what is the easyest and cheapest way to process your own deer.

[Guest cowboy89]

im tired of spending hundreds every time i get a deer.

[colescott1]

Best bet is to buy a how-to video...LEM products sells them. That gives you your basics of what you need to get started.

[OUTSIDER]

Trial and error, i have been cuttin up my own deer now for years. Get some FREEZER PAPER, Plastic wrap ,freezer paper tape. Cut the meat off of the deer after the carcass cools, place it in plastic wrap then in freezer paper, i never knew of this trick until i ate some of my friends deer meat from last year, it was 8 months froze and tasted the most fresh i have ever eaten. Make sure and always label your meat, kind of cut, year taken, etc. There are some good articles on the internet on how to do it yourself, it will take a few deer to get any good, and after you do it, you will know that your deer was processed correctley, cleanly, and CHEAP!!!! Good Luck!!!

[Tominator]

Skin it and start hacking at the meat. That's what we do.

[kingfisherfd2]

check youtube. they will have processing how to video's

[Shawn]

who do you take your deer to it costs over a hundred. My deer are $65 and thats with jerky being made and such extras.

[Guest masshunt2144]

I'm sure everyone has their own preferred method, but here's what I do:

1. Hang the deer by its hind legs on a gambrel

2. Start skinning with complete circle cuts on the hind legs, and work the skin down over the hind quarters (cut the tail off), down the torso, over the front shoulders (cut the front legs off with a bone saw when you have the skin pulled off enough), and as far down the neck as you can go.

3. Cut the head off and you should have a pile with the head, skin, and front legs.

4. Use your knife to cut both front shoulders off. Put them in the fridge uncovered (I put them on top of a plastic bag).

5. Cut the backstraps off by making cuts along both sides of the spine arches all the way from the pelvis to the neck. Work the backstraps out by gently cutting them down and out (from the pelvis to the neck). Put them in a bowl or bag.

6. Use a knife to cut any usable meat from the torso or neck, Then use a saw to cut the torso off just beneath the pelvis. Separate the two hind quarters by sawing through the pelvis, then take them off the gambrel and cut the hind legs off. Put the hind quarters in the fridge.

7. At this point I clean up outside.

8. As soon as possible I trim and cut the backstraps and pack them in FoodSaver bags. That night, or the next night I work on the quarters. With both, the idea is to use your fingers and a knife to cut out individual muscles and then trim them. The fronts end up being meat for the grinder. The backs have 3 (or so) large muscles that can be steaks or roasts, and lots of others that can be ground or used for stew or whatever. I pack the steaks in FoodSaver bags and freeze the hamburg meat in Ziplock freezer bags (at the end of the season I thaw it all out to make hamburg and sausage). All packs are labeled "hind", or "backstraps", with the date.

That's it. It's a bit of work, but not bad and definitely worth it for the whole experience.

gambrel- $20

bone saw- $50?

Foodsaver- $100?

Foodsaver bags- $10

big cutting board and bowls- $30

[Guest The Real Estate Rancher]

Freeze for an hour or two and take a sharp knife. In Texas $65 i'll get you the basics (Steaks and Ground) and our deer are half the size of ya'lls Northern Bruts. I did all mine last year and did some amazing sausage 70 deer /30 pig.

[wtnhunt]

We usually pack ours in ice water in quarters here and then later on we trim the meat and cut it up how we want it. Cannot really let them hang here, just not typically cool enough. Have totally deboned them before too, not sure there is much difference, might save a little time. I use my recip saw(sawzall) to cut the bones, works well, just have to make sure you have the skin and meat cut back and wash off any bone dust that might get on it before packing it in the cooler.

We use a food saver for all our meat, all cuts (ground, sausage, steaks, and loins). Got a grinder from cabelas, wish the wife had sprung for a little bigger one when she got it, but what we have works. You will need a good sharp fillet knife, and a good sized cutting board.

[JimT]

I cut up a little button buck I shot this year by myself. Piece of cake. Buy a 5" and 6" filet knife and a bone saw. Thats all you need. I did this deer in about four hours. Skin, quarter, debone, and cut out the seams in the meat to make steaks and whatever else. It really is pretty easy. Watching a video would be a good idea.... Good luck with it.