wankerjake
Member
I use a bone saw sometimes, I like bone-in steaks. We don't have CWD. Keeping bone fragments out of your grind isn't rocket science but I bet it's easier to be diligent about it when butchering for yourself.
Getting set up to process our own game.
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MCgunner
Member
I don't make steaks out of venison. I filet the backstrap and tenderloin, of course. I'll use the bone saw to cut out rump/butt roasts and the rest of the meat is either stew or ground for chili or sausage and I bone the meat for that.
I don't care for round steaks of venison, usually tough as nails. The roasts get crock potted, the only way.
I don't care for round steaks of venison, usually tough as nails. The roasts get crock potted, the only way.
MCgunner
Member
BTW, I butcher more pigs than venison. I trap 'em year around. No contest which I'd rather eat. Pork is generally fatty around here and you can grill it to melt in your mouth. It's really TOO fatty for the crock pot, but I'll still do a ham in the crock pot. I prefer to smoke it, though. Even the ribs are fantastic off a pig smoked.
FL-NC
Member
A stainless table would be nice, but I just use a regular picnic table or even my workbench when butchering. I just put a really big white cutting board on it and the edges that the cutting board doesn't cover I cover with newspaper secured by duck tape. The cutting board is easy to stash away when not in use and also keep clean.
tomturkey
Member
I wrap all of my venison in freezer paper. I have a vacuum sealer but do not really like it. The packages take up to much room in the freezer and slide all over. My paper wrapped stuff stays stacked and lasts just fine, with no freezer burn. If you need to refrigerate your meat because of warm weather you would be surprised how many broke down deer you can put in an old refrigerator.
If you are one of those that figures that you need to hang a deer to age it, they will, age just fine in the refrigerator. They hang beef in a cooler to age it.
To tenderize my round stakes I use the mallet I bought from Herter's long before that tornado put them out of business. A lot cheaper than a cuber.
If you are one of those that figures that you need to hang a deer to age it, they will, age just fine in the refrigerator. They hang beef in a cooler to age it.
To tenderize my round stakes I use the mallet I bought from Herter's long before that tornado put them out of business. A lot cheaper than a cuber.
ive had 400lbs of deer meat in a gutted stand up fridge.....thats about 5-8 of our deer lol...yay graduation season....
I like to leave deer in heavy brine for a few days just adding ice as necessary, then process. They can sit in the fridge for another 4-5 days before you have to decide to freeze them or not.
The tools i consider essential for game processing are; decent grinder (i have a hand me down electric, but for my volumes its fine), GOOD set of knives, GOOD quality sharpening tools/system, decent sausage stuffer (if you use a grinder for stuffing sausage, and havent tried one of these i recommend you do, you may not consider it mandatory but after a few pounds i now do). I like to have a couple 200quart coolers as, like i said above, i brine my meat for a few days. I also have and suggest a meat specific freezer, this makes keeping stuff organized easier and your less likely to end up with those 5 year old gems at the bottom.
I reckon everyone thinks along the same lines but I'll throw in my two cents just for kicks. I've been a chef in commercial grade kitchens and have been butchering our own deer for years 12 years (friends and family). First you should focus on quality knives, filet knives and true deboning knives are priceless. Next grab at least two knife prep tools, the first being a quality medium to fine Steel, this does NOT sharpen the knife, it straightens the teeth of the blade as they get bent over with use ling before they're actually in need of a true sharpening, yes even non serrated blades have tiny little teeth. The second is a diamond steel, preference on one in the fine grade, THIS sharpens the blades quickly when the steel is no longer effective, it will also sharpen serrated blades which vtypes cannot. The big ones are expensive but they make a small one that fits in a pouch and works just as good for (iirc) about $20. I'll find it and tell you who makes it soon as I can. Meat slicers are handy and I love the commercial grade ones, but honestly, you only use it a few times a year and my serrated blade Chard ($70 got it on sale for $10) has held up just fine for deer processing, it's not FAST but that's not really a problem. I process our deer on a covered deep freeze, if I don't have time to do it all at once, it gets wrapped in huge chunks and froze to be finished later.
This is the one I use, my local cowboy general store feller had it for $15 about 2 yrs ago and it's all I use now, handy in the field too! I would iterate that these tools are just like the guns we use, it's no good having em if you don't know what to do with em, so remember to keep your angle proper and don't apply TOO much pressure nor too little.
http://eze-lap.com/kitchen_culinary_foodservice_use/pokcet-sharpeners/ at least I think this is it, it's playing hide and seek in my truck right now but when I find it, if it's different I'll let you know.
http://eze-lap.com/kitchen_culinary_foodservice_use/pokcet-sharpeners/ at least I think this is it, it's playing hide and seek in my truck right now but when I find it, if it's different I'll let you know.
EIB0879
Member
It doesn't take much to process a deer. Just time and patience. I have never taken a deer to a processor in 45 years of deer hunting. I'm cheap and I don't trust them anyway. All I have ever needed is a sharp knive and whetstone, cutting board, a couple of bowls, bags and a food processor (don't grind much).
entropy
Member
You know you can wrap the vacuum sealed pacs in freezer paper, right? It easier to write on that way.
tomturkey
Member
The problem with vacuum sealed stuff is the excess plastic that takes up so much more room in the freezer than a nice neat freezer wrapped package. Besides slipping all over an not staying stacked.
How do you wrap a vacuum sealed package with all the sharp edges in paper with out shredding the paper to pieces? Post a video to show me how it is done.
When I do vacuum seal I have no problem writing on the package with the pens I have
How do you wrap a vacuum sealed package with all the sharp edges in paper with out shredding the paper to pieces? Post a video to show me how it is done.
When I do vacuum seal I have no problem writing on the package with the pens I have
Fine Figure of a Man
Member
Vac sealers work great but the cheap ones are slow and the commercial ones are expensive. I buy large rolls of plastic wrap and freezer paper from a locker. The plastic wrap is quite thick and not clingy like saran wrap.
A layer of plastic and a layer of paper prevents freezer burn very well.
A layer of plastic and a layer of paper prevents freezer burn very well.
entropy
Member
Maybe the newer ones are different, but the one I used, (now my son has it, as with about 90% of my stuff) the edges just folded over. Or doing it like drunkenpoacher does would work, too. I found out the hard way Saran-type wrap didn't work well, because you had to wait for the meat to thaw, it wouldn't always peel of the meat while it was still frozen, and would break off anywhere there was a fold that had meat or liquid inside.
FL-NC
Member
I love my vacuum sealer. I use it not only for food but also for other things I want to preserve for long term storage.
OP
OP
Armored farmer
Member
Yep
I seal up my license, marker, and deer permits so they won't get wet. I seal up some TP too.
I am lazy, the tailgate on my F150 is perfect height. A big plastic Cutting board, some plastic bags etc. Grind up most of it except.for the straps. Package it in vacuum bags, which my wife them flattens out like an envelope which fit nicely into one of the freezer baskets like files in a drawer.
I just remembered something I should have added about knives, if you're planning on butchering more than one deer, quality also applies to ergonomics, proper knife skills dictate no thumb or finger on the tang so as to control the blade safely and I promise that a comfortable handle will be worthwhile. A good blade is great, but my knuckles are getting stiffer, so a comfortable handle on a decent blade beats a great blade with a cheap handle. Hold a few and see what feels good, pinch it between the middle knuckle of your first finger and thumb just behind the blade and make sure the length curves up into your palm for leverage. Ask yourself if, from that position, you could hold the knife in application for quite awhile, if so, you're a winner, if not move on.
huntsman
Member
About knives, my son is a sucker for the latest gadgets but I on the other had use a couple of knives that I've owned now for over twenty years. An AG Russell Woodswalker and a DH Russell #1 both will do the whole job from gutting to cutting.
Hardtarget
Member
I cannot bring help as to how to set up for this, but...a friend processes 8 to 10 deer every year. I'll say you are heading the right direction. You'll save money and you'll KNOW you have your own deer. You'll know exactly how it was handled. After you've done a few you'll be fast and it won't seem such a chore.
Mark
Mark
outlawjw
Member
A cuber attachment for your grinder makes the steaks tender on an old Billy goat . Three passes 45° offset for each pass & it's tender. If you are making a lot of sausage the blender attachment is very nice , but get the foot pedal on off switch for ease of stuffing.
CutCo knives are top quality for skinning or cutting , I once skinned & processed 15 mulies & 4 elk on one sharpening.
CutCo knives are top quality for skinning or cutting , I once skinned & processed 15 mulies & 4 elk on one sharpening.
Newtosavage
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Sorry to hear that.
I have been de-boning my venison since returning back to Texas because the processors down here charge an arm and a leg. In Illinois, It was $55 and all I had to do was field dress the critter. Anyway, I like what I do now quite a bit and can't imagine going back. I quarter the deer in the field, and haul out just the quarters, backstraps and tenderloins. I use the "gutless method" and wish I'd been doing it this way all along. Back at home, I debone the quarters and then take zip-lock gallon bags and fill them up with the meat and put them in the fridge until I can get to the meat market. I live in a small town with a good butcher (every small town in SE Texas has a great meat market - gotta love those Czech and Germans!) and he has told me more than once he likes to see me come in because the meat I bring him is always so clean. Anyway, he doesn't charge me that much to grind and package it, so that's the way I go.
A typical 100 lb. deer will yield about 35# of boneless meat and will cost me about $20 to have ground and packaged.
If we want jerky (my wife makes killer jerky) I just save her big chunks off the hind quarter - usually about 5 - 10 lbs. Otherwise, everything but the backstrap and loins gets ground.
I bought a grinder years ago and tried grinding my own one time. Never again.
Good luck!
I have been de-boning my venison since returning back to Texas because the processors down here charge an arm and a leg. In Illinois, It was $55 and all I had to do was field dress the critter. Anyway, I like what I do now quite a bit and can't imagine going back. I quarter the deer in the field, and haul out just the quarters, backstraps and tenderloins. I use the "gutless method" and wish I'd been doing it this way all along. Back at home, I debone the quarters and then take zip-lock gallon bags and fill them up with the meat and put them in the fridge until I can get to the meat market. I live in a small town with a good butcher (every small town in SE Texas has a great meat market - gotta love those Czech and Germans!) and he has told me more than once he likes to see me come in because the meat I bring him is always so clean. Anyway, he doesn't charge me that much to grind and package it, so that's the way I go.
A typical 100 lb. deer will yield about 35# of boneless meat and will cost me about $20 to have ground and packaged.
If we want jerky (my wife makes killer jerky) I just save her big chunks off the hind quarter - usually about 5 - 10 lbs. Otherwise, everything but the backstrap and loins gets ground.
I bought a grinder years ago and tried grinding my own one time. Never again.
Good luck!
.308 Norma
Member
We've ground a lot of venison over the past twenty-five years or so with my wife's large Kitchen Aid mixer and meat grinder attachment. But we find ground venison by itself is too dry. So we actually run it through the grinder twice, the second time through, mixing it 50/50 with the cheapest, 80% beef burger we can find - the stuff that comes in the 5lb. tubes, or "chubs."
And here's another thing we love - instead of mixing the ground venison with cheap beef burger the second time through the grinder, we mix some of it 50/50 with pork sausage and throw in some Italian seasoning. Then we form the ground meat into patties and fry them up before freezing them on lightly greased cookie sheets. Once the pre-cooked patties are frozen, we remove them from the cookie sheets and put them in zip lock bags in the freezer.
When we're ready to use the sausage patties, we just take them out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how many. And putting one of those venison/Italian sausage patties in a pop-up, "grand" sized buttermilk biscuit with a slice of pepper-jack cheese, and putting the whole thing in the microwave for 45 seconds or so is heaven on earth. It goes exceptionally well with an ice cold beer and cool ranch tortilla chips IMO.
And here's another thing we love - instead of mixing the ground venison with cheap beef burger the second time through the grinder, we mix some of it 50/50 with pork sausage and throw in some Italian seasoning. Then we form the ground meat into patties and fry them up before freezing them on lightly greased cookie sheets. Once the pre-cooked patties are frozen, we remove them from the cookie sheets and put them in zip lock bags in the freezer.
When we're ready to use the sausage patties, we just take them out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how many. And putting one of those venison/Italian sausage patties in a pop-up, "grand" sized buttermilk biscuit with a slice of pepper-jack cheese, and putting the whole thing in the microwave for 45 seconds or so is heaven on earth. It goes exceptionally well with an ice cold beer and cool ranch tortilla chips IMO.
OP
OP
Armored farmer
Member
That sounds like a great idea!putting one of those venison/Italian sausage patties in a pop-up, "grand" sized buttermilk biscuit with a slice of pepper-jack cheese, and putting the whole thing in the microwave for 45 seconds or so is heaven on earth. It goes exceptionally well with an ice cold beer and cool ranch tortilla chips IMO.
langenc
Member
And you really dont know whose deer you got back..
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