In the cycle of Hunting, you get your hunting skills, rifle or bow and kill a game animal… and then turn around and send it to a meat cutter? Ok there are times when sending your game to be butchered by a trusted source is the smart thing to do, but can you do it if there were no butcher around? Secondly, has your meat cutter done the job you expect? There are lesser meat cutters that pool meat, not necessarily of your deer and give you packages. Yes, there are some very good ones but the best meat cutter is you the hunter. Why? Because you handled every piece that you are going to eat and you know where it came from and how it was handled.

I have used “meat cutter” folks and find them on the whole to be acceptable but the hunt, in my book, is best when you do the job from beginning to end “if” possible. The end part is that you butchered it and served it on a platter to your family and friends. In the case of deer, you find them, shoot one, butcher it, grind it etc., then package it for freezing. The best packaging is to vacuum seal your meat. With this method some meats can store for years. I am a believer in FoodSaver Vacuum Sealers. Below is the V2244. Check it out on the internet.

The advent of the Internet allows us to become students of butchering your own game. Once you find a video to your liking, study it. Here is a few examples:

A new trick I learned is to drain off as much blood as possible by icing your meat in a cooler and letting it melt over the meat and it will drain that blood out. It is blood that often carries gamey flavors. You can fast forward as you need to see some steps you already know.

Cooking tip: Never cook game meat well done. Medium or medium rare is what I do for deer steaks and chops.

Pressure cooking can create the most tender meat from cuts that are naturally more tough such as front leg meat. Grinding meat that is off the front legs and neck is a another way to create better eating for chili or sausage. For most deer, the fat should be trimmed away as it is not very flavorful. Below is a video How to Butcher a Wild Boar.

I found a video of Boar Sausage making that you may like as much as I do.

See you soon! I am getting hungry! Aren’t you?