Butchered my first deer

[GlockZ]

Congrats, it does get easier as time and practice goes on. The problem is time. This season in particular I have found it much easier and less time consuming if I take to be processed.

 

[HSi-ESi]

As what others have said. Also check out "The Scott Rea Project" on youtube - his are fun videos as well.

One thing I tell new folks that are getting into it - if you start with an animal and then cut it into smaller pieces to get it into the freezer - then you are doing it correctly.

I personally love cutting meat. If I didn't hunt, I'd be buying whole animals and butchering them at home.

 

[kansasdad]

One way to slow you down and frustrate you is to make sure to use the wrong or dull tools.

Knife blades should go through the flesh like a warm knife going through soft butter. Switch blades or sharpen when you start feeling like you have to muscle up, or the blade is dragging.

Good lighting will help you see what parts you are parting.

Table height set for your individual likings. Most tables are set too low as they are designed for sitting down to eat. Get that surface up to where you can work without bending over.

Protecting your self from accidental cuts-- pro butchers use a meathook, a fork or tongs, and even kevlar gloves.

I find I part my game much better if I do all the breakdown first, then clear the table and switch into wrapping/labeling mode.


If you want to feel inadequate in your skeeelz, check out this guy getting it done with speed and precision:

 

[Bullshot]

Not sure if it was mentioned but vacuum sealing protects the meat soooo much better than just freezer paper or zip lock bags. Vacuum sealed meat can last a year or two easy if it was done with good trimming, no air pockets. Buy an affordable vacuum sealer and the best grinder you can afford. It really gets you motivated to hunt more when you are not overwhelmed and are well prepared to handle your sucess! Another thing that helps to know is you dont have to do it all in one sitting. Cool meat lasts a really long time if hung properly or stored fairly dry atop ice in a cooler. Take your time 1/4 a day if you have to.

 

[Nathan]

I like having lots of roasts if I decide to do pastrami

We ended up with some very large roasts for just two people. I love pastrami and have a recipe to make it. Now I have a plan for those roasts.

 

[Nathan]

One way to slow you down and frustrate you is to make sure to use the wrong or dull tools.

** I learned this

Knife blades should go through the flesh like a warm knife going through soft butter. Switch blades or sharpen when you start feeling like you have to muscle up, or the blade is dragging.

Good lighting will help you see what parts you are parting.

** We did process at night in my garage with portable lights. It worked but not ideal. I’m hoping next time I can do it in daylight hours. I’m sure it’ll be a m

Table height set for your individual likings. Most tables are set too low as they are designed for sitting down to eat. Get that surface up to where you can work.

** I have a game cleaning table that is nice and high. Thing worked perfect ex

I find I part my game much better if I do all the breakdown first, then clear the table and switch into wrapping/labeling mode.

** We hung the deer and then broke it down in sections and wrapped/labeled as we went. Lack of space was the biggest decision factor for that along with being able to see what cuts come off each section of animal.

 

[COEngineer]

These guys are all lying...it never gets easier, you just stop worrying about "screwing it up."

My Dad was a butcher when I was a kid (and still is) and I will never be as proficient as he is. After about three years of hunting with my dad and doing nothing more than holding a leg, I had to forcefully tell my Dad, "Let me do this one or I will never learn." 30 years later, I still take five times longer to field dress and butcher deer and elk, but I do one or two every year or so...he cuts more meat than that before his morning break each day.

 

[morley.tyler]

It gets way easier- I'm always impressed with people who take it up as an adult. I was lucky enough to be forced into the work when my age could be counted on one hand. Looking back, and having young boys of my own, dad was a saint to exercise that kind of patience.
Like all have said, there is no wrong way, just some ways that are more right... Backstraps and tenderloins are key to not foul up, luckily those are easy. The rest, even if you totally mess up the cut, don't worry. It can always go into the grind.
Keep at it!

 

[scubohuntr]

I have butchered dozens of deer, and there are a few key points to remember:

• To take a deer apart, first look carefully at how it is put together.
• You don't need a saw on a deer. Ever.
• TAKE YOUR TIME. There are no points for speed.
• Keep everything cold, and work with manageable pieces.
• Have several very sharp knives with different blade shapes handy. I always have a couple of wide skinners, a long slicer, a couple of small pointy blades, and a fillet knife.
• Forget everything you know about how beef or pork are cut. This is neither of those.
• No bones. No fat. Make darned sure you get all the hair off before you wrap.
• When cutting backstrap or larger muscle groups that may end up as chops, freeze them whole, or at least in meal-sized chunks. Cut chops when you are ready to cook. Fewer exposed surfaces means better quality.
• Don't get all wrapped up in aging. Aging is a controlled decomposition process. If you don't have control (of temperature, humidity, animal and insect access, and environment) all you have left is decomposition. Letting your deer get into full rigor (a few hours) gives you 90% of what you would get with extended aging.
• As soon as you pull the trigger, the deer is food. Handle it that way. If you wouldn't do it to a $150.00 prime rib roast, don't do it to your deer.
• Have fun and learn things. It can be very satisfying on a primal level to turn a dead animal into tasty food for your family, and it can teach you a lot about how deer are put together.

I really enjoy butchering deer. I have never been a professional, and nobody would ever mistake me for one. I allow myself most of a day to break down a deer. Sometimes I don't need it all, but I don't allow myself to get in a hurry. I do have a vacuum sealer, and I use it for trim and things, but I double wrap pieces of backstrap and larger "roasts"- cellophane film and then butcher paper. The meat is easily good for two years in the freezer that way, and it packs better in the freezer. Good labeling is a must, of course. This is just the way I do it. The only deer I ever took to a processor was in 1974, the first buck I ever shot. These days just the thought of taking my deer to a processor gives me stress. There are a lot of processors out there that do very good work, but to me butchering is an important part of deer hunting. I could no more pay someone else to butcher my deer than I could pay someone to shoot it.

 

[Pondera]

I too have been learning to DIY process. I used to take my game to a local fellow running an operation out of his garage. He was a butcher for many years at the local grocery store. Very clean operation and would yield a ton of meat. He had to raise his prices last couple of years due to disposal costs. So far I have done 3 deer myself and get better/more satisfied with my work every time.
Here are a couple questions I have come up with:

How small of a piece of meat do you try to salvage in the trim pile? Sometimes I feel like I am throwing alot away but when I try to go though and scrape and pick meat off I don't end up with much.

How much "white" do you run through the grinder? I know to trim away fat, gland, tendon, thick silver skin, but what about the rest of it? Ok to grind? Off Flavor from connective tissue or no?

Is there a trick to removing the hind quarter I'm missing? I've stopped cutting into the meat when field dressing(I don't split the pelvis) and this seems to keep things cleaner and avoid the big dried out "puck". But when separating from the outside of the pelvis I just can't make it not look like I went crazy with a box cutter.

 

[jtm307]

Also check out "The Scott Rea Project" on youtube - his are fun videos as well.

Yes! After my first season, I started watching that channel, often for several hours straight. I'm pretty sure I've seen all of them.

 

[Sask hunter]

Once you get into it you can do the more “off” cuts like flat irons and what not. Once you figure out how to peel open a hind quarters then the roasts lay out nicely too. If you mess up it can always be ground up so it’s not a big deal. It’s easier to learn how to cut roasts on a bigger animal like an elk or moose cause it’s more defined. You should have helped me this fall. I cut 1078 pounds of meat lol

 

[BearFoot]

It gets easier!

 

[gouch]

It does get easier. I cut as much as I can into meal sized chunks then when I take them out of the freezer I cut it down to what ever I have planned for the meal. Pretty much everything that is too small for a meal sized chunk is put through the grinder. Maybe a little stew meat. As many have said always use sharp knives. Trying to cut with a dull knife is just miserable. Also keep the knives clean. Fat will build up on the blade making it harder to cut. As little fat as possible, no bone, no hair, seal it tight before freezing, other than that you can't really screw it up because it will always still be edible.