I know there are some folks here that are avid hunters.

How many members here have the tools and knowledge to butcher and process meat such as deer, moose, elk, boars, etc ?

I occasionally hunt but have never butchered my own kills. A friend of mine is holding a class this fall on this exact topic that I will be participating in.

Any tips or thoughts?

Good info to know, I have not done it a a lot but I have done it enough to get by.
Processing requires good, sharp equipment. I think skinning and actual cutting up medal require different pieces of cutlery. Hides and skinning can be tough on blades with some animals.
Have the correct cutlery and a way to sharpen it.

Good stuff to know, and I would encourage the class. But, it really ain't rocket surgery in a pinch. Just separate the muscles and you're good to go in my experience. I remember once in college cutting up a cow elk with nothing but a Swiss Army Tinker and a roll of butcher paper. It wasn't fun, but it worked.

Nowadays, I have all the good cutlery, industrial grade grinders, stuffers, band saw, etc.... A lot of those tools, though, require power. Without that, you're back to the Tinker.

Let us know how the class went.

If you harvest your own meat, I think the main thing is to field dress game right away and then prevent contamination from the digestive tract when processing. Like stated above, separate muscle from everything else.

I have harvested several deer over the years and butchered them on the kitchen table. Not the best at it but got it done.
This year hoping for an Elk. It will be going to the local wild game processor.
I could still manage, if I had to do it.

PC

I take 3-5 deer a year and have all the equipment to process them.

I’ve done plenty of kitchen meat packing, and can offer a tip or two.

1st you’ll want both plastic wrap and butcher paper. Plastic wrap for the first layer then the paper as an over wrap. Make a point to wrap tightly to force out air. Ziplock bags can be used, make a point to force out all the air. I’ll use a sink full of water to help press out the air.


I will not expend a moment of time with a bone saw. Marrow and bone dust goes a long way in giving deer meat an off taste. Furthermore the hand saw style are leagues different than the bandsaw your packing house uses.

Grind if you must, but a home grinder (Kitchen Aid specifically) is a pain in the ass when used to bulk process. I’ll grind a pound or two at a time while the meat is “crispy” frozen, not exactly thawed.

Boned out deer will yield about a brown paper bag of meat, MI more GA less maybe.

I think it's fantasyland to believe you're going to be able to sustain your protein requirements by hunting in a true survival scenario. You, and few million of your closest friends, will have the same idea. How long do you think before the area is hunted dry? And, why, on earth, would you want to be out and about with a bunch of strangers with guns? Object is to stay put, not wander around the woods looking for something to eat. Much more productive to raise your own protein source(s) and develop a plan to defend it (them).

Short on space? You can raise quail in a spare room or closet.
Have a small outdoor space? Quail and rabbit.
Larger outdoor space? Goat & quail & rabbit.
Have room for a garden? Root vegetables for you, grain and greens for your protein sources, but feed your protein sources first.
No room for a garden? 5 gal buckets to grow greens.

I can hunt off my backyard deck. Deer, black bear, grouse, turkey, etc. No need to go wandering around in the woods.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
I can hunt off my backyard deck. Deer, black bear, grouse, turkey, etc. No need to go wandering around in the woods.

So can I but, how long before those woods (or prairies) are hunted out if people can't run to the store for food. If you're on 50 or 100 acres of defendable hunting ground, you may last longer but the game is going to dry up quickly.

I know I can get the job done. I also know the results won't be pretty.

That said what I can't get off the bone with a knife I will get off the bone by putting the bone in a stock pot and boiling it.

I have butchered my own deer, rabbits, chickens.

If it ever gets to that point, I'm going vegetarian.

quote:

Grind if you must, but a home grinder (Kitchen Aid specifically) is a pain in the ass when used to bulk process.

My grinder has a 1.5 hp motor. I also use a vacuum sealer.

It's not that complicated, but it's pretty physical and messy work.

Gut it (don't puncture anything!), hang it, skin it (start high and peel down with the fur away from the meat), then separate the muscle groups along the natural boundaries. Remove as much silverskin and ligament as you can...that stuff tastes like crap. A sharp knife makes all the difference...I usually end up stoning mine 2 or 3 times per animal. I'm not that good at it, but we can usually go from a whole deer to ground and packaged in about 4 hours with me cutting and my wife grinding.

quote:

Originally posted by pace40:
I think it's fantasyland to believe you're going to be able to sustain your protein requirements by hunting in a true survival scenario. You, and few million of your closest friends, will have the same idea. How long do you think before the area is hunted dry?

I've been thinking about this. It has always been a thought that, yeah...you're right. On the other hand, consider that in a real disaster, a majority of the population will be dead within a couple of months. Animals breed and produce far faster than we do. Sure, the supply will go down temporarily, but the weak will perish and things will balance out. You just need to plan and prepare for getting over that hump.

We have always processed our own deer. i've been in on processing a moose with friends up in Canada (lot's and lots of work).
The wife and I have it down, I skin and break down into quarters. I do the boning and cut the steaks from the rounds. She trims and cleans up up the cuts, chunks the stuff to can. We don't grind any of it. the cuts most people would grind get canned. We have 2 large canners. While the first is running the second gets loaded and ready to go.

We raise 50 meat chickens a year but use an Amish processor. I'm happy to pay them so i don't have to smell hot, wet feathers. My wife cooks and debones the backs and cans the meat and broth and we freeze packages of breasts, thighs and legs.

Amish friend has offered for us to participate in the annual hog butchering when winter comes. I've wanted to add that to my knowledge base and we are looking forward to it.

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:
We raise 50 meat chickens a year but use an Amish processor. I'm happy to pay them so i don't have to smell hot, wet feathers. My wife cooks and debones the backs and cans the meat and broth and we freeze packages of breasts, thighs and legs.

I usually do 25 every year, although this year I still had plenty in the freezer and didn't feel up to it. I set up stations under the lean-to of my shop: Two killing cones, hot water dunker, toss into the plucker, then onto a table with a sink that I found on Amazon for the gutting and then into a couple of large coolers with ice water. I can get a bird done in five minutes or so start to finish. I agree the smell can get to you, though. It's worth it in the end IMO.

I helped a friend do Turkeys one time. If I had to do it to survive I could do it again, but the smell that permeated my clothes after that process was absolutely wretched and I'd be just fine not doing that again.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
I helped a friend do Turkeys one time. If I had to do it to survive I could do it again, but the smell that permeated my clothes after that process was absolutely wretched and I'd be just fine not doing that again.

Turkey sh!t is the nastiest. We don't raise them anymore because we can buy a farm raised turkey for Thanksgiving easier and cheaper than raising them ourselves. God their poop stinks.

If you are cutting and gutting, one of these is worth GOLD.
Replaceable blade scalpel

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