Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Is butchering a cow much different than a deer?

i learned a long time ago that butchering a pig is a lot different than a deer when my buddy found a fresh roadkill hog. what an ordeal. got 'er done but it wasn't supermarket fare.

When I was growing up we butchered our own cows and pigs. We also butchered our deer and elk. Carcasses are carcasses. You can pretty much cut them all the same. The only one that is a little different is bison because they have that hump which you can use to cut what is called a hump roast out of while still getting the backstraps as well. None of the others have the hump.

I hadn't thought of it quite that way but pretty sure you are right.

2ndwind;
Good evening to you sir, I hope the day was a good one for you and this finds you folks well.

A few years back when we didn't get a deer the previous fall, I called up my rancher buddy who I helped with branding and as it turned out he was killing a steer and had a front quarter available. Like you, we've been processing our own game as well as helping friends and family do theirs here since '89 so we're set up with tables, cutting boards, knives, paper and tape dispensers and a fridge.

The way it turned out for us was that it had been hanging in one piece for 2 weeks already, so the aging part was done.

It took two of us to pop the front into the back seat of the pickup and when we got it home, we broke it down so the parts would fit into our fridge.

If memory serves, we did it in a couple evenings, not too, too bad at all.

We've done about 3 moose here, when I did my bull in September I ended up doing a marathon session on my own - wife and family were out of town as I recall - but had most of it cleaned up and in the freezer in 12 or 14 hours. A long day but certainly doable.

If you could get your hands on something like an 18 month steer that'd be my preference for table fare and size to handle, but as others have already said, other than size and the amount of fat, it's not that different than a big deer.

Hopefully that made some sense and was useful to you sir. Good luck with the meat cutting and stay well.

Dwayne

Deer are smaller than cows.

This.
That’s a lot of meat to cool down before butchering.

Are we talkin' angus or hereford here boys?


Cow has big feet, heavy.

Ask him for a 400lb calf.

I would reckon about 1400 lbs different.....

Thanks Dwayne, years ago an old farmer that had been letting me hunt his land told me one his cows had crossed over some kind of line with him and he just wanted it gone.... if I wanted to shoot it I could have it..... I thanked him kindly but it seemed like a bigger project than I was up for.... told him I would pass the word around to see if anyone wanted to take him up on his offer.... I can't remember what the offending cow had been doing. It must have been something big though because this guy was very easy going in general...

My wife and I only put 4 deer in the freezer this year because older age and gimpy body parts have resulted in us not shooting anything that doesn't have a high probability of falling over where we can at least get a rope from the truck tied to it....

My friend that taught Jayne and I how to butcher deer years ago used to have a contest for the best "trophy shot" A perfect score would have been shooting a deer on a steep hill side above where a truck was parked so that the deer just rolled down the hill and landed in the back of the truck.... never achieved that goal but we had fun showing off easy locations to retrieve a deer from. Last season I shot a 4 point that ended up on a forest road. There was a fairly steep bank I was able to back the truck up to and with the tail gate down it was dead even with the road way.... no lifting up involved... I was so proud...

I’ve got the walkin cooler, I’ve got a wimpy 800 winch in the ceiling of the cooler.

I’ve done a 100+ plus deer, I’ve got a front end loader, I’ve got grinders, slicers, stainless prep tables, triple since setup


*IF* I was going to attempt this, it would be with a smaller carcass or I’d wack the fugger up with a demolition blade in a sawzall. And hang it in quarters.

Then after the stress of getting it cooled off, I could let it hang for several days in the work on it a little at a time, a really focus on what I want.

I doubt I’d get any help, my walk in is tight, only 7x8 ft. I could get family to help wrap and pack but it would be a mostly one-man job.

That somewhat quells my ambition for such an endeavor.

I still think I’m able to pull it off, but I’d sure hate to be in a rush with some garage floor hatchet job at room temp.

I have a moose or elk alternating every 2nd year plus a couple of deer. Breaking down a large elk or moose would be similar to a yearling steer. The parts are all the same and if you are happy with the processing you do on a deer you would be fine on a larger animal. Larger means more ability to do things with ribs, flank etc. Generally for an elk or moose it takes me 3 days to cut, grind, get everything wrapped and put away.

Biggest I have handled is a bison weighed in at just under 1100 lbs fully dressed out no hide sitting in a cooler after a hunt in South Dakota. I got them to cut it into 9 pieces so it would fit in the truck to bring home. We aged in the garage for 21 days and then it took a week to process. So as one other person said bigger means longer processing time.

I like having a bigger animal broken down into more pieces as it is easier to handle by myself and I can take my time.

You will want a good grinder for burger as there is a bit of that on a larger animal.

If you know someone in the area that used to be a butcher that you could bring in for a day that would help out quite a bit.

When we sold feeder calves(back in Feb), it was icy and while sorting/loading a nice big steer calf slipped and bumped his eye.

Absolutely nothing wrong with him but he had a helluva puffy eye so we held him back.

Why let the sales ring steal him?

He is grade A healthy.

Anyway we have him(800lb yearling) and 3-4 two year old steers that will go anywhere from 800-1000lbs. Late calves, couple frozen ears, oddballs that didn't go to town.

They aren't fatty fat..

Maybe a touch lean?



And we've been buying beef for the last 4-5 months!


Half dozen lunker open 1500lb 3 year old cows. Good god that would be fine burger but they are gonna get bred back.

A cow fetus is smaller than a deer.

Sam what is purchased and processed at a smaller rural butcher shop going for down there? I was just quoted $4.40 per lb for a hanging 600 to 800 lb animal -- custom cut and wrapped.

It's always nice to have a bandsaw and good meat grinder, when butchering a steer. A couple large tables, with overhead lifting device are a must. Butchering was a yearly event growing up, from chicken, hogs, beef and goats! Take your time its not rocket science, besides you might discover a new cut of steak!

Never done beef but have done lots of elk all by myself. Used to be a lot easier, didn't hurt as bad but can still do it. Been lucky have had to do it. lots of times. I have all the stuff to do it. Don't use a saw much as I don't like bone meal in my meat, A good grinder is a must. Also make all my own sausage. We eat well. Freezer is full and give lots to the kids.

Best way I can put it is you cut up a deer and break down a cow. I wouldn't tackle it unless I was set up for it and had plenty of time and ambition to work it over.

Hang, cut, wrap and freeze around here is about $400 per cow, IIRC. 20 years ago, that was a lot of money....Today, I'm writing the check..

For not much money 2 guys come out with a reefer truck, complete with davit and winch, pop ‘em in the head, gut, skin, and quarter them. Then they drive the carcass to any butcher in the area you chose.

A couple 1400 pound steers takes them about 45 minutes from getting out of the truck to handing them cash as they drive off. Cost $150 or so.

Butcher will age 20 days and cut and wrap for $.60 a pound.

Could I? Sure. Probably be ugly, but we’d get it done.
Would I? Fugg no. Not when the meat wagon is a phone call away!

The biggest difference is that deer bones taint the meat when they're cut.

Some troglodytes will argue otherwise.

But they're troglodytes.