VERY DISAPPOINTED AND RATHER DISGUSTED

[stanley]

The last time I took game to a local butcher I lost all of it to foul tasting garbage that I paid a lot of money for.

 

Since that day, every single ounce of meat consumed in my house is processed by me. I can't do summer sausage, because I don't have a big enough smoker to hang the chubs, so the guy I use gets nothing but cleanly cut meat I have processed. Everything else is 100% self processed from field to table.

 

It takes me about 8-10 hours for an elk and maybe 6 for a deer, but when I'm done, I know my wife won't chomp down on a pine needle, hair or even a leftover chunk of sinew or fat.

 

Game animals aren't like beef - their fat and sinew does not break down and flavor the meat like beef. Any fat or sinew will give game meat an undesirable "gamey" flavor.

 

I've got a family of picky eaters when it comes to game meat, and I can't stand game going to waste. Out of necessity, I have found that proper care in the field and meticulous care in the boning and packaging of game meat lead to unbeatable table fare, and the slightest overlooked detail leads to wasted game meat.

 

There is no way I could pay anyone worth their time to process my game the way I do. But, when it comes down to it, every bit of every animal my family kills gets eaten, either as jerky or steaks. And we've had some Javelina steaks that I would defy anyone to discern from quality deer or antelope backstrap. I recently gave some coues bottom round to my father-in-law, who hasn't been able to hunt for years and wanted some venison. He raved about how tasty that meat was - and the conditions to get that meat out of the field and home were not favorable.

 

If you like hunting, and you enjoy sharing the fruits of your hunt, you really owe it to yourself to learn how to process the meat yourself. There is definately an art to it, but once you get it, you will never take your meat to a processor again.

 

 

Great post Coach. I cant agree more. And for me butchering your kill is part of the fun. I really enjoy the entire process. And your 100%correct on taking off all the fat you can. That stuff will turn your meat gamey in a hurry. I usually add pork fat back to the hamburger to keep it together. Butchering our own game is one of those things I am so thankful my family has always done and something I was able to learn form my family. And for the guys that have not processed your own game yet you should really give it a shot. It may not be perfect the first few times you do it but who cares. You will learn and have the satisfaction of knowing you did the job yourself and did it the right way.

 

+1 on this!!

 

I'm no expert, but you don't have to be one.... The internet has plenty of 'how to' information, diagrams, etc. on how to butcher your own, and I LOVE doing it!

 

My oldest son killed a little 3 point muley on a hunt a couple of weeks ago. We deboned the meat and kept it clean and cool. A couple of days later, a buddy and I enjoyed a few beers together while cutting, wrapping, and vacume sealing the meat. Suppose it depends on how you look at it, but to me the butchering/cutting/wrapping is all part of the experience. Kind of like the cherry on top of the hunt!

 

S.

 

[270wsm]

One of the best ways to hang your game in hot weather is to buy an old soda machine that still works gut it and install hooks for hanging meat.

[savagman]

I took the racks out of my garage fridge and aged one of my elk hind quarters and frankly I can't tell the difference between the aged meat and the fresh cut meat. Maybe I needed to age it longer? It was hung in a shed in Pine for a few days at below 30 night and mid to high 40's day temps. It was almost frozen when I headed home. At home I set the fridge at 40 for the first day to allow the meat to thaw a bit then about 35 for a few more days. About 7 days in all.

 

I have become a believer in freezer aging. Meat will age in the freezer - just much slower. I have been fortunate in the draw and the field lately so I have been able to wait 3-6 months or more before enjoying the meat. I am currently still working through last years game so this years goes on the bottom of the freezer and I won't get to it for awhile. The flavor mellows and texture improves. Everything seems better with time spent in the freezer. Even the fresh and smoked sausage is better - although it is rare that we can resist temptation very long. We grind our own burger and sausage using a LEM grinder - started out with the grinder attachment for the mixer then a $99 cabelas model and stepped up last year to a bigger unit. Slowly we have accumulated the stuff we need to do it better, faster, and easier.

 

We wrap in plastic wrap first and then in freezer paper and freeze in a standard (not frost free) chest freezer. Freezer burn has never been a problem.

 

We make the processing a family affair and it is not rocket science. As previously mentioned there are good sources of information on the internet. Someone should take a bunch of pics when they process their deer and post a tutorial on CWT. If someone doesn't beat me to it I will the next time we are blessed with good fortune.

[JLW]

I'm not an expert by no means but I always keep a new tarp in the package in my backpack to help keep the dirt out when working from the ground.

to me getting the hide off asap and cooling the meat down is very important for the taste of the meat.

DIY definitely the way to go! I put the deboned pieces in a cooler with dry ice for 3 or 4 days with the plug opened to drain any liquids, keeping the dry ice from contacting the meat. then cut it up into roasts and steaks and pieces to be ground for hamburger. works pretty well.

 

james

[cmc]

I can tell you out of the all pigs, deer and a few elk that I have shot there is no way you can get all the hair/sticks/dirt off prior to getting it to the butcher if you are in the field with limited cleaning supplies.

 

I beg to differ. One just needs to focus on being prepared for that meat before you leave to go on your hunt. Have a plan in place with items to do a through cleaning and transport of the meat. Take extra water just for cleaning the meat. One of those blue 5-7 gallon jugs from the sporting goods stores will do the trick. Coolers to transport and ice to get it cool. Another thing it to evaluate how you gut your critter. Switching to gutless method some time ago I found I use far less water than ever before. The driving force for was going on backpack hunts. Water is limited so you need to be resourceful as much as you can to conserve it. If we can get animals out of the woods 6, 8, & 12 miles to the truck some times taking multiple days, with no hair, dirt, twigs, leaves or guts or any of it spoiling with the temps in 90degs, than I find it hard to believe other folks can't do the same. It's not a lot of work.

 

This year after I shot my coues deer I set a goal to try to not get any blood on my clothes or skin while processing my deer to pack it out. I was wearing a pair of standard type latex gloves and didn't even roll up my sleeves. Time to take photos, cut up, and put in our backpacks was 1 hr. My buddy watched me throughout the process only holding on to a leg once to keep the deer from sliding off the steep hillside. I was almost to my goal till on the last twist to remove the head from the spine I reached to far around and got some blood 1/2" above the glove on my arm.

 

While doing the gutless method I bring some para-cord from Sportsman's ($4) and use that to tie up the meat. I also put 2-3 black trash bags in my pack. If no trees are around to string up the meat I cut one bag open to lay the meat on to air out while cutting on the critter. Once the meat is off the carcass I put the meat inside the trash bag for the pack out. Do NOT let it sit inside the bag in the sun or if you're taking a long break on the hike out pull it out and string it up or lay it out in the shade to continue to cool. The black bag is only to keep blood from soaking into your pack and gear as well to keep dirt and yuck off the meat on the way out. Once back to the truck the blue jug of water is used to wash off the meat the into a cooler, or better yet I use my RV fridge for chilling the meat and put what was in there in a cooler. If you're meat isn't clean enough to put in your fridge then you obviously have failed at cleaning the meat in the first place. I don't use a butcher, but if I did it'd be Johnathan at WGP, but instead I have an old side by side freezer/fridge in my garage with limited shelves inside. I put the quarters in the bottom sitting on paper. (note I get free CAD new school blue print drawings which are large 24" or 36" wide white paper like a butcher paper. Place the printed side down on the bottom of the fridge white side up replace with new sheet after every deer.) I put another piece of paper on the shelves and lay out the loins/back straps and neck/rib meat I cut off. Normally it's not that I wait a bit to debone but I tend to get tied up with family and work items and get to cutting up the meat 3-4 days later. I give it one final rinse with a garden hose and have a plastic folding table that I spot clean thoroughly. I use that as a cutting board and wash table in the back or side yard. Some times I cut one quarter of meat at a time in the kitchen on a large white cutting board but it depends on weather outside or if I need to inside watching the kids while deboning meat. That and if a good football or hockey game is on tv. I turn about 80% of my coues deer into hamburger setting aside only the loins for bacon wrapped BBQ yummies and some cubed chunks from the rear legs for cooking in the crock pot for shredded burros. Grinding is an entire other subject but I bought a $99 grinder and $100 food saver vacuum pack unit I'd say about, 6 deer, 3 elk, 1 antelope, 1 bear, and 4 javelina ago.... Needless to say, it has paid for itself after the first deer. I'm not looking to upgrade the side of grinder only to speed that side of the processing up.

 

Hope that helps some...

 

cmc

[AzHuntingAddict]

First deer taken this year for me, and first attempt at processing myself. I would have to admit it was all new, but I had fun learning it and also learning with my 8 year old son helping me. The deer I took was not big, so the prep was a bit easier I think.

 

Here is some of the goods I came out with.

 

 

 

Sorry PETA, but this was the BEST tasting formerly running around animal I have ever had!

 

[azslim]

You need a 10" butcher knife for steaks, flexible bladed and stiff bladed boning knives and a grinder and you can do everything yourself. I've used hand crank grinders, counter top models and now have a big one. I use my garage fridge to age now but have killed something one day and put it in paper in the field the next, I would just let the steaks age when thawed by taking them out 3 to 5 days before I wanted to cook them.

 

I have a Seal-A-Meal and age my game in the garage fridge before butchering, but it was real nice to take paper in the field and do all the butchering there, just fling the stuff over your shoulders and feed the coyotes/crows and when I got home I loaded the freezer and only had the grind to worry about.

 

Pillow cases from yard sales make excellent game bags if you do the gutless method, then the garbage bag keeps your pack from getting bloody.

 

If I can, weather permitting, I let my qtrs hang uncovered at night so the rind up, then cut the rind off taking any hair or dirt with it, you don't lose much meat with a sharp knife and it beats picking hairs. I'm pretty anal about my meat care, throw an ounce of questionable away rather than chance tainting a lb of good meat.

[couesobsession]

Yum Yum AZ hunting addict. After eating tag soup on a very challenging and perplexing coues hunt in 32, the best I can hope for in terms of wild game is to cook up some rabbit, quail, or dove while looking at pictures of venison like the one you posted . If only I had the smell to connect the taste to. Maybe you should invite me over .

[Big Tub]

After reading through this post, I wonder if it is meant to come across that you are less of a sportsman if you do not process your own game?

 

I have had good service with Jon at WPG II.

[Coach]

After reading through this post, I wonder if it is meant to come across that you are less of a sportsman if you do not process your own game?

 

I have had good service with Jon at WPG II.

 

I certainly wouldn't say you are less of sportsman if you don't process your own game. I would say you will have a more intimate experience with the hunt if you do.

[Elkhunter1]

I have been interested in starting to process my own game. I was wondering how important it is to hang the game for a certain amount of time in a cool environment. I have always just taken everything to the butcher because it is too hot in Tucson to hang anything. I was wondering if a guy could buy an old refigerator, gut the inside of it, and install some hooks on the top to hang quarters inside. Has anybody done this, or heard of somebody else doing it?

 

 

My family will take the whole deer with hide on and put it in an old refer at 35 deg. for 18 to 24 days depending on size then take him and butcher him. We will do the same thing to Javi, but they are skinned prior to the refer. the Javi is placed in a clean garbage bag left open (not sealed) for 13 to 18 days then butchered. Now before this is done we rigorously clean the animal paying close attention to the wounds, and let drip dried.

[THOR]

After reading through this post, I wonder if it is meant to come across that you are less of a sportsman if you do not process your own game?

 

I have had good service with Jon at WPG II.

I know I am a sportsman and I will take my game to jon at WGP always! i would like to learn how to do it myself , but Jon has never done me wrong and I have recomended him to many people, you cant go wrong with him in Tucson, he is the best!

Mark

[gearsnagger]

I always thought that the F&G should include skinning/field dressing/quartering of big game as requirement for big game hunting! Too many idjiots out there jut wanna pull the trigger and take hero pictures...

My question to greg ciasca is how long do you leave the skin on these deer you are dropping off , and how long after the kill is it that you drop them off??

Getting the skin off quartered and the meat cooled down/in the shade/in the ice chest is the best way to get good tasting meat! Especially in warm weather!

Gutting a deer leaving the skin on and taking it to the processor hours after the kill or the next day (even worse) is a recipe for a disgusting dissapointment!

[kninebirddog]

We process our own... All we do is separate each muscle get the sinew and tendons then cut each muscle into 1/4 inch medallions

the smaller pieces we bag for stew

 

the small medallions when we go to cook we soak in paul newmans balsamic vinaigrette for at least an hour slow cook on any BBQ and never make enough LOL ask any one that has had the pleasure

[Big Tub]

K9: Bob does put on a good lunch out there!