Tips on cutting up a deer

[BWR1953]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Wow, good replies!

What to do if aging can't be done? Doesn't get or stay cold enough around here to leave a carcass hanging outside. No room in the fridge to just cut it up and put it in there. Maybe marinade everything?

Or build a dedicated aging shed with a big A/C unit?

 

[mike64]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Wow, j martin, great description. You sure don't let anything go to waste.

That's pretty much how we did it-- the backstraps and the big hocks on the backlegs got cut into steaks, anything that could be cubed went for stew meat, anything that could be cut into long thin strips went for jerky, and "whatever came out goofy" went for hamburger. I thought about keeping one of the big hocks, or hams, for a roast but figured it would turn out dry. Next time I'll have to try Les Robb's technique if I can get ahold of some fat.

It's good to have this experience now, because you never know when an opportunity comes up. Last winter I saw a deer that got hit by a car in front of our house, across the street. I knew it hadn't been there a couple hours before. I might have at least tried to remove the backstrap then, but my wife and I were going out for a fancy dinner & a movie, and I don't think she woulda been up for staying home and having fresh venison instead that night

Ironically when I was on my way to my brother-in-law's house to cut up the deer the other night, I almost hit a deer on the road we live on. I saw the first one and hit the brakes, but there were three of the suckers. I don't know how I cleared the third one. Must've brushed its tail with my bumper. So i almost brought my own deer to the party

Next season I want to buy a shotgun and do some hunting myself. I won't have to go far-- there's more deer around my area of SE Michigan than there are up north. I just have to find at least 5 acres where I have permission. Deer overpopulation in lower Michigan is getting to be a real problem. Some communities around here have hired sharpshooters to cull them, but people get a "not in my backyard" attitude and they call the program off. Their only natural predators around here are front bumpers

 

[j_martin]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Wow, good replies!

What to do if aging can't be done? Doesn't get or stay cold enough around here to leave a carcass hanging outside. No room in the fridge to just cut it up and put it in there. Maybe marinade everything?

Or build a dedicated aging shed with a big A/C unit?

Cut it up before it spoils. My wife dragged home a good looking used refrigerator from Menards for 9 bucks. I put a 25 dollar motor starter relay in it, and we can quarter a couple of fawns, or one real deer and get it into this box. We use the top freezer for freezing the cubed hamburger pieces as I described.

If it's an older deer, you just sprinkle meat tenderizer on the steaks and pound them well with a hob nailed boot, about ten minutes before you grill them.

A chest freezer, with an external thermostat to hold it at 35 degrees, will house several big deer till they can be cut up.

You can't age meat this way, for it needs air circulation to do it right. You can, however, hang yer meat in the woodshed till it's almost ready, and then keep it in the refrigeration for a day or two till you can get it cut up.

Venison roast, usually cut from the tender bottom muscle in the hind quarter, is done slowly in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, lots of onions, and spices. Juices from the crock pot make the gravy. The roast is drier than beef, but very tasty and reasonably tender.

hope it helps
John

 

[j_martin]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Ironically when I was on my way to my brother-in-law's house to cut up the deer the other night, I almost hit a deer on the road we live on. I saw the first one and hit the brakes, but there were three of the suckers. I don't know how I cleared the third one. Must've brushed its tail with my bumper. So i almost brought my own deer to the party

Our hapless neighbor was driving through the woods about a mile from my place with a LUV pickup. He saw 1 deer cross the road, and came to a complete stop just in case there were more. Then about 7 more ran over his truck, denting almose every quarter, breaking the windshield, one headlight, and the tail lights. It looked like it had been rolled.

He was one of those guys that if it weren't for bad luck wouldn't have any luck at all.

A 20 gauge shotgun with a slug barrel is as good as a rifle to about 100 yards. I use a scope, and get the heart almost every time.

John

 

[mike64]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Our hapless neighbor was driving through the woods about a mile from my place with a LUV pickup. He saw 1 deer cross the road, and came to a complete stop just in case there were more. Then about 7 more ran over his truck, denting almose every quarter, breaking the windshield, one headlight, and the tail lights. It looked like it had been rolled.

He was one of those guys that if it weren't for bad luck wouldn't have any luck at all.

Oh man, I feel bad for the guy, but that's a funny story. The deer must get big in MN

A 20 gauge shotgun with a slug barrel is as good as a rifle to about 100 yards. I use a scope, and get the heart almost every time.

John

I know very little about shotguns. What brands/models are not too expensive, but a good value? Is a shotgun something that would be ok to buy used, or would you want to get a new one, so you know it's been taken care of properly? It would have to be a shotgun and not a rifle if I'm going to hunt in my part of Michigan.

Venison roast, usually cut from the tender bottom muscle in the hind quarter, is done slowly in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, lots of onions, and spices. Juices from the crock pot make the gravy. The roast is drier than beef, but very tasty and reasonably tender.

Darn, I'm getting hungry.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

John, you have some good replies there ... you obviously do a bit of this yourself! We process about 20 - 30 deer a year, not a huge quantity, but enough to keep us busy a few days!

As for aging ... we always feel this is a must! We do not have a cooler for the deer, but have sectioned off a portions of the stand-alone garage to keep the heat from getting there. We keep a thermometer on the wall and a meat thermometer in a hind quarter. Out goal is to get the hide off as quickly as we can so it will cool as quickly as possible. Depending on the temperature is how long we let it hang. Aging is really only the rotting of the meat. As the meat breaks down, or decays, it becomes more tender (and the "gamey taste" of the venison diminishes). Optimum aging is just before the meat turns green! YIKES! That is always too close for comfort. For us, normal temps for the building during deer season are around 40 degrees. This means the deer will hang about 7 days. A little warmer and the deer get cut up sooner. A little colder, and the deer hang longer. If it is going to freeze in the building, or get too warm, the deer get cut into chunks and put in the refrigerator.

As for the fat, we have found there are really 2 kinds of fat on a deer. There is the slimy, soft, "tallow" fat that when cold coats the roof of your mouth and make the venison eating experience yucky. And there is the hard, back/ribcage fat that actually adds flavor and moisture to hamburg and roasts. We also like to run the hard fat through the grinder to keep the blades clean cutting. So, if the fat is soft and slimy, cut it off (we do this when skinning). If it is firm or hard, keep it. At least that is our approach. (BTW, the fat will be "stronger" or "gamier" in an older deer, especially an older buck).

 

[aspeck]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

I know very little about shotguns. What brands/models are not too expensive, but a good value? Is a shotgun something that would be ok to buy used, or would you want to get a new one, so you know it's been taken care of properly? It would have to be a shotgun and not a rifle if I'm going to hunt in my part of Michigan.

Two new ones on the market have my attention ... the Remington M887 ( http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_887/model_887.asp ) retails at $399 and can be gotten for less. Sweet all purpose, all weather pump.

The other is the Weatherby PA-08 (http://www.weatherby.com/product/shotguns/pump) also retailing for $399. Both are worth looking into and can be rigged for slug hunting without too much work. (down side to the Weatherby is it is made in Turkey).

There is nothing wrong with picking up a used shotgun. I have several that were bought used and they work flawlessly.

 

[mike64]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

John, you have some good replies there ... you obviously do a bit of this yourself! We process about 20 - 30 deer a year, not a huge quantity, but enough to keep us busy a few days!

As for aging ... we always feel this is a must! We do not have a cooler for the deer, but have sectioned off a portions of the stand-alone garage to keep the heat from getting there. We keep a thermometer on the wall and a meat thermometer in a hind quarter. Out goal is to get the hide off as quickly as we can so it will cool as quickly as possible. Depending on the temperature is how long we let it hang. Aging is really only the rotting of the meat. As the meat breaks down, or decays, it becomes more tender (and the "gamey taste" of the venison diminishes). Optimum aging is just before the meat turns green! YIKES! That is always too close for comfort. For us, normal temps for the building during deer season are around 40 degrees. This means the deer will hang about 7 days. A little warmer and the deer get cut up sooner. A little colder, and the deer hang longer. If it is going to freeze in the building, or get too warm, the deer get cut into chunks and put in the refrigerator.

As for the fat, we have found there are really 2 kinds of fat on a deer. There is the slimy, soft, "tallow" fat that when cold coats the roof of your mouth and make the venison eating experience yucky. And there is the hard, back/ribcage fat that actually adds flavor and moisture to hamburg and roasts. We also like to run the hard fat through the grinder to keep the blades clean cutting. So, if the fat is soft and slimy, cut it off (we do this when skinning). If it is firm or hard, keep it. At least that is our approach. (BTW, the fat will be "stronger" or "gamier" in an older deer, especially an older buck).

Seems like there's really an art to preparing the venison. Good info aspeck! But I don't know if I'd want to age the meat till it almost turns green. Yikes is right

Speaking of two kinds of fat, a guy at work told me there's yellow fat, which means the deer's been getting at a farmer's corn, and that fat wil taste better. Then there's white fat, which means the deer's probably been eating wilder stuff like acorns, which will give the fat a worse taste. Don't know how true it is, but for what it's worth...

 

[mike64]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Two new ones on the market have my attention ... the Remington M887 ( http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_887/model_887.asp ) retails at $399 and can be gotten for less. Sweet all purpose, all weather pump.

The other is the Weatherby PA-08 (http://www.weatherby.com/product/shotguns/pump) also retailing for $399. Both are worth looking into and can be rigged for slug hunting without too much work.

There is nothing wrong with picking up a used shotgun. I have several that were bought used and they work flawlessly.

Thanks aspeck! I know what I want for Christmas now...

 

[aspeck]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Seems like there's really an art to preparing the venison. Good info aspeck! But I don't know if I'd want to age the meat till it almost turns green. Yikes is right

Speaking of two kinds of fat, a guy at work told me there's yellow fat, which means the deer's been getting at a farmer's corn, and that fat wil taste better. Then there's white fat, which means the deer's probably been eating wilder stuff like acorns, which will give the fat a worse taste. Don't know how true it is, but for what it's worth...

We hunt mostly woodland, so we don't get to deal with the "farm fed" bruisers too often. However, there is a different taste between a farm fed and a woods grown deer. We have found the farm fed will be a bit more tender and tasty, but don't get enough of them to have noticed a difference in the fat ... could be, though.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Two new ones on the market have my attention ... the Remington M887 ( http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_887/model_887.asp ) retails at $399 and can be gotten for less. Sweet all purpose, all weather pump.

The other is the Weatherby PA-08 (http://www.weatherby.com/product/shotguns/pump) also retailing for $399. Both are worth looking into and can be rigged for slug hunting without too much work. (down side to the Weatherby is it is made in Turkey).

There is nothing wrong with picking up a used shotgun. I have several that were bought used and they work flawlessly.

I also looked into this for about $350
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_870/model_870_express_deer.asp

Although, the 887 has a longer barrel for better accuracy and a 3 1/2" chamber for a 3 1/2" magnum shells for more umph. I guess for an xtra $50 approx., I would go with the 887 just for those 2 reasons. I'm a big Remington fan anyway. As far as used, I would only buy from someone I knew so I would be assured on how it was taken care of... JMO

 

[dlindeblad]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

I only butcher my deer in early bow season as it starts 15SEP here. Any other time I pay an Amish gentle man $50. He skins it, and will even gut it if you are that lazy, and he makes steaks, roasts, chops, sausage, and burger.

I noticed nobody mentioned this, but when butchering your own deer it is important to remove the silver skin encasing some muscle groups. This reduces stingy/chewiness of the cut of meat.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

about three weeks ago a large doe ran straight into the side of my car. It ran off, man are those deer tough!! I'm all for thinning out the population as I don't even live in a rural area. It amazes me how little land it takes to support a deer population.

So what would be a deers natural predators other than humans?? Coyotes, Bears??

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

You pretty much nailed it. Coyotes, bear, wolves, cougars, CWD(although I guess it's really not natural) and a wolverine could probably take a small one. At least in the northern regions. 'Gators in the south....

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

You pretty much nailed it. Coyotes, bear, wolves, cougars, CWD(although I guess it's really not natural) and a wolverine could probably take a small one. At least in the northern regions. 'Gators in the south....

Funny you mention wolverines...I actually saw one on our 8-mile two-track that leads to our Lake Huron property last summer I did keep a closer eye on my toddler that week but it's good to see the upper level predators around to help keep the herds heathy.

I believe for the most part they scavenge other animals kills, road kill or steal from coyotes but they will take down a weak or sick deer in winter they are tough enough to do so just take whatever's easiest I think.


As far as hunting with a scoped .20 gauge I got a doe with one last week and it was a walk in the park. We use .308 up north but as Mike64 mentioned, there are more deer downstate and they eat more corn than woodland deer too.

We pay $55 for standard butcher fees but will run more for sausage typically.

My .20 is a Charles Daly semi-auto and I love it. Takes 2 3/4" or 3" shells. I just wish shells cost less so I could shoot more target

 

[BWR1953]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Venison is the beef in our diet. We shoot some, get given some, and even pick up fresh road kills if we can. One of the best was a pretty good sized buck that totaled a durango at highway speed. The side that was hit was tender, but the impact sheared the heart right off, and there was no blood in the meat. It was all in the cavity.

On aging the meat. Classic aging if you kill, skin, and get it in the cooler right away is 14 days at 34 degrees. It takes about 3 days at 43 degrees. With experience you can usually tell when it's right. Aging tenderizes the meat. A young animal really doesn't need it, just cooling and draining the excess blood.

I de-bone the entire deer. As stated before, sort out the muscle groups in the hind quarters, and cut them cross grain into steaks. You can also use bigger hunks as roasts. Whatever comes out goofy goes into the hamburger and stew meat bowl.

The front quarters all go into hamburger or stew.

The back strap gets filleted off in a strip and cut into steaks. Lower back is sirloin, upper back is strip steaks.

Inside the lower back is a pair of muscles that is absolutely the best piece of meat in the animal. It would be fillet mignon in a beef. We usually chicken fry these little steak morsels and serve them to company. They melt in yer mouth.

Everything else gets cut off the bones and goes into hamburger.

The hamburger gets completely de-fatted and cut into small pieces so it will go through the grinder. We then spread the pieces on cookie sheets and freeze them. Then we put them into zip-locks and save them till we get time to grind. We have a belt driven grinder that will do about 60 lbs an hour, so usually it's several deer at once. When we grind the venison, it has no fat in it, so we mix in 10% beef fat the local butcher trims off steaks and roasts. It is very delicious any way you cook it.

As stated before, venison fat does not taste good. Trim it all off, and replace it with any other fat from bacon to butter to beef fat.

The thick pieces of back fat get saved and frozen, to be put into onion bags and hung out for the chicadees and woodpeckers.

The carcasses get hung up in trees in the back yard. The chicadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches will pick on them all winter.

All the other trimmings and fat get frozen in small packages for dog and cat food. Anything that might have lead in it is carefully trashed. (I've gone to an all copper slug.)

Hope it helps
John

Thanks for the info!

I can't hang anything in a woodshed though... for two reasons.
1 - I don't have a woodshed!
2 - temps here during deer season are routinely in the 70 - 80 degree range, 50s overnight

Hanging a carcass in the backyard has the same issue... high temperatures. I guess the only "real" solution would be a cold walk-in cooler with lots of air circulation. Don't have one of those either! LOL

 

[j_martin]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Oh man, I feel bad for the guy, but that's a funny story. The deer must get big in MN

Here's one I shot 1/2 mile from my back door in 1972. I'm 5'8". 165 lbs in the photo. The shop ceiling is 8'8"

270 lbs, field dressed.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Here's one I shot 1/2 mile from my back door

Thats one heck of a shot- 1/2 mile????

Very timely post in general- going for my first deer hunt this weekend and this is very informative. Wish me luck and I hope I dont tick off the experienced deer hunters Im going with too much!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Here's one I shot 1/2 mile from my back door in 1972. I'm 5'8". 165 lbs in the photo. The shop ceiling is 8'8"

270 lbs, field dressed.

Nice buck John...that's a sweet picture to show the grandkids

 

[mike64]

Re: Tips on cutting up a deer

Here's one I shot 1/2 mile from my back door in 1972. I'm 5'8". 165 lbs in the photo. The shop ceiling is 8'8"

270 lbs, field dressed.

He's a monster! I can see 7 deer around that size beating up on a truck.