so I'm thinking about processing my own deer next time. never doing it before I asked a buddy that normally does it if I could watch him. well quartering it up seemed pretty easy. then he placed all the quarters in a cooler with water and Ice. said to leave them there for a couple days while putting fresh water and ice out several times. went back over today and meat was whitish looking?!? he said tomorrow we will cut it up into steaks. deer killed Sunday afternoon, quartered Sunday night, and cutting meat into steaks/hamburger tomorrow? does all this sound normal. this is making me skeptical of doing my own processing

You're good to go.

Plenty of processing videos on YouTube.

Yep. Meat will look greyish on the outside because there is less blood than inner part. Color will come back when you take out and begin to process. Looks weird until you done it before. Your fine and how lots of people do it.

Cut and cook is all that is left for you to do. People that take deer to processor miss out on the best part..... the end of the hunt in my opinion.

I leave mine in the cooler for 7 days but before processing it. Changing the ice out at least 4 times

ok that makes alot of since. asked a guy here at work to, basically said the same thing. that it's the blood bleaching out. so you don't have to slice all the white off.

booger, yes it did feel more rewarding and part of the hunt just quartering it up....even though it wasn't my deer

If I leave them on ice, I just put meat then ice, then meat, then ice, cover with ice put a brick under the end oposite the drain spout and open the drain spout. When you can see meat on top add ice and your good to go no changing of water or ice.

matt

Ditto. I do not add water, I try to keep the bloody water drained off by putting a brick under one end of the cooler and leaving the drain slightly open. I just add ice as needed until I'm ready to complete the processing, usually 1-4 days.

I agree with the no water theory. We were lucky enough to find a good deal on a walkin cooler and we hang our deer for several days to age in it. The one thing we never do is soak our deer meat in water, takes the taste out. I would go with keeping the water drained out of the cooler or look for a processor that offers cold storage that will let you store the deer there until you get ready to process it yourself. If the weather is cold enough, find a good tree to let it hang in.

Put the meat in trash bags and put the ice in to cover completely. Unless it is a stinky old rutting buck you don't want water including water from the melting ice on the meat. It has fluoride and chlorine in it which bleaches the meat and takes flavor out of it.

Exactly.

I no longer hunt deer, but I never quartered mine when I did hunt them. I pulled out the tender as son as the deer was gutted. I striped out the backstrap next, which left me with the hams and shoulders. I could do all that in less than ten minutes. I have a friend who guides. He has brought me a couple of boneless hams. I have never tried that.

Bryan check out this link. Its a decent how to weblink on processing out a deer

there's no link jneuteontx. we cut it all up just a little ago. the white was about 1/16"-1/8" and after trimming all that the meat looked great. he turned the trimmings into dog food. when I do mine I will try yalls approach without the water.

To each his own, but I would suggest NOT putting your deer meat into trash bags. Here are the 2 main reasons:

1) Chemicals. Common household trashbags have harmful chemicals that make them unsuitable for foods. If you really, really want to use any form of plastic bags, you will need to purchase bags that are rated for use with food (I have no issues with using gallon size or larger ziplock freezer bags for tenderloins or backstraps). You can purchase the larger bags at some stores or at commercial restaurant supply stores. But, if you do use these food rated plastic bags, make sure to leave the bag open to allow heat to escape and cooler air to enter (see #2 below).

2) Heat=bacteria (spoiling). Unless your deer was hung in a cold storage (locker) or outside in cold temps prior to quartering for the cooler, you are multiplying the possibility of the meat growing bacteria when you place warm meat in a hot bag and then seal it. The bag would need to remain open to allow heat to escape and cold air to enter quickly.

I can do the boneless ham, it is a neat trick, but I cut the flank and inbetween the ribs too unless it is a gutshot animal. If you make good use of all the animal it cuts out lots of what I would consider lazzy/wasteful people's short cuts.

Sorry Bryan:

http://shilohtv.com/?p=3842

The more you do the easier it will get...it saves you a nice chunk of $ too....i like procesing and freezing right after shot...i like the game taste venison has and dont like to let it sit...no matter what you do...take one of the straps strait from the bone cut the tendent off and cut into cutlets then marinade and let sit in the fridge for a day or two...fresh off the bone never frozen is the best you will ever eat...i hate freezing backstrap takes alot of flavor away

The ones I process myself I do a little different than most. I bone them out while they are hanging except shoulders, Easier to me that way.

Unless grinding the hams I seperate each muscle out individualy and always leave the tendens (silver skin) on until I take it from the freezer. Easiest tike to remove that is when froozen, fish skining pliers and it comes off real easy then plus if in the freezer a little while that protects the good part from freezer burn. Then when cooking those individual muscels it is easy to slice into steaks or use as roast or what ever, gives you a lot of options

I remove each individual muscle as well once I have it at home and begin prepping it for packaging.

I may have read your comments incorrectly but I would be hesitant to bone out the deer and section cut (remove each muscle individually) while the deer is hanging in a tree at deer camp. TPWD regulation require the deer to be in quarter portions while or whole while transporting, you are not allowed to cut the deer up completely then transport. The GW would have no way to identify how many deer you have in the cooler if he/she decided to check, or at least that's what I have read and was told by the GW. You can consume portions of the deer in camp but whatever is being transported must be recognizable (shoulder, hind quarter, etc).

Most of the ones i do that way are in Mississippi where there is not a decient processor within 60 miles and no such rule applies for the processing of game. Here in Texas when I do that I am also putting it in a freezer at that location. split some with the landowner and will pack it up and freeze there.

Scott01 thanks for pointing that out for those that do not know though. Would hate to get someone in trouble

If you soak it in a cooler, it takes the flavor out. Just my cents.

Keep in in that cooler on ice for min. of 3 days. It works and it took me years to figure it out.

my Brother inlaw soaks his and its like eating beef.I like the flavor of "DEER" and can eat it straight of the hoof.