Membrane removal....

[hogdogs]

What methods are commonly used to remove the membrane from venison meat?
Brent

 

[elkman06]

If you mean during the processing phase then allow the meat to dry somewhat prior to butchering. Some people I know section the meat and then partially freeze it for ease of butchering. I would think this could help as well. I like to essentially "skin" the sections of meat. Also if you break down the muscle groups into blocks and then crosscut them it allows you to remove the edge membrane rather easily.
elkman06

 

[Yithian]

Yep, expose the membrane to air, and itll dry like a leather sheet., It becomes much easier to grasp and tug on while you shave the muscle side of it with a sharp knife.

 

[Doyle]

If you can do the drying in a meat locker, you'll be even better becuase the colder it is, the easier it comes off.

 

[12GaugeShuggoth]

+1 to what the others have said. Once the air starts to dry it out a little, the membrane (always forget the "technical" name for it) becomes much easier to remove. A nice sharp knife obviously helps

 

[45Dave]

silverskin?

Are you talking about the silver skin, very tough fiber sheet that can be found outsdie of many muscle groups? If so, the best way is with a nice darn sharp fillet knife for me. Just slide the knife under the silver skin, angle it toward to the silverskin like you were taking the skin off a fish (assuming you clean fish) and slide the knife along peeling it off. You will have to do it in strips but with practice it comes off pretty quick.
I normally butcher deer the day or next day from when I kill them, it comes off fine.

 

[Doyle]

The membrane is not the same as the silverskin. Silverskin will fillet off like a fish's skin. Membrane has to be pulled off.

 

[kingudaroad]

The membrane is not the same as the silverskin. Silverskin will fillet off like a fish's skin. Membrane has to be pulled off.

I'm not really sure what that means, but the key for me is to take one whole muscle off the animal and trim everything off that is not pure red venison meat.

Whatever you want to call it, I trim it off with a fillet knife, and if I leave a little meat stuck to the membrane, I fillet the small amount of meat off the membrane and toss it into the trim pile.

By the time my deer is in the freezer there is absolutely no membrane, silverskin, fat or anything that is not bright red. It makes for a smaller yeild of meat. I usually only get about 30 lbs of meat out of a 90 to 100 lb deer.

Some may call that wastefull, but I call it quality venison that is never gamey.

 

[fisherman66]

I fillet the silverskin off and trim the membrane off with a sharp knife after tenderizing for chicken fry. This causes the least amount of meat loss for me without taking up much time.