Deer Processing

An early bow season kill usually goes to the butcher.  If I can't let them hang for a few days, they go to the butcher.  At $25-30, they would still go the butcher.  Otherwise, I'll take care of it myself.  Dad taught me and yes, I'll teach it too.  My cleanup consists of spraying off a tarp, bagging the waste, and cleaning off the cutting boards -- not too bad.  I don't like wrapping the meat!!!

I've done most of mine for the past 8 years or so, only sending one to a small processor a few years ago when I had 2 in the fridge I was working on already.  Used to just drop them off when it was $25 or so.  When it went over $35, I said enough.  Now that I've met a few guys who worked for a couple of the bigger processors up here, I'll never ever take mine to a shop.  Eeeew!  The things I've been told about their knives and what the bosses demand they do (or worse, what not to do) would cause some to give up on red meat all together.  I also got tired of having to pull hair out of the burger.  No excuse for that.  That's on top of not knowing if you are getting your own deer. 

I learned at home on the kitchen table.  Started out with chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, turkeys, and goats from the barnyard.  Deer weren't done often, especially when it was cheap enough,  mainly because of time restraints.  There were times when my Dad worked 70 hour weeks, so when he took time off for hunting, the last thing he wanted to do was butcher deer.  The way I do it now starts at my brother's garage where the skinning and quartering is done, as well as grilling the tenderloins as we sauce ourselves.  Then, it's to my beer fridge for the next few days while I work at my leisure.  I've taken over several of my wife's good tubs and to her horror, her rectangular Tupperware cake pan.  It's the perfect form for packing the ground meat into so I can divide it up into 1lb blocks.  That's one little trick I stole from the last processor I went to. 

My children are fascinated when I butcher a deer on the table.  I explained to them that it's like doing a jigsaw puzzle.  Backwards.  Plus, they know that when I do it, it means more sausage meat.  Mmmmmm, they love Daddy's deer sausage.  My oldest actually enjoys stuffing the meat in the grinder, of course only if there are plenty of rubber gloves.   I've got a vision in my head that our next house will have a garage or barn that I'll put up old kitchen counters and a sink so I can do everything there.  I'd love to have my own space with all the equipment handy.  Wish me luck with that.  For now, all my equipment, including a nice grinder and all the tubs, store in a tote that must be hauled up and down from the basement. 

Trust me, folks.  If you have the means and patience to cut up your own deer, do it.  Some of the practices at the processors would leave you sick just hearing about them, let alone eating.  I've even got my brother cutting up his own now.  He bought a DVD about it, and that's really helped him. (he has a problem listening to his little Bro)  I haven't watched it yet.  I'll check it out one of these days.  He said they show 2 ways of doing it.  One is very similar to my method, and the other is the more traditional commercial technique.  I do it for quantity of meat, not for speed.

bennbutchering my own for the last 11 years, ever since i shot 3 in 1 year and it cost me over $200 to get it all butchered .  i've also learned to smoke my own too.

I've been doing my own full time since around 92-93 but actually started in the early 80's doing them when I had time. I'm self taught(should've paid attention to my grandpap when I was young)  but have picked up some tips from others over the years. Takes me around 3hrs also start to finish.
Mike

We butcher 3-5 every year. I am very fussy about my meat...I want to know how it was handled. My kids grew up eating venison.

  Finnished wrappin last night. Good thing I have kids that love huntin & fishin. Taken a break this week. next wk. will be the big pork sale at the stores. Gotta bone out 150 lbs. of it for the potions that go with the venision.
 
  Then the real work starts.

  Have a freezer full of venison prime cut steaks if I want to eat somethin healthier. Most of the bolona/hot sticks/ground meat & sausage I'll add 1/3 lean pork at $.99 - $1.19 a pound, yummy

I was forced to take my two deer to the processor this year for the first time in 10 years, and boy was I disapointed.  Only reason i took them somewhere was I closed on a house on Thursday, shot my buck Friday night and tagged my doe Saturday morning.  I don't know how to cape out a deer(at least taxidermist quality) so the buck went to the shop.  The doe hung for a week before I realized that I was not going to have time to cut it while I was moving.  Don't give me any crap, it hung in the barn and the temps never went above 40 all week.
 
I mix the venison with beef only to give it some moisture when I cook it.  I never make roasts or steaks.  Aside from the backstraps the whole deer gets ground, and I only use 5 pounds or so of beef.  When I get done cooking it there is never any fat that needs drained off.  The burger I got back this year was very fatty and tastes aweful.  I know the guy I took mine to and he is very good about getting you "your deer" back, but I found out he uses seuit instead of burger. 
 
As far as the clean up is concerned.  What are you doing to your deer?  Yeah there's some blood and you have to clean all the tools, but it never takes me longer then cleaning the dishes.  Of course, I don't have much other then the surface, grinder, holding container and the cutting utensils.

i've added some pork fat when i had deer ground up just so the burgers weren't so dry when cooking. could never understand spending money for deer processing, balogna, deer sausage ect. rather do it myself or save money by buying pork/beefbologna, sausage from a meat market.  my opinion!
for those of you who take all the time deboning the deer for ground meat, take the time to cut up some portions of deer, throwing it in the crock pot with veggies and tasting it, you might be amazed what you've been missing.
a shoulder roast is the tenderest roast you can eat!!! if you are scared the taste of deer will be strong, you're wrong. try either marrinating the meat overnight and/or putting in a 1/2 cup of beef bullion when cooking in a crock pot on low for 8 hours.
 
shank meat, or the smaller pieces of deer chunks make a good hot deer stew on cold days with small diced potatoes, carrots, celery in a beef broth!!!
if you're worried about not being able to make the right cuts out of the deer i'm sure there's books out there, or look in the old beatty crocker cook book, it shows you the cuts and how to prepare them.
if anyone wants great recipes for deer in a crock pot, pm me, i've never had anyone not like my crock pot deer dinners. ~dt

rippinlip, i never got a good flavor when i put the wine in the crock pot for all 8 hours, is that what you do or do you just put it in the marinate? i also pour a little in with the roast 1/2 hour before it's done!!!

Just curious-
How many of you clean every rib?
I personally cut them in 4 or half racks and save them for the grill in the summer time.
Last year I did cut the meat from every rib.

ORIGINAL: doubletaper

if you're worried about not being able to make the right cuts out of the deer i'm sure there's books out there, or look in the old beatty crocker cook book, it shows you the cuts and how to prepare them.
if anyone wants great recipes for deer in a crock pot, pm me, i've never had anyone not like my crock pot deer dinners. ~dt

 
Besides, if you cut it wrong, you could always fry or grill up your mistakes!
 
Doubletaper...pm sent

Got it, thx.

I had a deer processed up in Erie(The deer shop) HIGHLY RECOMMEND(57 dollars). I got more meat than larger deer in the past(deer dressed out at 115lbs).I have always gotten back tenderloins butterflyed. My question is what are the fish.(loins) I ate them last night and they were GREAT. And why have I never gotten them before from other deer processors??? Someone told me they keep them. What makes me very mad is I have taken over 20 deer to other processors and have never got any fish back. Have I been getting cheated all these years?

1 thing i can say on this tread is when u do your own u know what your getting and can be alot more meat if u take the time and do it.  But i do understand time restraints hurt some guys from doing this...