Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What do you do with your critters

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 do make excellent jerky .

I do pretty much the same as you, except no elk here and I don't do roasts on the hindquarters, I make it all steaks, sirloin, sirloin tip, top, bottom and eye round are all cut into 1 inch steaks except for the eye which is so small I cut it in half longways to make 2 steaks. I also will cut the backstraps at a slight angle to make a wider piece of meat and slice thin for cutlets. Any scrap pieces from here go into the grinder along with all the front quarter, neck and brisket meat.

I just can't see grinding hindquarters or backstraps, it is way too good as steaks/cutlets.

For the grinder I buy beef fat from a local butcher and grind 4 lbs. meat and 1 lb. beef fat for 80% chop meat. Hard to tell the difference from store bought 80% lean chop meat.

And backstraps cut into cutlets and made as deer cutlet parmigiana along with spaghetti are to die for.

I don’t buy beef, and all my elk, moose, sheep, and pronghorn get made into mostly fresh cuts (roasts, steaks, stew meat, grind), and all my WT and MD get made entirely into sausage and jerky. I suppose if I ever ran low on fresh non-deer meat, then the deer would turn into fresh cuts, as well, but so far that’s never been necessary. I used to make fresh cuts out of deer as well, but decided I prefer the other critters if eating fresh meat, and deer sausage/jerky is mighty fine.

Bucks go into summer sausage, brats pepperoni, backstraps and all. Bulls are for eatin and cannin.

I leave everything in trimmed chunks instead of slicing them even the backstraps. Sometimes I want to cook them as a roast etc.. and it is a whole lot easier down the road to make chunks into steaks than it is to make steaks into chunks. I grind meat from the front quarters except for the chuck roasts. The shanks and necks get pressure cooked and made into soup. Sometimes I leave the ribs whole for the grill and sometimes I bones them out and add to the grind with every other scrap I can get off the bone. Heart and liver are saved for frying and the tongue gets boiled and peeled.

As an interesting aside.

I grew up in SW Oklahoma eating deer and elk from here and elk and muleys from SW Colorado. I never had a preference between our whitetail deer and elk from CO or from here. Occasionally we’d get a big mule deer that was musky and strong but never an elk or whitetail.

Therefore I never understood people like my cousins from NM or my mother in law who’s from the MT/ID/WA neighborhood, who emphatically stated they absolutely do not like deer. Until last month when my mother in law moved down here.

After eating some deer we killed in Nov and some elk I killed last week she remarked at how weird it was with the game down here. She explained that the deer here don’t have the “deer” taste like they do where she’s lived and that they are just as mild as elk. Made sense to me then as I hadn’t experienced that and never really got how everyone always went on and on about how great elk are.

I process my own stuff as well. My current process is geared towards versatility with cooking as well as time saving during butchering. Currently what I do:

Back straps are trimmed cut into 8-10” chunks. I like to leave them whole and usually prefer to cook them whole And then slice into steaks just before serving. Sometimes I’ll do a Wellington. Can still be cut into whatever you at time of preparation. Very versatile to have a whole chunk.

If I have the whole animal then I’ll split down spine and cut some bone-in steaks from the backstrap

Hind quarters, all the whole muscles get separated and I take a lot of roasts off the round. I leave them whole for versatility just like the backstrap. Jerky, breakfast steaks, cubed for taco meat, carpaccio, sushi, braise, you name it. It’s great meat and I take what I can. My kids love steak and eggs

All shanks get cut for osso bucco or left while for braising. Ain’t got time to trim tendons and they are fun to prepare as shanks and it’s easy to butcher this way

Front quarters get ground

Clean trim gets ground

Trim that is fatty or bloodstained, ribs, stuff that is otherwise edible but I suspect may alter flavor of grind at all I save and do random stuff with it. I’m not picky so I’ll make sure and eat it but also generally don’t serve it to others as it’s occasionally gamey although usually I think oh I should have ground that. Usually a heavily seasoned braise or tacos and such

For grind I usually split between burger and Italian sausage. Italian is a versatile sausage and we love pasta and meatballs. Burgers are great too. Occasionally we smoke summer sausage or make other sausage depending on how the meat situation looks for the year

Organs get saved as well and I try to eat heart, liver, kidneys and tongue that week. Sometimes the balls as well

Backstraps, Eye of round, top round , bottom round , sirlion, next roasts. and trim. Make various sausages and burger out of the trim.

The plan is usually Backstraps and tenderloin, then a hindquarter used for a roast or general meet used in recipes and the rest turned into sausage. It depends though what I have on hand, how many deer, elk, pronghorn and bear I’ve shot this year. I hunt multi state and we are a small family. A lot of times I give it away. I can get burned out on deer steaks but if I use it creatively like in tacos, bean soups and what not I am good. Elk is another story.
S.

I just polished of the last of the elk heart we had for supper last night. Still have one heart and one liver left that I need to fry up this week. Easily my two favorite parts of a deer or elk.

What do you do with the kidneys? Indians around here eat beef kidneys but they usually eat them raw with a little salt, I’m fairly adventurous but I’ll pass on that.

I Butcher em with as few cuts possible and don’t trim them at all. Triple wrap each muscle group (2 plastic wrap with as much air removed as possible, then butcher paper) with trim sides out so that if something gets freezer burned it’ll be the stuff I’d intended to trim anyway.

Trim, flank steaks, and shoulders go to local butcher to be ground and made into brats which I grill during the summer.

Tongue & shanks are frozen until I have enough to serve a bunch of guys and, along with backstraps, I bring those to “hunting guy gatherings” of various sorts that take place during the summer, or save them for a holiday (serving oso bucco to family Christmas day this year).

Heart, neck roast, and tenderloins are eaten fresh never frozen.

I have sausage made out of my deer, pigs become coyote and buzzard food.

Very interesting... My first wife and I processed our own deer, antelope, elk and moose.. Also one bighorn sheep.. We did this until she passed in 2006.. We ate lots of wild game, but some beef and pork..

Now, I usually have my wild game processed with a local processor.. My second wife and I used some wild game, but mostly gave it to her children.. Since her passing, I doubt I keep any wild game.. I will give it to friends or process it and give it to my step daughter.. I am on the down hill side of this now.. The last deer I had done, we made into roasts and hamburger.. When I get home, I will give it to folks who can use some wild game..

Same




I’ve tried them a few ways and the only way worth a damn so far:

Deviled Kidneys

I use this English chap’s recipe with a few modifications. Firstly I ditch the accent. I also sauté some mushrooms, the brown ones are best and if you can find the baby brown ones use those. Sauté them in a little bacon fat and olive oil or butter with salt and pepper. As soon as they are soft remove and set aside. The mushrooms add volume, have a similar texture to the kidney and help cut the sharp flavor of the kidney. Taste of kidneys is similar to liver but texture is like mushrooms

Then I use the English chap’s recipe and add back the mushrooms right after the flambé. For whisky I use Famous Grouse but any light clean whisky would be fine. Anything Irish, Jameson, would be great. I think a good clean bourbon would work, as would brandy.

I use a regular heavy cream. I use Coleman’s English Mustard. also use a toaster to make the toast like a regular bastard

When done right this recipe is dynamite and is fun to do

Elk kidneys, cut lengthwise and remove white stuff, then I cut into cubes. I also soak them in milk for 1-24 hours if possible. Then follow the recipe:



Reducing after adding cream


The fresh parsley on top is a nice touch

Interesting thanks. 👍🏻

Bone in shoulder roasts, everything in larger cuts until time to cook. Backstraps in 8-10” pieces, cooked whole and sliced thin. Scraps for jerky.

If I want some jerky I’ll bone out a shoulder and run it through the slicer about 1/8” thick. Makes it nice to have all the slices a uniform thickness as far as a consistent end product.

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 !

Straps and rears into steaks.
Rest is ground.
Some ground used for summer sausage and jerky.
Rest of ground given away.

Hey ‘99s, point me towards a good stroganoff recipe? Been wanting to give that a try

I’ve been called an ass for being stingy with our kills. A guy I used to work with would make huge meatloaf type dishes with probably 5lb of deer burger at a time and bring in. Then complain in February about being out of meat.
We generally eat about 2 deer and one elk in a year at our house. We eat it in some form at least 3 days a week. Supplement with fish we catch and birds we shoot. We have honestly bought less than 10lb of beef in the last 4 years and that’s been burger patties down at the grocery store. We enjoy it and the less we spend at the grocery store the more we can blow on hunting and fishing.

My uncle tells me I am the grocery store.

Will do Bud !!

Perzactly our lifestyle too !

Minus the elk.

No moose since 2014, when they altered the Ontario regs, severely reducing tag numbers, making it only possible to be guaranteed an adult tag, for groups of 10-12 +.

Most of our local tags go to big groups that come from Southern Ontario - 17-20 hours drive away.

Oh, but everybody has to buy a calf tag, to be eligible for the draw.

110,000 calf tags @ $60 each = $6,600,000.00 !!

Oh, but think of the tourism benefits - There is basically none. These groups bring everything with them, including reefer trailers.

Sorry - rant over.

Similar:

I have never thot about Back Strap for 'jerky'. IMO it's too tender and tasty. Great steaks, BBQ, Fried, Charcoaled et.al.

Whitetail Deer - Steaks, Roasts and Jerky. We 'used' to grind some but have quit.

Jerry

ps: I kill deer for friends who process their own. I gut and rinse thoroughly and they come and get it >> With Smiles.
I give away a few deer every season.

I passed on these 2 'fryers' this evening.



I've killed enuff for the freezer and looking for one like this. He lives in my neighborhood.



Great deer season. Looking for Mr. Big

Jerry

ps: OOPS forgot. Buck pic take Oct 6, 2020 in my pasture.

Me too, please.

Pretty simple.

We actually like deer meat.

Backstrap, tender loin, about all the hind quarters are steaked, or roasts.
Usually butterflies.

Trimmings are ground with either beef steak trimmings or
80/20 burger. Enough to add some fat, but not hide the deer.

We used to can a lot.
But i got sick after eating it one night.
Not from the meat, I was the only one sick.

Since then, I get queasy if I smell canned beef or deer.

If we want jerky or something like that, I buy beef.
It's easily available, everyday, unlimited.

We don't "waste" deer meat on those things.

I try to keep roasts whole. Can always cut into steaks later.

I try to get the blade roast off the front quarters, sometimes it isn't worth it. The rest of the front quarter gets ground. On occasion, I'll keep a whole front quarter from a small deer whole and smoke it.

I like 8" or so backstrap pieces. Lots to do with those.

I haven't had problems freezing hearts. Trim the heck out of them before cooking, so that may be why.

Ground is usually a mix. Some goes with 10% beef fat. Some goes with nothing. Some goes with pork butt and sausage spice.

I’d happily shoot and deliver a doe for anyone who wanted one after we have our needs for the year met. It’s doe season starting Saturday and running until the end of the month or so and wouldn’t be a problem to gather a couple up. Except I’ve never had anyone want “a deer” they usually just want the finished product.

We used to get the gal at the meat counter down at the grocery to save us pork or beef trim to mix with our burger. Never had great luck getting it thoroughly mixed to where a patty wouldn’t crumble and rarely make burgers anyway. So nowadays we just grind it lean and add a dollop of lard to the frying pan before the meat goes in when making tacos or spaghetti sauce type dishes.

I improvised a pastrami with a chunk of shoulder roast a couple weeks ago. Brined and rolled in spices before smoking and running through the slicer for thin slices. It was a pain in the butt with all the steps and waiting but man was it good.

Imagine That ! (sarcasm) Agree. Why waste good meat on 'drying out'.

Jerry

Helped some boys in Alaskan that were self proclaimed seasoned moose hunters. Finishing up a critter we’d all chipped in to break down I asked if they’d gotten the tenderloins. Sure did was their reply whilst pointing to the backstraps. “No the tenderloins” I said, to which they gave me a confused look. I reached in and produced both of them shortly to which they replied that they didn’t think moose had those!

They’d been leaving them in the gut pile for however many years! Then the bastards had the audacity to swipe them and the heart along with my ice chest they were in.

That's M..... D..... Sorry !

Ignorance raises it's ugly head.

Jerry

Deer tenderloins are so tiny compared to pork that I don't make steaks out of them. Do you guys really make 2 inch diameter steaks?

I have more ways of processing a deer that I like than I can get out of a one. I like backstrap steaks, hindquarter roasts, stew meat, ground meat for hamburger patties, and link sausage.
I'll also eat liver, but I've tried the heart and it is too rubbery for me.

I process elk the same...Choice meat is steaks and roasts. The rest is grind for sausage and pepperoni sticks.

Front shanks get cut at the joints. I release some of the silver skin, leave connective tissue to keep it on the bone.

Wifey, puts a shank in a Dutch Oven with a broth concoction of meat bouillon, seasonings, water and red wine.

She slow cooks the shanks for 5-6 hours in the broth. When done, the meat is tender and almost coming off the bone.

Boil up some Russet potatoes,,,use some of the shank broth to make gravy...Enjoy!

To me, the meat tastes just like a beef roast.

Way easier than peeling all the silver skin and connective tissue for just grind. Plus, tastes amazing.

Slow cook them elk legs....You won’t want do them any other way.

😎

Negative on the tiny steaks. I put coarse salt and pepper on the whole tenderloin and roll it across a smoking hot griddle. Get a good sear on it all the way around and stick it in a 400 degree oven for a short time, never past a very rare shade of medium rare. I prefer mine purple and cold in the center but the wife likes them a little more done. Pull it out and let it sit beside the stove with some butter melting over it. Slice into 2” thick chunks and enjoy with whatever sides you like. Most often at my house they get eaten with steamed broccoli, fried potatoes, and a salad. I’m a savage so mine gets washed down with a cold High Life, the Mrs pretends to be more refined and has a glass of red wine alongside hers. Either way it’s living in high style.

Nodding

Butterfly them.

TL steak nuggets and gravy... Andy G says “mmm GOOOD”

Jerry

CONCUR Sir !

There are tons of variations out there, once you find the style you like, you can adapt to your liking (I hardly ever stick exactly to a recipe) !

These are the 3 styles I play with.

Hungarian - hot paprika;

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/paprika-beef-stroganoff/

Russian;



Hungarian;

https://kjandcompany.co/2020/01/22/hungarian-mushroom-beef-stroganoff/

Link to the video that wouldn't embed.

https://vikalinka.com/best-beef-stroganoff/

Cooked it too long !

Had heart last night, it was tender.

I generally save the loins as 6-8" chunks, they can be sliced after thawing. Hindquarters make up 3 roasts each, can be sliced to steaks if desired later. Fronts and all trim go to grind. We eat more burger than steaks or roasts, so need more of it.
Older bucks are ground other than the loins and tenders, again the wife likes more burger.

Yes Mark !!!

We do similar for deer shanks.

Eat dem sumbitches all day long !

We do shanks, not osso buco - brown up the shanks & go low & slow in the crock pot for 8+ hours with stock/wine/herbs & veges at the end.





Never had any complaints.

Lots of clean plates !

Hey, great thread Kid !!

Thanks for your insight New 2 99s. Lots of great stuff in here.

Another thing I’m surprised at is the number of guys I run into who’d never dream of cutting up a deer themselves. Some of them act like it’s a task on par with building a space shuttle. The local processors here charge $100-$150 to cut and wrap a deer. Our little deer yield about 25-40lb of meat, no way my cheap ass is paying that for 3-4 animals a year!

I did my first one at about age 13. A cousin who’s family was of pretty limited means had shot a buck. He hung in the barn for a few days with him wondering what to do with it. We got some kitchen knives and a steel and just kind of winged it. Probably wasn’t the best job anyone had ever done but we ended up with steaks and roasts and it all turned out okay. Since then I’ve done some reading on the subject and it’s no sweat.

I’m home with a sick kid for the next little while pending Corona test results and our main task is to get the last 3 elk quarters off the barn rafters and into the freezer. The backstrap steaks I ate with a 3 egg omelette for breakfast were a nice side benefit to having a pile of fresh cut steaks in the reefer waiting to be wrapped! The two elk I killed last weekend have been hanging in the barn since Saturday with temps getting in the 20s at night and 40ish during the day, prime eating.

I usually dice up the tenderloins and use them in omelets. Usually make bone in roasts out of the front shoulders and steak out the hind quarters or grind depending on toughness. Those big old iffy ones get the frying pan test as we butcher. Tough ones get ground, canned or made into jerky or sausage. I also usually smoke the hocks for soup.

This is the genuine article, we use in our Hot Hungarian Stroganoff & Goulash !

Kid

Best of Luck & Prayers for 'little man'.

Enjoyed the thread.


Jerry

We have been taking moose to a processor. We do a 3 week moose camp and by the time we get back and get things sorted at home, I dont feel like cutting up 700 -1500 lbs of meat. Same goes for caribou if there are a bunch of them hitting the ground at the same time and weather is warm. For smaller critters like sheep, goats, deer, I prefer to cut them myself.

I'm far from a pro butcher, but we generally steak the entire strap and cut roasts from the hinds. I always break down the hocks and always wish I hadn't. I make jerky out of an entire shoulder from a moose or bou occasionally. If i know I'm going to do that, I'll set aside better trim for that too. We always end up with plenty of grind , so I don't have to go looking for things to grind.

JW thanks for the thoughts. Little guy was in the truck with my folks when they started to come down with the chinee crud al he can’t go to school and I can’t go to work until he tests clear. He was sniffly for a couple days but he’s finer than frog hair now. Mom and Dad seem to be getting past it pretty quickly with no major issues.

Cwh2. I hear you on the marathon butcher session with a moose or a stack of caribou. My dad and uncles were “kind” enough to hop their plane home one year and leave me and the Mrs with 5 bulls hanging in the back yard.

Also too tight to pay. Plus, most won't bone it out and trim to my standards.
They bandsaw and pack.

Grew up on deer meat and cutting it.
When you eat as many deer as we did, and are limited to 1 tag per year.
You couldn't afford a butcher.

Ironic. Now I can get a bunch of tags, but there are so few deer
I won't kill more than one doe. And reluctantly on one.

Very Glad to hear he’s doing great.
Y’all stay safe.

Jerry

Deer backstraps do make great jerky especially when left whole length and cut 1/4” thick!
I butcher pretty much the same as most here. I don’t cut very many steaks though. Backstraps and tenderloins are usually cut into 8-10” pieces and saved for BBQs on the red oak pit. Sometimes I’ll cut a pocket into one and stuff it with cream cheese, sautéed onions,garlic,jalapeños and then wrap it in bacon and cook it on the BBQ.
I prefer to have a lot of my game meat ground and made into bulk burger, mild/hot Italian and chorizo. We use it in a lot of dishes and everyone likes it in my house.

Here’s an elk Backstrap before hitting the BBQ pit. Bacon was wrapped and grilled until meat was medium rare. Didn’t last 5 minutes and could’ve even get a pic of it.

Tag for Paul’s shanks!

I’m going to cross cut the shanks after seeing that beautiful plate.

👍🏻😎🦫

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.

I used to grind up the shank meat, never knew what I was missing until I tried it in the slow cooker.

Now shanks are one of my favorite cuts, all the connective tissue cooks down and keeps it moist and fall-apart tender.

Hank Shaw has a couple of recipes for shanks. It converted me to saving them. Stroganoff is great for game meat. Made Steak Diane backstrap last night and nearly started a fire when I flambed it. Turned out good enough I am going to freeze the base sauce so I can do it in short order again.

I used to go for about half sausage but lately I won't make any sausage or just some pan sausage variations. If I shoot three or more deer then I will make sausage but the first deer are almost all steaks and roasts. I like it when I only buy a really good beef steak a couple of times a year, the rest is all game meat.

How do others use the rib meat and flanks, and brisket off a deer? Except for fajitas these usually get ground.

Rib, flank, and brisket meat are all ground.

I have tried deer ribs many, many times and have not been able to make them to my satisfaction.

The best way I found to prepare deer ribs is to pressure cook, then finish on the grill.

I don't slice steaks until just prior to going on the grill. Minimizes freezer burn.

In the process of finishing one up here, one shoulder & neck meat to go !

Same here, I like to wrap the major muscle groups whole, and cut them when they're thawed and cooked.

PS, New2, that's some fine-looking meat!!

I didn’t read all the posts but noticed a few guys cutting their back straps into steaks before presumably vacuum sealing them. A few years ago I started cutting them into about thirds and trimming nothing off before vacuum sealing. I trim all the fat and blue off after I thaw them. I just feel it keeps them a bit fresher and makes better eating. I just had back straps for dinner tonight!

Depending on what I’m running low on I cut out the loins and back straps, get a roast or two from the hams and burger the rest. I usually soak all my burger meat a few days in a 5 gal bucket with water. Changing it twice. Then add a little beef fat and grind.

with Deer. I save back straps and tenderloins. cut the straps into thirds and freeze them the rest of the deer gets made into Italian and breakfast sausage and minute steaks.

Pretty much ch same as OP. Steaks, roasts and lots of grind. All done at home. A decent grinder is a must.

I cut good steaks and chops and good roasts from the backstraps, loins and hind quarters. Every thing else becomes stew meat or burger. I have cut up all my own animals since I was 16. GD

Eat all the way to the bullet hole. The backstraps get et first. Be Well, RZ.

Loins, straps, and a few hindquarter roasts, which are either crock-pot material or fajitas. The rest is burger. I generally do my own, unless it's a lone single doe late in the evening, and then I might run it to the game processor 6 miles down the road. I generally don't like to dirty up all my equipment for just one average-sized deer. He'll skin/gut and do my straps and loins whole, and grind the rest for $60. We use a lot of burger every year. My burger is leaner, so we'll use his for chili and soup.

When I left this morning, my wife was putting two roasts in the crockpot for tonight. Will be good with rice and gravy.

Fortunately my wife loves game and fish. I process my own deer. We eat pretty much every bird and edible game animal we can shoot. My goal every year is to kill enough deer so we have a years worth of ground meat. We like deer steaks and roasts too.

Fixing on doing 50lbs of fresh sausage and 50 lbs of smoked sausage.

So, so friggin cold over the weekend, figured I make deer burger, in the basement;





70lbs should get us through the rest of winter.

Happiness is bags full of backstrap medallions.

Yes it is. I smile every time I open the freezer.

Preach it Brothers !

If you use pork as an adder, remember that pork only lasts about 6 months in the freezer before it starts to go bad. I never add pork fat to my game animals' meat.

I don't do steaks with my big game meat. With the backstraps I prefer to leave them as roasts that are about 6 inches long. This way when I BBQ them they stay more tender and it is easier to cook them to medium rare. I don't do round steaks either. I like to use them to make fajitas.

I hunt for 3 weeks straight in 3 seperate states

I drop stuff off at a butcher

Smoked German style sausage.

Doug's off to 3rd year trade school, next Saturday, so asked to take about 20kg of burger, to get him through the 9 weeks.

Hmmm, better get to & do some more, I guess !!

Save out a few roasts/steaks. The rest becomes sauage/sticks/jerky

Very enjoyable read.. My first wife and I ate game very often.. When we were first married it was a huge portion of our food.. When she passed in 2006, I have eaten less and less each year.. I am not sure if I had one meal of it last year.. We still took 3 or 4 deer and 5 antelope.. Did not seriously hunt elk.. May try again this season, but who knows.. My step daughter made the antelope into jerky.. I made one into the traditional jerky we made, but in the chaos of the mths following, I am not sure what we did with it.. May still be in the freezer... I like deer and antelope hunting, elk ??.. Will still get a license or two just incase.. Despite the wonderful looking meals you prepare, I kind of doubt game becomes a big part of life ever again.. Still great to see how you are doing things.. Reminds me of the "old days"!! Keep up the fine work..