I missed this thread.
We ran 18 deer/antelope through my garage/locker this past fall from 8 hunters. With 12 of them ending up in our freezer. We had an exceptional year.
I process everything myself since I do not trust anyone else to do it.
Tenderloins get eaten fresh. I like to age them in saltwater in the frig for 5 days changing the water everyday. They come out TENDER!
I cook them similar to TheKid above. Season to taste and use similar methods with the cast iron sear and into the oven, or on the grill at 500-600 degrees for 4-8 minutes total. Time varies with the size of the tenderloins. Always shooting for med rare. Rest for 10 minutes and slice.
After aging:
Loins get divided into thirds and vaccum packed. Cooked similar to above.
Never used to saved the shanks whole, going to try them this year.
Save the two big roasts out of each hindquarter. They will get tipped, steaked, smoked, or grilled whole depending on mood.
Everything else gets trimmed and cubed for future grinding. Frozen in 5 or 10 pound lots to make the math easier.
When it gets ground, it is made into 10% beef or pork burger. From there it is plain burger or turned in different flavors of breakfast sausage, brats, chorizo, ring bologna, ground jerky, or whatever the desire. I really want to try a dried venison recipe this year for sandwich meat.
Still have over 100# of venison in the freezer for grinding and future recipe testing.
