Same as most here. Backstraps whole for the grill. Some of it cubed for stew. The rest for summer sausage, ground to mix with other beefs for burgers (I like to make a pork/beef/venison burger) and then some used to make venison hotdogs.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned venison hotdogs yet. They're really good!

What I'm going to do depends on the deer.

A late buck in full rut is going to a processor to be turned into ground product and sausage.

A early buck or doe is coming home to be skinned, hung for a while then boned and portioned into steaks, chops, roasts, and sausage.

As far as field prep, dump the guts, skinning and breaking down depends on how far away from home I am.

We have hunters here that don't even field dress, skin, and quarter their own?

Why? Especially field dressing it, right there on the spot?

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
We have hunters here that don't even field dress, skin, and quarter their own?

Why? Especially field dressing it, right there on the spot?

Yeah, I can't imagine that myself. Heck, I even had bags of ice in the truck to fill the cavity on the way home if the outside temp. was in the 40s on up. I wonder if these people have even tasted well prepared venison. They may not know how good it can be.

Jim

If you're so inclined, you can do like I have done the past three years: Donate to Hunters Feeding The Hungry.

I haven't hunted in years, but my dad still does. He usually takes the steaks, chops and burger. The rest he has converted to various sausage types. The processor that he uses has some amazing sausage recipes. The venison bratwurst is incredible.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
We have hunters here that don't even field dress, skin, and quarter their own?

Why? Especially field dressing it, right there on the spot?

Depends on where I am. My usual blind is less than 100 yards from my back door, and I can drag a deer back to the edge of the clearing and have it in my truck and in the cooler at the butcher shop in less than an hour.
If I'm a ways away, I'll field dress it and drag it back. I'd rather let the butcher work it up because I don't have a place to do it at home.
If I have to, I'm able to cut it up and package it, but without a place to work it's tough. Plus my wife hates me working one up in the house.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
We have hunters here that don't even field dress, skin, and quarter their own?

Why? Especially field dressing it, right there on the spot?

I was wondering the same thing. I’ve never not field dressed a deer.

I'm ten minutes drive time away from the processor in my county....

I'll bleed him/her and drag 'em into the truck...

My processor vacuum seals the meat and freezes it ....so.....

None of the processors in this immediate area will take your deer unless it is field dressed.

Sausage and jerky

I dont like plain deer meat. A local processor makes all kinds of wonderful products.

Menu list

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
We have hunters here that don't even field dress, skin, and quarter their own?

Why? Especially field dressing it, right there on the spot?

field dressing it right on the spot really isn't necessary the majority of the time.

My step dad and his parents had a house in the mountains and they had a whole setup for processing the deer. We used to grind up the rib meat to make burgers. The meat is not very good on it's own so they would grind up a slice of bacon into each burger. Yum! Of course steaks and roasts.

I do not hunt anymore these days, various reasons why.

But when I did hunt, I had my deer processed by a butcher into steaks, burger, and sausages. Sometimes I would have him run some of the steaks through a cuber.