Mike, I'm going to calmly, and politely ask you to retract that comment. If not, we're going to have to revoke your man card. lmao
Amen on the Rapala. A Sawzaw is great for cutting off legs below the knees, the head and cutting the ribs off (I dont eat the ribs).
Dang it man!!! Just hang one up out there
I never had anyone to take me hunting when I was a kid. While dating my wife when I was 18 or so, I told her I was going hunting with her dad and brother... She LOVES animals and said if you go hunting, I m leaving you... I said, well I guess I'll see ya when I get back or I won't! Bye bye...
Now, I butcher all my deer and FIL's deer too. Once they are cut down and in coolers, it all comes inside to the kitchen! She don't say a word. She turned out ok...
I just use a little hatchet and beat the hell out of parts when I got everything off... I used my sawzall before, I just don't like getting it messy.
Plus I get to take out some frustrations with a hatchet!
Plus I get to take out some frustrations with a hatchet!
I love butchering my own deer. Love it.
Maybe it'll wear off in a few years, but right now I just can't wait to get my hands on a carcass.
Maybe it'll wear off in a few years, but right now I just can't wait to get my hands on a carcass.
I'm with Dan, I love it too. It just completes the whole process. Nothing more fun than icing down a cooler of beer after a harvest and celebrating while processing your own meat.
I don't mess with a saw from cutting leg bones or any other bones. All you need is a properly placed knife in the bone joints... A quick cut of the tendons, and the joint pulls apart.
I second this. Nothing Better after the kill than butchering your own deer. My dad taught me, and now I'm teaching my sons.
I have done it this way and was actually taght this way by my Dad wwho still does. Usually I have someone handing me quarters so I can seperate the muscles and de-bone and its just quicker for me to show them that way. And it never fails someone always get a puncture wound doing it with the knife
Maybe later in the season you can come and show me how it's done, granted if I get one.
lol... I still do that to myself every now and then. I've been wanting to get one of those kevlar gloves. A buddy of mine has a couple and they're the cat's pajamas for butchering deer. It doesn't matter how cold your hands get, or how buzzed you get
, you can't cut yourself while wearing one on your off-hand. And best of all, when you're done you just throw it in the dishwasher.
dante322
*Supporting Member*
Its not nearly as difficult as you think it is. When you get one let us know. We can walk you right through the process.
I like to use a filet knife to skin, and part out the deer. (I found the rapala is almost too flimsy, I prefer one of the stiffer berkley knives, to each his own) But when it comes to doing the actual butchering, I like a good chefs knife for slicing the steaks, and a small paring knife for trimming fat. a sharpener is a must. You will be touching the blade up a few time before you're done. you will also need a large teflon cutting board.
dante322
*Supporting Member*
butchering the deer is actually one of my favorite parts. This is my button buck from last year. Chops, steaks, tenderloins, backstraps, roasts and trimmings for grind or jerky. still a little fat and silverskin to trim off but for the most part its ready to be wrapped and put in the freezer.
ImpalaSSpeed96
Junior Member
I suck at cooking deer meat. I never like what I cook. It's edible, but I'd never order it over beef. I'm going to try a pulled pork version next year with my shoulders and turn at least one leg into hamburger...
rgecko23
*Supporting Member*
butchering the deer is actually one of my favorite parts. This is my button buck from last year. Chops, steaks, tenderloins, backstraps, roasts and trimmings for grind or jerky. still a little fat and silverskin to trim off but for the most part its ready to be wrapped and put in the freezer.
Thats what I'm talkin bout!....LOL
I want to learn how to do that.
IMO, the biggest mistake people make with venison (and most other wild game for that matter) is they cook it too long. If you overcook venison, it's dry, it's tough, and it lacks juicy flavor. Now I'm not saying to merely sear it and leave it raw on the inside... I personally don't like steaks or roasts that are still bleeding... But just leave it a little pink in the middle.
Here's a couple easy tips...
1) Italian Dressing is a great all around marinade and makes damn near everything taste better,
2) Bacon makes everything taste better too and helps keep things juicy (pretty sure you could wrap a turd in bacon and it'd be edible),
3) ALWAYS cut your steaks against the grain of the meat... cutting with the grain will yield tough and chewy steaks
4) Add a little bit of EVOO to your pan when browning deer burger....
...and I'm sure there are many others.
Try this. Either cook your roast and thick steaks in a crockpot with a pork roast with onions, carrots, green peppers, celery, and potatoes.
Or make a ground hambuger and mix it 50-50 with a cheaper ground beef. The wife mostly mixes our ground vension 3-3-3 that is vension, organic beef, spicey sausage. Most of the time she makes this 3 way mix up as a meatloaf recipe and forms into patties and grills them. I eat good for days.
After 46 yrs of me deer hunting the wife has learned to cook vension to the "T". We eat good around here. And to think the wife came from a non-hunting family. But she has always cooked and eat what comes into the house. Basicly she like free meat.
Her favorite was elk, deer, spicey sausage, and our organic beef (home raised) mixed together. But the elk steaks were always fixed seperately. But my elk hunting days are over do to health reasons.
Life is good even with problems.
Frank