Butchering a Deer

[Just Curious]

I have hunted deer and elk for a lot of years now.... It didn't take long until I found that the only way our family of eight would collectively enjoy the taste of venison was for me to bone out the animal and grind it into hamburger and sausage... I have done this for years now and we all still enjoy our bambi burgers...
But I have always wonder what is the best way to remove the meat from the bones.... And in partciular the meat from the hind quarters....
After skinning the animal completely, hanging head down, I first remove the front legs.... They usually come off pretty easy without any bone to cut through.... Then the backstrap from right at the hips all the way down to and including part of the neck.
The white tails here are on the small side... 45 to 60 lbs of boned meat so I do not do anything with the ribs, brisket, etc.
Then my attention turns to the hind quarters...
I've tried cutting from the inside, outside, front and rear of the leg...
What ways do you like removing the meat from the rear legs???

 

[backhoeboogie]

Hang them from their head. First you skin just enough of the neck to get a flap of skin to tie around a block of wood. Wrap a small block of wood in the skin and tie a rope around it in the neck. Lop the front feet and back feet off with loppers. Tie the other end of the rope to your bumper and drive off.

Once you quarter it out, wrap the meat in old bed sheets and put it in the ice box for about 8 hours. Cut it all cross grain.

Take the long skinny muscles and cut them 3/4 the way through. Then butterfly them out such that you have a slab of meat. Lay it on the cutting board and cut it cross grain into finger steaks. My daughters are always standing there waiting in anticipation to deep fry it.

We throw the finger steaks into flour, corn meal and salt in a bag and shake it up. Then we deep fry it. It doesn't last long.

Nothing goes to "hamburger" here. My family would kill me if I let it go to waste. My daughters cook it up faster than I can get it ready.

It is all in the way you cut it up.

 

[TLCfromARK]

Much like Boogie I quarter the deer up, keep it cool either in an old refrig. or on ice ( keep the water draining off ) until I get ready to process it. I debone the hind quarters into the seperate muscle groups and then cut them across the grain into "minute" steak. All the trimmings and anything too small for steak goes into the "stew meat" pile and used in soups, chilli, stews, etc along with the better cuts off the front shoulders. The backstraps are cut into steaks and chicken fried. Everything else is either made into burger or sausage.

Does anyone use a vaucum sealer? The kids got us one last year and we love it. Gets all the air out, keeps the meat longer. We go ahead and wrap it in freezer paper on the outside to help prevent freezer burn.

The more care you take in getting all the fat & the thin membrane off the meat the better it is. Also you can't stress enough about getting the deer field dressed and hide off and the meat cooled down in a timely manner. Makes a world of difference!

IMHO
;-)

 

[kjones]

Please tell me you didn't say you grind the back straps into hamburger?! :shock:

 

[TLCfromARK]

Please tell me you didn't say you grind the back straps into hamburger?! :shock:

If you're asking me you need to read my post a little closer.

"The backstraps are cut into steaks and chicken fried."

One of my brothers says it's a sin to do anything but chicken fry back strap, he doesn't even put them on a Pit.

I'm looking forward to some fresh backstrap next weekend.
Good luck to all the hunters on the boards.

;-)

 

[kjones]

Please tell me you didn't say you grind the back straps into hamburger?! :shock:

This was for the original post, the one from Just curious, not tlc.

 

[Just Curious]

Please tell me you didn't say you grind the back straps into hamburger?! :shock:

This was for the original post, the one from Just curious, not tlc.

Nope.... Not the backstrap....
But that's the only part of our deer that doesn't go into the grinder...

 

[backhoeboogie]

Please tell me you didn't say you grind the back straps into hamburger?! :shock:

This was for the original post, the one from Just curious, not tlc.

Nope.... Not the backstrap....
But that's the only part of our deer that doesn't go into the grinder...

It is a good thing my daughters don't read this forum. They'd be giving it to you. They like the rest just about as much as they like the backstrap.

Take those muscles and butterfly them out. It just takes 3 cuts to do it. Then you have a flat slab of meat. You can get cross grain cut finger steak that is just about as good as the best backstrap you ever ate.

 

[Just Curious]

Take those muscles and butterfly them out. It just takes 3 cuts to do it. Then you have a flat slab of meat.

I believe that you touched on the real question that I was asking here... How do you cut that slab off from the hind leg... Do you cut in from the front of the leg, fileting it back? Or from the back, fileting it forward... Or from the inside out... Or outside in...
The three cuts that you talk of... Are these the actual cuts that removes the muscle from the bone or is this performed after the muscle has been removed from the bone?

 

[sidney411]

I hang from the rear leg and quarter just like you said - J.C. cut the hams off the pelvis starting at what would be the underside of the deer. Start an the bottom - which would be the front of the rear legs and cut up until you reveal the socket joints. There is a ligament holding the ball in the socket - cut that and then continur to cut the hams off following the pelvis, keep all the meat on the hams. Once the hams are removed lay them flat witht he socket bone up. slice the meat down to the bone down, following the bone, all the way down the leg. I then grab hold of the socket and start cutting the meat away fro the bone all the way around while pulling up on the bone. Go around past the knee, and down the next joint. Cut the meat around that joint and you have a boned out ham. If you want to grind it you can cut it into small lengthwise strips and grind away - Now was that clear as mud?

 

[backhoeboogie]

[quote="Just Curious How do you cut that slab off from the hind leg...

I don't have a direct answer because I do it a little different with each muscle. Basically, I try to get the muscle out intact. Some have to be cut out. I fillet/butterfly the muscle open into a complete slab of meat and it generally takes 3 cuts to do that.

I don't really know how to describe it. It is one of those things you simply have to demonstrate I guess.

I can tell you on of my bro-in-laws took his to processors and my sister refused to eat what they got back. My bro-in-law said it was the best job he had ever gotten from a processor and my sister told him it was dog food. She made her sons come to my house and learn and the bro-in-law now knows too.