Need deer processing advice - by christmas eve !!

[curious aardvark]

so i get's back from christmas shopping - salmon happily smoking away in the smoker. To be informed that friend has a roe deer he's brought back from scotland - been gutted and decapitated, and would we like it.

The catch: we have to skin and joint it ourselves.

never done this before.

We can hang it over the balcony and we've got rope :-)

So, what kit do I need, what's the easiest way to skin it and basically any advice from you guys who have done this plenty times.

Do I actually need this christmas eve when i haven't stuffed or dehydrated the snackstix, made me pigs in blankets, cooked the ham for boxing day, fitted the new security light which i said I'd do before christmas, wrapped any presents etc etc - no.
But it's a whole deer for £40 and in england, where venison is concerned: beggars can't be choosers :-)

Unfortunately it's unseasonably warm or I'd just hang it in the annex till after christmas - seems weird going out there at the moment with no dead things hanging off the window handles :-)

So, anyway enough moaning, what's going to be the best way to go about this ?

[Jailer]

Wherever you do it make sure it's some place you don't mind making a mess. There will be a bit of blood to drain out of it if it's a fresh kill.

Skinning it cold is going to be difficult. I hang by the rear legs just north of the knee joint between the bone and cartilage. Start at the highest point and work your way down to reduce the amount of fur that will fall onto the meat. You'll likely have to help it along by trimming it away with your knife if it's cold.

When you get down past the rear you can roll the skin in towards the carcass, fur out to get a better grip and pull straight down. Trim away from the meat as necessary where it hangs up. Just keep doing that until the skin is off and then you can quarter it and get it somewhere cold until your ready to finish processing or continue cutting and freeze it. Freeze it for 30 days before use to kill off any possible parasites.

[curious aardvark]

I presume it's fairly fresh, but it has been gutted. and yeah we can hose the patio down :-)

Do I need a bone saw ?

[THE ICEMAN]

This is pretty much the way I skinned my deer last year except I used my ATV & it was hanging from a tree. You could also use a winch if one is available...

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[Yarddawg]

This is a good video on how to process your deer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UsVd9d8vI

[Jailer]

Do I need a bone saw ?

No. You can cut the connective tissue between the joints to seperate the limbs. No need to split the pelvis either, cut the meat away from the bone.

[Jailer]

This is a good video on how to process your deer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UsVd9d8vI

That is an excellent video of how to process a deer. The knife he uses is perfect for the task as well.

ETA: Another great cut you don't see many people show or do is a neck roast. Cut between 2 vertebra at the base of the skull and the body. I'm ghettotastic so I use a sawzall and a new clean metal blade. Take out the trachea, esophagus and the large blood vessels and tie the meat to the bone with string. Cook it bone in in a dutch oven with some taters and carrots and it's a melt in your mouth tender tasty roast.

[redruff]

This is a good video on how to process your deer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UsVd9d8vI

That is exactly how I do mine.

1. Get the hide off ASAP it will help cool down the meat.
2. No need to cut any bones, do as the video says. You will find it easier than it sounds. The muscle groups are very evident and you will get the hang of separating the muscle groups pretty quickly.
3. After everything is deboned, I take it in the house and clean it all up. I get every piece of fat and silver skin off that I can.
4. I only have whitetail experience but..whitetail bone dust on the meat is not good, it tastes bad!!

As for skinning, hang it upside down, start at the top and use your knife to separate the skin from the connective tissue. I have a skinning knife, but you can certainly do it with the same knife you will butcher with.
Once you get the skin started it is almost more pulling than cutting. The warmer the deer the easier this is.

Just skin down as far as you want to go along the neck, leave it hang, no need to cut through the neck or cut the whole hide off. The hardest part is going around the front legs and getting to work down from the arm pits.

Good luck its a lot easier than it looks, Just follow where the video starts the cuts and just separate the muscle groups.

[nickelmore]

CA I am trying to do this on my phone. This is not a big deal you have STRONG hands. A few things I do hang with hind legs spread since it has no head. Take a Bonni g knife and cut around legs and make a slit in the fur on the inside.of the ham toward the belly. Peel away and if meat starts coming off with hide slice with a knife..

I hang mine with skin on for a week its not that bad to skin.

After its all skinned take a propane torch and burn off any straggler hairs. If there is dirt get it washed off with water. Before you start cutting give the carcass a wipe down with vinegar .

First cut the tenderloins out from the inside of cavity,
Second bacKstraps
Third shoulders
Then "rear" hams (quarters)

Keep it like this in a fridge below 40 until you have time to debone it.

You need a hacksaw to cut hoofs off too. If you use a power sawzalll put duct tape on the sawsfoot.

[Ryan]

Been along time since I skinned one from rear legs to the front. The tail does make a nice handle. I usually hang from the head and start there, seems like I get less hair on the meat.

[treehorses]

Deer come apart very easy. take out the back straps, pop off the front shoulders & legs with a few cuts, then the rear quarters. Wrap each front & rear quarters in a trash bag and put in a cooler. take each one in as you have time start trimming and parting out. 2-3 days it's done. I have done a couple dozen. I make the roasts , steaks and other cuts I want, then the rest gets put through he grinder. Vac Pac & freeze. All that is left is the head, bottom of the legs.

[Bearcarver]

CA,
Since it's a "Roe", save the eggs!!

Bear

[nickelmore]

Cleaned up some bad spelling on my original reply. If I had the time and a passport I would just jump on a plane and show ya in person.

No sure how big a 'roe" doe is in "pounds" but if it is big enough I trim out the flanks and ribs for sausage. I am pretty anal about trimming all fat and silver skin from the meat for sausage so on smaller donors it gets ground up for animal treats.

Like Ryan said I like hanging from neck unless its a wall mounter.
its a lot easier to quarter and what is left is hanging on a rope for easy disposal.

I have changed the way I process deer over the years. The way I do it now, the only bones that are cut is when the feet are removed.

To Add my thougts:

Grind the front shouldes and neck and everything in that area.

The rear quarters....seperate each muscle group (practice on the first one and make stew pieces) on the second one you can make some smaller steaks (or butterfly) and

[erain]

I think roasts is the word he forgot. Personally the cuts I keep are the Tenderloins, Backstraps, Rump Roast, Bottom Round, Top Round, and I may keep the Eye of Round if I am making some dried venison. The sirloin tip I use either for jerky, a roast(top and bottom round are better), or grind it.

The rest of the deer gets trimmed up and is used for either burger or sausage. If you are into canning meat some of the larger chunks can be used for this as well. I also try and remove as much silverskin and all the fat. Something about deerburger, it makes the best chili!

Cleaned up some bad spelling on my original reply. If I had the time and a passport I would just jump on a plane and show ya in person.

No sure how big a 'roe" doe is in "pounds" but if it is big enough I trim out the flanks and ribs for sausage. I am pretty anal about trimming all fat and silver skin from the meat for sausage so on smaller donors it gets ground up for animal treats.

Like Ryan said I like hanging from neck unless its a wall mounter.
its a lot easier to quarter and what is left is hanging on a rope for easy disposal.

I have changed the way I process deer over the years. The way I do it now, the only bones that are cut is when the feet are removed.

To Add my thougts:

Grind the front shouldes and neck and everything in that area.

The rear quarters....seperate each muscle group (practice on the first one and make stew pieces) on the second one you can make some smaller steaks (or butterfly) and

[Fishawn]

Personally, I got nothing.......

Butt, am looking forward to what you do with it mate