question about deer processing

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Michael Cowley

Knows what a fatty is.
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Ok so I am new to all this deer processing but a buddy of mine got a mid sized deer in Maryland and dropped it off at Austin Processing and put it in my name. All I konow is he said he wanted basic processing. Does anyone know what the basic processing will consist of or do they differ per the processor?
 
Most of the time in the butcher shops here in Minnesota, basic processing would consist of skinning the deer and deboning the meat into steaks and roasts and possibly the trim as stew meat. If you want burger that would be additional charges.
Many people get the basic processing then wait until things calm down and bring it back to a butcher to create sausages and the like. Some shops do not do the initial processing but will accept boneless cut meat to make various prepared sausages, sticks, jerkey etc. It can get quite costly if you do not watch yourself. I happen to love venison as is and have many wild game cook books so I do not process much beyond making many pounds of ground for burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf and keeping the loins whole, and a few roasts.
 
I appreciate it I am not sure what all I am getting I know its 75 bucks thats all I was told by my buddy as he has never used this processor before
 
oh thats awesome wow your in Bmore thats cool as hell we need to get together and hang out I need a fellow smokin brother to chill with
 
PS

Michael, If you are new to cooking venison realize that it is very lean. There is a recent thread by Cowgirl that illustrates how lean it is. I often advise newbies who want to cook venison that it is very much like beef round steak due to its lean nature. I feel that there are two main options when cooking venison. Cook it hot and fast to around 120-130 degrees internal and let it rest 5 minutes before cutting or brown and braise in a flavored broth until it gets to 200 degrees and gets fall apart fork tender. To me the in between makes venison tough and not nearly as tasty. Good luck with your venison.
 
yea I am a total noob to venison any ideas would be highly appreciated. I was gonna try to crockpot some of it and chili some of it and steaks of course
 
I had two deer processed in Wisc this year. $75 isnt a bad deal as they tend to run from $60-$100 up here. They will pretty much do what you tell them to do. I typically get the steaks/chops/backstraps done, and the rest gets trimmed off and bagged as "scrap" to make into sausage later. I think brought the trimmings (scrap) in and should have about 80 lbs of various kinds of sausage in a few weeks.
 
Well ill see what he does with the meat then I will know for next time I'm still new to the whole concept of venison
 
Grain Belt said:
PS

Michael, If you are new to cooking venison realize that it is very lean.
Click to expand...

Always keep that in mind!!! Low and slow doesn't really work for deer because it has very little fat to break down to create tenderness. The trick is to not dry it out by overcooking it.

That said though, I have cooked up Loins before by cooking them at around 300 degrees on my bullet for about an hour and a half. Bring Internal temp up to 140 and let rest for 20min. Makes a nice medium rare and is juicy and tender. That is about as close to low and slow as you can get. Anything past a 140 IT or 1.5 hours would dry it out and make it tough.

The processor, as already said, will prolly do steaks, roasts, and staps. Maybe a couple pounds of ground but usually that is an extra fee. I usually process all my deer myself but I would think the "basic" processing would vary depending on where you take it.
 
If you're not having any ground or made into sausage/jerky/sticks - do it yourself! Some of my favorite times are after a successful hunt drinking beers with the guys while we process our own. Once you learn how, it's easy - and you never have to wonder if you're getting your own deer back or how it was done.

One other thing, if you like to marinade your venison try Mccormicks Brown Sugar and Bourbon (one of those little marinade packets) - surprisingly good and should be able to find it at any grocery store.
 
It really depends upon the processor.

Most around here do steaks chops and ground, might have a couple roasts in there too.

With out little deer I just process my own.

If you don't get much meat delivered don't be surprises.
 
I would suggest having it all ground up besides the backstraps, and tenderloins. Marinate those, wrap in bacon, and grill til the bacon is done, and internal temp is 135ish. They are extremely tender, and has no gamey taste at all. Better than any beef steak in my opinio.

All the ground meat is excellent to use in chili, tacos, deer helper, encheladas, burgers, sausages, jerky, etc... It has many, many uses. I believe its overall much better for you than beef too.
 
We "butcher" our own and grind up a lot of it except for the loins and tenderloins (backstraps & inner straps). Sometimes we'll keep some steaks from the hind quarters.
This year I ground up 3lbs venison with 1 pound bacon for bacon burgers. I've made sliders twice with this mix and the family loves them.
I also ground up venison with pork butt to come up with a 70% venison and 30% pork. We haven't used much so far so I'm not sure if I'll add more pork next year but am taking notes.
I also have straight ground venison that I'll make jerky out of which is always good.
Like others have mentioned make sure you don't overcook the steaks
 
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