Processing your own deer

[Boo]

This is a good thread 58! What glands are they?

[wabi]

Years ago I had a good friend that worked with me on butchering deer. I had a corner of my shop set up for the task and if he or I killed one we did it in my shop.
He moved out of town and set up his garage at the new home where he could do the same thing, then as he got close to retirement age he decided to go into business as a processor. He built a big walk-in cooler on his garage and has invested in commercial grade equipment for processing.

When I kill one it goes straight to his walk-in now. He cuts it up to my specs. (roasts - backstraps - grind the rest, on most of them) I can later take the roasts at home and clean them up to suit me, then slice meat for jerky if I want to.

When he has plumbing troubles I fix it with no labor charge, and when he cuts up a deer for me it's no charge. Nothing like helping out friends!

This year he actually retired and has done 4 deer for me so far - I'll be setting the shower unit & running the vents on his new bathroom tomorrow.

[Fletcher1]

I had my first kill processed. Got about 1/2 the amount of meat back I should have. That was in 1968. Since then I processed all my own deer and several for friends.
Kelley

[Sopchoppy]

i took ONE deer to get done some where and she weighed 180lbs dressed big doe....should have gotten bout 45lbs meat from her, got my box of meat a few days later and it only had 18lbs in it ....only time i ever had it done other then doing it myself out of 56 deer since 1982.........bob

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If she weighed 180 field dressed, you should have got between 75-90 pounds of meat depending on where and with what she was shot. Someone kept a bunch of meat.

[Sopchoppy]

My first deer weighed 105 field dressed, weighed when I dropped it off at the slaughter house. Picked up 42 pounds of meat which was less than I expected since he was shot through the rib cage. Didn't say anything, just took my little box of meat and left and have not been back. Got myself a vacuum sealer, a grinder, and a cuber. I've done my own and my hunting buddy's ever since. To save my legs and back, I skin and de-bone the day of kill and put in 2 large plastic storage boxes with lids and put in the fridge. Next day, I get at the trimming, cutting, grinding, cubing, and bagging. I am beyond anal about fat and silver skin so it takes me several hours to do all of the above but it's worth it. I don't have expensive equipment, a Deni vacuum sealer which has worked flawlessly for 6 years, a Northern Tool grinder which works as fast as I do, a LEM table clamp on cuber, and a dehydrator for jerky. I did wear out one cheap Wally World grinder. A good boning knife and a very sharp fillet knife are the keys to getting it done. The backstraps are cut into steak and cubed, everything else is ground. I use ground meat for my jerky, meat loaf, chilli, and spaghetti sauce. There is a great book, "Gut it, Cut it, Cook it", which shows step-by-step how to do it all.

[Fazan]

I would advise anyone processing your own deer to get one of these:

https://www3.dgif.virginia.gov/estore/p ... prod=VW250

It is worth every penny and then some. It does show those glands too.

[lscha]

We have always done exactly the same except we never get enough deer to put any into sausage. We love our hamburger too much. We grind our own and never have to free the blades of 'white stuff'. I agree that processing places just don't have the time to 'manicure' the meat like we do. The grinder and vacuum sealers have more than paid for themselves in keeping the meat fresh for more than a year. Young Dave has been helping us butcher since he was old enough to hold a knife so he does it the same way. And guess who offered to do our deer this year? Life is good! The Marino Meat Wagon took them home and will bring the packaged product back on Thanksgiving. I will be making a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner from one of Meat Hunter's recipes in the famous (and signed) copy of "The Complete Venison Cookbook". (available at Cabelas and Amazon, etc)

[Big58cal]

This is a good thread 58! What glands are they?

I don't know what they are Boo. I tried looking them up, but didn't have any luck finding them. I'll try tonight when I've got a little more time. All I know is that if they taste anything like they look or smell...........

Mark, I wish there was something that could get all of the fat and silver skin off the meat, other than sitting with a knife and doing it, but I've yet to find anything. About the easiest way I've found to deal with silver skin though is skin it away from the meat a little at one end, lay it silver skin side down on a cutting board with a filletting knife between the silver skin and meat and pull on the silver skin. The knife peels it right off without leaving any meat on it.

[masboy]

we have a Amish butcher close by that does a great job and ihunt with sometimes and is a friend and makes the best hickory smoked jerky and pepper sticks I ever ate but do my own a lot . I too skin and use a filet knife too debone the deer and keep in the fridge for a while. don,t want any deer fat on any of my meat. don,t eat any deer hamburg unless I cut up the meat and have it ground . I call mine ground steak with all good lean meat. Like too chip the hindquarters for cheese steaks .

[Sopchoppy]

This is a good thread 58! What glands are they?

Those are lymph nodes...look like a raw oyster...deer have them throughout their body just like we do, but most are behind the front shoulder blade. I've seen them in the bend of the rear legs. They are a filtering device associated with the circulatory/immune system.

[bob1961]

About the easiest way I've found to deal with silver skin though is skin it away from the meat a little at one end, lay it silver skin side down on a cutting board with a filletting knife between the silver skin and meat and pull on the silver skin. The knife peels it right off without leaving any meat on it.

that's how i do it slick and clean just like fish skin........bob

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[roland]

I aways cut my deer up myself better meat that way

[one shot scott]

I have a great video to do my own, and every year I have every intention to do it myself, but a little bit of intimidation and a lack of time has so far prevented me from doing it. The processor I use allows for "after hours" access to his cooler, and they do a great job so that's a plus. But I think I would get more satisfaction from doing it myself.