Meat Handling of Game Animals

[Husqvarna]

Cool the animal out as quickly as possible.
Clean immediately.
Skin ASAP.
Hang in a cool place.
Keep hair and dirt off meat.
Cut through as little bone marrow as possible.
Bone out the meat, saves space and improves flavor.
Remove and discard all fat. Fat and marrow make for gamey meat.
Double wrap steak pieces and freeze whole. Will keep much longer. Easy to slice perfect steaks while half thawed out.

does cool it out mean something else than cool down? it must be allowed to cool down gradually

if you skin it below zero and hang it below zero your meat will be chewy as hell, the freezing tences up the muscle fibres.

we often gut it in the field if the weather allows but during winter we will bring it back to our slaughterhouse (if it isn't shot up too much)

Wipe out the insides, if it is shoot up to much use a natural desinfective agent my mum makes some concontion of vinegar and i dunno her secret recipe , never wash with water unless you are in a sterile enviroment, water is moisture that bacteria likes.

Skin it above zero to further help the processing, after all the skin/fur is its natural barrier

I recommend vacuum sealing meat to, thinks it helps with tenderizing it

 

[wooly booger]

the optimum environment for leat processing and aging is low humidity and 35-38 degrees F. If you allow game to freeze on the ground or hanging, then thaw for butchering, the refreezing, it is going to be of much lesser quality. I personally like to get the hide off as soon as possible if the weather is warm and wrap the whole carcass in cheesecloth or a game bag and get in a cooler. In colder weather, hang in a meat locker or protected shed. Leaving the hide on is best for this situation.

 

[Doyle]

if you skin it below zero and hang it below zero your meat will be chewy as hell, the freezing tences up the muscle fibres.

For some strange reason, that problem never comes up down here in FL.

 

[Husqvarna]

how about spoiling the meat?

I assumed that was the reasons why the animals are seldom taken care of straight away on those run around with pitbulls shows just hogtie them and throw them on the pickup

just sometimes I wish I was born an american

 

[wooly booger]

I assumed that was the reasons why the animals are seldom taken care of straight away on those run around with pitbulls shows just hogtie them and throw them on the pickup

In FL and a lot of other places, hogs are live caught either behind dogs or trapped. They are then "finished" or fed out with corn or other grain type feed for a few weeks to add fat or sweeten the meat. Same as how cattle are finished in a feedlot.

 

[dalegribble]

hunting is more complex than pulling a trigger. the after care of game should be required in these hunting programs. i guess for them it is all about horns because they don't even gut the deer. i appreciate seeing the work after the shot. the proper care of the game animal even if it is just the gutting. i don't really expect the butchering of the animal, but that would also be nice to see occasionaly. larger animals may require skinning and quartering of the animal to get it home. even the capeing of the animal for a head mount would be a more responsible way to represent a hunter and the game he hunts.

 

[wooly booger]

You obviously haven't killed anything bigger than a whitetail if that. and by reading your text you expect someone like a guide to do all the work.

A hunter is crazy to gut an elk or moose when he can bone the entire animal out as well as cape it and leave the guts in the carcass. I bone everything including the neck and brisket on an elk without going into the body cavity except to get the heart and tenderloins.

 

[Jack O'Conner]

I started out helping my Dad and Uncles butcher wild game back in the 1960's and been doing my own ever since. My favorite butcher knife is a super sharp fillet model by Martiinni. Made in Finland. There are several good YouTube videos showing how to process deer into venison. Watch and learn.

Years ago, I made the mistake of butchering a large red stag on my own. I had about 8 hours into the job!

Jack

 

[Ruger480]

Just posting so I can find this later.

 

[Doyle]

Just posting so I can find this later. Good stuff here, thanks!

It's a STICKY - no need to search.

 

[Ruger480]

Its easier for me to just look through my old posts. Thanks though.

 

[mmwb]

Agreeing with most. Get it cooled as soon as possible. I've not found that aging elk or deer is necessary. Wild meat tends to be finer grained than beef and the aging isn't necessary to tenderize. Aging antelope can ruin it. Skin, bone out, and on ice soon after the shot. Then in the freezer as soon after that as one can. When boning a freshly killed animal out, don't cut across the grain of the muscle. This causes toughness. Once rigor has set and released, you can cut across grain with no effect.

Unless it is very close to a road, all of my elk get boned out. Most of my deer are far enough back as well. Otherwise they are quartered and packed.

I use Hi Mountain seasoning for jerky. Both the dehydrator and oven racks on lowest heat with the door cracked make for good jerky, though I prefer the oven made stuff a bit more.

I've used Cabela's summer sausage kits and it makes for excellent summer sausage. Mix in some chunks of pepper jack cheese and people will be knocking your door down to get some (if you make the mistake of sharing some in the first place!).

 

[artsmom]

A lot of times here in Nebraska, it gets pretty warm during spring turkey hunting, and spoilage could be a problem. My best solution for keeping a bird cool is to freeze water in some of the larger pop (soda) bottles, like the 16.9 oz. ones. After the bird is shot and gutted, shove one of the bottles in the body cavity. About 1-2 hours later, take that one out and put in another one. Keep the flies away and out of the sun, and that bird will keep all weekend with maybe 2-4 frozen water bottles. Never had a turkey go bad in the group, and that covers 60 or so turkeys

Same trick is used on deer when it is warm, but substitute a gallon milk jug full of water that is hard frozen. I've cut up close to 200 deer, since I have a lot of relatives who are all too willing to tag them and give them to me so they can go out and fill another permit.

 

[Mozella]

I'm not a hunter, but here's how my friends do it. They prefer to hunt in warm weather; who wants to be cold? They drink plenty of expensive whiskey. Then they shoot one of God's furry creatures and ask each other "What now"; answer: "Hell if I know. Who can butcher this thing? Answer: No me, I don't even have a knife."

What follows is a discussion about various poison glands, some parts which contain urine and poop, and at least a mention of a gall bladder, whatever the Hell that is.

Then they go in search of someone who can dress the dead animal. Sometimes they find someone and sometimes they give up and hack the animal into more manageable pieces by themselves Most often they use a 4-wheeler and drag the whole thing out of the woods, dump it in their pick up truck, and go in search of a business which advertises "We Butcher Deer". But since they know something about spoilage, they make sure to take care of business in 48 hours or less. You can't be too careful when it comes to spoiled meat.

Eventually they end up with their kill cut up into pieces small enough to go on the Weber grill and they cook one piece which most resembles a steak or pork chop. Of course it tastes like crap, so they grind up the remaining meat and make a huge pile of spicy sausage, the more spice the better.

Finally they have a huge BBQ party complete with warm beer and lots of home made sausage. They usually have hot dogs for the kids too and that's what I eat. If I don't see any ball park franks, I just drink the beer.

 

[Ocraknife]

Can anyone recommend any books that deal with field processing deer and hog? I don't mind taking it somewhere to process but I'd like to know what to do to preserve the meat in the field.

Thanks.

Okra

 

[Doyle]

Okraknife, YouTube is your best friend. There are tons of videos on how to process deer and hog. Some will show you the method where you only gut in the field, skin back at camp, and debone/process at home. Others, will show you the process I use where you skin and quarter in the field and then debone/process at home.

In both cases, the principles are the same:
1. Use SHARP knives.
2. Keep the meet clean of dirt, leaves, hair, etc.
3. Get the meat chilled ASAP. Heat is your enemy.

Most new home processers keep things simple. Don't try to cut fancy steaks and roasts. Leave that to the professional butchers if you really want them. You'll be able to cut simple roasts and steaks with a little video education but beyond that, I personally think it is easier to just grind it.

 

[Dunsouth]

We butcher all of our own deer. If the temps are below 50 degrees I will let the deer hang for 2-3 days or more if I can. I don't know that it truly improves taste, but I do know if I can let it hang until rigor is gone it makes it a lot easier to work with. It is also easier if the meat is cold and dry. I have had people tell me I am crazy for various reasons. Letting it hang, not skinning it right away and so on. Here is what is real and true about meat care. Meat spoilage doesn't happen quickly as it is caused by bacteria. It takes time for bacteria to grow and certain temperature ranges aid in it growing faster depending on the type of bacteria. Bactria will grow on meat at pretty much any temp above freezing. This is why we freeze meat for long term storage. The key is that it grows on the meat and not in it. If you leave the skin on and limit the meats exposure to the outside world you will minimize the bacterial growth to the exposed meat. The bacteria aren't going to bore down into the center of that deer ham. Temps below 40 are best for reduced growth and exposure to the elements reduces the area bacteria can get to. If trimming exposed meat swap out the knife or wash to avoid introducing bacteria as you cut and trim the rest of the animal. Once a large part of the animals flesh is exposed bacteria will be present and will spread. Get it processed once exposed and cook it to proper temp and this is a non issue. I have heard a lot of differing opinions over the years and many of them are just plain crazy. However, there are a lot of folks who are down right passionate about how they handle an animal and would argue with anyone who disagrees with them. Sometimes it is amazing how paranoid folks can get with this. Yet they eat meat hacked up from a slaughter house somewhere that is full of bacteria and they even eat the steaks rare! It is more likely you will get sick from a commercial kitchen or slaughter house made burger than from that deer you let hang when it was 54 degrees out! Just my 2 cents.

 

[jimbob86]

Old thread, still good info, and IT"S THAT TIME AGAIN!

Most of us don't have a facility that we can wash down completely before and after each job but we do the best we can.

We butcher our deer in camp on folding 2 1/2' x 6' camp tables and cover them with trash bags slit up the sides and use duct tape to secure the corners to the underside of the table. To clean up, remove the trash bags and replace with a fresh one, wipe down with 10% bleach/water, water and then wipe dry ......

Do you guys bleed out your animal?
I was always told by my dad to slit the animals throat to bleed it out as soon as it is killed. I think he said it delays the decay process and make the meat taste better.

If you shoot a deer in the chest with an expanding bullet from a decent caliber deer rifle, he will "bleed out" before you get to him .... his chest cavity will be full of blood and his blood pressure will be zero. Cutting his throat will not drain any more blood out of him unless you hang him upside down and do it, as there is no pressure in the circulatory system to push the blood out- the heart is stopped, either because you physically wrecked it with the bullet and it's energy, or more likely, because his blood pressure dropped to the point the heart had nothing to pump, because the enough blood ran out of the system due to wrecked arteries and lungs .....

I do cut the throat, though, and all the way to the spine, right up under the chin: you have to cut the windpipe, esophagus and the veins and arteries running alongside them, so that when you go to eviscerate the animal, you are not trying to pull his head down through his neck.

Can anyone recommend any books that deal with field processing deer and hog? I don't mind taking it somewhere to process but I'd like to know what to do to preserve the meat in the field.

Read this thread. It's more concise than a book. And it's free.

 

[johnwilliamson062]

Can anyone recommend any books that deal with field processing deer and hog? I don't mind taking it somewhere to process but I'd like to know what to do to preserve the meat in the field.
Read this thread. It's more concise than a book. And it's free.

Most library systems have something available. I have read several. The only benefit of the books is you get some pictures. Problem is the pictures are usually B+W and pretty much useless.

 

[jimbob86]

The only benefit of the books is you get some pictures. Problem is the pictures are usually B+W and pretty much useless.

These are in color .....