A bit of encouragement for those considering processing your own deer. I started doing my own several years ago at the encouragement of Erik Almy after a local processor had let one rot on me. It really isn't hard, doesn't require a walk in cooler or major specialized equipment.
I shot a doe Saturday morning at roughly 8:10 am. I had her home, a 35 minute drive after getting her out of the woods, quartered, and on ice by 11am with the help of my family who had things ready for me. I then spent roughly 1 1/2 hours on Sunday evening breaking down and de-boning the hind legs, then another 1 1/2 hours today finishing up with the front legs, the trimmings, and the backstraps. All in all I would guess I have roughly 4 hours in the processing so far. I do still have to grind most of it to make bacon burgers and meatloafs but that won't take that long. From what I've seen, most processors are charging around $100-125 or more for basic processing.
Here's the best part. This deer weighed 65 lbs gutted. I did not keep the rib meat or the tenderloins since I had caught the stomach slightly so there was that mess inside the carcass. Even with that I still wound up with 29 lbs of boned out, prepped, and trimmed meat. I'm picky, trimming out any and all fat, connective tissue, and such. I typically find that on average I get between 40-45% yield off of a deer from the gutted weight. That will vary depending on if it's a late season deer with more fat, or the manner of harvest. A rifle shot through the shoulders will cause more loss compared to an arrow through the lungs. Processors cannot take the time I do to get as much meat off of the carcass or to clean it up as much. They have to play a numbers game.
The other huge benefit is that my family pretty much prefers to grind most of the deer. We really don't do roasts and such. We will keep the backstraps but the rest gets ground. With that we make pre-done meatloafs that we vacuum seal and freeze for easy meals, bacon burgers (5lbs venison to 1lb bacon and some French onion soup mix for seasoning), and then just course ground for other stuff. Easy to do and gives us lots of good meals.
Equipment wise I don't have much. I store the quartered deer on ice in a cooler. The meat goes into unscented garbage bags surrounded by gallon ziploc bags of ice. I don't like to water bath my meat. I have 4 butchering knives I use, but could easily get by with just one 6" boning knife if I had to. I have a small Lem grinder that cost me $80 bucks over 10 years ago that is still going strong, and a basic vacuum sealer. It doesn't take much. Oh, I about forgot I have a plastic burger press.
Anyway, if you're considering it, go for it. There are some great videos out there, such as the ones from the bearded butchers, that will walk you through breaking one down. It's not hard.
I shot a doe Saturday morning at roughly 8:10 am. I had her home, a 35 minute drive after getting her out of the woods, quartered, and on ice by 11am with the help of my family who had things ready for me. I then spent roughly 1 1/2 hours on Sunday evening breaking down and de-boning the hind legs, then another 1 1/2 hours today finishing up with the front legs, the trimmings, and the backstraps. All in all I would guess I have roughly 4 hours in the processing so far. I do still have to grind most of it to make bacon burgers and meatloafs but that won't take that long. From what I've seen, most processors are charging around $100-125 or more for basic processing.
Here's the best part. This deer weighed 65 lbs gutted. I did not keep the rib meat or the tenderloins since I had caught the stomach slightly so there was that mess inside the carcass. Even with that I still wound up with 29 lbs of boned out, prepped, and trimmed meat. I'm picky, trimming out any and all fat, connective tissue, and such. I typically find that on average I get between 40-45% yield off of a deer from the gutted weight. That will vary depending on if it's a late season deer with more fat, or the manner of harvest. A rifle shot through the shoulders will cause more loss compared to an arrow through the lungs. Processors cannot take the time I do to get as much meat off of the carcass or to clean it up as much. They have to play a numbers game.
The other huge benefit is that my family pretty much prefers to grind most of the deer. We really don't do roasts and such. We will keep the backstraps but the rest gets ground. With that we make pre-done meatloafs that we vacuum seal and freeze for easy meals, bacon burgers (5lbs venison to 1lb bacon and some French onion soup mix for seasoning), and then just course ground for other stuff. Easy to do and gives us lots of good meals.
Equipment wise I don't have much. I store the quartered deer on ice in a cooler. The meat goes into unscented garbage bags surrounded by gallon ziploc bags of ice. I don't like to water bath my meat. I have 4 butchering knives I use, but could easily get by with just one 6" boning knife if I had to. I have a small Lem grinder that cost me $80 bucks over 10 years ago that is still going strong, and a basic vacuum sealer. It doesn't take much. Oh, I about forgot I have a plastic burger press.
Anyway, if you're considering it, go for it. There are some great videos out there, such as the ones from the bearded butchers, that will walk you through breaking one down. It's not hard.
