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Is there a book or video guide you guys would recommend for someone who hasn't cut up their own deer before. I have some friends who cut up their own wild game but I am a several hour drive from either one. I do have a cousin who is local who cuts his own but I would have a hard time wading through the B.S. for the several hours that I would have to be around him.

Kentucky Afield has a nice video. Go to their site or Youtube.

There is a book by Monte Burch called "Field dressing and butchering deer" that I found useful . Lots of video on youtube as well. Good luck . Mounatainjam

Some will tell you how to saw the bones. Don't bother. Remove all the bones and be done with it.

Be a googlero.

Bunch of info on the web, YouTube has some vids. Take a few notes and a beer and have at it.

YouTube is your friend!

There is a four part series by a professional butcher (Willies Country Meats) that will guide you through the whole process. It's a really good way to start!

Here's part 1 ; Butchering a Deer Part 1

Ed

Outdoor Life Books has a superb volume called "Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game". It goes thru deer, pheasant, squirrel, etc, step by step with good photos.

I like this video, he seems to be a pretty good butcher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw

Thanks

I'll have to check it out.

What he said, if they tell you to cut through a bone, I'd question the rest of what they had to say as well-

http://www.hessvideo.com/seminars/index.htm

Bill's videos are pretty good.

+1 ......... bone free

I believe this is the link at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=dressing+and+cooking+wild+game&sprefix=dressing+and+c

This isn't the Outdoor Life edition, but it's the same author. Another book on the same page, "Venison Cookery", is also good. I have both books in my kitchen and they contain a lot of great recipes for wild game in addition to showing you how to field dress and butcher a deer.

You should also look at Eileen Clarke's "A Slice of the Wild" book. Eileen is John Barsness's wife and a cookbook/hunting author of the first order. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. It's one of the best overall books on game processing and cooking you'll find. You can order her book directly here:

http://www.riflesandrecipes.com/ind...ry&layout=blog&id=4&Itemid=6

Congratulations on choosing to process your own animal, BTW!!! I have only allowed a commercial meat processor to touch an animal I've killed twice in the past 20+ years, and both times they botched it. When I butcher my own meat, I know EXACTLY what cuts of meat I'm getting, how tender/tough the meat is, and most important, I know the meat has been cut and wrapped as cleanly as possible.

The ones by Larry Metz are really good.

You making it far more complicated than it is!

Just dismember the individual muscles (very literally), being careful to cut off all connective tissue, fat, veins, anything dirty or dried out, and then cut into chops or small steaks - cutting across the grain and direction of the meat.

May not look like the beef at the supermarket, but cutting up a deer is EASY!

Thanks, I tried to find the Outdoor Life book but Google and Amazon turned up zilch.

I suppose I am, I tend to with anything I haven't done before. I hate not knowing where to start and I don't want to screw up the cuts.

You won't. Do what Stubbleduck says...



The only thing I can add is that venison is much better aged than "green" and vacuum sealing it will make it less prone to freezer burn than wrapping or bagging.