Butchering a deer

[Arcade Hunter]

1 hour ago, rachunter said:

Your going to burn the motor out of that mixer.

I've been using one of these https://www.cabelas.com/product/home-cabin/food-processing/food-grinders/pc/104798880/c/104723280/sc/104364180/cabelas-heavy-duty-grinder/1387520.uts?slotId=5

I have this same grinder going on three years now and my son in law also has the same one.  No problems at all with it and it is affordable and easy to get new knives and plates for it.  Like others have said, almost frozen meat cuts and grinds very easily.  I like to put the cubed meat for grind in the freezer for an hour or two before I grind it.

[steve863]

1 hour ago, rachunter said:

 

I've been using one of these https://www.cabelas.com/product/home-cabin/food-processing/food-grinders/pc/104798880/c/104723280/sc/104364180/cabelas-heavy-duty-grinder/1387520.uts?slotId=5

 

If you are doing 10 plus deer a year a grinder like that probably wouldn't hold up, but for those who do 2 to 3 deer a year, it will absolutely get the job done and you don't need to spend hundreds on a better machine.  I have one of these inexpensive ones from Cabelas going on 7 or 8 years now without a hiccup.  Plus, how many of us grind up the whole deer?  So for the amount of meat one grinds from 2 or 3 deer a lower end grinder will definitely be more than enough.

 

 

[Moho81]

For those that are saying the kitchen aid grinder won’t last I’ve been using one for what has to be 6-8 years now with no issues. I process 1-2 deer a year along with grinding chicken breast a few times a year as well. I probably do close to 80-100 pounds of ground per year with it.


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[mowin]

I've got the big kitchen aid stand mixer.  Had less than 4hrs use.  Bought the grinder attachment, and the bearings in the mixer lasted 15 minutes.  Those that have used there's for yrs are lucky.  Get a grinder.  

[rachunter]

I've got the big kitchen aid stand mixer.  Had less than 4hrs use.  Bought the grinder attachment, and the bearings in the mixer lasted 15 minutes.  Those that have used there's for yrs are lucky.  Get a grinder.  

Same here i did two shoulders with my mothers mixer and the motor burnt out. In all fairness she used it a lot. I grind chicken and pork plus venison in mine year round. I’m not sure how old it is but I definitely got my money’s worth.


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[Culvercreek hunt club]

I only use surgical gloves when gutting (I know..."girly" for you manly men).  I typically don't drag deer anymore. They get lifted onto the wheeler. If I was dragging I would not split the sternum. but if I am transporting on a wheeler I sure do. Pelvis to throat and never get a drop of blood over my surgical gloves. It is an easy reach in to cut the esophagus  and windpipe at that point and you can get it close. A sharp knife goes up the cartilage pretty easy besides the sternum and rib ends. I tip the deer over to make sure the blood all drains out after. I also like to use clean cold water to rinse the cavity out once I pull the inside tenderloins out. with a close cut on the windpipe and the chest split the water ALL drains out and there is no moisture issues even if we let sit a couple days. Besides there is really no contact with any part we save to eat once the inside tenderloins are removed. We don't keep the ribs and I don't waste time trimming between them.  (no applicable if mounting)

Also there is no need to ever wrestle and split the pelvis on a whitetail. Even if I was packing out a hind quarter I would be pulling each off the bone in one piece and take that out but leave the bone in the woods. 

 

To the OP. Take you time. get as much fat off and silver skin as you can. I gut and process the entire deer with a 4" knife. I add in a nice fillet knife to trim and cut up on the cutting board. Don't cut against a stainless metal sheet and get yourself a decent sharpener. A dull knife is a dangerous knife. Let the individual muscles guide where you cut. Use your fingers to separate the major muscle groups and tell you where to cut to break them apart. I hang by the hind legs.  through the process be careful to NOT cut the "Achilles" tendon on the back of the deer leg.  That is the quickest way to have the deer drop on the ground...lol. Stay away form the tarsal glands with your knife. If you cut them wash and sanitize you knife before continuing. When removing the hide ALWAYS cut the skin from the inside out. this cuts the skin and separates the hair follicles and minimizes the amount of hair that gets on your meat.

Here are the major steps I use. 

hang by the hind legs. (if you haven't taken the inside tenderloins out, do it at this point. This is mostly finger work but you will need to cut the top to release it once you get it all freed up. 

cut off front legs at the knees

cut the skin from you gutting incision up the inside of each hind quarter and cut around each hind leg at the knee

peel skin down (easiest when warm). cut the tail as you pull pass it. (use you knife to find the joint in the vertebrata and it pops right through(. continue to pull skin down and cut as you need to in assisting with that. as you pull past the front legs pull them back through the hide and they pop right through. pull down to the head and cut off the head. 

Move the front leg around and feel for the end of the shoulder blade. cut very thin from the sternum to the backbone to expose the shoulder blade end. and start cutting behind the shoulder blade.  Their shoulder is not like ours. It is not attached by bone. keep cutting and let gravity help you. (be careful to not cut into the backstrap). Repeat on the other side. 

Next is backstrap. at the hid quarter on either side of the spine feel for the point of the pelvis. cut horizontal just below that point (bump) on either side of the spine. That is the end of the backstrap. cut down either side of the ridge of the backbone to the neck. now start to peel the backstrap top down assisting with the knife. You may have to cut away from ribs as you go to assist this. Take it right to the neck and stop when the backstrap starts to get a lot of fat and texture change in the neck area.  Let gravity be your friend. Repeat the other side. 

the hinds are difficult to explain. this is where you use your fingers and you can clearly see the different muscle groups if you look. I take the entire hind off in on piece but I know folks that cut one muscle off at a time. Take the neck meat off and any other small parts you with to take for grinding. this is where return on investment come into play. I know guys that take hours and hours trimming every little morsel off the deer. me and my couple hunting buddies typically take 7-10 a year so I don't waste that time. Your call. 

We don't cut steaks anymore becasue we are never sure how we will use the meat. We trim up roasts suitable to 2 people from the hind quarters. this way we can either grind it, steak it, slice for jerky or use as a roast. we can make our mind when we pull it out of the freezer. The backstraps we cut into 6" long trimmed pieces. (suitable for 2 people) and we always cook them whole  on the grill.  Front shoulders are all ground or chunked for stew.  Neck is either used in the crocrkpot for like pulled pork or ground. 

 

watch some videos and don't be scarred to try it. As long as you have sanitary meat handling what's the worse that happens? you end up with more ground venison that you planned on. And the ain't nothing wrong with ground venison. 

 

 

[dbHunterNY]

12 hours ago, crappyice said:

Sorry but I’m confused - are you saying to rinse the cavity only if NONE of the yucky stuff (piss, gut, etc) happened? If no yucky stuff happened why rinse it at all?


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i'd hope you're taking your time and not getting any of that in the cavity, especially popping the bladder. bow shot to the gut is easier. when field dressing carefully roll the guts out with squeezing stuff out and all over. gun shot to gut is way worse. stuff will be flushed out with pooled blood when field dressing or you remove it. if need be use something clean to wipe out.  if that stuff happens i'd skin and bone out the deer right away once getting back to where you're headed, but don't rinse the inside of the cavity. contact was only made in spots inside the cavity but if you rinse it you'll spread that stuff all over in there and it'll drain into places you can't see. when taking straps and other cuts you just avoid and cut around anything that'd be the inside surface of the cavity. if none of that happened then it's just blood so by all means rinse it out. that make sense?

[turkeyfeathers]

12 hours ago, TreeGuy said:

Please grab a thesaurus and lookup an alternate word for yucky. It doesn't belong in this thread

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Thesaurus was my favorite dinosaur when growing up

[turkeyfeathers]

Not a Kitchenaid

[goosifer]

18 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

 

Duplicate. Ignore

Edited October 30, 2019 by goosifer

[goosifer]

17 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Thesaurus was my favorite dinosaur when growing up

You seem more like a Barney type of guy. After your time, I guess?

[dbHunterNY]

29 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

I only use surgical gloves when gutting (I know..."girly" for you manly men)....

nothing girly about it. it saves time scrubbing that stuff out of finger nails and cuticles. i'll go a step further and say ever since becoming a dad i also carry none scented wipes. pull off glove inside out so hold dirty gutting knife and then use wipes to get my forearms. i'm clean and could be in a public place without looking like a mass murderer. lol it just makes sense. all bets are off if a glove gets torn though.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

39 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Thesaurus was my favorite dinosaur when growing up

I always liked the Lickalottapus. 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Culvercreek hunt club

[dbHunterNY]

I always liked the Lickalottapus. 

That the one that spits poison at ya and makes you go blind to every around you. Right after it fans out and gets violent when it doesnt like something? I know that one.

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[Arcade Hunter]

4 hours ago, Arcade Hunter said:

I have this same grinder going on three years now and my son in law also has the same one.  No problems at all with it and it is affordable and easy to get new knives and plates for it.  Like others have said, almost frozen meat cuts and grinds very easily.  I like to put the cubed meat for grind in the freezer for an hour or two before I grind it.

Interesting side note.. Back in the 90's somewhere, I purchased a grinder from Brand Names, I do not know what company made it but I still have it and it still works perfectly.  It is my backup now.  I cant imagine how many deer were ground up in that thing...

[turkeyfeathers]

1 hour ago, Arcade Hunter said:

Interesting side note.. Back in the 90's somewhere, I purchased a grinder from Brand Names, I do not know what company made it but I still have it and it still works perfectly.  It is my backup now.  I cant imagine how many deer were ground up in that thing...

Ah Brand Names. I’d circle everything in the catalog I wanted for Christmas.  When going there your order came out on a conveyor belt 

[moog5050]

I have butchered upwards of 40 deer over the last 8 seasons.  I have never seen anyone as proficient and clean as Culver.  Follow his guidance.  He may have even convinced me to stop ripping everything out by hand when gutting - maybe.  I certainly like how he debones the hind quarters while still hanging.  Very neat job.

[Daveboone]

Two different...very popular,  butchers in my area made a point of commenting on my rinsed carcasses...I asked them if that was a good thing, and they were very verbal yes, but nobody ever does it, which surprised the hell out of me. LIke someone else mentioned, any butcher shop is going to rinse a carcass out...be it beef, pork or deer. Not only that, it helps cool it. At the very least if I am in the woods and there is no ready water, I scrub the carcass out with snow, and have been known to pack the cavity. The water certainly isn't going to introduce any bacteria that wasn't already there and will help minimize it. Even if it is just blood, don't we rinse the blood off our cuts? Do we wash our hands before preparing food  (and cutting up our meat?) No such thing in food preparation of being too clean. 

[goosifer]

13 minutes ago, Daveboone said:

Two different...very popular,  butchers in my area made a point of commenting on my rinsed carcasses...I asked them if that was a good thing, and they were very verbal yes, but nobody ever does it, which surprised the hell out of me. LIke someone else mentioned, any butcher shop is going to rinse a carcass out...be it beef, pork or deer. Not only that, it helps cool it. At the very least if I am in the woods and there is no ready water, I scrub the carcass out with snow, and have been known to pack the cavity. The water certainly isn't going to introduce any bacteria that wasn't already there and will help minimize it. Even if it is just blood, don't we rinse the blood off our cuts? Do we wash our hands before preparing food  (and cutting up our meat?) No such thing in food preparation of being too clean. 

@Daveboone,

There is nothing wrong with a clean carcass. There is nothing wrong with rinsing a carcass. But if you are going to rinse, you need to make sure there is no residual moisture trapped in the carcass afterwards. That moisture will be a breeding ground for bacteria. So that's why it's recommended that you wipe it down with a towel afterward. Clean is good; left visibly wet, not good. 

I'm sorry, but with respect to the bold italicized section above, you literally don't know what you are talking about. And I am not speaking up to give you a hard time, or tell you what to do. Rather, I am speaking up in case there is some newbie who reads what you wrote and mimics you. All other things being equal, moisture promotes bacteria growth. Period. It's a fact, not a theory. Water helps the existing bacteria grow. No one is saying that water "contaminates" anything (Unless you are using creek water . . .)

Regarding packing the carcass in snow after field dressing, I think that is a bad idea. If you need to use snow to clean the interior, I understand, but wipe it out afterwards. To deliberately pack snow inside the carcass is going to lead to excess moisture at some point when the snow starts to melt. If it's cold enough to have snow out, it's probably cold enough that the deer will cool down quickly enough just by hanging it from a tree. So packing it in snow to cool it down is not necessary.

Another thing. There are various factors that contribute to bacterial growth. Off the top of my head, they include temperature, pH, air and food source. If a deer processor hoses off a carcass and then puts in in the refrigerator, that's OK because the temperature will be (should be) low enough to inhibit bacterial growth. Conversely, several people have mentioned rinsing using cool, clean water during field dressing. Well if the carcass temperature and/or the ambient air temperature is above 40, then that the water is cool isn't going to help inhibit bacterial growth.

Look, don't take my word for it. If you are sincerely interested, I'd be happy to post a few links to articles from sources like the USDA and state university coops that explain this bacteria stuff. But I suspect you won't care, so I won't bother.

Are there any food service professionals on this board that have taken a food science or food safety and sanitation class that can help me out here? @Chef? This is really crazy, that we, as a forum, would allow such bad, and potentially dangerous, advice to go unchallenged. I feel like the food safety Jeremiah.

[Chef]

[mention=27]Daveboone[/mention],
There is nothing wrong with a clean carcass. There is nothing wrong with rinsing a carcass. But if you are going to rinse, you need to make sure there is no residual moisture trapped in the carcass afterwards. That moisture will be a breeding ground for bacteria. So that's why it's recommended that you wipe it down with a towel afterward. Clean is good; left visibly wet, not good. 
I'm sorry, but with respect to the bold italicized section above, you literally don't know what you are talking about. And I am not speaking up to give you a hard time, or tell you what to do. Rather, I am speaking up in case there is some newbie who reads what you wrote and mimics you. All other things being equal, moisture promotes bacteria growth. Period. It's a fact, not a theory. Water helps the existing bacteria grow. No one is saying that water "contaminates" anything (Unless you are using creek water . . .)
Regarding packing the carcass in snow after field dressing, I think that is a bad idea. If you need to use snow to clean the interior, I understand, but wipe it out afterwards. To deliberately pack snow inside the carcass is going to lead to excess moisture at some point when the snow starts to melt. If it's cold enough to have snow out, it's probably cold enough that the deer will cool down quickly enough just by hanging it from a tree. So packing it in snow to cool it down is not necessary.
Another thing. There are various factors that contribute to bacterial growth. Off the top of my head, they include temperature, pH, air and food source. If a deer processor hoses off a carcass and then puts in in the refrigerator, that's OK because the temperature will be (should be) low enough to inhibit bacterial growth. Conversely, several people have mentioned rinsing using cool, clean water during field dressing. Well if the carcass temperature and/or the ambient air temperature is above 40, then that the water is cool isn't going to help inhibit bacterial growth.
Look, don't take my word for it. If you are sincerely interested, I'd be happy to post a few links to articles from sources like the USDA and state university coops that explain this bacteria stuff. But I suspect you won't care, so I won't bother.
Are there any food service professionals on this board that have taken a food science or food safety and sanitation class that can help me out here? [mention=762]Chef[/mention]? This is really crazy, that we, as a forum, would allow such bad, and potentially dangerous, advice to go unchallenged. I feel like the food safety Jeremiah.

So yes if you rinse, Dry it’s that simple rinsing is a good thing if you are using clean water it is cold enough out and yes please please dry it


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[Daveboone]

Hmmm, 

If you are a "chef", I understand your particulars with these details. Many a restaurant is put out of business due to poor sanitary standards. I myself am a health care professional and need to deal with infection control continuously on a daily basis, but I guess my outlook and teachings ON THIS MATTER are from a different viewpoint. Foremost when field dressing, we are not in a sterile controlled environment, we are, from the time we shoot the critter not to mention opening the body cavity, contaminating it thoroughly. The need is to expeditiously cool and clean the carcass. Once it is cooled to the likely fall/ early winter temps (heck, I don't even want to shoot one until the temps are in the thirties or less) the bacterial threat is dropped like a falling rock. Then expeditiously get it processed asap. The entire takeaway from this is that it is bad to not clean the carcass and worse to not cool it. 

[Chef]

Hmmm, 
If you are a "chef", I understand your particulars with these details. Many a restaurant is put out of business due to poor sanitary standards. I myself am a health care professional and need to deal with infection control continuously on a daily basis, but I guess my outlook and teachings ON THIS MATTER are from a different viewpoint. Foremost when field dressing, we are not in a sterile controlled environment, we are, from the time we shoot the critter not to mention opening the body cavity, contaminating it thoroughly. The need is to expeditiously cool and clean the carcass. Once it is cooled to the likely fall/ early winter temps (heck, I don't even want to shoot one until the temps are in the thirties or less) the bacterial threat is dropped like a falling rock. Then expeditiously get it processed asap. The entire takeaway from this is that it is bad to not clean the carcass and worse to not cool it. 

Again I am a trained Chef and Graduate of the Culinary Institute Of America. I am also certified to teach the serve safe and food handlers classes. I usually rinse, dry, cool.

I also don’t hang my meat for very long. I have found if you butcher ASAP and you get the meat off the spinal column before rigor sets in you are fine


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[mlammerhirt]

Again I am a trained Chef and Graduate of the Culinary Institute Of America. I am also certified to teach the serve safe and food handlers classes. I usually rinse, dry, cool.

I also don’t hang my meat for very long. I have found if you butcher ASAP and you get the meat off the spinal column before rigor sets in you are fine


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Great info chef, awesome to get advice from someone trained in the subject area....on a side note I can't believe @Wolc hasn't chimed in on this thread yet!

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[steve863]

I get the part about trying to be as clean as possible with the meat.  It can only add to the quality of the meat,  but I also go back in years far enough to know that guys used splash a couple of buckets of water into the chest cavity without ever drying it, then either hung the animal for a couple of days or strapped it to their vehicles where it picked up all sorts of debris on the Thruway, yet I can't recall hearing about any of them getting sick or dying after they consumed the meat.  Not like store bought meat or the prepared meat you might get served in a restaurant went thru spic & span cleanliness procedures on the way to your gut.  If you follow common sense handling one should be fine. 

 

 

 

[Steuben Jerry]

Good thread!