processing deer

[caseynewberg]

I was just wondering how many of you folks process your own deer... my dad was a butcher from the time he was 16 so I guess it just runs in the family but most of the ppl I've talked to around here haven't been doing up there own deer. Just figured I'd put a little survey out

process or not?

[icehousebob]

I have four sons and they started helping with deer butchering when they were little. By the time they were teenagers, their friends were asking them to come over and help with their deer butchering. I come from farming people where everyone knew how to butcher.

[woody1975]

We butcher, grind, season, and stuff our own venison. We just have a meat market do the smoking - Our smoker is pretty small.

We have a good time and make a weekend out of it.

DL

[harvey lee]

We use to do it all but now we cut the better cuts out, trim the rest and have the locker plant take care of it all.

Also will make our own jerky.

Sausage, breakfast links, bologna and others are done at the locker plant.

[UMDSportsman]

We cut it up ourselves, cut out the better cuts, steaks, and chops and put the rest into trimmings, and the trimmings go to the locker. Recently a couple people in our party have purchased grinders and have started processing their own trimmings.

[Powerstroke]

I've always butchered my own; something I learned from my dad. Now a buddy and I can hammer one out pretty quickly. We vacuum seal everything and have the trimmings done at a meat market. We grind our own burner too.

[caseynewberg]

in our family getting together to cut up meat is just like another night at the hunting land, we all get together my dad brings his big grinder and we had our two bucks all finished up in like 4 hours. They were pretty decent size we got a lot of meat off them even with my rambo style running thru the bush trying to stop my buck. Forgot my pack at the camper with my knife in it.

[charliepete2]

I'm a do it yourselfer. I do all the cutting and make smoked sausage, breakfast sausage, hot sticks, beef jerky and what ever else I can think of. I shot 3 deer and a bear this year. Being able to process my own stuff saves me hundreds of dollars a year. After a while you get pretty quick at prcoessing. I can skin and quarter a deer and package the good cuts and chunk out the stuff for grinding in about an hour by myself.

[maros91]

I skin and take everything off myself and vacuum seal the steaks, etc. Trimmings go to the locker for sticks, ring bologna, etc. This year if I get time I will try and tan the hide.

[cribbageboy]

We have always done it ourselves, until this last season. Both me and my dad dropped deer, and we didn't want to spend all that time doing it ourselves, so we had it processed. I dont know if i like it that way so much. Butchering is just as much part of the tradition of hunting as sitting in the deer stand on a cold morning. We did get breakfast sausage, summer sausage, and steaks out of it though. Plus we made a little jerky ourselves.

[Bowfin]

We process our own. Cut steaks, chops, roasts and grind our own hamburger (mix with 1/4 beef hamb) and make jerky. Goes fairly fast if 2 or 3 people know what they are doing.

[Shack]

We had a great post going last deer season about doing your own processing.

I will find it and bump it up for ya..

[Shack]

I found it was in the Hunting forum above, but click below and this should ansewer all your question, if not we will

Good luck..

!!!!!!!!click here to find out about deer processing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[caseynewberg]

thanks for the reply I'm sure that will help some other ppl that are interested in processing there own deer!

[Shack]

Sorry, I just read it was a survey .

I process my own.

[BLACKJACK]

I've processed a couple of my deer over the last several years but generally because of convenience we haul them to to the butcher shop, our hunting party comes from diffent areas and come Sunday afternoon we haul them to the butcher shop and then head home. And then pick up the nice little white packages in a month Or if I get an archery deer and it hot out, I haul it to a butcher shop ASAP.

[Jim Uran]

I take mine home and do it all myself. It's part of the hunt for me, getting the right age and cuts on the meat just makes it all more rewarding.

[BobT]

This year I tried aging ours in a refrigerator for 10 days. What a difference!

We process our own including making our own sausages, steaks, canned, whatever. Well, almost everything. We don't have a smoker so if we want something smoked we take it elsewhere.

Bob

[rockman]

Been doing my own for about 10 years.Start to finish.The wife bought a grinder awhile back to do the venison burger packs.Sausage attachments have worked good so far to make sausage. I wish I had the time, and a good recipe, to make thuringer. I miss that part of the final product,that comes from bringing in a deer to the butcher.

[SnoManX]

My hunting party has always brought our deer into the butcher but this year I hunted with a different buddy who showed me how to butcher our deer. Wow, ironic how I've always only shot one deer per year because I didn't want to pay the $150 butcher tab (yet can spend a grand on camo, shells, accessories every year) and this year it was only $35 for 18 lbs of brats and beer sticks. Looking into getting a vacuum sealer and grinder for next fall.

[Shack]

Sorry, I moved this post to the correct thread .

[BigWadeS]

Awesome, thanks for bumbing that up so I can add it to my favorites...