Butchering Venison
The deer you just shot has been field dressed and now you are faced with the decision of taking it to a meat processor or butchering the animal yourself. While the meat processor is the easiest way, doing it yourself can save you money and insure that the meat is packaged exactly the way you want it.
Remove the backstrap from the deer by inserting a sharp knife beneath the meat and cutting downward until the meat strips are free of the backbone.
Use the same method to remove the tenderloin from inside the deer carcass. Cut these into medallion steaks as thick as you desire.
Use a meat saw to cut the deer carcass in half by following along the backbone. Cut the front legs off and then the back legs. Ribs can be cut into family size meals if desired and the neck makes a great slow cooked roast.
Start with the front legs. Unless the deer was extremely large, the front legs are where you get your stew or hamburger meat. Remove the meat from the bone by cutting a straight line through the meat to the bone, twist the knife and follow the bone down through the remaining meat. Separate the tendons of the leg muscles and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes. The cubes can then be used for stew or ground into burger. Any remaining meat on the bone can be removed with a sharp knife or the bone can be boiled for stock and the meat strained and used for fajitas or other quick meals.
Cut steaks from the hind legs. Place the hind leg in a position where the muscle meat is facing up. Make a cut straight through the thickest portion of the meat. As with the front leg, twist the knife flat against the bone and cut in a downward motion to the end of the upper leg. Make a cut from the top of the meat at the end of the leg to the cut along the bone and remove the meat. Cut this meat into even slices for steaks. You can cut these as thin as 1/4 inch for breakfast steaks or 1 inch or thicker for dinner steaks. Remove the remainder of the meat from the upper and lower legs using the same process. Slice any portions that will work as steaks and cube the remainder for stew.
Words to the Wise:
Any meat to small to be considered a steak can be used for stew or burger.
Any remaining meat on the bone can be removed with a sharp knife or the bone can be boiled for stock and the meat strained and used for fajitas or other quick meals.
Once you have the meat butchered into the desired cuts, package the meat in meal sized portions in heavy duty freezer bags and freeze until needed. You can also wrap the portions in plastic wrap and then a second time in butcher paper before freezing. The key to freezing meat without freezer burn is to remove the air in the packaging. Venison meat can be frozen for 9 to twelve months if packaged properly. Always thaw venison, or other meats, in the refrigerator.
