Game Processing for Beginners
At Tooth of the Arrow, our goal is to breakdown bowhunting into simple terms. As part of that commitment, we have put together a whole series titled Introduction To Bowhunting.
In this post we will be going over everything you need to know about game processing.
Is it worth processing your own deer!
While it is a lot of work, it is worth every minute! Processing your own deer let’s you have complete creative freedom with your final product. You know you are going to only have your own meat in your freezer at the end, compared to many butcher shops that batch meat from many hunters.
Nobody is going to put more care into your meat than you, and it is a great family bonding activity! Finally, processing your own game meat is a huge money saver! I save between $800-$1,000 every year by doing it myself!
What are some cons of processing your own game?
The initial startup cost can be significant, but it only takes the processing of 3-5 animals on average for the investment to pay off and start saving you money.
Is it hard to process your own deer?
There can be a learning curve, but with practice it is not difficult at all. It is more time consuming and tedious than it is difficult. Trimming the usable meat away from bones, tissues, tendons, and fascia can get tedious, but it is worth it because you are going to do a better job than anybody else working on your own animal!
Sausage making is not difficult at all once you have the right equipment. In fact, I prefer my homemade sausage to any that I have gotten from butchers over the years!
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How quickly should you process a deer?
You can take the quarters, backstraps, and trim off the animal right away, but be sure to keep any cuts that you want to save for steaks/roasts for a few days at fridge temperatures before cutting into the grains.
The meat must go through the full rigor Mortis process before you cut into the grain, or it will be tough. Once you start trimming and cutting, budget a full afternoon and evening for the trimming, only an hour or so for cutting and packing steaks, and then about 4 hours per batch of sausage that you plan to do. Processing a deer is generally a multi-afternoon process.
How much meat off a deer?
A large whitetail deer can provide up to 70lbs of meat, with a mule deer offering slightly more. An average doe will provide around 40-50lbs of meat.
What are the best cuts of venison?
The backstraps and sirloins are the choice steak cuts on a deer. Filet/tenderloin cuts are also fantastic, but are quite small and can be hard to work with. Most hunters rank backstraps as the most prized cut on a game animal.
How long to age deer meat in the fridge?
You can safely age fresh deer meet in the fridge for 10-14 days if the meat is very clean, and you remove oxygen from the environment using a vacuum sealer. Before cutting backstraps and loins into steaks, I will clean and vacuum seal the whole muscle and leave it in the fridge for 12 days before cutting it into steaks and freezing.
Do you cut the fat off deer meat?
It depends. Some deer fat renders quite well and is extremely flavorful, but some will not render at all and will be chalky and unappealing. If you are ever unsure of a piece of fat that you are considering leaving on the meat, cut a small portion off and put it in a frying pan on medium heat. If it begins to melt right away, it is great fat for eating! If it starts to burn any dry out, that is fat you should remove and compost.
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Is it ok to grind silver skin in deer meat?
You can get away with grinding some silver skin if you have a high quality, ½ horsepower or higher grinder with sharp blades.
If you have a lower end grinder, any amount of silver skin will likely just get caught up in the grinding mechanism. Some silver skin ground into the meat actually offers many health benefits which aid in supporting your own tendon and tissue health, but no matter what you should be trimming away the thickest parts of silver skin.
What is the best fat to mix with venison?
Pork fat is generally the best option for mixing into venison sausage. Using 20-25% pork is usually a great mix if you are using a pork cut such as belly or shoulder, which is about 50% fat and 50% pork meat.
If you are using pure pork fat, do not mix in more than 10-15% by weight of the total batch. I have used bear fat, beef fat, and renderable deer fat with amazing results. If I can collect enough renderable deer fat, I prefer to use only deer in my sausage and avoid adding any non-wild meat to my sausage.
Can you leave silver skin on deer jerky?
No.
Leaving silver skin on jerky will leave you spitting out the silver skin after trying to chew it for a few minutes. You will never be able to eat whole silver skin, and you should remove it completely from your jerky.
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If you have any questions or would like to discuss the topic further, please feel free to reach out to us at sales@toothofthearrowbroadheads.com
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