[Rozman62]

I have cut up around 25 deer thus far. The first few I took to a butcher and was not satisfied and found it very expensive. Then I watched a few being done and decided to help myself.

After the deer is skinned I like to peel off the flanks. This becomes grind for hamburger and sausage. Then I take out the back straps from the bottom of the neck up to the hind quarter. They range from 30-40" long. I remove the silver skin and clean them up until they look good. Then I cut in half and vacuum seal. Some people also like to butterfly this cut. I then remove the tenderloins from underneath. These usually get eaten same day.

I now take the front quarters off. I save 1 roast/2-3 steaks from each quarter and the rest goes into hamburger. My family loves hamburger. You can make alot of diff dishes with hamburger so it's versatile.

The next to come off is the rear quarters. These get cut into large chunk muscle groups and vacuum sealed. This leaves me the flexibility to later cut into steaks, kabobs, etc.

I finish with removing the neck meat which ends up into hamburger as well. I then pick away small amounts of meat from the carcass. I really pick 'em clean. I do not save the ribs.

All cuts go into a cooler on ice and sit for at least 24 hrs. Better to have a spare refrig to control the temp in the 37-39 degree range. All told it takes me about 4.5 hours/deer.

 

[flexj]

I do all of mine too, but I don't do any hamburger. I think for my purposes it is a little too much work to get the grinder cleaned before and after. I do all jerkey and steaks with my deer, so I just cut the muscle groups separately and freeze em up. Plus I don't usually do anything with the front quarters or neck...

 

[joel the signman]

i do it all myself and nothing goes to waste,heck i even tanned the hides last year

 

[timberghost]

I like the way you go Rozman. I kind of do the same thing but my old man takes the legs and neck to make stew or crock pot "roast beef" for sandwiches. The VFW my dad belongs to loves the way he cooks. So I feel good about feeding the classic troops. He just comes and cuts what he needs and I get the straps and T-loins for my vacuum sealer. The rest of the pickings gets grinded for jerky.

 

[muleskinner]

I do all my own as well. I grind everything into burger just because the family likes it better. I built my own grinder with a 220 motor and an old fashion hand grinder. Once I bone out all the meat it takes about 10 minutes to grind a large deer. I to quit using the rib meat last year. I think it makes the meat taste gamey.

 

[Rozman62]

I have been making jerky about 15 years cutting thin strips of semi-frozen lean meat and dehydrating it. I find it has a shoe-leather like consistancy and is tough to chew. Getting older doesn't help. I would like to buy a jerky gun and start to grind the meat to make jerky. It seems easy to do. Has anyone used one of these guns? How is the quality?

 

[WHITETAILFEVER]

I've had some jerky that was made from hamburger and i didn't like it.to me it just fell apart and was like chewing peanuts lol.i didn't like it but thats my opinion.there is a guy at my work that makes jerky by slicing the meat and let me tell you its the best tasting jerky i have ever ate!! Not so chewy(like shoe leather)but this year i'm going to bring a deer (if i get one) to a place near malone,ny that makes venison hot dogs and venison halopino&cheese hotdogs they are like the red skin hotdogs and let me tell you are they ever good so for the first time i'm going to cut up my own deer.that place makes all kinds of stuff out of venison.

 

[wmi]

After several hundred deer I take mine to the butcher. Cost is not that bad since I no longer kill as many deer anymore. The guy I use is retired and does the whole deer skinning, cuts, burger and packaging for $50. That is more than worth it to me. Besides now I :biggrin:have more time to hunt!!!

 

[Hunting Man]

I age/cut up my own deer, gring the burger, all de-boned, except the neck roast. I trim everything till its clean no silver membranes, just nice looking meat. I add 1 lb of beef suite to 12 lb of deer burger to help hold the burgers together. I took 1 deer to a butcher in 1978 saw what happens in a commercial butchering shop decided I would be better off doing it myself.

 

[Southern Man]

Hunting Man....is it that much trouble doing all the grinding and mixing yourself? I've been wanting to make my own sausage and burger but have yet to buy a grinder. Any tips or suggestions??

 

[ronn]

try pork fat instead of beef one time. makes it even better.

 

[Hunting Man]

I freeze the suet which makes it easier to grate it using a cheese grater into the burger. Southernman, it is a bit of work, but I know what's in the meat how it was handled and that's it is all mine and not mixed with someone elses. I have an old oster grinder that takes about 1/2 hr to do 18-20 lbs. ronn, I've tried everything but prefer the beef as it doesn't change the taste as much as pork.

 

[joel the signman]

check out a company called LEM products they have everything you need

 

[Southern Man]

Pardon my ignorance but........what is suet??

 

[BruceBruce1959]

it's raw beef fat or mutton fat.

 

[Southern Man]

Ahhh thanks. I can see where it would work better frozen. I've been wanting to try this for the last couple of years. I may give it a try this year. My wife is sold on the burger and sausages from a processer here close but I might try a bit for starters.

 

[timberghost]

I would like to buy a jerky gun and start to grind the meat to make jerky. It seems easy to do. Has anyone used one of these guns? How is the quality?

That's what I do and it takes a while if you have a small grinder like me. Grinding large pieces are hard but cutting them smaller works but takes alot more time. But after all that the jerky is very good with the gun. If you like jerky crispier or chewier just adjust dehydrator time. But the gun makes a thicker piece. Some guns come with a flat nozzle or tube nozzle for different varieties.

 

[gfdeputy2]

I agree Ronn I also use pork w/ mine I also use my wifes Kitchen aide w/ the grinde attachment works better if the meat is chilled in the fridge for at least 30 min. tried it once w/ fresh (warm) meat smoke was rolling out of the kitchen aide I thought I was next going into the grinder no problems since I started chilling it next attachment is the sausage shooter

 

[buckfever]

I agree Ronn I also use pork w/ mine I also use my wifes Kitchen aide w/ the grinde attachment.

Im about to buy the grinder attachment for my wife's as well.. Thanks for tip and let me know how the sausage tool works.

 

[Hunting Man]

It's a lot easier to butcher cold meat vs fresh warm meat. Aging it cold will give you more tender meat. I usually try to get 7 days aging in prior to cutting it up. Good beef suet comes in big white chunks and is hard to the touch. Suet is added just to hold the burgers tgether for cooking. Using the large orface plate on the grinder works well for chili.