I want to butcher my own deer so I can take more does and have plenty of venison and not worry about paying a butcher. I have no friends who hunt let alone butcher or show me how. I’ve watched YouTube videos and it doesn’t look too tough, I have some questions though:
1. I can’t find a GREAT DIY video for newbs. Any suggestions?
2. Do I have to have an expensive meat grinder or will the $100 one I saw in the bass pro add get me by? Should I buy once cry once? Or is it ok to use cheap equipment if I’m only doing a handful of deer per year?
3. Do I have to have a vacuum seal or can meat last over a year in nothing but a zip lock?
4. Can I just skip meat grinding and only butcher steaks? I don’t want to waste a lot of meat bc it’s not fair to the animal. But can I substitute the excess cubes as little cubes for frying or something or do you have to use that type of meat for the grinder?
Sorry for all the questions. I’m just trying to figure out if I can teach myself to butcher on a budget without wasting meat.
I started doing my own butchering 6 years ago after a local processor let one rot. I’m so glad I did. I get more meat and the taste is much better since I’m able to take my time and trim out all of the fat, connective tissue, etc.
To answer your questions.
1. The Bearded Butchers video is excellent. If your an find it, but the video from Outdoor Edge. That’s where I learned.
2. No. I’ve been using a $75 LEM that I bought at Academy (less than the cost of paying for a single deer to be processed) for 6 years and it’s going strong.
3. I prefer to vacuum seal but it doesn’t have to be a very expensive sealer. If your want to wrap I would suggest wrapping it in Saran Wrap first then butcher paper. You have a lot invested in the deer, you want to make sure it’s good
4. You can, but when you get done with a deer there are lots of trimmings and grinding is a great way to use them.
My suggestion would be to get a good 5“ boning knife (Amazon or local restaurant supply). You can completely breakdown and prep a deer with this single knife. I also use a larger “streaking knife” as well as a sheep skinner when I’m skinning the deer but I love knives.
Hope this helps. Go for it. You won’t regret it. I get as much enjoyment out of the processing as I do the hunt. There is something very satisfying about filling the freezer with meat that you have completely prepped yourself.