How long does it take you to butcher deer?

[ButtonBuckFever]

It takes me twice as long as I think it will.

My kids love the burger so I've been doing more grinding and this cuts down on the time. Silver skin catches on grinder plate, so I only trim out the fat and thicker stuff.

Still takes a long time... I never really added it up because I do it in phases and take frequent beer breaks. Probably 5-7 hours from skinning to freezer/clean-up. I like to take my time and enjoy the process.

[EllieTheChubb]

8ish hours from set up to clean up

I enjoy filling the freezer up so I take my time. usually skinning to putting cuts in the freezer the first day. This is probably 4-5 hrs everything cleaned up and put away. Then day two is sausage making, jerky, etc. This is another 2-4 hrs depending on what I'm making.

Its hard to imagine folks doing it in an hour as I feel like I spend that much time standing infront of the vacuum sealer.

[cspot]

Its hard to imagine folks doing it in an hour as I feel like I spend that much time standing infront of the vacuum sealer.

THis is where some of the differences in time come from. For example I have a hamburg packaging system that I grind directly from the grinder into the bags and I have the tape system. This is far quicker than if I vacuum sealed. Then I have a commercial film wrapper for the saran wrap and a dispenser for freezer paper. The combination of those two really protects the meat and that is far faster than the vacuum sealer as well.

Now I couldn't do a whole deer in a hour by myself, but just in my wrapping systems, I probably save myself easily 30 seconds and probably a minute or more per package (longer if you have to seal both ends of your vaccuum bags). If you have 40 packages of meat from a deer that is probably a half hour (conservatively) on packing time alone.

Then I will use an example of grinding time. WHen I first started I had a cheap grinder that the knife and plate weren't the best on. It took forever to feed the meat thru and I occasionally would have to clean it out as it would get plugged up. Now I have a Commercial grade grinder and I always keep my knives and plates sharp. It will take the meat as fast as I can feed it in.

Having a good place with plenty of counter space helps alot to where you don't have to keep moving stuff just to work.

Also the type of cuts that you do makes a big difference. For example if you have a large family and you like to do roasts then that is really quick to cut up as you just have some big chunks of meat. However if I am cutting chipped steak on the slicer (makes it like steakums) then that takes some time even on the slicer.

Alot of this stuff isn't a big deal if you are only processing a deer or two per year. When you start doing 10 or more a year, then you really start looking at your setup and trying to figure out ways to save time/money. I haven't found a quick way to trim/clean the meat though prior to cutting up and that still takes some time. Haven't found any automated machine for that. If someone invents one I will buy it, as I hate cutting up deer. I am just too cheap to pay someone else to do it.

[JShea]

Hour and a half from hung to cleaned up and done.
I was a meatcutter for 10 years. I used to cut deer at a commercial processor and cut deer myself for people.
More you do quicker it is. Depends on deer size also.
The last year I worked at the commercial deer processor. We had deer already skinned and hanging on rail system in cooler.
5 guys cutting one wrapper. We cut 95 deer in 12 hours. And for the fellas that claim the butcher feeds his family on other people's deer not true. Last thing you want is to eat most of the deer that come through. Bad gut jobs, poor shots, it's bad.
I think most guys don't know how to care for meat. Guys that do their own will always have nicer end product.

[d_rek]

Excluding hang time..

4hrs would probably be average including skinning, butchering, grinding, and vac sealing.

I've done enough now where I can slice up shoulders and hams pretty quick. Trimming out burger meat takes longer, but i've learned you don't have to get every teeny tiny piece of silver skin and white out unless you demand pristine burger. Still better looking burger than i've gotten back from processors.

I don't trim up my roasts/steaks before freezing. I do that after I thaw and before they get cooked. No downside to doing this other than you move the time on the back end.

I have a grinder, not the fastest or best, but will do 20lbs~ of trim in 10-15 minutes or so.

People say vac sealing takes longer versus using freezer paper. I haven't found that to be the case. Takes just as long to cut all of your freezer paper, tape it all up, as it does to cut your vac bags, stuff, and vac seal. And no fear of freezer burn (yeah yeah, please tell me how you have never had a single brown freezer burn spot on your freezer paper meat. I believe you, really!)

[ThePreBanMan]

It depends on how picky you are. If you truly want to get ALL the RED meat without any WASTED, it would take forever.

I'm very skeptical about guys who claim to butcher deer very fast without any waste...

I call B.S.

Deboned in 8 minutes with 50 dollars in equipment. A 34.00 knife and a 13 dollar meat hook. You won't see much waste at all. Those shoulder blades are as clean as my plate after a sirloin tip dinner.

https://youtu.be/xijmge8_NJw

[cspot]

People say vac sealing takes longer versus using freezer paper. I haven't found that to be the case. Takes just as long to cut all of your freezer paper, tape it all up, as it does to cut your vac bags, stuff, and vac seal. And no fear of freezer burn (yeah yeah, please tell me how you have never had a single brown freezer burn spot on your freezer paper meat. I believe you, really!)

I use to vacuum seal everything at one time. The freezer paper method wins hands down in speed and cost hands down. The key is to have a dispenser like this as you can pull out and tear off with one hand and have a tape dispenser.



Also a deli wrap machine like this for the saran wrap.



I have had freezer burn from vacuum sealed bags. This is caused by a faulty seal. Rare but it does happen. No different than using saran wrap/freezer paper. If you don't pay attention and properly wrap it then you will get freezer burn. Properly do it and no issues. Vacuum sealing may win out if you were storing meat for years and years, but I have taken meat out several years old wrapped in freezer paper and it was just fine. I used to not even do the double wrap and only used freezer paper at one time. However with the deli wrap machine it only takes a couple seconds to double wrap it.

My vacuum sealer has been sitting on the shelf for several years. My wife was against not using it for the first year until she saw how easy it was with the right equipment.

Also to add the hamburg wrapping system into bags with a foot pedal to control it is faster than the freezer paper method.

[Swedishbowhunter]

It depends on how picky you are. If you truly want to get ALL the RED meat without any WASTED, it would take forever.

I'm very skeptical about guys who claim to butcher deer very fast without any waste...

I call B.S.

Deboned in 8 minutes with 50 dollars in equipment. A 34.00 knife and a 13 dollar meat hook. You won't see much waste at all. Those shoulder blades are as clean as my plate after a sirloin tip dinner.

https://youtu.be/xijmge8_NJw

That is impressive, I upgraded my de-boning knife this year and that really helps.

[Dewey]

It depends on how picky you are. If you truly want to get ALL the RED meat without any WASTED, it would take forever.

I'm very skeptical about guys who claim to butcher deer very fast without any waste...

I call B.S.

Deboned in 8 minutes with 50 dollars in equipment. A 34.00 knife and a 13 dollar meat hook. You won't see much waste at all. Those shoulder blades are as clean as my plate after a sirloin tip dinner.

https://youtu.be/xijmge8_NJw

Deboning is the quick and easy part. Trimming everything to pure quality red meat is what takes the most time. Doing that properly with the least amount of waste possible is very time consuming. I have watched guys toss out a lot of good meat just because they don't want to take the time to trim it properly. I believe in utilizing the most meat possible. That's why processors give so much less meat back than if you do it yourself. Most of it ends up in the scrap dumpster. Some grind it all and you end up with crappy looking burger. I like my burger to be pure red with no connecting tissue mixed in. That's the advantage of doing it yourself.

[elk yinzer]

About 30 minutes to skin and break down, usually at the kill site.

Another 2-4 hours at home. Varies a lot based on how much trimming I do. Lately I've gotten away from doing a lot of trimming, I just get the roasts in the freezer and clean them up when I go to cook it.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

It takes me way too long.

Mostly trimming and cutting silver meat. The last deer I shot this past season I left more silver meat and tallow. Probably a significant amount but I also bought a shoulder of pork to mix in with all that meat as I ground it up. We’ve eaten a few of those packets so far and seems fine. I’m not going to wild on getting all that silver stuff anymore.

It goes faster if you Blair some metal music lol

[Wlog]

Hour and a half from hung to cleaned up and done.
I was a meatcutter for 10 years. I used to cut deer at a commercial processor and cut deer myself for people.
More you do quicker it is. Depends on deer size also.
The last year I worked at the commercial deer processor. We had deer already skinned and hanging on rail system in cooler.
5 guys cutting one wrapper. We cut 95 deer in 12 hours. And for the fellas that claim the butcher feeds his family on other people's deer not true. Last thing you want is to eat most of the deer that come through. Bad gut jobs, poor shots, it's bad.
I think most guys don't know how to care for meat. Guys that do their own will always have nicer end product.

How much trimming do you do? Do you worry about every little bit of silver sling and sinew?

[Wlog]

It depends on how picky you are. If you truly want to get ALL the RED meat without any WASTED, it would take forever.

I'm very skeptical about guys who claim to butcher deer very fast without any waste...

I call B.S.

Deboned in 8 minutes with 50 dollars in equipment. A 34.00 knife and a 13 dollar meat hook. You won't see much waste at all. Those shoulder blades are as clean as my plate after a sirloin tip dinner.

https://youtu.be/xijmge8_NJw

That is for sure impressive. Think that guy has cut up many deer geez!

[Bonecrusher101]

It depends on how picky you are. If you truly want to get ALL the RED meat without any WASTED, it would take forever.

I'm very skeptical about guys who claim to butcher deer very fast without any waste...

I call B.S.

Deboned in 8 minutes with 50 dollars in equipment. A 34.00 knife and a 13 dollar meat hook. You won't see much waste at all. Those shoulder blades are as clean as my plate after a sirloin tip dinner.

Took me to school!!!

https://youtu.be/xijmge8_NJw

That is for sure impressive. Think that guy has cut up many deer geez!

[JShea]

Hour and a half from hung to cleaned up and done.
I was a meatcutter for 10 years. I used to cut deer at a commercial processor and cut deer myself for people.
More you do quicker it is. Depends on deer size also.
The last year I worked at the commercial deer processor. We had deer already skinned and hanging on rail system in cooler.
5 guys cutting one wrapper. We cut 95 deer in 12 hours. And for the fellas that claim the butcher feeds his family on other people's deer not true. Last thing you want is to eat most of the deer that come through. Bad gut jobs, poor shots, it's bad.
I think most guys don't know how to care for meat. Guys that do their own will always have nicer end product.

How much trimming do you do? Do you worry about every little bit of silver sling and sinew?

Trimmed to ready to eat. Get all fat off. The silver skin is taken off the outside of everything. No need to go digging for every little piece inside, this is where I have shown friends how to cut and they get all wrapped up in getting it all out and takes them way longer than needed.
If you cut meat for a living you know what needs to be trimmed and what can stay.