Deer Processing - 6 deer in the freezer

[deewayne2003]

In my part of the country the chance to take a trophy buck also comes with the responsibility of balancing the population; recently a friend and myself made a weekend of both culling deer and processing the meat.

Friday evening the weather was perfect and we got on stand around 3pm and by 5:30pm I had 4 doe on the ground and my buddy had another 2, this is where the work starts........

After getting the deer back to the barn we had to tag them in and part of the state DMAP permit(deer management assistance program) is that we have to take one half of the lower jaw bone out from every deer we take and send it into the state at the end of the season.

So after tagging and taking jaw bones the deer were gutted and left to hang over night.

Then Saturday morning we begin by breaking down all the carcasses for processing.

Boneless backstraps, tomahawk backstraps, tenderloins and "lollipops"(bone attached pieces of backstrap) are coated in olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper & crushed garlic; then left to sit and marinade before packaging.

Let the grinding begin......

1st batch we mix 80/20 lean deer meat and Wagyu boneless rib meat (20lbs)

2nd Batch is 85/15 lean deer and pork belly (40lbs)

From left to right.....

Pork belly mixed burger, Wagyu mixed burger, tenderloins, Tomahawk back straps, boneless backstrap, fry meat(pre cut and tenderized meat for chicken fried steaks)

 

[K-man]

That’s awesome! Good to have a friend to help. They look delicious, almost enough for me to want venison again.

 

[Datchew]

Nice!

 

[coyote wacker]

In my neck of the woods meat processors charge $150 for a simple cut add sausage or meat sticks your over $200 per deer.
I have never had a deer processed in or out of State, I might need cold storage but that all.

 

[deewayne2003]

In my neck of the woods meat processors charge $150 for a simple cut add sausage or meat sticks your over $200 per deer.
I have never had a deer processed in or out of State, I might need cold storage but that all.

The local processor is a nightmare of unsanitary conditions, I'll never step foot in that place or eat a single piece of meat that comes from it, hence why I do it myself.

 

[Rare Breed]

In my part of the country the chance to take a trophy buck also comes with the responsibility of balancing the population; recently a friend and myself made a weekend of both culling deer and processing the meat.

Friday evening the weather was perfect and we got on stand around 3pm and by 5:30pm I had 4 doe on the ground and my buddy had another 2, this is where the work starts........
View attachment 733675

After getting the deer back to the barn we had to tag them in and part of the state DMAP permit(deer management assistance program) is that we have to take one half of the lower jaw bone out from every deer we take and send it into the state at the end of the season.

So after tagging and taking jaw bones the deer were gutted and left to hang over night.

Then Saturday morning we begin by breaking down all the carcasses for processing.
View attachment 733676

Boneless backstraps, tomahawk backstraps, tenderloins and "lollipops"(bone attached pieces of backstrap) are coated in olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper & crushed garlic; then left to sit and marinade before packaging.
View attachment 733677

Let the grinding begin......
View attachment 733678

1st batch we mix 80/20 lean deer meat and Wagyu boneless rib meat (20lbs)

2nd Batch is 85/15 lean deer and pork belly (40lbs)

From left to right.....

Pork belly mixed burger, Wagyu mixed burger, tenderloins, Tomahawk back straps, boneless backstrap, fry meat(pre cut and tenderized meat for chicken fried steaks)
View attachment 733679

I well remember when I had my much larger farm having everything needed for butchering my own deer as well. I hate any part of deer fat so I would carefully take every piece off I could before packaging. Of course I had a huge freezer. My cousins used to steel the meat due to how great it was butchered I had to start locking it, lol!!! The trick I learned from a New York master chef who worked at a one star Michelin restaurant was to use orange peel on all venison when cooking to completely kill the bad taste of any left over deer fat

 

[pilar]

The local processor is a nightmare of unsanitary conditions, I'll never step foot in that place or eat a single piece of meat that comes from it, hence why I do it myself.

Fellow texan you need to throw us a bone and tell us the place that is unsanitary! So we can avoid this vile situation! A pm will do ( privacy)

 

[deewayne2003]

Fellow texan you need to throw us a bone and tell us the place that is unsanitary! So we can avoid this vile situation! A pm will do ( privacy)

PM Sent - Your safe though, the processor is in Southern Oklahoma where I hunt.

 

[deewayne2003]

I well remember when I had my much larger farm having everything needed for butchering my own deer as well. I hate any part of deer fat so I would carefully take every piece off I could before packaging. Of course I had a huge freezer. My cousins used to steel the meat due to how great it was butchered I had to start locking it, lol!!! The trick I learned from a New York master chef who worked at a one star Michelin restaurant was to use orange peel on all venison when cooking to completely kill the bad taste of any left over deer fat

I am very particular about how I handle the processing; you got to kill, gut, cut & pack it right.

I've had several people recoil in horror when I told them I was cooking deer for dinner; their faces usually change to curiosity when they see me pull the "French rack"(Tomahawk backstrap) off the grill, then to a look of amazement when they try the first bite makes all the work worthwhile.

Tips......

Vacuum sealing is superior to wrapping in butcher paper.

Prevent freezer burn - Put the sealed meat in the fridge overnight letting it get cold as possible before placing in the freezer.

When making burger or sausage, take whatever pork or beef you are mixing in and pre grind it the day before and spread it out thin on a cookie sheet and freeze it; so you can easily trickle it in with the grind meat and it being frozen will keep everything cold during grinding.

 

[Safari Dave]

Looks like you have a great setup for processing game.

My local processor runs a clean operation, but processing 6 would run me $780!


Due to CWD rules (which vary widely from state to state) self-processing can be quite a bit of trouble.



The way things work in Georgia now:

New Deer Carcass Disposal Rules in Effect: Proper deer carcass disposal reduces the risk for spreading CWD to new areas and is now required across all of Georgia. This applies to anyone transporting or disposing of deer carcasses or parts, including hunters, processors and taxidermists. Proper disposal methods for carcasses or unused parts include:

• Leave them on the property where the deer was killed
• Use a commercial deer processor, they are required to properly dispose of unused carcass parts
• Permitted solid waste landfill (as you would for household garbage), smaller parts can be bagged and thrown in household garbage containers
• Deep burial, incineration, or any other approved method in the Dead Animal Disposal Act (O.C.G.A. § 4-5-1 to 4-5-11)

So the days of harvesting a deer, throwing it into your truck, driving 50 miles home (to process it at home) are gone.

 

[analog_peninsula]

@deewayne2003 Remind me to head up to your place for dinner one of these days. I haven’t had much success cooking whitetail and you look like you’ve really got things dialed in.

 

[Rare Breed]

Looks like you have a great setup for processing game.

My local processor runs a clean operation, but processing 6 would run me $780!


Due to CWD rules (which vary widely from state to state) self-processing can be quite a bit of trouble.



The way things work in Georgia now:

New Deer Carcass Disposal Rules in Effect: Proper deer carcass disposal reduces the risk for spreading CWD to new areas and is now required across all of Georgia. This applies to anyone transporting or disposing of deer carcasses or parts, including hunters, processors and taxidermists. Proper disposal methods for carcasses or unused parts include:

• Leave them on the property where the deer was killed
• Use a commercial deer processor, they are required to properly dispose of unused carcass parts
• Permitted solid waste landfill (as you would for household garbage), smaller parts can be bagged and thrown in household garbage containers
• Deep burial, incineration, or any other approved method in the Dead Animal Disposal Act (O.C.G.A. § 4-5-1 to 4-5-11)

So the days of harvesting a deer, throwing it into your truck, driving 50 miles home (to process it at home) are gone.

While I know you are correct, where my farm is once the deer is butchered my cousins leave the carcass in an open field and between coyotes and buzzards nothing is left…I am still just a GA country boy at heart

 

[steve white]

CWD has changed how I view processors--you don't know where all the deer came from that went through that processor. Scary.

Your setup looks amazing. Feel free to impart any and all tips to the rest of us.

BTW, I take it you must have a bandsaw?

 

[BRICKBURN]

The local processor is a nightmare of unsanitary conditions, I'll never step foot in that place or eat a single piece of meat that comes from it, hence why I do it myself.

When the butcher we had used for years sold the business the new owners turned it into the exact nightmare scenario you describe. We do everything ourselves.

Great job by the way.

 

[BGGMKLR]

In my neck of the woods meat processors charge $150 for a simple cut add sausage or meat sticks your over $200 per deer.
I have never had a deer processed in or out of State, I might need cold storage but that all.

I'D jump all over that. I harvested a large Buck during archery season this year...right at 200 lbs dressed hanging weight. The CHEAPEST price I was quoted for basic processing...no jerky, no meatsticks, no patty or link sausage...just basic steak, grind, and wrap...$400.
Ridiculous. Did it myself.
Spike.

 

[Fatback]

Doing it yourself is the way to go in my opinion. I worked for a processor when I was in college many years ago and learned how to do it correctly. I process between 10-12 a year for myself and my close friends. I really enjoy doing it as well. I’ll be grinding and packing some this weekend my best friend and his son in law got last week. Gonna be good eats.

 

[pilar]

“”My local processor runs a clean operation, but processing 6 would run me $780!””
That’s actually pretty much a good deal on price
I had one deer sent to the processing plant and it was +/- $375
For straps , sausages, jerky and debone fee
If I fill all 5 of my tags = +/- $2000

If you’re in the boerne Texas area imo Klein is the best and runs a very clean site

 

[deewayne2003]

@deewayne2003 Remind me to head up to your place for dinner one of these days. I haven’t had much success cooking whitetail and you look like you’ve really got things dialed in.

Deal!.... Need to figure out a time for you to come up and do a hog hunt and deer dinner.

 

[deewayne2003]

CWD has changed how I view processors--you don't know where all the deer came from that went through that processor. Scary.

Your setup looks amazing. Feel free to impart any and all tips to the rest of us.

BTW, I take it you must have a bandsaw?

@steve white - No I don't have a bandsaw, all of my cutting is done with a 6"semi flex boning knife and a 22" manual bone saw.

Before CWD became an issue I had the same concerns about processors......

Back in the 2008ish, we finished up a client hunt and had loads of deer that needs to be processed and I took 5 deer to a well known processor in Dallas.

The deer that were being unloaded from various other trucks were in horrible condition - gutted and laying in the back of dirty truck beds with no ice, others were obviously gut shot and barely rinsed, the deer that were quartered had massive amounts of blood shot meat and generally all around unsanitary.

I asked one of the guys working the dock how many deer a year they processed and was told....
"Between 7,000-9,000 on a regular year, but we've done as many as 14,000 in a season"

You know damn good and well you are not getting only your meat back in that type of operation, so that's when I started doing my own.

I will say that Cinnamon Creek is a great and clean processor, I'll have them make me some Jalapeno summer sausage and meat balls on occasion.

WILD GAME | CINNAMON CREEK RANCH

www.cinnamoncreekranch.com

 

[steve white]

@steve white - No I don't have a bandsaw, all of my cutting is done with a 6"semi flex boning knife and a 22" manual bone saw.

Before CWD became an issue I had the same concerns about processors......

Back in the 2008ish, we finished up a client hunt and had loads of deer that needs to be processed and I took 5 deer to a well known processor in Dallas.

The deer that were being unloaded from various other trucks were in horrible condition - gutted and laying in the back of dirty truck beds with no ice, others were obviously gut shot and barely rinsed, the deer that were quartered had massive amounts of blood shot meat and generally all around unsanitary.

I asked one of the guys working the dock how many deer a year they processed and was told....
"Between 7,000-9,000 on a regular year, but we've done as many as 14,000 in a season"

You know damn good and well you are not getting only your meat back in that type of operation, so that's when I started doing my own.

I will say that Cinnamon Creek is a great and clean processor, I'll have them make me some Jalapeno summer sausage and meat balls on occasion.

WILD GAME | CINNAMON CREEK RANCH

www.cinnamoncreekranch.com

Jeez, I bet I know which Dallas processor you are talking about--I have some of their sausage in my freezer right now....I want a sausage stuffer for Christmas, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO NEED YOUR SAUSAGE RECIPES, LOL.