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Can I Butcher?

Lots of great advice here! This might be another good use for the map as watching, and helping, others butcher is a great way to learn. Then you just adapt to your circumstances and finances.
 
Lots of great advice here! This might be another good use for the map as watching, and helping, others butcher is a great way to learn. Then you just adapt to your circumstances and finances.
And always remember - at the end of the day it's just meat and all ends up the same once it's been used.

Sanitation, cleanliness - important.
Good packaging - somewhat important (avoid freezer burn)
Perfect pretty cuts? If it's a hobby absolutely...but there's nothing wrong with erm...."butchering" a few cuts.

And if you live where you're able - let it hang. And take it a bit at a time if you want.

And I'm sure plenty would be glad to have help...although logistics and scheduling can be a challenge. My last deer I butchered through the night before leaving on vacation.
 
I use this method. It goes in the ice chest at the truck. Not a bone or hide to worry about getting rid of later. It's faster and easier than dragging. Then, I process at home using methods similar to those Bearded Butcher videos. I wrap in clear wrap and freezer paper. I use the Kitchenaid grinder and stuffer for ground meat and sausages. I smoke link sausage, summer sausage, and jerky in a Masterbuilt electric smoker.
 
Lots of great advice here! This might be another good use for the map as watching, and helping, others butcher is a great way to learn. Then you just adapt to your circumstances and finances.

@redsquirrel this is a great idea. I would love to try and find a way to integrate butchering help into the locator tool.
 
Do it, butchering is now debatably one of my favorite aspects to hunting now.
1. I can’t find a GREAT DIY video for newbs. Any suggestions?
As posted by others the Bearded Butchers video is great, I found this one first
then paired it with the Bearded Butcher vid.
Together and actually getting my hands on the carcass was immensely helpful. By the 2nd butchered deer I only occasionally referenced the videos.

My only beef with the Growing Deer video and Dr. Grant is his naming convention for the cuts, he uses some unorthodox uncommon nomenclatures. e.g. "Hidden tenderloin" I've now found out through intert00bs research is really the "eye round, eye of round"
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?
That $100 should be sufficient IMO. A friend of mine uses the kitchenaid attachment but I dont think it has enough oomph and you have to be very particular about the size of chunks going in and temperature/texture.
3. Do I have to have a vacuum seal or can meat last over a year in nothing but a zip lock?
Personally prefer the vacuum seal as there is very low risk in freezer burn and the meat lasts almost indefinitely (Well within the year it takes me to consume everything, even forgotten stuff)
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?
Inevitably you will have some misc meat that can't be butchered into large cuts. IIRC I average about 8-10 lbs of grind pile for an avg sized doe. I mix in about 20% pork fat to offset the lean-ness .
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.
 
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I’m so grateful for all this advice. I’m about 3-4 hours into the YouTube suggestions. I feel like I can do it.
 
I’m so grateful for all this advice. I’m about 3-4 hours into the YouTube suggestions. I feel like I can do it.
I started doing my own a couple years ago. My wife and I worked on one together and I did my buck by myself last year.

Obviously only having done two, I'm not great at it, a lot of my cuts aren't pretty, and it takes me a few hours at least depending on how hard skinning is. What I would suggest, time and other factors permitting, is to break the deer down into quarters, back straps, etc. and put them in a cooler with some frozen water jugs. Then over the next couple days work on one quarter at a time.

It's more cleaning up for surfaces and knives, but that will be a lot easier on you than trying to do it all in one marathon session.

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Cut the meat off the bones.... its really that simple. I use a food processor to grind the meat up.... its honestly very easy to butcher a deer.

Invest in a vacuum sealer

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+1 for the bearded butchers. Great videos.

A grinder is worth it. I have the two extremes, one on a kitchenaid mixer, which I wouldn't want to do much with, and a huge old one that's been in the family for over 50 years that makes quick work of over 100# of ground every year.

I don't vacuum pack.

We wrap everything in paper. Works great. No freezer burn even on stuff over 1 year old. Doesn't usually last in the freezer longer than that.

When it comes to grinding I put everything through the grinder. Take the front legs cut everything off the bones and stuff it in. Tendons silverskin and everything. Nobody has ever complained about anything chewy in any of my Burgers. Might have to do with the quality of your grinder but I really don't think it matters. It's all digestible and just adds to your volume.
 
I use my friends cabelas 1 3/4hp grinder it works great and it's not hard to butcher you can be as fussy as u like r not worry too much I trim tendons and most fat but if some gets in it's not s big deal I have an old stuffer that we use to make sausage and hotdogs its addicting DIY everything plus u know exactly how it is taken care of some butchers if u order dogs and dont have enough for a batch they just use other people's deer meat
 
Havent seen anything addressed about blood shot meat or bruised meat. Like where it may have been hit when shot...is this meat thrown out or ground up?

Also how do you mix the fat with the ground meat?
 
Havent seen anything addressed about blood shot meat or bruised meat. Like where it may have been hit when shot...is this meat thrown out or ground up?

Also how do you mix the fat with the ground meat?
I typically remove/trash the meat damaged from the shot.. Lost a tenderloin last deer....
 
I'm selling a hand grinder and vacuum sealer....
 
I butchered my 2018 buck thanks to a good cold snap letting me hang it for 10 days, but had to have my 2019 processed due to high temps and no cold storage option.

I have really enjoyed the instructional videos from “The Scott Rea Project”
He is UK based, so many of his deer are much smaller than ours. That said, they have all the same parts in all the same places. I like that he butchers much like production meat butchers do, so it is in cuts you would recognize in the grocery store.



I also like his pig video. I hope to drop a pig in the next couple weeks to put that video to the test.




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Most of the benefit to an expensive grinder is speed and durability. I have a cheaper countertop grinder and it's fine as long as I don't rush or try to push bone through it. My buddy butchers for a living and his 5 hp Hobart is an absolute beast, but he uses it a couple of times a week for hundreds of pounds.

Butchering at home is satisfying. It's just meat. Work diligently, keep it dry, and work cool/cold. Use the natural seams as a guide. Worst case you got a little extra grind or stew meat.

I got a plastic folding table for the garage and cut everything on that. boning knife and a steel to keep it honed - fat dulls knives.
 
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