How Butcher Your Deer

Before you start to butcher your deer you will need at least a sharp knife, hacksaw, cutting board, and butcher paper. You may also want to keep a sharpening device or a couple more sharp knives around to ensure that your blade does not go dull. So the first step of this is to cut the carcass in half with your hacksaw. While doing this or cutting through any bone, be sure to wipe off any small bone fragments from the blade as this keeps your meat from being covered in small pieces of bone. Wipe the area you have cut with a damp towel and then pat with a dry towel so the meat stays dry.

Next we want to move to the rear legs and rump. You want to cut around the hip joint so if you need to, move the leg around and figure out where you need to cut. Use your hacksaw to cut below the ribs and remove the rear leg and rump. Use a sharp knife to cut through meat and a hacksaw to get through the bone. Typically, the upper portions of the legs are used for round steak while the lower portions are used for pot roast. Also remember to cut as straight as possible because it makes the meat look more appealing. With the rear legs and rump removed, you want to cut what is considered to be one of the best cuts of meat, the loin. The loin runs along both sides of the spine. To remove the loin you want to cut following the edge of the spine down to the top of the neck. You can then cut the loin against the grain into smaller steaks if you so choose.

After the loin is removed, you want to move onto the front legs. Follow the leg up to where it meets the chest and cut between the leg and chest muscles with your knife. When you feel the bone start to flatten out, life the leg up slightly and remove the remaining meat around that portion of bone. You can use the upper portion of the legs for pot roast or make it into smaller steaks.

Lastly you have the neck and ribs to finish. With the ribs you can make individual chops or leave whole. Remember that if you want to make chops, this requires cutting through bone. The remaining meat around the neck and legs joints can be trimmed away to make excellent stew or hamburger meat.

Now that you have successfully butchered your deer, be sure to wrap it in butcher paper and freeze. You can also vacuum seal your meat, but either way it is best to try and use it within 6 months.

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