Tips for after the deer is down and quartered

[StayTheCourse]

Hey y’all I’m still a pretty new hunter and was hunting with guys that had all the processing gear and knowledge when I lived in Idaho however now I’m on my own down here in SoCal. I was wondering what tips/best practices y’all might have for once you get a deer down and quartered up. Do most of you have a butcher you go to? You do it yourself? How do you keep your meat cool without a cooler in the warmer month etc.
Thanks.

 

[MarceloF]

Hey y’all I’m still a pretty new hunter and was hunting with guys that had all the processing gear and knowledge when I lived in Idaho however now I’m on my own down here in SoCal. I was wondering what tips/best practices y’all might have for once you get a deer down and quartered up. Do most of you have a butcher you go to? You do it yourself? How do you keep your meat cool without a cooler in the warmer month etc.
Thanks.

Im a new hunter as well and harvested my first deer last season.

After shooting it, I skinned it, quartered, put it in my pack inside pillowcases and trash bags...trash bags are not recommended because it does not let the meat cool properly (i believe). My hike to the truck was VERY short and the ride home was just one hour.

Once home I washed the meat, cut up the pieces (youtube is your friend), vacuum sealed it and put in in the freezer.

Nothing fancy...

 

[Bowman]

There are many factors, and the style of hunt.
if your lucky you have private property. close very close,
I prefer to cut the throat, "even if dead " kosher, gut it, then skin it, hang it buy the legs, dry out with clean, washed rags, bag it with a deer bag, (keeps flies out), yet let it cool & the surface glaze.(in cool weather only)
quarter it , take it home , take it to a butcher, I prefer to butcher it my self, save a lot of meat.
if your unlucky and you have to go deep, , weather conditions don't permit much time. very hot weather, debone it get all the meat off and throw in air breathing cool deer bags,
keep the meat cool and aired out, and take it to the ice box in the truck asap. hot weather will ruin it.

if I am not that far in , I prefer the whole deer bone and all.

My favorite use to be to cook and eat the liver & heart at camp. if it's hung up high and no bears to worry about , not always the case , again territory.
I like to hang my deer over night in very cool weather. I will quarter it to transport home.

 

[JakeSCH]

Hey y’all I’m still a pretty new hunter and was hunting with guys that had all the processing gear and knowledge when I lived in Idaho however now I’m on my own down here in SoCal. I was wondering what tips/best practices y’all might have for once you get a deer down and quartered up. Do most of you have a butcher you go to? You do it yourself? How do you keep your meat cool without a cooler in the warmer month etc.
Thanks.

By cooler, do you mean ice chest or large refrigerator? I recommend always bringing an ice chest with frozen water bottles / 1 gal jugs to cool the meat. It's fine to let the meat sit in the ice chest for a day or two, just try to keep the meat fairly dry.

I butcher the meat myself...its not easier but I enjoy the process and being a part of each package. I leave whatever i am not working on in the cooler. A buddy of mine puts the meat in metal bowls / containers that sit in an ice bath to keep cold. No need to over think it.

 

[Deleted member 27310]

bucks I've harvested I was lucky to have my truck near by and transport back to camp for quartering and then drive home for butchering.

 

[TheGDog]

1.) Be ready for the Yellow Jackets (Meat Bees) that will (may?) come and want to get at the blood and flesh of your animal. (P.S. the same MEat Bees will also come and bother you if you happen to be snacking on some Jerky!)
2.) Because of these Yellow Jackets, I've learned to NOT skin the whole thing out first... but to instead remove the skin just on the area I'm currently working on removing the muscles from. That way minimizing the exposed flesh/blood for them to come pester you over.

If it is a VERY hot day and you decide to go ahead and remove the guts, definitely walk them over a ways away from where you will be processing your animal to give the Meat Bees some other place to go to, to hopefully leave you alone a little more.

If possible look for nearest large shadow and drag him over to it before beginning.

I lay down an emergency poncho, then roll him onto it to try to help prevent the meat coming into contact with ground at all. But mostly being methodical in how you skin and debone is what best helps to prevent that. If you do it right, and in order, very low chance of your meat coming into contact with the ground/leaves.

DO NOT disconnect a forelimbs shoulder connection until you've removed it's skin first! Big mistake I did on my first deer. Ugh. Trying to skin that thing after it was already disconnected was like trying to hold onto a wet slippery fish! Eek!

Watch youtube vids on how to do "Gutless Method" pay special attention to how to access the "Tenderlions". Don't forget to harvest those Tenderloins inside. I forgot to do that on my first one.

In regards to what bags you place them into for transport, I highly recommend these neat meat bags that Kifaru makes! They are nearly weightless, same kinda material they make tents out of, they hold the meat into a column shape so the weight rides much better in your pack. They have a strap on the bottom side and a draw closure on the top side, so if you want you can hang the meat to drain further. Not needed by me, as soon as ones down my focus is to get outta there asap and get that meat to the big ol cooler at the truck. Takes me a significant bit of time to hike back to the truck. 5-6 miles away.

 

[StayTheCourse]

Thanks guys I appreciate the input, ya my biggest concerns have been keeping the meat from spoiling once it’s quartered and in the pack and into the freezer since it’s hot down here and I don’t have a refrigerated cooler to hang them in. I got a couple coolers including a yeti so sounds like those will be my best friends for storing the meat before it can get all processed and into a freezer. And thanks for the tips in regards to the meat bees and everything those things suck just grilling I can’t imagine when you got a deer on the ground.
A couple questions:
how many of you guys do the gutless method vs the traditional gutting method?
I’ve heard of instead of a Vacuum sealer for the meat of using Saran Wrap to tightly package the meat to go in the freezer anybody try is or heard of that working?
Thanks again!

 

[TheGDog]

If it's already like 85-90+ F in the shade at like 8am... then yeah, I'll bother to take the guts out. Otherwise to me it seems foolish not to go Gutless Method. Or, like if no exit wound happened... meh.. I might be curious to find out where the bullet stopped at, then I'd Gut it and open it up in order to inspect what happened. Also you need to make the decision for yourself if you'd like to take the hide home with you. I do. But I know some people don't. That could save you some weight.

 

[TheGDog]

And thanks for the tips in regards to the meat bees and everything those things suck just grilling I can’t imagine when you got a deer on the ground.

They will want to be all up in your business right where you're trying to work at. But they really don't give a shit about you, they just want at that meat and blood. Just gently sweep/nudge them away from the work area you're trying to work on with your gloved hand. I say gently because obviously ya wouldn't want to piss em off.

Anyhoo.... my first deer happened at last light, so I hadn't experienced this issue. So WHOA... it really weirded me out big-time on my 2nd deer (because here in SoCal, in our homes, we often have run ins with Wasps that build nests in awnings, and they get aggro and sting ya sometimes if you're near that nest without knowing it, and it's fairly painful) which happened in the morning on a VERY hot day. I wished somebody had told me about how they would come, so this is me returning the favor!

 

[JakeSCH]

how many of you guys do the gutless method vs the traditional gutting method?
I’ve heard of instead of a Vacuum sealer for the meat of using Saran Wrap to tightly package the meat to go in the freezer anybody try is or heard of that working?
Thanks again!

I pretty much always gut, I take the heart and sometime the liver. If weather / weight permits I take the ribs.

I double wrap mine with saran wrap and butcher paper wax side in. This protects the meat even more from freezer burn, but realistically I like to write on the paper the animal, year, cut of meat, and weight. The benefit of a vacuum sealer is when defrosting, you can place it in water.

 

[nicapopolis]

I use a butcher, but the local butcher we have is very good.

As my boys get older we will start processing ourselves as I want that to be part of the experience. Right now I just value that time with my kids and wife more and the butcher gets the work.

 

[MJB]

Hack & haul, drop in cooler when at the truck.
At home I put my deer in contractor trash bags once cooled down them seal and wet age a few weeks, then butcher myself.
If it's an elk hit the butcher.

 

[ilovesprig]

I drag and hang in my tree....Skin and take to the butcher....Easy peasy these days...

.

 

[Morgan1776]

I drag and hang in my tree....Skin and take to the butcher....Easy peasy these days...

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Steve, I've been fortunate to back my truck up to Speacialty Meats once last year, thanks to @Truduct . They provide a great service! Highly recommended!

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

Steve, I've been fortunate to back my truck up to Speacialty Meats once last year, thanks to @Truduct . They provide a great service! Highly recommended!

X2. I used to go to TH&H but since they've closed, Specialty Meats has been excellent. I do all of the butchery myself so I really only take them stuff to make ground and sausage, since my grinder is broken. I debone it to avoid the bone disposal fee, and Audie gave me a good deal on the ground and the country sausage I ordered. All the prime cuts I cut and vacuum wrap myself at home.

 

[nicapopolis]

I drag and hang in my tree....Skin and take to the butcher....Easy peasy these days...

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I am with you, Steve. Hanging in the barn to skin and then driving to the butcher doesn't suck.

 

[TonyS]

The problem with butchers is like the old saying about thumb on the scale they thieve. When I cut it I know what was left . When they do it only they know what they put in their freezer.

 

[Bowman]

I like the water fill soda bottles, No water touching the meat.
also it happens to all of us sooner or later , the dreaded gut shot.
make sure to cut out contaminated meet, make sure no gut excrement is left on the meat. remove it all before putting it in the ice chest.
it will contaminate the meat with bacteria if water spreads it. this of course it is said it can just be cleaned, but I get anal about such matters.
there has been a lot of discussion about freeze and defrost and refreeze , I don't like doing it if possible,
but I believe grocery stores do it all the time.
if I butcher a deer , and I have done few, I have an old fridge I stick the quartered sections into the fridge and let it age a few day,(this is optional)
my thoughts 3 days . then process, I prefer vacuum packaging, but I done it with butcher paper and masking tape. easy to obtain.
if for what ever reason cant afford the vacuum sealer.
I like processing some of the meat to Venison jerky, sliced thin, the soaked in brine & smoked with my favorite recipe.
after completed it doesn't last long in my family. it's eaten quick,
about the butcher, I also have had bad and good luck with butchers, you're relying on their ethics.
but its important to have a good butcher. and most of them are professionals. I had a few skim meat. (stolen)
you may want to weight the total amount going in.
a good butcher will do a good job..
if it's a young deer I like the meat plain not mixed with anything. but you get an old buck.
it will be strong in wild flavor, a little tougher then consider mixing it wit domestic animal.
like pork or ?. every one has diffrent taste. trial and error my freinds.
Last thoughts, I have forgotten but it is like riding a bicycle and my point is don't
wait until you get a deer to figure out how to butcher it. start way ahead and learn the types of cuts.
what types of steak nomenclature, ribs, stew meat, and on I like labeling every cut, and dated it.
one last final word, there are two scent glands on the back legs of the deer. remove them before starting
to cut up the deer, don't use the same knife to cut up the deer, i use a smal a small knife to do this even a pocket
knife will work. then use a different knife to start processing the deer, which ever way you want.
so this is optional but improves the flavor of the meat.

 

[QuePasaJames]

I like the water fill soda bottles, No water touching the meat.
also it happens to all of us sooner or later , the dreaded gut shot.
make sure to cut out contaminated meet, make sure no gut excrement is left on the meat. remove it all before putting it in the ice chest.
it will contaminate the meat with bacteria if water spreads it. this of course it is said it can just be cleaned, but I get anal about such matters.
there has been a lot of discussion about freeze and defrost and refreeze , I don't like doing it if possible,
but I believe grocery stores do it all the time.
if I butcher a deer , and I have done few, I have an old fridge I stick the quartered sections into the fridge and let it age a few day,(this is optional)
my thoughts 3 days . then process, I prefer vacuum packaging, but I done it with butcher paper and masking tape. easy to obtain.
if for what ever reason cant afford the vacuum sealer.
I like processing some of the meat to Venison jerky, sliced thin, the soaked in brine & smoked with my favorite recipe.
after completed it doesn't last long in my family. it's eaten quick,
about the butcher, I also have had bad and good luck with butchers, you're relying on their ethics.
but its important to have a good butcher. and most of them are professionals. I had a few skim meat. (stolen)
you may want to weight the total amount going in.
a good butcher will do a good job..
if it's a young deer I like the meat plain not mixed with anything. but you get an old buck.
it will be strong in wild flavor, a little tougher then consider mixing it wit domestic animal.
like pork or ?. every one has diffrent taste. trial and error my freinds.
Last thoughts, I have forgotten but it is like riding a bicycle and my point is don't
wait until you get a deer to figure out how to butcher it. start way ahead and learn the types of cuts.
what types of steak nomenclature, ribs, stew meat, and on I like labeling every cut, and dated it.
one last final word, there are two scent glands on the back legs of the deer. remove them before starting
to cut up the deer, don't use the same knife to cut up the deer, i use a smal a small knife to do this even a pocket
knife will work. then use a different knife to start processing the deer, which ever way you want.
so this is optional but improves the flavor of the meat.

Every year in Arkansas, my father in law gets us to save the scent glands from the bucks we kill. Every now and then, someone will take one of the scent glands and place it at the base of their tree or in their shooting lane to help change their luck if the hunting is tough.

 

[Bowman]

Call me cuckoo cuckoo, but after hunting a few years. You can actual learn the noticeable
Smell of deer, under the right conditions.
Mostly during the rut.