Deer processing questions

[vthunter52]

If the weather is 40 degrees or below, I like to hand the deer for 4-5 days. Take and boil salt water until an egg floats and paint on the inside. This will form a skin that is easily cut off in processing, and prevents the intrusions of any insects that may be still around.

 

[Richard J.]

I have done my own deer since I was little. Never went to a processor. Also use a vac seal. ( buy a good one). The problem with a lot of people is that they over estimate the weight of the deer. A friend that runs a club started weighing all deer checked in. Most could not believe the actual weight. Always say the scales must be wrong. On a very long drag you will swear that they weigh 500 lbs. It is just like yardage. Most people think they shoot there deer at far longer yds. than it really is. Rangefinder proves that also.

 

[Little Wattsy]

How long do you all hang the deer before processing? I try for 4 days, but our warm weather this week forced me to do one after 3 days and one hung for only 1 day (it has been getting up into the 50's here).

I am going to buy a vacuum sealer this year, and an electric grinder is on the list also.

3 to 5 days are good but even in warmer weather if the meat is dry and has meat bags on it to keep the flies off 2 to 3 days are doable. Even in early October when it can still be 70* here we hang them at least two days...
All my practices and info come from being the son of a professional meat cutter. Watched/helped the old may slaughter, butcher, cut n wrap, thousands of lbs of meat both domestic and wild.
Side note: "averages in size for deer" is SO geographically specific that its ludicriss to make generic statements... Here in Oregon it can very by county based on nutrition/diet as well as genetics. Not to mention that the size of the animal is irrelevent in reguards to the ratio of meat to live weight.

 

[will5a1]

I know the one I shot Tuesday morning felt like she weighed 300 lbs after a drag over/through a creek, than uphill through brush and brambles to my truck. I probably do overestimate how much they weigh, I think I will keep my eyes open for one of those spring scales you can use hanging.

 

[Roguedog]

I heard that. I shot a small doe one day but by the time I finished dragging her to the truck I would have sworn she weighted 300 lbs as well. Plus, I'm not in as good a shape as I used to be.

Jeff

 

[Little Wattsy]

I know the one I shot Tuesday morning felt like she weighed 300 lbs after a drag over/through a creek, than uphill through brush and brambles to my truck. I probably do overestimate how much they weigh, I think I will keep my eyes open for one of those spring scales you can use hanging.

OR.... Bone ALL the meat out and weigh that (pretty easy to do) and double down for "live weight".. :wink:
As ststed earlier when I drop of 84 lbs of buck meat at the processor and I KNOW I coulda got another lb or two if I hadnt been so tired, then I can say my deer weighed right at 170 - 175 lbs. :grin: :grin:

 

[George T.]

One of the reasons the meat you do yourself is that your "picky". Most processors will either wast a lot of meat or try to hide a bunch of scrap pork in the sausage. If you remove the silver skin up front it adds processing time but saves time when you cook with it. A processed Texas average deer will give you less than 35 pounds on meat. Geo. T.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Well I am cheap i am not paying a processor 90-100 dollars a deer to process that I can do in 2 hours, plus you need to pay extra for sausage sticks and jerky too. I get around 50-60 lbs of meat from a deer on avergae but I also mix my burger meat 4lbs of burger to 1lb pork sausage usually from from boar. This makes the burger taste better and makes the burger meat hold together better for burgers and meatballs. I can buy all my own sausage seasoning at any outdoors store and comes with casings, and the smae meat grinder stuff the sausages. One big hint I did do was switched finally from freezer wrap to a vac sealer for my steaks you can pre-maronate them before ya seal the back and it draws the marinade in the meat easier and when you lay it out to unthaw it doesn't leak blood everywhere like the paper can, and they are ready to cook outta the bag. Plus when you ask a processor to cut some steak meat for fajitas you always end up with stew meat ohh yummy chew tough meat. The only time I will ever use a processor is in bowseason where it can still be 80-90 degrees out and i am camping for a week yet.

 

[cynthialee]

We used a local processor with a good reputation. The meat came well prepared and Matt and I didn't have to bust ass to get it done. While the meat was being processed we were out there hunting for anouther.
Granted it would have been cheeper to do it on our own, but I am glad we didn't.

 

[broknaero]

I've never weighed a deer yet. Only weigh bears at the check station. The only deer to go to a processor are early bow season when it's very warm and I dont have the time to process myself that day. This season I was blessed and filled 4 tags all under ideal conditions (below 40*F for days) I skin and quarter same day as harvest. (with right temps) I place the quarters in these large plastic totes I have set up for this. The quarters can be hung inside the tote straight up and down. Air can circulate through holes in sides of the totes for this purpose.

Quarters are processed as time and temperature allow. Steaks/ roasts are vac sealed. scraps for burger are bagged and frozen for future grinding for burger/sausage etc. Larger scraps are bagged and frozen and marked as such. These are cut when needed and thawed if I want to make stew, speedies, or canned.

A quartered deer can take me 2 hrs to get into the freezer start to finish. I take my time and enjoy the processing. I love to hunt, and I love to cook, so doing it myself is all part of the experiance. If deer did'nt taste so good I doubt I would waste the time to hunt them.

 

[gjr902]

This year we process our deer asap. My brother got a small button buck (70#)during VT bow season. We took him to the butcher 4-5 hrs after kill. Got 18# of meat, 9# of burger and sausage.

I got a 110# doe during the CT ML'er season. We butcherd her ourselves the next day. 37# of meat. 14# will be turned into burger and sausage in the future. We scraped all the "extra" meat we could and turned it into jerky.

I think the meat tastes better if its processed right away. My doe hung about 24hrs at 30-40 degrees.

My next deer, I want to skin it the same day, then process it the next just to see if there is a differance in taste and processing. It took about 2 1/2 hours to cut her up and wrap the meat.

 

[S.Kenton]

I have killed deer in the beginning of November and let it hang just until the opening day of gun law, which is normally the last monday in November..I have a walk in cooler at my disposal that stays at a constant 39 degrees.. :grin:
Without the cooler, I have left deer hang for 2 weeks, just watched the temp. very carefully..needs to stay under 50 degrees during the day.
Just my 2 cents...

 

[crockett]

Roguedog: always save the ribs, that's the first thing I eat. I don't bother cutting them into ribs/chops, I cook the whole thing and chew on really long rib bones. Ribs on almost any animal are the best eating- even if the rest of the critter is a stinker the ribs are almost always still good. On the sausage, I never bother with casing although I suppose you might be able to use deer intestine. Does anyone do that? I make "country sausage" just the ground meat and spices and I form little patties and cook and then freeze. My own form of "brown and serve". The reason I cook first is to harden the patties so they don't all stick together when you freeze them. You can reheat these already cooked patties in about 5 minutes.

 

[Richard J.]

For warm days, like bow season. Fill cooler with bags of ice and put meat on top. Drain water each day and add ice as needed. No problem keeping it for a week at a time. For people that like to marinate there meat before sealing it here is a little trick I picked up on. Use a paper towel folded to about 1 inch. Lay along the top where you are going to seal. This prevents the liquid from going into the vacaum sealer. It also works with chili and other types of food prepared in advance for quick meals. When doing liquid like chili store bag in upright position until froze to prevent all the liquid going into the paper towel.

 

[Roguedog]

Richard,
I been using the "cooler method" for years. Usually after a long day of hunting, after I gut, drag, skin and quarter, I generally don't feel up to processing. I put the deer pieces in my cooler, cover the meat with ice and like you said, I just drain the water each day and add more ice as needed. I have kept deer almost two weeks this way with no ill effect. If anything, I think it may even help tenderize the meat.

Jeff

 

[Roguedog]

Crockett,
I'm definitely keeping the ribs next year. I keep hearing about how good they are. I know that I sure love pork ribs!

Jeff

 

[Richard J.]

Learned about the ice and cooler when I moved to the panhandle of Florida. That is about the only way to keep deer and hogs down here. This is our winter and for the last couple of days it had been in the mid 70s. Dont think deer would last very long with that temp. Another thing they do down here is if you get a wild boar sometimes they are real strong. Take a cup of Kosher salt per one gal. of water. Fill cooler till meat is covered then add ice. Next day drain all water and redo the salt and water, cover with ice and leave for 4 more days. Just keep adding ice. When meat comes out no strong wild game taste. They also do this with meat that is bloody. Meat will come out looking a little white

 

[smo]

I have used the cooler & salt method on deer in the past myself. When I was growing up my Dad always would soak any wild game (Squirrels,Quail& Fish) in salt water over night in the fridge. I have kept deer in a cooler over a week by draining the water a changing the ice as needed. Usually the salt is only needed for the first few days,until the meat takes on a pink/whitish color. :wink:

 

[crockett]

I'm another brine user to get blood out of meat, works really good.

 

[Roguedog]

I remember my dad use to put squirels in a bowl of salt water overnight. I guess now I know why. I may start doing it myself.

Jeff