1” thick steaks out of backstraps on deer, 1.25” for elk. 3/4” steaks out of the big cuts on the hinds for chicken fry. Football and other tough bigger cuts as well as the necks get wrapped whole for roasts. Front quarters get deboned and trimmed before cutting into 1/2” cubes for tacos, soups, and stir fry. Briskets, lower legs, and anything else that’s tough or gristly gets run through the canner.
We started with the cubing instead of grinding a couple years ago and prefer it now. Simpler with no mixing fat and no grinder cleanup. 80 percent of it gets used for tacos and I prefer the texture over burger.
Tonight I’ll finish up our 3rd deer for the year and finished the bull elk I recently killed this past Wednesday. We probably won’t shoot any more this year but we won’t be buying any meat either. Better than 90 percent of our meals throughout the year are deer and elk or fish my son and I catch and we all enjoy it that way.
