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Author Topic: Deer processing...who all does it themselves?  (Read 7067 times)

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Offline HD

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Most hunters hang them up a week. If the weather was like opening weekend they were froze solid by morning.

Yup, to each his own...
A deer is a rather small animal (compared to a cow) and the longer it hangs, the more meat you loose. But, it all depends on the conditions. If it's frozen, and your trying to age the meat by hanging, it serves no purpose. If it's hanging and it's hot out, and properly cleaned...the meat dries out, then gets trimmed off and good for nothing anyway. If it's hanging in a tree and it's just warm enough for it to rain...it just rots....
If it's hanging and froze, and brought to a processor, everybody else's deer gets done first that has deer thawed out while yours un-thaws...or worse, gets rejected because it's frozen and you get put on a waiting list.

Like I said....to each his own.....I have seen it all (at least I think so)

The best way to age it, is have it skun and hanging in a cooler...even then, you loose some of the outer meat.
Mama always said, If you ain't got noth'in nice to say, don't say noth'in at all!

Online glenn57

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I won't skin mine unless I can at the very least quarter it, and put it in a frig covered with plastic.
« Last Edit: December 12/08/19, 05:39:20 PM by glenn57 »
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline HD

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All I can tell you, is what I do....I get it skun and into the cooler as fast as I can.
That way, I loose very little, if any meat.

Mama always said, If you ain't got noth'in nice to say, don't say noth'in at all!

Offline Steve-o

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On reason I like to get the hide off - especially if it is a mature doe - is so I can peel that fat cap off the hind quarters.

Online Jerkbiat

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Getting them skun right away really helps cool the meat down faster. We skin ours right away and hang them in a cool garage. HD is right, some of the outer meat dries some. But I just cut that off. We process all of our deer and make the sausage to.
Hey look your bobber is up!

Offline Steve-o

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What do you guys do with the ribs?

HD, when you have so many to cut up, do you do anything with the ribs?

Online glenn57

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What do you guys do with the ribs?

HD, when you have so many to cut up, do you do anything with the ribs?
i'm a tight azz with my venision...........i take the time to trim it out as much as possible, it'll make a stick or wiener or 2!!!!!! i do that first thing....cause it does suck!
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline HD

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What do you guys do with the ribs?

HD, when you have so many to cut up, do you do anything with the ribs?

A lot of the deer that come in, have huge holes through the ribs. And that is area that dries out first from hanging. Not much is salvageable from the ribs.

But,
It also depends on the size of the deer, if it's a real large deer, you can get some meat off of them.

If it's a real fatty deer, it's almost not worth the hassle of separating the fat from what little meat there is.

I cut mine up pretty quickly, and depending on damage, I save what I can and grind it up.
Mama always said, If you ain't got noth'in nice to say, don't say noth'in at all!

Offline Rebel SS

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Do all the hoofies, head, and guts go to the rendering plants? Aka kitty food factory?

Offline mike89

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no, that is a huge no no!!!!  land fill fill most likely....    some burned them too...
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Steve-o

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Noticed something interesting this year.

I usually let the dogs investigate the deer I bring home to cut up.  One dog is still a chicken, but this year I noticed the other dog went and smelled each of the four hooves.  Nothing else.  No other scent glands, body cavities, head, or anything else.  Just the feet.

Interesting the way animals figure out how to identify each other and decide which scents are worth smelling.

Online glenn57

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maybe your dog has a foot fetish like boar!!!!!!!!!! :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline mike89

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a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Rebel SS

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If the dogs had smelled Boar's feet, they would no longer be upright.  :puke: :rotflmao:

Offline HD

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Do all the hoofies, head, and guts go to the rendering plants? Aka kitty food factory?

The guts are "normally" disposed of in the field before they get to me. I say "normally" because I have seen some bad stuff come in.

The hoofs, and head along with the carcass go to the land fill.
But....we have had requests for hoofs and left behind antlers for peoples dogs, and rib cages for coyote hunters.
Mama always said, If you ain't got noth'in nice to say, don't say noth'in at all!

Online glenn57

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after i plucked clean my rib cage my FIL used to take it out to his place and hang it in the trees for the birds.

i've also seen some pretty neat stuff made out of the feet/hoofs!!!!
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline savage270

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If they are not shot through the ribs, I cut them off of the deer and will throw them in a crockpot with bbq sauce and they are very good.  However, you have to eat them while they are still hot/warm or they get a tallow film on them when they start cooling off. 

Online LPS

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I have done that too with the rib cage Glenn.  The birds love it.  I had one once that had a perfect round hole and the chicadees would go in and out of the hole like a bird house.  They sit right on top of my bird feeder nicely.