Butchering your own deer?

[burmjohn]

Since we are planning on having a cabin done on the property, we are considering Butchering our own deer.  I saw there are a bunch of articles, you tube videos, and other resources for learning.  I wish I knew someone that did their own to learn in person.

Does anyone here do their own?  If so any tips? Is it hard?

[ELMER J. FUDD]

I learned from all those articles and youtube vids. Also from my father. There's a shit-ton of things to know, but it all comes down to the bottom line -MEAT. assuming its field dressed. Start by letting it hang. Don't cut the cape to high on a nice buck if you're planning on mounting it. Be careful around the tarsals as they apparently spoil the meat. Skinning is pretty easy, jus tpull and cut away. Get a good freezer at your cabin. I'm no pro, just my .02

[burmjohn]

Its just super intimidating for something who has never done it.

[A6A6]

i have participated in  3 deer. and the guys i did it with have done many before....

it is alot of work.

idk how your camp will be set up but having the right workspace is def. key.

and you will need minimum of 3 guys.

one to cut one to wrap and label  and one to help both of them.

its also helpful to know all the cuts of meat before you just start cutting away.

you need to break down each muscle group

all i can say is it is not an walk in the park.

skin it, cut a shoulder or a rump off , then bring the whole thing to the butcher block and break it down into different groups then trim the fat if any and make sure to get all the tendons and ligaments. also look to get that "See-New' tissue .. ( idk how to spell it ) clean it again and package it...

you will need a strong place to hang the deer  as youll be tugging and pulling while skinning and cutting the deer .....also a couple of sharp sharp  knives small to large and a mallot to pound out cutlets.. also , a butcher block or wood table  then your gonna need a roll of butcher paper and pen/marker or labeling system so you know what is in the wrap. and also some ziplock bags to put all paper wrapped meat into .. or maybe vacuum / foodsaver so you can keep meat longer. ....also make sure the area your cutting the deer from is well lit.. even though  you start cutting away and its still light out , once it get dark , it gets harder... no way you can do it with just a flash light.

 

  and make sure you use certain knives to cut glands off ... dont reuse those knives to cut meat or it may spoil the meat

and lastly, if its cold, the deer will get stiff so dont hang it out for a whole day then try to cut a shoulder off.. aint happening.

like anything else , the more you do something the better and easier it gets but first few times aint easy work, then you  have cleanup too..

and make sure you use certain knives to cut glands off ... dont reuse those knives to cut meat or it may spoil the meat

fyi...

if you have the foodsaver , you can also start marinating your roast or cut it open and push in a few cloves of garlic and inject flavouring into the roast and then tie it and vacuum pack it so it marinades the whole time it is in the freezer..

imho

its an experience you should try once to see it you like doing it and if you got good guys doing it  with you , thats even better youll all learn a little bit and have some good laughs.... but if you have an honest butcher at a good price, ide keep him around

[burmjohn]

I know there is a butcher right up the road.  I do not know what he charges, however I think I'll wait on butchering a deer till I have someone we hunt with that knows how to do it.

[NYBowhunter]

My family have been butchering deer for quite sometime, I have learned from my dad and uncle. I have on a couple occasions butchered deer with the help of a good friend without the guidance of my dad and the key is not to be intimidated. but before you get started you really should do a couple deer with someone experienced. If you have three people that know what thier doing, you can have a deer skinned, quartered, cut and wrapped in under 2 hours. We even get my mother to help also. One guy debones the meat, another cuts the meat , another one wraps and labels the meat. We have found butcher paper to be the best, the one that has the wax on one side and paper on the other. Next time I get a deer you are welcome to come by and check out our assembly line. The best part of butchering yourself is that you dont need to transport the deer and can chuck the skin and scraps in the woods for predator hunting and you cut the meat the way you want it. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Oh yeah and the quality time with family and friends is priceless..............

[burmjohn]

Thats awesome that you have that kind of experience around to do that. I'm going to be watching a few video's and seeing if any of the guys know how, I am pretty sure my uncle used to do it back in the day when they had the farm.  I might have to take you up on that offer one day though!  My brother would like to learn as well, so it would be great as we are planning on doing a bunch of hunting.  I'd like to invest in a nice freezer as well for the garage.

[NYBowhunter]

Yeah I take full advantage of learning from the ole timers, I cherish everything we do together as you can tell from the pictures they are not getting any younger. My dad and uncle in the picture we do everything together from foodplots, building treestands, pruning appletrees, planting trees, butchering deer etc......I wish at thier age I have thier stamina they are a dying breed of ole time hard working Italians.........My uncle to the right in the picture is 75 and he runs circles around me..lol.... Last time we were up there he dug three holes and planted apple trees for me while I was tending to something else.

[burmjohn]

Hahah, nice.  That's like my uncle, he is a work horse.  Retired but always has 10 side projects going on at once.  That's great that your soaking it all up to pass on!  I'd like to learn as much as possible so I can pass it on to my kids (once I have one )

[burmjohn]

Also, regarding the glands.  From what I remember, someone told me they cut the legs off first? Or are there other glands to be concerned about?

Here is a quick search I did, lots of good vid's : http://www.google.com/search?q=butchering+deer+video&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=NLp&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=vb&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=Ga0NTLqdOsP6lwes4-WJDw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDEQqwQwAw

[NYBowhunter]

I was never concerned with the glands, but what I do is ensure to hang all my deer head down so the blood does not gather in the hams. I never remove just the glands, that gets removed when you skin the deer. Once the deer is skinned, you can quarter the deer and take one piece at a time into the cabin to work on. We usually have a table set up outside to hold the quarted deer and then take a piece at a time indoors to work on, cut package and place in the freezer and then move onto the next piece.

[Fantail]

Its just super intimidating for something who has never done it.

Yes it absolutly can be. You wonder about what knifes and tools you'll need. Then you think about where to start and when does it end.

I've been processing my own for about 15 years now. Alot of guys go nuts and spend tons of cash just on cutting tools. I'm here to say it's not nessesary. Aside from any bone cutting tools I can process a whole deer with a box cutter and maybe 2 replacement blades in about 4 hours. Very little goes to waist. I use a portable hand operated table grinder. I stick to loins, chops, flanks, misc for stews and the rest gets ground up. Most of the burger is in 2lb sealed bags. Roast chunks usualy wind up as chops because trying to seal up rounded meat is a PIA. I also have been known to do the ribs if I have the extra frezzer space or want a decent griller.

Well, I'm leaving out alot of details but the best advice I might be able to offer is get someone that knows their way around processing deer, and ask to let you help them. Start off with a smaller deer maybe a doe. Don't expect to rush the job, and after a few deer it's like riding a bike. Learn how to care for the meat removed and keep it from contacting the fur if all possible. Be aware of where the blades are. And of course any possible lodged busted broadheads. Bones / busted or broken off can be extreemly sharp. It's all part of the real work that goes into hunting.

[Daveboone]

I usually butcher one deer a year,and have been cutting up my deer for about 30 years, pretty much self taught, but a chef friend helped me get started.  I can get certain cuts that I prefer over the butchers. It isnt difficult, you just need patience and a good place to work. Most important: ensuring the deer is well treated after shooting it. empty the innards, Keep it clean and wash it out well and let it cool. Keep it out of the sun when you hang it. There is no need to age it. There is a science to that, and the deer needs to be kept within a very specific temp.range to effectively age it hangin.  Most "gaminess" folks complaiin about is poorly cared for meat. A butcher shop is kept immacculately clean for a reason.

Be sure to keep hair and dirt off it skinning. it. when you peel the legs the glands will get covered by the hide, so there is little concern about them- just dont handle them.

Make sure you have plenty of clean room to butcher in. We put roll plastic down over everything. As we cut the quarters off, we drop them directly into plastic garbage bags to keep them clean. vacuum seal bags work great, are durable and the meat lasts longer than in paper wrap, in my opinion. Get a book or two, watch a couple videos on it to see different techniques, and then it will take a few critters to get the hang of it. Keep your knives good and sharp, and touch them up frequently.

[burmjohn]

Thanks for all of the replies.  I'm def going to see if I can swing over to someones place to watch / help with a few butcherings before I even think of attempting it.

[Fairgame]

John

Since we are close by I have no problem showing you and the family how we do it.  Skinning and gutting the deer isnt a problem.  When it come to cutting the meat is where it takes a little time.  Once you guys learn how to do it you wont want anyone else to cut the deer for you.  You will learn how you like your cuts of meat and it become something you can enjoy doing with the family while you talk about how the hunt went down.

[burmjohn]

I will take ya up on that offer for sure!

[NYBowhunter]

Fairgame: I agree with you 100%, conversations around the butcher table are priceless. For me its all about spending quality time with the people you love.

[Fairgame]

thats right!!!  And also the butcher will never cut it like you like it.  Even when they charge 75 dollars to cut it.  Its more of a processor than a butcher.

[Caveman]

There is a series of good videos for butchering deer on youtube by a poster named williescountrymeats, or something to that effect.  His videos were how I learned.

[sampotter]

My family hunts a lot in the Adirondacks where dragging a deer out several miles is not practical. I learned from my dad and grandad, and have refined my own style to maximize the amount of venison utilized and the efficiency of how I do it. First, you need a deer, preferably dead. Then comes the easy part; Tools you need are 1 7-8" boning knife (keep sharp), and a heavy duty contractor- type garbage bag that can be bought at Home Depot. Start with the deer on its side with the legs pointing away from you. The deer does not have to be gutted. A)Insert your knife above the hock, just under the skin with the sharp edge up and cut the skin up to tail, following the line where the brown hair meets the white. Continue the cut all the way up the spine and then down just in front of the shoulder, all the way down to just past the front of the elbow. Remember- you are only supposed to be cutting skin!

Move to the other side of the deer and pull the hide towards you and towards the legs. Doing so should expose the front shoulder, the loin, and the hind quarter; while also not touching dirt and debris. C)  Remove the front shoulder by cutting between the shoulder blade and the rib cage. There are no joints there, just a few muscles. Breaking the elbow joint is tricky, but the best method is to cut aroung the joint with your knife and twist the entire shoulder. It should pop so that all you need to cut are the ligaments. Deposit the shoulder in your heavy-duty garbage bag. D) Next you need to "Fillet" the loin/backstrap out. Run your knife along the ribs and the loin at a 90 degree angle to the spine, from neck to pelvis. Then do the same at a 90 degree angle to the body, while at the same time lifting on the loin. It should pop right out.

E) Now for the hindquarter. Start by cutting the muscle away from the pelvis at the top, above the joint. Then seperate the lower leg from the hindquarter at the stifle joint, which is the same as our knee. Do not cut thorught the skin on the bottom side. Pull the skin away on the inside of the hindquarter. Make a small cut into the muscle of the hidquarter just above the stifle joint to use as a handle that you can stick a couple of fingers through. Lift up on the hindquarter using this hole and seperate the hip joint by cutting on the inside if the hindquarter in the "crotch" region. If you are careful you will have the entire hindqaurter and NO dirt. You have finished the whole side. Roll the deer over to the other side and repeat the process. When you are done you will have all of the meat and only a few bones in your bag. Carry your deer out like Santa. This can be done in a garage with a gutted deer as well, however the skin comes off easier when the deer is still warm. Make sure you get the meat into a refirigerator immediately to prevent spoilage. I usually cut it up after a couple of days of aging. I use a meat slicer to slice up entire hindquarters into 1/4 inch slices that cook fast and are tasty, kind of like scalapini.

[brudaman340]

I basically taught myself how to and after enough you get good at it and last year i did 8 deer. We got a good set up that took a couple of years to perfect we just usually get all my friends to help do all of my deer and my friends that help because the more the marrier. time consuming and back aches galor. When you have a part of butchering that you get good at you kinda just take over that part. I wouldnt mind showing anyone how as long as there gonna help out.

[Dom]

we allways do our own who knows if you get back the deer you shot only the butcher?

[fasteddie]

The biggest problems I have doing my own butchering is pulling off the hide and hoisting the deer .

I have arthritis in my fingers and it's hard to grip some things . Pulling the hide off is difficult . I hang a Gambrel in the garage and when you hoist and release , a lever is supposed to catch the rope . It doesn't alway catch sooooooooo , I bought a 2 ton 12 volt winch at Harbor Freight mounted it on the garage wall , hooked up a couple of pullys and hung my Gambrel on the hook . I can clamp the terminals to a 12 volt battery and hoist away using the hand control . Works pretty slick ..............

[burmjohn]

Good idea!

[capt_terry]

I've been butchering my deer for more years than I care to remember. I know the first time I did it I followed directions in a cookbook and the Boy Scouts field manual. The cookbook was not specifically for game just a common cookbook from the 50's. My how times have changed.