Game processing

I figure most process their fish but how many do own game processing?

Today I quartered and deboned my Buck from yesterday. I had gutted and skinned it left hanging in the tree out front last night. After deboning it I make steaks and used a meat hammer to tenderise them. Ground the rest into burger for chili or whatever. Takes better part of a day from kill to freezer. But save almost 100 bucks for processing and I know it's done right. I have the satisfaction of knowing what I'll be eating.:ThumbsUp I wound up with 44 lbs of good clean boneless meat.:biggrin

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cessing005.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cessing001.jpg

We process ours also, make lots of summer, breakfast sausage , hotlinks! Keep all if the blackstrap and tenderloins for steak.

I like processing our but with my back I can't stand for that long so i send it out now days

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Originally Posted by Gindog

I like processing our but with my back I can't stand for that long so i send it out now days

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After I get it quartered up , I sit at the kitchen table with plastic over it and a cutting board. If I tag out it could cost over 500 bucks if I let a processor do it all.! I perfer to do mine so I know it's done right and for sure is my meat. Some folks not near as carefull with their game after the harvest. I have seen yahoos hauling a Deer around for hours to show off with the guts in it bloating!:yikes

Good post nimrod.We just slice up or own have a friend that was a butcher for safeway before it closed has a walkin freezer pretty handy thinking of grinding our own.Have been looking at grinders what is a good price and where is a good place to buy a grinder!!!!!

We just did a buddies deer. Deboned and ground everything but the back straps and tenderloin. I does take time, but it is kind of relaxing. I enjoy it as much as cleaning fish and would never send one out unless I had back trouble, but then again, I've never been priveleged enough to do very many.

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Originally Posted by jackie53

Good post nimrod.We just slice up or own have a friend that was a butcher for safeway before it closed has a walkin freezer pretty handy thinking of grinding our own.Have been looking at grinders what is a good price and where is a good place to buy a grinder!!!!!

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You can get a grinder just about anywhere these days, Walmart, Cabelas, Bass Pro, they even have them at Lowes. You can get one for under $100 and it will last for years if you take care of it. It can easily pay for itself in one season. I do my own deer processing too, for the same reasons Nimrod has stated. You know exactly what you are getting, you can do it anyway you prefer, and I guarantee I do a much cleaner job than any paid processor is going to do. BTW deer grinds better if it is just a little on the frozen side, not rock hard but good and stiff. I always like to cut mine up in chunks and spread it out on a pan, place it in the freezer for a little while and then grind it. It just goes through the grinder easier that way. It might not matter much if you are adding fat with it but I never add fat.

I process my own. I cut the roasts from the hams, save the backstraps and tenderloins and grind the rest. I keep plenty of spices on hand to make jerky, summer sausage, breakfast sausage and even brats. I don't add fat to my deer either. If i'm making breakfast sausage, I will put 5lbs of boston butt with 5 pounds of lean deer. I enjoy processing the meat.

I use a grinder I got from Cabelas. 3/4 hp and will grind meat faster than I can feed it. I also get my casings for my sausage at cabelas

Have always done my own.Save some steaks, the tenderloins, and save some stew meat, and grind the rest for hamburger. I mix 15 lbs of deer to 5 lbs of smoked bacon ends(Petit Jean 10lb box), run both through coarse grinder and then mix together in big dishpan and run them together again. Best hamburger you can eat.

My BIL has a LEM from Bass Pro. It is the #12 I think. It has the tenderizer attachment with it. If I didnt have one myself I would certainly try my best to get one. They work really well. Saves alot of money when you have a wife and 3 kids that like to hunt.

I quarter it up and then off to a processor who does a great job for me near Vilonia AR. Vacuum sealed packaging and everything for a reasonable price. I ust to do it all myself but now days i like to save the time and mess for more hunting and fishing. I did four at one time a few years ago and that was enough for me. For me it is well worth the 50 -60 bucks to get my meat processed and I know and trust my processor.

I never had ciatica (SP?) before processing three deer about 25 years ago. When I lived in Texas, there was a great place in Katy that made sausage. I would turn the whole deer into links. I haven't messed with deer in about 20 years except to cook what someone gives me. I would probably quarter it and find a good processor. Might even pay you to do it CA.
DP

I was working up a deer the other day using my browning filet knife and I thought to myself, " I wonder if ole Nimrod uses that same filet knife he talks about fileting the crappie with to work up deer". I see in the first post the answer yes. I now have a nice 8 pt to work up.

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Originally Posted by fishbaskett

I was working up a deer the other day using my browning filet knife and I thought to myself, " I wonder if ole Nimrod uses that same filet knife he talks about fileting the crappie with to work up deer". I see in the first post the answer yes. I now have a nice 8 pt to work up.

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Works great to remove that white/silver looking sinew or tendons .I fillet off just like you take skin off a fish fillet. Those backstraps are prime examples. Lay it meat side up , cut a steak off turn knife and cut sinew like removing fish skin. Move over repeating till your loins are pretty clean steaks and a strip of sinew.