Deer processing time

[Walnut Beast]

Interesting how everyone does it for sure. I'll stick with the easy way of hanging up on a gambrel skinning and pulling all the way down fast caping or not. Sticking the knife in the right places and a little twist and the head and cape is off to the side. A little hair on the carcass. No worries with the fast once over with the blow torch. Let your fingers and knife work the magic deboning .When your done put the rest of the scraps in the chest cavity lower the carcass with the feet on and discard all in one for the critters to work over

[SawyerTed]

The variations are many.   Often size of the deer creates the reasons for different techniques.  Other times its quantity.   We sometimes have 3 or 4 to clean at a time.  

I've not had a neck separate when hanging a deer from the neck.  Probably 100 or more we've cleaned that way in the last 20 years or so.   

Taking the hams when hung on a gambrel is where I've had more trouble with a deer falling.  

By hanging on the FEL on the tractor, it's easy to adjust the working height to save my back.  We can hang and clean 2 of 3 at a time on the FEL.  And on a day like today where the temperature is 55° and headed towards 70°, speed is important. 

We now have mandatory CWD testing in my county and a whole new set of carcass disposal requirements.   Prior to last year I had a hollow where we dumped the waste.  Now we can't do that unless we field dress at the kill site.  We are required to bury everything. 

[LeeB]

How does CWD spread? Why bury the carcass? 

[LeeB]

Looked up how CWD spreads and it is through body fluids, urine and feces. All of which can cause ground contamination. Do they specify how deep you have to bury the carcass?

[SawyerTed]

CWD is neither bacteria or virus, it is spread by prions, proteins that remain in the soil.  So yes, feces and urine infect the ground with prions.  Then other deer come in contact with the soil and get infected.  

From what I've read of the NC Wildlife Commission"s info, they are trying to decrease the speed at which it spreads in the state.  So we have transport restrictions and disposal restrictions in several counties in the northwest Piedmont of NC.

Our neighboring counties in Virginia have had CWD identified for several years.  It was inevitable that we would see it here.

As far as depth for burying the waste, I believe the language is "sufficient depth to prevent other animals from uncovering" or something like that.  

I had the fellow who rents our farm for beef cattle dig a hole big enough last year to bury a dozen or so 3-4 feet deep.  

[SawyerTed]

Processed the quarters and trimmings from a 170 pound deer this afternoon.  Two hams, two shoulders, two back straps, neck and other trimmings were put in the cooler earlier week.  

From start to beer:30 took 3 ½ hours for two of us.  Emily did some other things during part of that time. That includes grinding burger, all cleanup and vacuum sealing.  I stopped to sharpen knives 3 or 4 times at least. 

[LeeB]

I never have help and I never remember to get everything I need together before I start. There are always several trips back up to the house. 

[Southside]

Something to think of that is a cheap option for cooling is a unit called a "Cool Bot".  Around $350 or so, what it does is fools an A/C unit into cooling a room down to 33F.  We use them in the walk ins, replaces a commercial refrigeration unit that would be thousands with a home A/C, and they really work.  A guy could set up a 4x8 "cooler" with a few sheets of foam insulation and one of these and have a temporary place to hang and age a deer.  Take it all down at the end of the season, 5 minutes to remove the Cool Bot from the A/C and you have a normal working unit.  I know how much aging a beef improves things, I can only imagine what it would do for venison.  

[Walnut Beast]

Great tip!! 

[TroyC]

I have a Cool-Bot in a walk in cooler and can attest that they work great. I set it for 36 degrees and it stays right there. I came across an old metal railroad switchbox that is about 5'X8' and the 8K BTU A/C unit does fine. I hang 7-10 days.

[Magicman]

I know how much aging a beef improves things, I can only imagine what it would do for venison.

Venison does not have the same enzymes that beef has and does not react to aging as much beef.

[Walnut Beast]

I'm in the camp aging venison definitely makes a difference. And many experts do also. Great feedback on the Cool Bot. 

[beenthere]

Can't say I've noticed any difference with venison over the many deer I've butchered (at least one a year since 1964) and processed and fixed many different ways, that would have resulted in the aging of the hanging meat. The full spectrum from one day killed and packaged in the freezer, to two weeks at aging temps and packaged in the freezer. 
But maybe not a good enough evaluation because the results didn't have a control deer to compare to and come to a good conclusion. 

Beef is a whole different story. Definitely a difference noticed there. Won't do beef again without aging, that is for certain. 

[Mooseherder]

Cutting the animal in a Meat Cutting Room is a lot easier and faster.  I've done both and outside of that environment is tedious.   If deer was in the cooler it was getting processed soon and out the door.  Much easier to cut chilled at 34 degrees.  That cost to process is ridiculously expensive.   Youtubers The Bearded Butchers are the best representation of what to do.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I am not one who ages my deer. I think a lot of the "gamey" taste people complain about was improperly aged deer. I like to be sure my deer are chilled before I cut them up just because it makes cutting the meat easier. When grinding the meat needs to be nearly frozen. 

[Southside]

Grinding is a lot easier and cleaner at that temperature too.  We grind a LOT of chicken and you can tell if it's not cold enough.  

[Mooseherder]

The first grind should be a coarse plate.  Some call it a chili plate.  It's great to have it deep chilled beforehand. Some people add a little pork fat here. Then clean the head and use a medium or fine knife/plate for the second blend grind.
Prime the head by bumping the switch on and a little meat in the head.
Plunging the meat into the head consistently without it running dry.

Chicken won't make it thru twice.  Once is good,  2 is mush right? :D
And there will always be meat left in the head.  It's unavoidable. 

[Southside]

We use a 5mm plate for ground chicken that is sold for human consumption and a 7mm for "creamy chicken" which is ground up backs, fats, bones, breast skin, lungs, etc.  That goes into all natural dog food.  All one pass grinding.  

[KEC]

I think that with a lot of people who complain about "gamey taste" it's all in their head. Some people think that it should taste like beef. They want beef for red meat, chicken, turkey and haddock. Anything else is like: I don't eat that stuff." Venison isn't supposed to taste like beef.

[doc henderson]

I had a roommate in med school.  his family had a farm, and brought us ground deer meat, processed start to finish on the farm.  about half through the spaghetti, you could smell and taste deer hair when you exhaled.

[LeeB]

Where it comes from  and what they're eating makes a difference. The deer I shot when we lived in central Texas tasted much different than the deer I get in north central Arkansas.

[barbender]

 I suspect most "gamey" tasting venison is poorly handled at some point- perhaps not a good job of field dressing, not cooled properly, left hanging at too warm of temperatures and not being thorough with trimming fat, gristle and silverskin. 

 In MN, one saving grace is most deer are shot during the rifle season in early to mid November, which is typically pretty cold up here. Cold like, not worrying about getting your deer cooled down fast enough but getting it skinned and broke down before it freezes solid😊

 I have shot a few deer that despite proper handling, tasted a bit funky. But one of those was an old muley buck at the peak of the rut. 

[SawyerTed]

Aging venison has more to do with tenderness than taste.  What the deer was doing before harvest has more to do with taste.

The biggest thing is to make sure rigor mortise has passed.  A deer in rigor will be tough, all those muscles pulled up tight will make for tight meat.  

Waiting until rigor mortise has passed will make for more tender meat.  OR quartering BEFORE rigor mortise has set in will help prevent tough meat.  

[Walnut Beast]

Very good point Ted! And Barbender! 
 
Exactly on the tenderness and most don't realize tainting the meat by not properly handling and cross contamination 

[Southside]

Adrenaline is a big one too.  I won't touch any of the "donated" venison from around here guys give out as it's been run with dogs before being wounded with buckshot, not to mention the tradition of not field dressing.  If you have ever been to a slaughter house you will see how quiet it is, how gently the animals are moved and how stress free it is on them, death is instant with a shot to the head be it a captured bolt gun or a firearm, either way no adrenaline is released in the process.