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Processing Your Own Meat
#8312210
07/04/21 04:24 PM
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 553
MI Hunter
OP
Tracker
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OP
Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 553 |
Looking to find videos or info on learning to do my own. What tips / tricks & tools do I need?
Thanks
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8312228
07/04/21 05:07 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,904
Simple Searcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,904 |
We have processed our own deer for 15 years now. When I found out that our processor "pooled" the deer and just gave us an allotted amount of meat. Really all you need is a vacuum packer and a grinder. I separate out ham muscles and the back straps and pack them whole. I can do whatever I want with them later. Like steaks, pepper steak, roast, or even grind. The rest of the pieces I grind and package one pound per bag. We eventually expanded and build a smoke house and got everything for making sausage and drying jerky. It is very rewarding and you know you have your deer, not someones gut shot two day old deer.
"Man is still a hunter, still a simple searcher after meat..." Robert C. Ruark
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8312279
07/04/21 06:26 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,699
603Country
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,699 |
I shoot em, skin em, and debone the meat. Back strap gets vac sealed and frozen. Wife then grinds the rest of the meat for burgers, chili meat, and such as that. Pretty simple process, though labor intensive. So, tools needed are: skinning knife or two; thin bladed deboning knife, grinder, vac sealer, wife/GF/wench. Miscellaneous other items that are useful are: ice, cooler, and of course, a way to hang the deer for skinning.
And, if you are old enough to to have kids or grandkids, you can get them to do it while you just observe the process while offering suggestions and having adult beverages. That was my Dad’s approach when I was a kid.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8312308
07/04/21 07:17 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,904
Simple Searcher
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,904 |
kmon1's suggestion of keeping the shoulders whole for roast is the best bet. Certainly easier, and tasty
"Man is still a hunter, still a simple searcher after meat..." Robert C. Ruark
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8312385
07/04/21 08:57 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,287
scalebuster
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,287 |
I’ve been doing my own for close to 40 years. I used to have three piles when processing. Fry, chili, and jerky. I don’t fry as much as I used to and freeze a lot of my muscles whole for grilling. The best way to learn is make friends with someone that knows what they are doing and do one of theirs while they are supervising.
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8312833
07/05/21 02:40 PM
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,434
BDB
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,434 |
After doing my own for almost 30 years and now my sons doing theirs with me this is how we roll....
Find a place to hang the deer to skin. Cut the deer up in quarters and get the neck and rib meat off. We take the backstrap off right there also...put all quarters, neck meat, rib meat etc in a cooler with a some ice. Keep cooler plug off as you want the water to get out as it melts. Go find a nice clean area to cut the deer up. If its hot we take the deer inside the house...if cold the garage is fine. I have the white cutting boards....medium size so there big enough to get some meat on but small enough to wash in a big sink....you will probably need to wash the boards a time or two during the process. A couple curved boning knives are my choice but whatever you like. A steel to touch up the blades OFTEN. Large bowls for different types of meat. From here its simple....Large muscles and backstraps are put in a bowl, medium size meat goes into the stew meat bowl while all else go in the grinds bowl. Nothing gets cut into steaks, thats done when we thaw the large muscles to eat. When a bowl gets full or you need a break we put the bowl in a fridge and cover it. We have several fridges between the house and garages. If you only have a single fridge clean it out before you start or you gotta use the coolers. "Garbage in... Garbage out". Just get the meat off the bones. The rear quarters there is the pelvic bone that you will have to cut and follow, one side will be nasty looking and the other side has good meat your trying to follow the bone on....when screw that one up a little just remember it and correct on the second quarter. Anything you mess up is grinds so no big deal. The rear quarters are just lots of muscles held together by tissue, sinew etc. I clean up all that crap and when I'm done with my deer its almost all RED meat. Now I had a butcher tell me one time to leave all the grinds as they are....no adding fat but I like 10% PORK fat if you can find it. Cow farts....ugh cow fat I mean is ok but I prefer pork fat if I can get my hands on it. Vacum seal all the meat or if you eat it fast white butcher paper can do, I'd double wrap it if using paper though. Once we get all the deer for the year however many it is ,then we grind. Grinding is a one day job.
Tips: * a chair just the right height will do wonders over standing. * Having a sink, fridge etc all in close proximity helps * touch up your knifes often...just a few swipes does it if you know how to do it. * cut AWAY from yourself...but you will get a piece that you cut back towards you, just try away most of the time * garbage can with HEAVY duty bags sitting right beside while you work IS A MUST. And put some newspaper in the bottom first if you have any. * I wrap the table I'm working on with white butcher paper and tape it down, clean up is easy peasy * a wife who will cook the tender loin for a snack while you work is nice to have. * we have found we go thru ground meat FAST so I try to get as much of that as possible (it can all be ground up but large muscles are staying whole) * its time consuming especially if you clean the meat up good and are not a knife ninja but just power thru it it will get done.
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8313010
07/05/21 07:26 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 2,675
Txhunter65
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 2,675 |
As posted earlier. Bearded butchers have a lot of videos regarding wild game, very informative and a great resource for new hunters or experienced hunters looking to continue learning. Easy search on YouTube.
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8313013
07/05/21 07:27 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 2,675
Txhunter65
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 2,675 |
And… always remember cut your buddy… not your body!
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: Txhunter65]
#8317069
07/10/21 10:02 AM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 927
GNTX
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 927 |
As posted earlier. Bearded butchers have a lot of videos regarding wild game, very informative and a great resource for new hunters or experienced hunters looking to continue learning. Easy search on YouTube. I’ll add my vote for watching Bearded Butchers. Watching them is like watching poetry in motion. You probably don’t have to do quite as much as they do. Because they have a butcher shop for commercial meat, they tend to do little extra cuts out of habit to make the meat look like it would if it were beef or pork in the display case. They really know their craft.
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: kmon11]
#8317237
07/10/21 03:13 PM
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,285
bobcat1
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,285 |
Made that a favorite. Thanks!
Bobby Barnett
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8319212
07/12/21 11:35 PM
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,078
TKandMike
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,078 |
vacuum sealer and grinder will help you get through a lot of it.
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8319263
07/13/21 12:44 AM
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,335
Dave Davidson
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,335 |
I did my own for many years. Then when my latest grinder went South, I started paying someone else.
Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Re: Processing Your Own Meat
[Re: MI Hunter]
#8319295
07/13/21 01:23 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,795
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,795 |
We were talking morning about this at coffee, one of the guys said his grandpa taught him. He said that his grandpa would corn feed a goat, and then have him butcher it. Yes we laughed, but it made sense. His grandpa guided him through the processing steps on 2 goats, and he has been doing his own deer ever since. He and I used to sometimes process ours together, but I had never heard his story, he always said his grandpa taught him, as mine taught me.
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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