Field to table game processing?

alcestwo

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My son has become a good hunter and is starting to regularly get deer with an occasional bear. I'm not quite as successful. At the end of the day, I'd like to reduce the butchering bill and really learn how to process a game animal beyond just the field dressing.

Has anyone tried this type of 'Big game processing' class: Class Schedule – NH Outdoor Learning Center

Is anyone aware of a similar class within an hour or two of the Mass Pike/495 intersection?
 
I don’t know if any other classes but plenty of YouTube videos
These guys are pretty good. Once you do it a few times it’s not very hard.
Do you have a place to process a deer?
I hang mine in a garage skin it out there and quarter it up bring it to the basement where I set up a plastic folding table cut it up then wife grinds the burger and daughter vac seals



View: https://youtu.be/-r2ctQJJMsc
 
I'd like to take an actual class sometime as well.
But I have done a couple deer and the stuff on Youtube is very helpful. The above and the stuff by Meateater is pretty good....
Meateater is Steve Rinella? I think I spelled his name correctly.
 
I joined the Outdoor Life book club when I was 15 and one of the books I bought was all about deer hunting. Two chapters were dedicated to field dressing, skinning, and butchering a deer.
I must have read that thing a hundred times.
Thankfully I remembered enough of it so that I didn't make too much of a mess the first time I dressed out my first deer.
Skinning and butchering it was fairly simple.
I just follow the natural shapes of the meat and cut steaks out of everything that looks like a steak. The rest I just cut in chunks like stew beef or steak tips.
Unless your grinding burger or making sausage there isn't a whole lot to it.
 
I do my own, it depends on how fancy you want to get, I pull the backstraps and tenderloin and leave them whole, then when using them I slice them into ~1" thick medallions to cook. I do a few steaks out of the rear quarters then turn the rest into burger. We use a lot of burgers but not a lot of steaks or roasts. I kept the hearts this year but I haven't cooked them yet, need to get one out and try it.

I've been doing mine for 4-5 years now, I did my bear last year as well.
 
Dont be intimidated by the process.
Just roll up the sleeves and get after it.....I had our kitchen looking like a butcher shop and my wife has gotten good at the plastic wrap followed by freezer paper wrapping...
 
Dont be intimidated by the process.
Just roll up the sleeves and get after it.....I had our kitchen looking like a butcher shop and my wife has gotten good at the plastic wrap followed by freezer paper wrapping...
This....its not hard. I do my own most of the time. It takes me 2-3 hours to, skin, quarter and break the deer down into butchered steaks, chops and grind. 3-4 hours to clean up everything after including the grinder. This is totally all by myself. 2 people makes everything go faster...a dedicated packaging person is awesome to have.

Sometimes its nice to break the butchering process down to a few days. Skin, and down into quarters, throw it in a cooler and take care of the tenderloins and backstraps. Then go back after a day break or so and finish the quarters up.

You need a good quality table at the correct working height so your back won't get killed, and few good sharp knives, one boning, one skinning, and one that's good at removing silverskin. A grinder is nice to have as well, and if your going to get one....don't go cheap, as you won't have to deal with clogged grinders and breaking parts. I'm glad I bought my Cabela's grinder when I did, it was the medium grade model for 300 bucks, commercial quality. I looked at their current lineup and it sucks unless you buy the 800 dollar grinder.

It is time consuming, and usually the setup, takedown and cleanup and packaging takes a lot more of a PIA than the actual butchering process. I used to do a lot of deer each year and had a dedicated setup which saved a lot of time.
 
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This....its not hard. I do my own most of the time. It takes me 2-3 hours to, skin, quarter and break the deer down into butchered steaks, chops and grind. 3-4 hours to clean up everything after including the grinder. This is totally all by myself. 2 people makes everything go faster...a dedicated packaging person is awesome to have.

Sometimes its nice to break the butchering process down to a few days. Skin, and down into quarters, throw it in a cooler and take care of the tenderloins and backstraps. Then go back after a day break or so and finish the quarters up.

You need a good quality table at the correct working height so your back won't get killed, and few good sharp knives, one boning, one skinning, and one that's good at removing silverskin. A grinder is nice to have as well, and if your going to get one....don't go cheap, as you won't have to deal with clogged grinders and breaking parts. I'm glad I bought my Cabela's grinder when I did, it was the medium grade model for 300 bucks, commercial quality. I looked at their current lineup and it sucks unless you buy the 800 dollar grinder.

It is time consuming, and usually the setup, takedown and cleanup and packaging takes a lot more of a PIA than the actual butchering process. I used to do a lot of deer each year and had a dedicated setup which saved a lot of time.

^^ This is exactly what we do, my wife usually works on packaging, myself and sometimes my father-in-law will work on breaking the deer down. I used the Outdoor Edge butcher kit, it works pretty well for what I need it for and it's short money at $70. We also have a LEM - Mighty Bite 500w meat grinder that is about $220 and has lasted 4-5 years and holding up well.
 
^^ This is exactly what we do, my wife usually works on packaging, myself and sometimes my father-in-law will work on breaking the deer down. I used the Outdoor Edge butcher kit, it works pretty well for what I need it for and it's short money at $70. We also have a LEM - Mighty Bite 500w meat grinder that is about $220 and has lasted 4-5 years and holding up well.
I miss the days when my dad and I would butcher and the kids would package the meat up. Dad is now too old, and the kids are out of the house and working on their own stuff.

Now I strive to shoot just one deer a year and its good enough for my wife and I and I certainly can deal with that pretty easily than the 4 plus deer I used to shoot a year.
 
Get a 2'x4' piece of azek a decent knife, more importantly a good sharpener and dedicated cheap cordless sawzall to just butchering. I find it easier to break it down while it's hanging. You can use the sawzall to take the ribs cut the shanks and take the head off. An extra set of hands definitely makes it easier.
 
Perhaps this guy can help?
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Seriously, if you belong to a Club, ask some of the Bambi-killers there. One of the instructors in the HE classes we do, gets 6-7 per year (multiple states), and, apparently has his own abattoir, more or less. Successful hunters will have the experience you need, and will probably help out a fellow Club member.
 
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