Search Youtube for the bearded butchers. Tons of videos.

It IS good.

Follow the muscles.

I just don`t need or want the practice anymore. I cut meat for 26 years and processed mine and my families till 8 years ago. I`ve had as many as 5 deer at one time in my refrigerator after a weekend of hunting with me, my son and grandson. I took my first deer to be processed in 2018 to JT`s Deer Processing in Stephenville and it was money well spent. The owner is a personal friend of mine who does a great job. It felt really nice to just back up and have someone unload it for me and I get to forget about it. I even sold my Hobart tenderizer about 5 years ago, but I still have my meat grinder since I grind briskets for all of our HB meat needs. I'm not saying I`ll never process another one, but it`s unlikely unless it`s a teaching moment for my grandson.

I enjoy processing as much as the hunt. I don't have a place to dry age an entire deer but I did get a fridge specifically to hang game. I've often wondered if a meat storage locker with a place to process game would make enough to offset the cost. Probably not. In the old days you could rent a locker to hang meat.

I have always cut up my own animals, but used to take the grind to game processer for sausage, burger, etc. A few years ago we finally bought a grinder because I was tired of my grind being combined with other hunters' grind due to seasoning package requirements. I am very careful with how my animals are processed and the grind meat trimmed, Not everyone is as particular. It was a great decision.

I know a lot of people who only ever kill 1 maybe 2 deer a year maybe that makes it easier to pay. Growing up we would kill around 10-15 deer a year and several hogs etc. at a couple hundred bucks a pop that gets spendy for an already expensive hobby. We still kill the same numbers of deer and process together today.

I used this recipe and it was great!

https://honest-food.net/cajun-boudin-sausage-recipe/

I just ordered a wine cooler for making dried sausage, pepperoni, and salami.

Think I'll try some Landjager too this year.

there's nothing to it - just follow the muscle edges:
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Good stuff, thanks!

I do my own butchering of my deer. I my not be very good at it, but I am getting better with each deer. I also ate the meat for 2 weeks. I make summer sausage and jerky out of all the meat, except the Back-strap’s and tenderloins. I like the fact that I KNOW I am getting my own deer meat. Never quite sure if you are getting your deer or someone else’s when you go thru a business ( and if you get someone else’s deer you have no idea how they killed it, cleaned it, chased it or how long it sat before it got delivered to the processor). I am not trying to run down deer processors, this is just my thoughts about it, and why I do it myself.

its all part of the process for me. From where it died in the field to where it lays on the dinner plate we do it all. even if i personally didn't shoot a deer...if someone in the family did then still get to get in on the cleaning and processing. Its work but its enjoyable. from the pre-season maintenance and preparation to the actual hunt and shot to the cleaning and processing afterward....if i was not able to do the cycle all the way thru i'd definitely feel like i was missing something. For the last couple years i've basically let my sons do the shooting and i've been their guide. I remember when my dad did the same for me. Thankful to have a good family place with good management and some flexibility to allow a couple new young hunters to enjoy what i enjoyed at their age.

I have a good processor I trust to give me my deer and not someone else's. That makes a big difference. One thing I did notice when I processed one this year and had him process the other: I got more steaks and backstrap meat from mine. I don't know if that means I'm spending more time at it, making steaks out of cuts that are marginal, or what. He ends up with more ground venison, so I suspect I'm using stuff as steak that he puts into grind. Plus he has better grinding equipment and likely can grind cuts I'm having to spend a lot of time cutting tendon and silverskin out of. I suspect I toss more than he does.

Not sure if this has been posted already. This is very similar to what I do but there're some small differences that appear to speed things along.

I have never used a processor in my life.

I personally think sausage and jerky are a waste of deer meat.

I believe pork sausage is better and while I love jerky, i'd rather eat my deer meat in other ways.


I leave my shoulders whole for pot roasting.

I keep roasts off the hindquarter for grilling or slicing thin and frying. Backstrap, Tenderloins, and the heart always go on the grill.

The rest of the trimmings I grind with bacon, jalapenos, and cheese and make burgers. With the hamburger attachment on my grinder, my son and I made over 120 1/3rd lb burgers last year in about an hour. The bacon/deer burgers are my family's favorite way to eat deer.

So since I keep it pretty simple, there is no way I would consider paying someone else to do what I did. I guess if I was a big fan of sausage, I would possibly bring it in to a processor. We made sausage one year and it turned out really good. But still the general consensus was to make more burgers next year.

Deer I took to a processor last month weighed 100# gutted and I got back 7 small, flat packs of steaks and 41# of ground for $126.00. I'm going to try cutting up the next one myself!

That's a great video. Thanks