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Encouragement for those considering processing your own.

AlabamaSwamper said:
I've paid for my grinder 4x I'm sure by now.

I just freeze everything in black bags and we pick a day after season and do everything in one day. I lay everything out a few days before to thaw in coolers.

Usually make some pork sausage the same day also.
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For sure. After the processor let my deer rot, I found a deal on a Lem at Sportsman's Warehouse. Paid for it what the processing fee would have been for the deer. I've been using it ever since, 2-3 deer on average and it's still going strong.
 
I have always done some of my deer but when it hit $70 I quit having any done, think I had 1 done in the last 15 years. done the very first deer I killed and plan on doing the last 1 I kill whenever that happens. I know from the moment I shot it till I eat it what was done to it.
 
I have one of those big white coolers you see on boats etc. I like to cut all the meat off and lay a couple shelving units on the bottom to keep the meat out of the blood and liquids. I then take a handful of frozen jugs (milk/OJ/whatever) and place on top of the meat. Close the top and its good for days. I keep about 15-20 in deep freeze so I can swap them as they melt (key here is all water is in jugs and not in meat...with drain hole sealed.. keeping even cooler). I'll do this for 7-14 days. Works amazing.
 
I've been processing my own for about 30 years with a few exceptions. If I had to travel for work and hunted the day before, I would take it to a processor who happened to be a childhood friend of mine. He did a great job.

Now we hang the deer by the back legs, jerk the hide off and debone it while it is hanging.

Remove the shoulders, cut out the backstraps and inner tenders and debone the hindquarters as one whole piece of meat. Once we are done with that, I make a cut up high on the carcass and remove the heart if it is undamaged.

We don't even field dress them anymore. Leave the guts in and when you're done haul the carcass off.

Two of us can skin and debone a full size Kentucky deer in about 30 minutes.

Pack it in a cooler and finish it at the house.
 
Same here. I hunt alot of walk in public land.
I have an Ole army surplus ginny pack I believe (framed pack)
If I knock one down, I skin and quarter, grab the inside loins and straps, which go direct from the animal to the koala buck bags, and then I'll pack it out and put it on ice in a cooler and let it drain for about a week before the wife, daughter and I start breaking it down and packaging.

The only thing I use a processor for is for my ground, and soon as I can decide on the right grinder and locate a beef fat supply, I'll do that myself also.

Best of luck this season!
 
Anytime I ever dropped a deer off for someone I just about gagged at how they lie on the floor or ground outside, especially the ones with guts. I have grown finicky about meat and very rarely eat meat of any kind that i don't process myself. Of course that means that I don't buy meat. I don't cull too many critters with so I have a diversity of wildlife in the freezers. I am also a tight wad and can't pay to have 8-10 processed a year either.
 
Bon3_Daddy said:
Same here. I hunt alot of walk in public land.
I have an Ole army surplus ginny pack I believe (framed pack)
If I knock one down, I skin and quarter, grab the inside loins and straps, which go direct from the animal to the koala buck bags, and then I'll pack it out and put it on ice in a cooler and let it drain for about a week before the wife, daughter and I start breaking it down and packaging.

The only thing I use a processor for is for my ground, and soon as I can decide on the right grinder and locate a beef fat supply, I'll do that myself also.

Best of luck this season!
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Last deer I processed I found beef fat at Kroger. They had several 2-3 pound packs in the back. May have to ask
 
BSK said:
Having been an Alpha-Gal sufferer for many years, the last thing I wanted to do was add beef fat to my venison!
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Question for you regarding that. Did the issue ever go away or diminish for you? I ask because I have a member of the church I pastor who was diagnosed with it a few years ago who seems to still have problems with it. I had heard a few people say that it usually went away after a couple of years. Secondly, with it, were you able to eat venison?
 
We do drop one off every now and then, but we process ours almost always sometimes time doesn't allow. There's a big difference imo in our compared to process by others. No cooler or anything either. 2 or 3 good ice chest goes a long ways. The only thing we invested in that helps a ton. We have a good grinder, a good vacuum foodsaver, an we bought industrial totes and big pans. We have a sink and everything but have yet to set it up. Doesn't take to long though.
 
CharlieTN said:
Question for you regarding that. Did the issue ever go away or diminish for you? I ask because I have a member of the church I pastor who was diagnosed with it a few years ago who seems to still have problems with it. I had heard a few people say that it usually went away after a couple of years. Secondly, with it, were you able to eat venison?
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I avoided beef for 20 years and eventually the Alpha-Gal went away. I don't know how long it really took because I was afraid to test it. But I've heard about people who have had it fade away in as little as 5-7 years. And interestingly, the only problem I had when going back to eating beef was that after 20 years without it in my diet, I had lost the gut bacteria necessary to digest it. For a while, I would have severe gastrointestinal issues when eating a little beef. But my gut finally compensated and now I can eat it without problems.

Yes, I was able to eat venison without any problem. Not only is venison much lower in fat than beef, but we butcher our own and remove all fat from the meat before packaging.
 
Having help makes a world of difference. Even if it is someone that knows very little about the process. Also, having one of those foot pedals to control the grinder is a big help.
 
I butcher what will be eaten at my house and all else gets dropped off at the processor and I pay the basic cut package fee. The meat comes back neatly trimmed & vacuum packed. We make about 150lbs summer sausage, a bunch of breakfast patties, and probably 50lbs of jerky every year. We drive around delivering our local Christmas cards with a summer sausage, crackers, & cheese. For several older folks in the area we've bought insta-pots and give them with a venison roast & veggies ready to make a pot roast.

Would be cheaper & easier donating the excess deer to Hunters For Hungry but doing it this way makes me feel good making others smile, and it scores me some pretty outstanding places to hunt! Sharing the bounty of a successful hunt, especially with those who are no longer able, gives a satisfying feeling that has got to be one of humanity's most primal emotions. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
dsa5455 said:
Having help makes a world of difference. Even if it is someone that knows very little about the process. Also, having one of those foot pedals to control the grinder is a big help.
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I have the foot pedal for my Lem, but I don't use it, I make the cuts I want and put all the grind pieces in a separate SS bowl to grind later. When I start the grinder, all I do is feed it and swap out the SS bowls as they get full. I place the bowls in the fridge until I clean up the cutting and grinding equipment, then get my vacuum sealer out and package all the cuts I have and weigh out 1lb portions of ground to freeze with no additional fat added. I do 1lb to make it easier to use later, if making burgers, I'll mix 60/40 or 50/50 beef and make the patties. If it's chili or other like dish I don't add any additional fat, just use straight venison.
 
I've been processing my own for many years. I have picked up a hand crank cuber, a nice grinder, and a good sausage stuffer over the years and each helps. I have always quartered and deboned the meat and put in coolers for at least a week. I have the coolers on a dolly to roll them out each day to drain them and re-ice as needed. In reading here, it sounds like most prefer to keep their deer out of the ice but I've never found that to be a problem as only the very outside turns lighter in color. I generally trim that off as part of processing. I like the idea of a rack in the cooler to place the meat on with frozen jugs of water over them, but is that worth the trouble? I may try it this year because I already have the "coffin" coolers.

Oh yeah, Costco sells pork belly that doesn't have all the preservatives added that you get with bacon. It makes great burger and sausage fat.
 

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