 5% beef suet. I've tried pork fat and beef suet in varying amounts and have found that the beef suet adds enough moisture without unduly flavoring the venison. I've also heard that pork fat spoils faster,...even in the freezer.

IT'S ALL GOOD



Edited by - 8mm/06 on 09/13/2002 20:20:05

RE: Processing Deer
 

I process my own. When living in NC I would shoot a deer and have it in the freezer within 6 hours. It was too hot to wait. Here in NH I have a little more time.

I typically take the back straps and tenderlions our first, then bone out the hams. In NC the deer were much smaller so it was difficult to get anything more than burger from the front legs.

RE: Processing Deer
 

I grind everything except the tenderloins and a couple rump roasts. Two years ago I bought a comination meat saw/grinder. Sure makes the back quarters go faster--but it's messy to clean up!

Today's small bucks are tomorrow's trophies.

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