Deer Hunter Out of Retirement

[hunterridgefarm]

Process my own, but I don't field dress.

We hang the deer, head down, from the hocks. (hamstrings)
Then, skin the deer. Use a Wyoming knife. (there are a few "gimmicks" that have made life much easier since you dropped out of hunting. )
Fillet out the backstrap and tenderloins.
Separate the front legs at the knees. Just cut through the soft tissue and pop the "ball joint" out.
Separate the shoulders from the carcass. Again, just cut through the soft tissue behing the shoulder blade.
Separate the hams from the carcass. Cut through soft tissue between the spine/pelvic bone and the hip joint. Pop the ball joint out.
Separate the knee joints.
Now, you will have the backstrap and tenderloins, two hams and two shoulders. No gut pile. (you just dispose of the carcass intact) No bones have been cut, so there are no bone fragments in your steaks. The only downside to this method is that you loose the ribs, but, I think you would starve to death trying to live off of deer ribs anyway.

BTW, take the meat and put it in an ice chest. Cover it with ice and water. Add ice daily and drain off excess water, until there is no blood in the water. Depending on the age of the deer, that will be from a day or two up to a week. Then, you can cut it up and enjoy! :thumbsup:

I like the looks of that knife. I have visited and get catalogs from Smokey Mountain Knife Works that has several knives like that. I will check into those. I may dress my on but there is a processer close to my house that charges around $40.00 to do it all.

Do you wrap and freeze any?

 

[om21braz]

How many of you field dress your deer and /or process it yourself and how many take to a meat processer?

Many folks here go to a local meatpacker. He processes deer on Tuesdays, big clean-up before and after to abide with regulations. Best I remember cost is approx. $35.
Have ya'll got plenty of coyotes helping reduce the deer population where you're at?

P.S. It does'nt sound like you need any help with new techniques LOL!

 

[Bigfoot62]

I like the looks of that knife. I have visited and get catalogs from Smokey Mountain Knife Works that has several knives like that. I will check into those. I may dress my on but there is a processer close to my house that charges around $40.00 to do it all.

Do you wrap and freeze any?

The Wyoming knife, or its clones, makes skinning a LOT easier. Mine is a clone from a sporting goods store. It only cost $20. Uses "box cutter" or "utility knife" blades, so it can always be sharp.

If I had a slaughterhouse near me that only charged $40, I probably wouldn't process my own either! That's great. :thumbsup:

The men of our church host an annual wild game supper for the men and boys of the area. This past Feb, we processed about 60 hams for the frying steak. We have a commercial meat saw and tenderizer. For years now, when we kill a deer, we usually keep the fillets for ourselves and freeze the shouders (for sausage and chile meat) and the hams for the church event. We freeze the shoulders and hams whole, wrapped in either waxed freezer paper or plastic garbage bags. A couple of the guys have gotten "fancy-smancy" and now use a vacuum bag for the meat. (note: the vacuum bag is a pain to get off the frozen meat - I don't like it)

 

[Western]

I have processed my own, but haven't in 20 years. I will field dress them, then clean out the inside cavity with salt water and take it to the processor. Here the cost range around $60, the guy I take mine too will do it for free if it is donated to "hunters for the hungry"

I only "gut" Elk, when taken late in the evening, otherwise I quarter it, get as much neck meat as I can, the back straps, then you can reach in from behind where the hips where and get the tenderloins. I always put this is cotton "game bags".
I am usually by myself, so an Elk is allot to deal with and this is easy.