Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Gutless Field Dressing

My venison all gets ground into burger and sausage these days anyway. It's all the same after that. We've eaten so much venison over the years that I've lost my taste for it and don't care for it plain. The burger gets used for chili or taco meat. The sausage in spaghetti sauce, lasagna or just patties. The spices disguise the venison taste nicely.

this is the deer hunting forum and obviously many of you are talking about deer. That's a whole different deal than an elk or moose. A big muley buck can be a weighty subject, too.

Yep, have killed mule deer bucks as large as the average cow elk.

"disguise the venison taste nicely" !

Really ?

I think you're doing it wrong !

only way I have done it for 20 years

It hasn't been 20 for me yet. I learned about 'gutless' here on the 'fire' after I joined in 2010.
It really is the easiest & fastest way (to me) and I do it most of the time.

However when our WX is between 30-50* F, I like to gut and thoroughly rinse them out and Let Them Hang 3-5 days.
I don't get to do that as often as I'd like on account of it being too warm.

Keeping the UNBONED (Un Deboned) meat on ice and water accomplishes the same thing but I prefer to let the WHOLE thing hang.


Jerry

Think what you want. I don't care for the taste of venison anymore but I do like sausage.. If I'm going to eat plain red meat these days it's going to be beef.

gutless doesn't mean boneless. I've also gutted then quartered with the bone in just to allow it to cool quicker. I've left the hair on, skinned and put in game bags and also into trash bags into a backpack. no one way is better than another really, all depends on what you got and what works best for you. I wouldn't hesitate to hang one in a tree, skin, let cool and debone and pack out if I have the time. if its within a couple hundred yards of where I can drive I'll use a game cart. I once quartered a buffalo with just my edc knife. you do what you can with what you have. The key is to cool it to rigor before cutting, or it will be tough. if you plan on grinding it all anyway, you're gtg either way.

IMHO if you let it get into rigor you should let it get out of rigor before cutting further for sure. Get it into rigor and then cut it before it relaxes makes tough meat too.

No.The gutless method still allows for quarters to have their meat on the bone. I've used gutless on my 5 pt bull and last years caribou. Took the capes off both for should mounts too.
The last resort is removing the meat from the bone before aging. However terrain and distance may dictate otherwise.

Bob,
After completing the gutless dressing, find the last rib and simply make a cut there.
You can then reach in and grab the tenderloin and work it out - usually with just your fingers and no knife.

I don’t bother with heart or liver on deer. I have friends that like elk heart however, so I’ll split the brisket with my hatchet and bring it out.
We don’t care for venison so much anymore - except the straps and tenderloin - I had this years blacktail made into garlic brats.... they’re mighty tasty !

What? You dont put catsup on it too? Lol l