Deer processing

[Kraftd]

I made some ribs on the traeger this year. Holy cow!!! They were really good!!!
I dyi unless I shoot one early and it’s too hot to hang.

Front shoulder is usually roasts. That blade roast/steak is supposed to be real good. I’ll try to remember to save it one of these times.

How did you prepare and cook them?

Pretty much like pork ribs. YouTube it and they will turn out fine.

I’ve done pork ribs all the time... Thursday in fact.

I had heard they were too lean and needed extra fat somehow (bacon or caul fat)

You can't think of cooking deer ribs the same way you would pork ribs, too lean, and the fat is different. More like a beef short rib. I braise mine in a crock put then finishs over charcoal and sauce them. I also prefer the to pork ribs. In fact I have some going in the slow cooker shortly! I take mine to almost fall apart, then finish on hot charcoal where' I'm trying to render fat and crisp them up. Try to eat them good and hot and what fat is left won't have that waxy mouth feel. The more they cool the worse it gots. I cut leftover meat from the bone and chop in small pieces and brown in a pan then add a little sauce and make rib tacos for leftovers.

I use a similar approach for whole venison shoulders, but reverse. Smoke for about two hours at around 200-250 with good heave smoke, then finish by braising the whole shoulder until it breaks down and you can shred it. Better than pulled pork, imo.

[matt1336]

I made some ribs on the traeger this year. Holy cow!!! They were really good!!!
I dyi unless I shoot one early and it’s too hot to hang.

Front shoulder is usually roasts. That blade roast/steak is supposed to be real good. I’ll try to remember to save it one of these times.

How did you prepare and cook them?

Pretty much like pork ribs. YouTube it and they will turn out fine.

I’ve done pork ribs all the time... Thursday in fact.

I had heard they were too lean and needed extra fat somehow (bacon or caul fat)

You can't think of cooking deer ribs the same way you would pork ribs, too lean, and the fat is different. More like a beef short rib. I braise mine in a crock put then finishs over charcoal and sauce them. I also prefer the to pork ribs. In fact I have some going in the slow cooker shortly! I take mine to almost fall apart, then finish on hot charcoal where' I'm trying to render fat and crisp them up. Try to eat them good and hot and what fat is left won't have that waxy mouth feel. The more they cool the worse it gots. I cut leftover meat from the bone and chop in small pieces and brown in a pan then add a little sauce and make rib tacos for leftovers.

I use a similar approach for whole venison shoulders, but reverse. Smoke for about two hours at around 200-250 with good heave smoke, then finish by braising the whole shoulder until it breaks down and you can shred it. Better than pulled pork, imo.

The fat is waxy and gross. But the meat itself was wonderful. Wrap in foil for a while with some butter and brown sugar then throw some bbq sauce on em. For a while longer. My neighbor has the recipe. I’ll try to get it from him.

[seazofcheeze]

I butcher my own. Love/hate it as it’s a lot of work but I do take pride in the finished product

This is me 100%. The only thing I hate worse than cutting up my deer is the results when I pay someone else to do it

I keep backstraps and inner loins for steaks. I make 2 or 3 roasts out of each side of the neck meat, which saves a lot of time. I save some of the larger muscle meat from the front shoulders and hind quarters for jerky meat, and even make a few steaks out of some of the hind quarter muscles. The rest I grind. Jalapeno and cheese brats are my favorite destination for ground meat. Mix venison burger 50/50 with ground pork but.

[greenhorndave]

I made some ribs on the traeger this year. Holy cow!!! They were really good!!!
I dyi unless I shoot one early and it’s too hot to hang.

Front shoulder is usually roasts. That blade roast/steak is supposed to be real good. I’ll try to remember to save it one of these times.

How did you prepare and cook them?

Pretty much like pork ribs. YouTube it and they will turn out fine.

I’ve done pork ribs all the time... Thursday in fact.

I had heard they were too lean and needed extra fat somehow (bacon or caul fat)

You can't think of cooking deer ribs the same way you would pork ribs, too lean, and the fat is different. More like a beef short rib. I braise mine in a crock put then finishs over charcoal and sauce them. I also prefer the to pork ribs. In fact I have some going in the slow cooker shortly! I take mine to almost fall apart, then finish on hot charcoal where' I'm trying to render fat and crisp them up. Try to eat them good and hot and what fat is left won't have that waxy mouth feel. The more they cool the worse it gots. I cut leftover meat from the bone and chop in small pieces and brown in a pan then add a little sauce and make rib tacos for leftovers.

I use a similar approach for whole venison shoulders, but reverse. Smoke for about two hours at around 200-250 with good heave smoke, then finish by braising the whole shoulder until it breaks down and you can shred it. Better than pulled pork, imo.

I’m gonna start calling you Chef Dave.

Great tips, thanks.

PS - this is a great thread. Should be stickied somewhere.

[G-Patt]

I take mine to a processor and ask for whole straps, whole tenderloins, steaks and roasts. Whatever is left they burger with no fat added. If I want sausages or fat added to the burger, I take to a local butcher and ask them to add it in with seasonings. Might cost me more, but it frees up my time, and I'm getting a very good product the whole family will eat. When the mood strikes, I'll take some of the steaks or roasts and make jerky, smoked sandwiches, fajitas, stir fry or chunky chili. There's a lot you can do with whole muscle groups besides taking the straps and loins and burgering the rest. I'd like to try smoked ribs and use the shanks for Osso Buco one day. Maybe I'll try that on a cold Saturday in February after the season ends.

[Kraftd]

I made some ribs on the traeger this year. Holy cow!!! They were really good!!!
I dyi unless I shoot one early and it’s too hot to hang.

Front shoulder is usually roasts. That blade roast/steak is supposed to be real good. I’ll try to remember to save it one of these times.

How did you prepare and cook them?

Pretty much like pork ribs. YouTube it and they will turn out fine.

I’ve done pork ribs all the time... Thursday in fact.

I had heard they were too lean and needed extra fat somehow (bacon or caul fat)

You can't think of cooking deer ribs the same way you would pork ribs, too lean, and the fat is different. More like a beef short rib. I braise mine in a crock put then finishs over charcoal and sauce them. I also prefer the to pork ribs. In fact I have some going in the slow cooker shortly! I take mine to almost fall apart, then finish on hot charcoal where' I'm trying to render fat and crisp them up. Try to eat them good and hot and what fat is left won't have that waxy mouth feel. The more they cool the worse it gots. I cut leftover meat from the bone and chop in small pieces and brown in a pan then add a little sauce and make rib tacos for leftovers.

I use a similar approach for whole venison shoulders, but reverse. Smoke for about two hours at around 200-250 with good heave smoke, then finish by braising the whole shoulder until it breaks down and you can shred it. Better than pulled pork, imo.

The fat is waxy and gross. But the meat itself was wonderful. Wrap in foil for a while with some butter and brown sugar then throw some bbq sauce on em. For a while longer. My neighbor has the recipe. I’ll try to get it from him.

I personally would not foil them, won't get as much of the fat to render. In a crock pot or braising pot, much of the fat renders out and you can let it cool and skim off the top. Then ny finishing on the grill I'm getting much of the last of it too render and it really mitigates the mouth feel. The fat itself isn't bad tasting, its just the texture.

[Rich M]

I enjoy the processing part - I remember helping my dad process a deer he shot in 1976. Been doing it ever since.

We quarter them pretty quick and get the quarters on ice for a week or 10 days.
Then after work, will eat quick and get busy.
Meat off the bone, grind, steak, cube, roast, stew.
Use 3 or 4 large stainless steel bowls for the grind and cut meat.
Wife gets involved in packaging - she holds the quart size bags for ground meat - usually 18-20 oz per bag, and steaks - enough for 2, stew meat - about 24 oz. I do the freezer paper on the roasts. She writes the date and such on the bags.
We use these skinny boxes she gets from coconut water for the ground meat and steaks - stacks em nice and fits the quart size bags well. Keeps the seal up and blood in.
Clean up the bowls, rinse and put grinder parts in dish washer.

Done, meat in freezer, and cleaned-up by bedtime.

[Dewey]

I never understood why people ruin pure venison by adding pork or beef fat to it. When I eat deer meat I like it to taste like deer and not pig or cow. The lean nature is the main appeal of venison. As far as needing it to hold burger together that’s hogwash. I grind all my burger twice and firmly press all my patties. Never had a burger fall apart once with pure venison and very little shrinkage is nice. Anybody that complains about venison being too dry is obviously overcooking it.

[Moose]

I love processing my own deer. Just wish I had someone nearby that could help me figure out brats and burger.

Just had some heart and straps tonight for dinner.

Ive made brats and burger. Id be more then happy to help out.

[muddy]

I love processing my own deer. Just wish I had someone nearby that could help me figure out brats and burger.

Just had some heart and straps tonight for dinner.

Ive made brats and burger. Id be more then happy to help out.

Might take ya up on that. I miss deer brats in the worst way

[MichiganMike]

Do you bring your meat to a processor or do it yourself?

What cuts of meat do you package separately vs blend?

Do yourself a favor and watch some videos on YouTube. Plenty of great instructional videos out there.

It’s actually real easy and very rewarding doing it yourself. You never again have to unwrap something and wonder how good the quality will be when somebody else does it. Your in complete control of how it’s cut and packaged. The best thing is there is no one way to do it. Changing it up and trying new things is the fun part.

Absolutely!

[rempse2]

I bring mine to get it processed, have a place we've gone to for years. They'll even call me when their cutting it so I can be there when they do it.

Back Straps / Tenderloins
Leg slices - these are versatile, can throw them on the grill, throw in the crock pot, in a pot of tomato sauce, or cut out the bone separate the muscle group, trim all the fat, pound them out and bread and fry like a veal cutlet...only better.
Shoulders boned out - mix with pork but use to make my own Italian venison sausage
neck/shanks/trim - stew meat/ground meat

[tundra@1]

I would say I have to agree with Dewey on his posts. A deer is no big deal, easy to skin, and butcher out. If its mid October or November in the UP, I tag my buck, and have a cart. I start right there cutting it up. I have not dragged a deer in years. Use my atv when I can, but look at You Tube, some guys have made some good tapes.

As for butchering at home, I prefer the quarters and such, on a table, for easy work. Bearded Butchers have some good tape.

[MuskieHunterDave]

So, this thread has really got me intrigued on trying to butcher myself, at least once this year. The one question that comes to mind is: what do you guys do with the scraps (bones, sinews, etc.)? Do you bag it up and throw it away with your garbage? Bury it in the backyard? Drive it back out and drop it off by the gutpile?

[Horizontal Hunter]

So, this thread has really got me intrigued on trying to butcher myself, at least once this year. The one question that comes to mind is: what do you guys do with the scraps (bones, sinews, etc.)? Do you bag it up and throw it away with your garbage? Bury it in the backyard? Drive it back out and drop it off by the gutpile?

It just goes out in the trash for me as I don’t coyote hunt. It will draw a few flies though.

If I have room in the freezer I’ll freeze it before i toss it in the trash.

Bob