Some deer processing steps

[Rancid Crabtree]

while butchering my latest bow kill, I took some pictures of a few of the parts of the deer that you would encounter while doing your own processing. Some folks are intimidated by butchering their own deer and opt for paying a processor to do it for them. If you have a garage, a place to hang a deer and a knife. You could do it yourself. These are the tenderloins and the front shoulders. The tenderloins are the two small cuts of meat on the inside of the deer's rib cage. (the loins are on the outside and run along either side of the spine) These are the most tender of all the cuts of meat on a deer (or cow or pig) There are two tenderloins and they are located along the spine between the rib cage and the hind quarters

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/t_loin2.jpg

Start by cutting them at the point where they are closest to the hind quarter and run your knife along the short ribs and the spine. Peel them down as you cut.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/t_loin3.jpg

When removed you will see the short ribs of the deer

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/t_loins4.jpg

This what they look like after being removed. Remove any white fat before cooking. I prefer to remove them when I a gutting the deer (or very soon afterwards) If you don't get them out soon, the exposed areas will turn dark red/black due to drying out. If that happens, soak them in cold (ice) water and scrub them lightly to wash away any blood. DO NOT freeze tenderloins!! these are to be enjoyed as soon as possible. Freezing will make them less than tender-loins. Cook them until slightly pink in the center with onions and mushrooms.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/t_loin1.jpg

The front shoulders have a lot of bone and will be damaged most of the time due to shot placement. Unlike the hind quarters, the front legs are not connected to the body by a bone joint. The only thing keeping them in place is meat. After skinning, pull the front leg away from the rib cage and cut the stretched meat. They are very easy to remove. This is what it will look like. You can see the ridge bone that runs the length of the scapula

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/frontshoulder4.jpg

Run your knife on both sides of the ridge bone

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/frontshoulder3.jpg

Cut along the bone until you have exposed the entire scapula

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/frontshoulder5.jpg

Follow the leg bone and remove the rest of the meat. There is no wrong way to do this. This meat will end up in a grinder or made into stew or jerky. It is a tough cut of meat as these muscles do a lot of work.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/frontshoulder2.jpg

These are the three bones of the front leg. The blue object is my crude depiction of the heart. You can see the the leg bones do a pretty good job of protecting the heart but it still can be gotten to by correct shot placement. It is better to shoot a little high and then you will still get both lungs and the top of the heart, this is a deadly shot that will bring a deer down in very short order.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/bow_nov13th/frontshoulder1.jpg

[Rancid Crabtree]

Most folks get scared when it comes to the hind quarters because they are not professional butchers and fear that they will screw up cuts of meat. Trust me if you follow the natural seams of fat, you will find it very easy to take apart the hind quarters. If you mess up on the first one, you always have the other leg to improve on. Once you have removed the meat from the rest of the deer you will be left with the hanging hind quarters where the spine meets the pelvis.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/spine.jpg

You can use a saw to remove the spine or you can work a knife in between the vertebrae to remove it near the pelvis.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hanginghindquarter2.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hanginghindquarters.jpg

Take the pair of hind quarters to a table to debone them. The first step is to lay the pair on the tail end and press on each hind quarter to see where the hip is. By spreading the hindquarters, you will see where to start. What you are looking for is the hip joint (ball and socket joint) No saws are needed for this operation and you only need to cut the tendon in the ball joint to remove it from the pelvis.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hipjoint1.jpg

Follow the seams in the meat and cut along the pelvis bone until one half is removed.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hipjoint3.jpg

When you are done. You will have a de-boned pelvis with very little meat to trim off. (use this for burger or sausage)

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hipjoint4.jpg

On the inside of the thigh you will be able to feel the thigh bone (femur). Cut around and remove the bone. This is the bone you are removing. The ball joint is on the upper right.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/bone_C.jpg

Once deboned your hind quarter will look like this. This view is from the outside or hide side of the leg. The lines show you the cuts of meat that are in the hind quarter. If you were to leave the bone in the leg and saw across the whole hind quarter, you would have a "Whole Round Steak" Most folks don't do this with a deer and it is seen less and less in beef as well

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hind_quarter2small-1.jpg

Follow the natural seams in the muscle groups and you will be able to take each group out. Clean up any fat and you are left with cuts that can be sliced into steaks or used as roasts

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/sausage/hind_quarter1small-1.jpg

Take the time to try and butcher your own deer. You will learn a lot and save some money too. You will learn alot about deer anatomy and shot placement

[Mil Dot]

Nice job.

You must have the most understanding spouse on the planet!

A spreader in the kitchen:D !

My bro lives in Wisc, blaze orange in church is also acceptable.

Hunt on!

[Rancid Crabtree]

No, Those pictures were taken in the manroom. I built that addition onto the house for butchering and sausage making and other projects like making knives and bows and arrows and such. It's nice to have two separate kitchens in one house. I built it few years back and installed phone and cable and an epoxy floor coating. It has it's one natural gas furnace as well. The hoist in the ceiling was a must for doing the amount of custom butchering that I do.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn31/WBH_stuff/IMG_5512.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn31/WBH_stuff/IMG_5513.jpg

[Mil Dot]

What part of Wisc you in?

Send a PM if you don't want it in pub dom

[Rancid Crabtree]

S.E. just west of Milw.

[Mil Dot]

Bro is S of Eau Claire, lots of white tail in that area without doubt.