How much meat off a doe and what to keep?

I'm new to hunting and I'm starting to process my own meat. I'm going to make sausage and jerky.

How much meat do you get off a 3.5 medium size doe? I deboned the leg quarters and got 13 pounds of meat.

Do use the flap of meat meat that covers the ribs?
Do you get much meat off the lower part of the legs with all the muscles?
How much of the silver skin do you need to take off or do you?

Thank you in advance?

get backstrap also and cut off all that silver its fat

I'd say from an average hill country doe you get about 25-30 pounds of boned meat.

I also take as much silver skin off as I can. It doesn't taste good. If I'm going to grind it, then I am not quite as worried, but still take off what I can easily.

Oh yeah I got them and the tenderloins.

Do you spend time getting the stuff of the little leg muscles?
What about the rib flap?

Personally I leave the rib flaps alone. But, that's just my personal preference.

Yep, get all that fat ( Silver ) off that you can. It is some mighty nasty stuff to me.

15 pounds with all quarters and straps is about normal for me.

This year was the first year I actually did anything with the neck. I boned the neck out and cooked it in a slow cooker for about 10 hours with some pork rub for seasoning. Then I made pulled meat with bar-b-que sauce (like pulled pork). really good. Then used the neck bone and what meat was still on it for a great stew.

I know that was not what you asked, but thought I would share.

x2. I've killed two does so far and have about 60 lbs of trimmed/prepared meat in the freezer.

I usually cut the shoulders off right after the joint, I don't worry about the shank, too much ligament for me.

Glad someone mentioned the neck meat. It's perfect for grinding.

Actually the straps arent the tenderloins, those are on the inside, as good if not better than the straps.

i usually make a neck roast, easy

When you mentioned how much meat you got off a doe it got me thinking about how much your average deer weigh.

Dont mean to highjack your post but check out my

"How much does your average deer weigh?"

post in the Deer hunting section, im curious and could use the in put.

P.S. as for your post you get much more meat out of a neck then you do a shoulder....dont understand why people shoot deer the neck to "save meat"

25 - 30 pounds sounds light to me. I usually cut the head off the neck as high as I can and cut the legs below the knee joint. I then take the whole deer into the processor and get about 60% of the total weight (depending on if/what was ruined with the shot) back in meat. So, if your carcass weighs 80 pounds, expect about 48 pounds of meat.

30 pounds of venison means the carcass was probably about 50 pounds which to me is a pretty small Hill Country Deer. (I hunt in Blanco Co.)

My 2 cents...

I disagree completely. I get about 1/3 weight of meat. If the doe weighs 90 lbs expect about 30 lbs of pure meat, and I get all the meat I can off my deer. I process my own, so ever piece of meat possible comes off. There is no way you will get near 60%. Heck you got head, feet, bones, hide, guts and so on that is not meat.

I can get about 25# of meat out of the average doe and I even cut between the ribs to get that meat. I don't think I have ever gotten 30# of meat off a doe around here.

Maybe you are getting it back in sausage form, mixed with pork?

I always take the rib meat and the flaps as long as the deer isn't gutshot. Silver skin doesn't matter when it comes to grinding meat, so I only trim the steaks. Most of the does we shoot on our place weigh about 65 pounds after field dressing and we will get 30-35 pounds of meat. Deer shot in December seem to weigh 10-15 pounds more than those shot in October and November.

Thanks guys.

So you take all the silver stuff off the small leg muscles. Man that's tedious work.

I need a better fillet knife.

Like Helo said you should get about 1/3 of the live weight or just a lttle more. When processing I do not take the shank meat but the all the rest I can get I do.

I hate to belabor the point but the shank meat are the small leg muscles?

i keep the back legs ,front legs and the back strap maybe sometimes the neck depending on how much meet is there.

Yes, they are the muscles as you get closer to the bottom of the leg. You can grind it up with you want, but there will be a lot of silverskin in it.

The only part we dont use all the time is the shank, ins south texas it is sometimes too filled with thorns to mess with, but most of the time is good still.

Im Helo too, about 1/3, no way you get 60%, that is from someone who shoots a deer and leaves it at the processor and doesnt read his bill.

matt