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DIY Deer Processing

Grandslam11

Grandslam11

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Next year my goal is to process my own deer. I have watched youtube videos and have read some on it but thought id ask here too. I really want to do it, just to learn. Not at all wanting to do it as a business. Just know the art and help out some neighbors along the way. I probably wouldn't do 4-5 deer per year, if that. I would honestly ground up most of it, other than the backstrap and tenderloin. My questions:

1. For that low of #s, what is the smallest size grinder you would buy?
2. I have a vacuum seal machine, so I wouldn't need that
3. For aging, I wouldn't want to buy a separate refrigerator, is using a cooler with ice ok? I know I would have to keep the meat from touching the melt and keep it drained well, and I do have a place I could hang one if the weather was cool enough.
4. What am I missing/ overthinking?
5. Am i out of mind? We also raise meat sheep so once I know how to process a deer, Id like to try one of them as well.
 
Grandslam11 said:
Next year my goal is to process my own deer. I have watched youtube videos and have read some on it but thought id ask here too. I really want to do it, just to learn. Not at all wanting to do it as a business. Just know the art and help out some neighbors along the way. I probably wouldn't do 4-5 deer per year, if that. I would honestly ground up most of it, other than the backstrap and tenderloin. My questions:

1. For that low of #s, what is the smallest size grinder you would buy?
2. I have a vacuum seal machine, so I wouldn't need that
3. For aging, I wouldn't want to buy a separate refrigerator, is using a cooler with ice ok? I know I would have to keep the meat from touching the melt and keep it drained well, and I do have a place I could hang one if the weather was cool enough.
4. What am I missing/ overthinking?
5. Am i out of mind? We also raise meat sheep so once I know how to process a deer, Id like to try one of them as well.
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If you have the time and space, it is great as you can do it like you want it. I've aged mine in coolers before and it works great if you change the ice and drain the water religiously.
 
I have an 8# LEM meat grinder that works really well for me. I take about 3-5 deer per year. It comes with three different gauge plates and three different size sausage makers. I would also look at getting a game process kit. I bought the Outdoor Edge 12 piece kit and it has served me well. You don't have to have one but it 100% makes life easier. You can get the grinder and kit off of Amazon for about $260.
 
I bought the grinder attachment for my wife's KitchenAid mixer. It has worked fine for me for about 15 years now. At the most I was doing four or five deer a year, now I just do a couple but honestly, I think that would work fine for you.

The meat I wanted to grind I would just cut up into smaller cubes and run it thru the attachment.
 
I have a 4' collapsing table with the plastic top that you can spray off with a hose pipe- similar to a filet table. I use this after I've broken everything down to quarters.

I don't hang the meat unless it's cold enough to- otherwise I put in a cooler (yeti 64) with frozen milk jugs of water.

I don't grind because I can't justify the expense of a quality grinder, but if I saw one for the right money I would. I typically grind 1 deer at a processor and work up 3-4.

I work into whole muscle roasts. I leave shanks and shoulders bone in and slow cook them.

Whether hung or quartered on the ground, I can quarter a deer in about 25 minutes.

The hams take about 8 min/ to debone. Wrapping and vac sealing takes about 45 minutes.

I vac seal my tenderloin and backstrap pieces, and cut the sirloins on about 1/2 into steaks which are vac sealed. Everything else I wrap in butcher paper and then Saran Wrap. (I buy an industrial size roll for packing and have it wall mounted in the shop.). I have better luck with this preventing freezer burn.

I will say that my main consideration for a grinder would be to clean out the freezer in October and grind everything not used in the last year…. Just a thought.
 
I like using a rock rolled up in the hide hooked up to something to help pull the skin off.

Start experimenting with smoking some bbq whole hams and pull it like bbq pork. We have it down pat now and that and sous vide are my favorite ways to eat venison.
 
Planking said:
I like using a rock rolled up in the hide hooked up to something to help pull the skin off.

Start experimenting with smoking some bbq whole hams and pull it like bbq pork. We have it down pat now and that and sous vide are my favorite ways to eat venison.
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Golf balls work really good to help pull the skin off also.
 
FWIW I currently do not age meat and never have. Many of my kills are in tubs in the fridge within a couple hours of them dying. And they are not tough nor do they taste bad. Far and above the most critical thing I've noticed is keeping things clean.

Does aging help? Maybe. I plan to find out. But is it necessary? Absolutely not. Some of the best meat I've ever eaten was cut off the animal on the spot and cooked over the campfire.
 
Planking said:
I like using a rock rolled up in the hide hooked up to something to help pull the skin off.

Start experimenting with smoking some bbq whole hams and pull it like bbq pork. We have it down pat now and that and sous vide are my favorite ways to eat venison.
Click to expand...
Rakkin6 said:
Golf balls work really good to help pull the skin off also.
Click to expand...
The only problem I have with this is you still need something to pull, a ground anchor, ATV, etc., so I opted for these, and used them a few times, but usually I just pull down with my hands, where these come in handy is areas where it is tough to pull, like at the neck.
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As to the OP, I say this: Grinder get the best you can afford, and geared toward what your end goals are. I started with a hand grinder, and until I started making summer sausage, that was enough, since I mainly did steaks and only ground the pieces I cut away from the steaks to "square" them up. and the odd piece that wasn't big enough for a steak. If you can afford to get a LEM 8 or bigger, but the cheap ones will work fine as long as you don't exceed their capacity since they have plastic gears and will strip if overloaded.

Aging; a cooler works just fine, I use cloth game bags (all cotton pillow cases work also) and put the quarters in there, keep ice on them for about a week before starting to process. Just open the drain and leave a tilt in the the cooler so the water drains as it is created, alternatively put a small grate at the bottom to keep the meat out of the water, and empty the water daily replacing ice as needed, I leave the ice in the bag. I start with the backstraps if not done yet, though they don't need the aging I sometimes age them, then neck, next day I do the front shoulders, day after that one or two of the rear quarters. I do this because the back legs need extra time IMO.

I have large stainless steel bowls to put chunks into for grinding, a meat lug to place that larger pieces into while I process. I also purchased a stainless table to process deer, but it just ended up catching clutter, so just have a large cutting board with an anti skid pad underneath so it doesn't move around while I work. But if you have a place for dedicated processing, these things are great.

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Pieces that I trim off or cut just to grind I like to put in a large colander or strainer to get a lot of the blood off of it before grinding. I also usually keep this in a cooler or fridge for at least a day or two before grinding.
 
Great advice above! When you move on to doing sheep/lamb you will have to decide what cuts you want. Lamb chops? you will probably want to get a bandsaw. You CAN do it with a meat saw (looks like a big hacksaw) but your results will depend on having someone hold the carcass while you cut.
Most of the other cuts can be done easily with a knife or handsaw.
mmmm Lambchops ... 😋
 

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