self processing refresher please

OK, got three skinned and quartered-got them sitting on a grate in the ice chest to try and keep them from soaking in water too much. Also have the meat spread out so it's not stacked one a top the other. got the plugs pulled and ice chests tilted to let water drain. Other than that what else do I need to do? I have 5-10 days to get the meat wrapped and froze, correct?

http://www.foodsaver.com/on/demandware.s...=FSFSSL2244-P00

thinking real hard on this to help with packing/storage. Thoughts?

That FoodSaver will do just fine.
You have two weeks comfortably to get it all done.
I have dry aged deer for three weeks several times. And wet aging two weeks, but I bet you can go longer.
I like to put mine in Ziplocks when wet aging to keep the meat from getting wet. Some guys like to let the meat set in the icy water to drain blood out.
Do you plan on grinding any?

don't have a grinder...not sure I want to deal with the mess?

You'll want a grinder unless you want to throw away a lot of meat or feed it to the dogs. I save some scraps and the bones for the dogs. Nothing is thrown away.

I save the necks, whole, for roasts. Save backstrap and tenderloin, whole. Separate the muscles in the hindquarters and cut steaks from the bigger pieces. The rest is either ground or just chunks of meat for stew, fajita, jerky, etc.

Are to trying to age the meat? I let my deer meat soak in ice water. The key is to have enough ice to keep the water cold. This method was recommended to me by a professional meat cutter.

If you can't hang your meat in a locker to "dry" age, a garage fridge is a pretty good option. I would never let my deer meat touch water (to each their own). I age mature bucks for about 14 days and younger deer 7 to 10 days. I cut the deer in quarters (2 front and 2 rear legs cut a the knee/elbow joint) anything below the elbow/knee gets cut into chunks for dog meat. I also cut all the meat between the ribs and small neck meat for dog food. I will take that and all my scraps and put into my Can Cooker with 2 cups of water and cook for 30 minutes. After it cools, I put it into zip lock bags and feed it to my dogs for their evening meal (us ally get about 10 good meals out of a doe and 20 meals from a mature buck). So, in my garage fridge is 4 quarters, 2 back straps and 2 tender loins.

Academy here localy had some great deals on grinders. They had their game winner one on sale for like 39 bucks, regular priced at 99 I think it was. As for a vacuum sealer don't let that stand in your way from processing those deer. I've done hundreds of pounds of meat and used nothing but a product called glad "press n seal" and regular white butcher paper. Works absolutely fine and some of the meat I wrapped up that way the family was still eating from it 2 years later! Don't sweat having the latest and greatest equipment just get started on processing those quarters. Keep us updated on your progress as well. Next to harvesting wild game , processing it yourself gives a great amount of personal satisifaction.

If you are a self processor you need a grinder! No more of a mess than processing yourself...what do you do with all the trim off without a grinder?

I like to separate the hind quarters into their major muscles, and cut the straps in half and then vacuum pack and freeze them individually.
This way I can do what I want with the thawed meat later. It can stay whole for a roast, slice into steaks, strips for jerky, chunk up for stew, or grind into burger for cooking or sausage.

YES - just make sure it stays covered with ice - I've gone as long as 14 days, but not on purpose.
De-bone the meat, wrap, and freeze. I save trimmings and grind later. whole muscle (mentioned earlier) makes for the best meat that keeps the longest. I double-bag in quality freezer bags (cheaper, faster, and never 'burns').

Make sure you remove as much of the silver skin as possible or all of it. Also remove the waxy fat (fat that feels like wax). You don't want to eat either.

OK, brown spots where ice was touching the meat-trim off right?

Grinders are cheap and easy, don't worry about the mess. We use the crap out of them...

The old Oster Kitchen Centers work well, double as a food processor/blender/margarita machine, and cost less.

Buy the biggest, baddest foodsaver you can afford, it will pay for itself in game, and in buying in bulk from Sam's or Costco or local butchers

No. There's nothing wrong with it. Just trim off anything that's white, bloodshot, or too dirty to get clean. The brown spots look unappealing, but they're fine.

cool deal-6 backstraps and tenderloins done-tomorrow roasts and shoulders...

food saver issue-had to press down on it for it to suck all the air out-gonna finish the job this weekend and send it back!

we also double seal our bags just in case there might be a slight pin hole along the seam. takes a few seconds longer but worth it in the end.

Sounds like we learned from the same folks or experiences. I do nor remove the silver skin on any of it except grind meat until I take it from the freezer to thaw. It peels off easy then with fish skinning pliers and it protects that good meat if somehow air got into the vacuumed bags. Learned that long before I had a vacuum sealer.

age it for 10-14 days then cut it up into steaks, roast and grind the rest.

As long as temp is good I let 'em hang a few days and then quarter. After quartering they go in a fridge in the shop for 3 or 4 days. We usually skin, quarter, debone & package at home. Use to grind trimmings too, but processor charges minimal for grinding small quantities and its worth my time to NOT have to do it. The package I took in last week was only 10.5 lbs. I also take my own bacon & have him add at a 1 to 5 ratio (bacon to venison). Makes good hamburger paties! up

A good grinder is great for making your own sausage. And it's no more messy to grind 20 pounds as it is 2.

And since you have all those bones make venison stock. Leave a little meat on the bones then cut the bones into lengths that will fit into a pot.
Roast the bones in the oven for a little while then put them in the pot. Add some rough chopped onion, carrot and celery. Add enough water to cover the bones add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for a few hours (got to get all the marrow out of the bones)the longer it simmer the more concentrated flavor, stir it all up occasionally.
Pull the bones out, strain into another pot and let cool.
I take one quart freezer ziplocks, fill them about half way and then try to get all the air out before I finish sealing. lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer.
I use my stock for roasts, gravy, when I make mushroom rice. etc.