Originally Posted by TheKid
I cut all of our meat around here, process one for family occasionally as well. I have a grinder, a canner, and a big old antique slicer.

My general plan of attack is like this. Backstraps get cut into steaks 1” thick and packaged 5 to a pack for deer 4 for elk. Each hindquarter gives us one or two roasts plus steaks cut 3/4” thick for chicken frying or cutting up for fajitas. Front quarters get deboned and all the silver skin and connective tissues trimmed off then into either the grinder or the canner. Any trim or odds and ends like briskets or neck meat goes into the canner or grinder.

I ask mainly because of some guys I work with. One guy grinds everything and mixes it 50/50 with store bought pork sausage. Another makes his all into jerky or summer sausage.

I always assumed that most folks did them similarly to the way I do but lately I’ve found almost no one who actually eats deer steaks. Just seems odd to me to use prime cuts for jerky or burger.


Back straps I cut into 3rd's & vacuum pack - Like to cook them that size & slice to plate.

Whole muscles from the hinds get vacuum packed - versatility (Can steak, cube for steak, cut for stir fry etc)

Tenderloins - removed after 24hrs hanging & eaten the next night.

Heart - removed, cleaned with cold water, sliced to clean thoroughly - Into a zip lock & marinaded for next day dinner.

Neck roasts removed in 4 pieces - vacuum pack - Love low n slow pulled neck roast sammies !

Shanks remain whole - 2 per bag & vacuum packed.

Sirloin tips removed - will be cut into strips & made into stroganoff the on butchering night.

Front shoulders de-boned, chunked & into grind bin - add other clean trim, vacuum pak in 10-15lb bags.freeze all when done for later grinding, usually on a brutal Jan/Feb day.

****All my meat is butchered clean, no fat, no silver skin, no hair !

To grinding - I add roughly 30% pork to all my burger, not for fat, nor flavour, but to increase volume. This pork is always whole pork loins. Remove meat from freezer, before bed & put in shower stall of second bathroom.

Get up, coffee on, organise work area, chunk the mostly frozen pork loins, open the mostly frozen deer chunk bags & get at it.

I grind twice, with the same plate - only to help mix the pork & deer.

I make 2lb softballs, vacuum pack & flatten under the vacuum.

Zero jerky, sometimes smokies, when we have an abundance of deer meat.

YMMV !

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

grin

Paul.

"Kids who grow up hunting, fishing & trapping, do not mug little old Ladies"