Gaminess??

[Hunting Man]

I grate frozen beef suite (spelling?) to the burger for moisture just to hold it together when i grind it. I too clean the meat of all fat, silver membranes ect. All de-boned, plastic wrapped several times, then double wrapped in traditional freezer paper. This keeps the meat very nice for about 2 years if it lasts that long.

[spiker]

hm my neighbors in the country are from harrisburg pa and they turned me onto the sweet baloney.you ever had that its fantastic.in new york i get summer sausauge but this is so much better.i guess its big in pa

[Hunting Man]

uh what? Never had it. Sounds good though. I don't do sausage cause it sticks to me for several days.

[timetohunt]

I do all of my own processing. I have hung them for a weekedn with the hide on, and with the hide off. I also let one hang a few more days untill I had time to do the cutting. I would rather skin and butcher as soon as time allows. Skinning is much easier when the animal is warmer. Once it has cooled for a few days getting the skin off turns into a much less enjoyable time. Expecially if it is really cold out (nearly frozen).

[Cobberz]

My Grandfather and Dad have always done their own processing, I have followed suit. I think after reading some of these i may skin my next one right when i hang it because last year we had a heck of a time skinning it after hanging for 4 days. As for recipes i would love to hear more. I usually just cut everything into small steaks and then pan fry them w/ butter and onions, kinda boring but thats how i like it. How do you guys cut it for chili's and other things like that? I think if im lucky enough to get one this year i may try some new things while processing it.

[Hunting Man]

For chili I use coarse ground burger, if I run out I have used a roast and cut it into 1/2 " cubes.

[kemster99]

i use stew meat for chilli also.

[timetohunt]

This is how I cut up most of my deer.

Steaks - I turn as much of the hind quarters into steaks of varying thickness. I also cut up the loin (backstraps) into steaks also of varying thickness.

Roast - The last couple of years I have kept the whole front shoulder in one piece, bones and all. In my opinion, this is the most "frustrating" piece to cut because of all the silver skin and slipery membranes. I cut the leg off at the lower joint and then clean as much of the membranes off it as I can. Than I wrap and freeze the whole shoulder. My wife uses large oven roasting bags to roast the shoulders. They sure are tasty this way.

I also will cut some of the loin into 6-8 inch lengths to be used for roasts.

Cubed meat and Burger - Along the way if a piece dosen't turn out the way I would like it to I throw it in a bowl to be used for cubed meat for stew/ chili/ etc. or to be ground into burger.

Dog food - I'm sure your thinking "What?" I hate to waste any parts that can be used. As much as I can get off of the fat, useless scraps, dirty pieces, tougher leg meat, anything that I would not want to eat myself goes into another bucket that will get boiled (outside) for a while and then frozen into small bags for the dog. He loves it! (read that in a book)

As far as cooking Venison, I will try every idea I can think of. Very rarely does it come out bad. Theres is a great book on processing Deer that I have that covers all you would want to know from before the shot to dinner time. It has been a great help to me.

[tator]

try getting some of your deer ground into burger when getting it processed or processing it yourself. I always add in pork fat since it's so lean. What we always do, when we are making anything with hamburger in it, we put in half hamburger half deer burger... you don't taste a difference at all. We pre-freeze it that way in 1 lb bags, half deer half beef. that way when you need a pound of burger you grab a bag and go. we make spaghetti, lausanga, chili, box noodle and meat dinners, etc...

[Addoelephant]

I think we are sometimes in too much of a hurry to get the meat worked and packed in the fridge. I have noticed that if I leave the buck in the skin for 2-3 days, skin it and let the meat "hang" for another 2-3 days before I work it, the meat taste different. Even an older animal is more tender than expected........ then again I am in ZA, and I have a cold room, even in winter to keep my meat cold enough. Would this be possible with you? If so try it.

I have also noticed that what you do after the kill, also make a difference. After you shot the animal, allow it to "bleed out" (I cut the throat).