Deer Neck

[WV Sawmiller]

   (Sorry, no pix. I just didn't take the time to take any)

  I know many people throw away the deer neck. It is bony, stringy and is very hard to debone when fresh killed or at least I have not found an easy way to do so.

  When I skin a deer the first thing I do when I pull the hide off is to cut off the neck and, depending on the size, I may half it and vacuum seal and freeze it for a roast. Once cooked tender the meat is easy to remove from the bone with just a fork.

  My wife took a year old deer neck yesterday, put it in cast iron Dutch oven, added a couple of taters, a couple of sweet taters, several carrots cut into large chunks, and a medium whole onion. She added a little salt and pepper then a can of cream of mushroom soup and for good measure a can of chicken broth and added water to cover the meat and veggies. She sealed the top with foil then put on the CI lid for a really tight seal. She put it in the oven for several hours at about 375* and checked a couple times till she confirmed the meat was tender. She removed the neck from the pot and let it cool on a plate a few minutes then pulled it off with a fork. There was quite a pile of boneless meat when she finished.

  We had a nice meal of roast, veggies and gravy off the meat with cole slaw on the side for dinner last night. Today I diced up the leftover meat and chipped up a a little bit of onion, added local BBQ sauce and heated it through and served on buns with cole slaw on top and microwaved plantains on the side. There is enough left over for 2-3 more large BBQ sandwiches. All very good and quite a haul from a cut of meat that often gets wasted. I'm just wondering how many people you could feed off a giraffe neck?

  The leftover deer neck roast makes excellent sandwiches as it is or you can use it with several diced taters and an onion for hash. Just season the hash with worcestershire and hot sauce.

[randy d]

Here in Wisconsin we have CWD in our deer herd so they say not to cut through the bones or the spinal column we bone out the whole deer with out cutting through bones . We use as much as we can get off of the neck and it is a pain.  Randy

[WV Sawmiller]

Randy,

 So far we only have a few counties with CWD here in WV and our region is safe as far as anyone knows.

  I have seen videos and TV shows where the butcher sliced the neck meat to the bone then cut it free and rolled it up and tied it with cotton butcher's cord to make a nice roast. They made it look easy but it never was for me. I see videos of experts boning out deer in minutes while it takes me several hours. I am sure I am trying to salvage little pieces of meat that just aren't worth the effort but I feel it is disrespectful to the animal not to use all the meat I can salvage. If that sounds dumb or silly, so be it. (It has been a long time since anyone accused me of being normal - and they did not know me very well. )

[LeeB]

I debone the neck meat while I'm processing the deer. I usually put it in the grinder.

[WV Sawmiller]

Lee,

   Any special trick to debone it? I've tried and my best solution remains to pull it off the bone after it is cooked. Lots of good meat with very little loss and don't fight the strings clogging my hand grinder.

[thecfarm]

My Grandmother would use the neck for mince meat. Everyone like her mince meat. 
People would ask for it and she would give it to them. Then they would make it and complain that it did not taste like hers. she would start to question them, Did you use this and that. And they would say, I did not have this and that so I just used something else.

[petefrom bearswamp]

I corn the buck necks as the doe necks are too small.
Doe necks get de boned and ground.
All day in the crock pot and the meat falls off.
It is good but much drier than corned beef.

[WV Sawmiller]

Pete,

   Corned deer meat is a favorite of my wife and we eat it a lot but I use the choicer cuts like the backstrap, tenderloin and brisket. She just puts it in a cast iron dutch oven with a little water in the oven and it falls apart with a fork. She generally just throws a couple of taters and carrots and maybe some cabbage in a big saucepan or pot and cooks them together to serve with it and usually has coleslaw and cornbread on the side.

   I put the meat in my pickling solution in a plastic bucket with a heavy plate on top to keep the meat under water for about 5-6 days in the downstairs fridge. It is really easy to make.

   Any leftovers make good sandwiches or hash.

[WV Sawmiller]

  We just finished this one off. Got 6 good meals off it for the two of us so I am real pleased with it and they were all real tasty. It sure would have been a shame to have wasted it. Even a neck off a small doe or yearling would have fed use a couple of good meals.

[LeeB]

Lee,

   Any special trick to debone it? I've tried and my best solution remains to pull it off the bone after it is cooked. Lots of good meat with very little loss and don't fight the strings clogging my hand grinder.

Nothing special. I just get around the bone as best I can. If I miss some the dogs are all the more appreciative of the scraps. 

[WV Sawmiller]

 Lee,

  I love him but I don't let Sampson have the neck bones, even after they are cooked, for fear he will swallow one. I did give him a shoulder bone off the last deer I shot and he enjoyed that one for many weeks. (Now where did I put those Greenies of his?).

  The meat sure comes off a lot easier and a lot more of it after it is cooked than I was even able to cut off a raw neck.

[69bronco]

My Grandmother would use the neck for mince meat. Everyone like her mince meat.
People would ask for it and she would give it to them. Then they would make it and complain that it did not taste like hers. she would start to question them, Did you use this and that. And they would say, I did not have this and that so I just used something else.

Mince meat.. I'd all but forgotten that one. My grandmother used to make it as well, was always a treat around the holidays. Never knew how it was made.