I am getting ready to do my 1st euro. I've kept the head on ice but it is starting to stink.
Do I have to cape it before I boil the head?
What would be the problem of boiling head with the skin still on?
Will boiling stop the stink or do I just have to "butch up" and cape it first?

Thanks

PS Almost to 1000

Skin it

Add dishwarsher detergent...non-clorine

Every couple hours pull it out and scrape it.

Use hanger to get mushy brains and nasal stuff out.

Use 30-40% peroxcide to bleach it...let it soak for a week...don't get it one the horns....then wash and seal with mat or semi gloss poly

Cape it first! Also, use a coathanger and remove the brains before you start to simmer. If you dont you will get a solid ball you will have to remove later. Much easier to do now.

if it will fit in the pot just start boiling it after about 4 or 5 hours pull it out and cut off whatever comes off easy, the boil it about another 4 or 5 hours. atfer that every thing should come off pretty easy. You have to dig the eyes out and fish the brain out with a coat hanger. Then just sit and pic at the little stuff that's left over.

Yeah I forgot the nose candy... coat hanger and needle nose plires.

Looks like there's several ways to do it.

skin on?




1000

Yes that's the way I do it. It'll all start commimg loose after a few hours.

Thanks.

How about using a power washer to get the stuff off?

thats the fastest way that I have done it. get all the big stuff off and out and take it to a car wash and blast it for about 5 minutes. Saves a butt load of time!

Only bad thing about a power washer is it blows out the fine bone in the nose and around he eyes too.

My power washer is not that powerful but Maybe I'll use it for the big areas only.

I skin mine as best I can and boil until I can get the brains and eye balls out then boil some more then I pour Hydrogen peroxide on it and then lat paper towels soake in Peroxide and reapply for 2 days, then dry in the sun and they come out clean as a whistle and bleach white.

So I should just "butch up" and skin them first. Man they stink.

Skin the head & take off as much meat as possible, including the brain matter. SIMMER, never boil or it could cause it to fall apart & become brittle. Get a few wire brushes and scrub the head a few times as it simmers. NEVER bleach, just use salon grade peroxide & whitening powder. After its done simmering & all the meat & matter is removed, let it completely air dry for a day or 2. That way if it still smells you can re simmer. Add washing soda to the simmer (Arm n Hammer or Borax). Then after if it doesnt smell, paint whitener to skull but avoid the antlers.



Should have skinned it out as soon as you killed it to avoid the smell. I also cut out the eyes when I skin out the head.

Wear rain gear or you will regret doing it this way, I know . Skid what you can of it and if you do not want mess with it stick it in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Totally submerse it and let it sit till everything falls off. Change the water every few days or when it needs it. Put it in a covered and protected area to keep varmits and pets off of it also. I do this all the time and even if I leave the skin on it and just set it under the drip line of a barn it takes 4 to 6 weeks depending on how much it rains and how often I remember to change the water out. Take it out hose it down and then let it dry and put peroxide on it like stated above. I have done around 25 or 30 heads like this.

if u happen to bleach the horns (ive watched my dad) hah almond stain will make them look amazing again

These are our first bucks so this is a learning process. I think I'll skin it as soon as I kill it nest time.

I wish I would have read your post before I started to boil my heads. The did become brittle but not bad. I am letting them dry our before I simmer them again.

How much of the bones inside the nose do you usually keep. My spike lost a lot but my 3.5 yr old has kept a lot. What about the teeth?

Ever heard of dermatized beetles?

That's what I'm doing with a huge hog I shot this year. Head was so dang big some of it won't fit in the bucket. I let the hog "age" for about a month after I shot it then grabbed the skull. It's been setting in a bucket of water for about two weeks now. Smelled pretty bad the first week but it's ok now.

I kept as much bone on the inside of the nose as possible.

-I skined mine all the way down then got as much meat off as possible. Also took out the eyes brain and pulled off lower jaw.
-Then placed in simerring water with laundry detergent(w/o bleach) for about 10 hours. Every few hours I would pull it out and clean whatever I could get off)
-Then after the skull is completley cleaned, I pull the teeth out of the mouth and place them and the skull in a container filled w/40vol peroxide. The areas of the top of the skull that don't sit in the peroxide because of the horns I soak white paper towls in the peroxide and cover the areas not in the peroxide.
-when the skull is the white that I am looking for I pull it out and take a tooth brush and brush the skull like I was my teeth. Then place it in the sun to dry. I take the teeth and scrub them with the tooth brush as well to get all plaque and other dark colors out.
-when everything is dry I take the teeth and glue them back into the mouth.
-Thnigs to watch for are don't get the peroxide on the horns or your hands it stains and burns. The stuff in the nose will easily come out with a quick squirt of the water hose after about 8hrs of boiling, (no need to fight it).

I saw your almost done but maybe this will help for next time
James C.

This is how mine turned out.