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Do you process your own deer?

Do you process your own deer?

  • Yes I do!

    Votes: 26 78.8%
  • I used to, but not any more.

    Votes: 1 3.0%
  • Never have.

    Votes: 3 9.1%
  • Never have, but would like to try it.

    Votes: 3 9.1%

  • Total voters
    33
I've been considering the purchase of some processing equipment, for many years. I keep watching the processing videos and think that some day I'll get into it. I suppose after you get into it, you wonder why you haven't been doing it all along. :smiley_chinrub:

How many of you guys process your own deer?

Bowhunter57
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
I'd like to try, but this hunting deer is new to my household and I'm not sure my wife would like a carcass hanging in the garage. rotflmao
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
I cut all mine up. I do take some meat and have summer sausage and deer sticks made. Going to purchase my own grinder and such so I can start doing that myself too. No need to take my stuff to the processors anymore once that is purchased. I like knowing what I have is/was mine and not mixed with others deer.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
Yes, I do. In lieu of paying someone else $ 60-75 per deer I pay myself and buy new equipment each year. I average about 3 deer per year.

Now my garage and basement are all set up with stainless steel everything. I just lack a walk in cooler but I don't need one anyways.
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
Now my garage and basement are all set up with stainless steel everything. I just lack a walk in cooler but I don't need one anyways.

You have a GREAT setup. I think you'd be able to put together a great picture tutorial if you had the time and the right deer!
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
Yep I do. I have for a while now and wouldn't go back. I would like to get all stainless like BM has but I will be there with the next house we get. Food grade stainless ain't cheap...
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
Yep I do everything myself, unless I want summer sausage or sticks made, never practiced that enough to get it consistent and something that everyone enjoys. But as far as butchering/skinning/and cutting steaks/grinding/etc, I do all that myself.
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Yep... same here. That's some of the fun of it. Getting a buddy or two to come over, tip back a few cold ones, cut up some deer, and shoot the bull.


And Mike, if your wife is anything like mine, she loves seeing a deer hanging in the garage for a day or two waiting to get butchered!! AND she really loves it when we move the operation into the kitchen for wrapping everything up!! :smiley_crocodile:
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
Man, if it's cold enough out, I may try it. I already bought the leg spreader/hanging device and my dad gave me a vintage hoist. My fear would be fugging up the cuts. A tutorial would be ideal! Curran, that would be over the top for her. Bloody meat all over the kitchen. :smiley_clap:
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Last year my wife helped me grind up the deer burger. She was not really liking it, but assisted because we had a family gathering about to take place. hahahahaha It is not too hard. I have only done a couple so far. I am not real efficient, but haven't noticed any difference in the meat. If anything, my steaks are more lean, and I get a little more meat.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Man, if it's cold enough out, I may try it. I already bought the leg spreader/hanging device and my dad gave me a vintage hoist. My fear would be fugging up the cuts. A tutorial would be ideal! Curran, that would be over the top for her. Bloody meat all over the kitchen. :smiley_clap:
all your doing is following the muscle structure and breaking the deer into pieces for the most part. VEry easy. makes steaks out of the hamstring muscles and roasts out of the quad muscles. grind the rest minus the back straps..
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
Last year my wife helped me grind up the deer burger. She was not really liking it, but assisted because we had a family gathering about to take place. hahahahaha It is not too hard. I have only done a couple so far. I am not real efficient, but haven't noticed any difference in the meat. If anything, my steaks are more lean, and I get a little more meat.

Yep that's the beauty of it, if you like you steaks one inch thick, cut 'em that way, if you like them butterflied and a little thinner, more power to you.

I also like to be able to freeze them the way I want them to, like half a backstrap, or 3 or 4 steaks in one pack.

Another nice thing about doing it yourself is you know exactly what you are getting when you do it yourself. I take my time and get every bit of silver skin and junk off the meat, and I know my meat didn't lay in the back of the truck getting shown off by the guy down the road and took his to the same processor.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Yep that's the beauty of it, if you like you steaks one inch thick, cut 'em that way, if you like them butterflied and a little thinner, more power to you.

I also like to be able to freeze them the way I want them to, like half a backstrap, or 3 or 4 steaks in one pack.

Another nice thing about doing it yourself is you know exactly what you are getting when you do it yourself. I take my time and get every bit of silver skin and junk off the meat, and I know my meat didn't lay in the back of the truck getting shown off by the guy down the road and took his to the same processor.
had a friend bit into a summer sausage roll that had aluminum foil in it.....talk about wanting to hurl
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
had a friend bit into a summer sausage roll that had aluminum foil in it.....talk about wanting to hurl

Yeah that sucks! When we were trying it out we always went and got some of the edible casings that we didn't have the foil issue.

We have a guy here at work that absolutely makes the best summer sausage I've ever tasted. He even ordered the special cheese so he could do jalapeno and cheese, he's got it figured out.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Yeah that sucks! When we were trying it out we always went and got some of the edible casings that we didn't have the foil issue.

We have a guy here at work that absolutely makes the best summer sausage I've ever tasted. He even ordered the special cheese so he could do jalapeno and cheese, he's got it figured out.

no the foil was IN the meat...the high temp cheese you can get from LEM in hamilton ohio.