Processing a moose can be time consuming if you have to quarter and bone the meat too.

 

Working with a veteran Outfitter like Gander River makes it easy. They know how to;

• Gut and quarter your moose
• Prep for trophy taxidermy if needed
• Get it out of the woods in excellent shape
• Skin and hang the quarters to cool
• Get it to the butcher in prime shape for boning and freezing for my trip home to New Hampshire

Yes, you pay a premium for these tasks, but worth every penny. 

I drove my frozen boned moose meat home (you need an export permit from your outfitter) and it was still frozen solid after 2 days on the road using 2 large coolers. In fact 2 days after arrival my moose meat was still frozen. I have done this before and it works great. 

After cleaning/prepping  the kitchen and pans/ trays and grinding equipment, I brought around 80 to 100 lbs inside, incrementally and examined the bundles and labels.

I chose to cut some steaks at first but was looking for meat that will become burger and stew meat. 

In addition, I purchased 18 pounds of fresh pork butt and cut it up for grinding to add to the moose burger. I boned the pork and saved the meaty bones for a winter stew. I will purchase more pork butt later for mixing. 

All big game meat grinders have a rough grind head (right)  and a finish grind head (left).

 

Below my favorite LEM Grinder, meat pan and cutting board. 

Use the rough grind for both moose and pork at a ratio of roughly 4 to 1 moose to pork. This adds enough fat for burger to bind together.

Mix the rough grind by hand in a larger stainless tray and regrind with the fine grind head. Then vacuum seal in 1 to 2 pound increments. Label and freeze. It is best to keep your meat cold and near frozen so work as safe and quick as you can. My wife and I work well at this as a team. 

Below, my freezers are full of large chunks moose meat to be processed.

If you have enough freezer space, like we have, you can take a break from processing for a few days.

We use a Food Saver™ Vacuum Sealer and heavy seal bags to store our meat in the freezer. Todays freezers can store meat for well over 2 years provided the vacuum is good and you don’t have freezer burn.

Use sharp knives!

Next is to cut more stew meat for pressure canning!

I will cut tenderloin and backstraps later too. 

Good Eating!

PS We had this moose burger for lunch and discovered the meat was tender and very flavorful. 

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