Saturday afternoon in Franklin County during Virginia's early muzzleloading season, I killed a deer, so during much of Sunday Elaine and I butchered the whitetail. If you have never butchered an animal, doing so is a fascinating experience. Elaine and I have now reduced nine whitetails to venison over the past three autumns, and we now have a much better idea of how to go about the skinning process, remove the loin, rump, shoulder, and neck meat, and package the meat so that it freezes properly.
We also have a much better concept of how Americans in centuries past lived, that is, how hunting and butchering made them closer to the land. Elaine and I experience such great satisfaction in supplying our family with food...from beginning to end - no need for us to go to a supermarket for meat.
Glad to see that you've figured out how to post pictures!
ReplyDeleteHey Bruce!
ReplyDeleteIf you recall, many times over the years I have offered to teach you my "system" of butchering and putting up deer. I used to try my best not to shake my head as you would "drop off a doe" after we had been hunting.
Not that there's anything inherently wrong in paying a professional to process your meat, and I'm not saying anything negative about the work ethic of game butchers.
It's just that in order for a person to make any kind of living butchering deer for others, certain shortcuts must be taken because time is money.
I suppose the most visible example of this is in your packages of grind. Unlike beef, deer fat does not render at normal cooking temperatures, nor is it tasty -- quite the opposite. Thus, every bit of white you see in a bag of ground venison is something you don't want to see -- unless you've added beef fat on purpose.
The fact of the matter is that no one can take the time to remove all of the deer fat and silverskin from lesser deer cuts destined for the grinder and still turn a profit.
But the home butcher CAN, and SHOULD.
Anyway, I am glad to hear you are now butchering your own meat. That's a huge step, and I don't think you'll ever go back once you have acheived results satisfactory to your family.
It took me probably 15-20 deer before I finally settled on a process that works for me. I unashamedly stole from every friend and written article I could find, while continuing to experiment on my own.
Now it's second nature. A chore, but an enjoyable one. And one that takes less time than one would think, even when insisting on doing it RIGHT. Get all the surfaces clean, all the supplies laid out, put a football or basketball game or race on in the background, scrub those hands and go to work -- knowing that your labors will be rewarded in days to come.
Can't wait till we have a chance for me to show you how I do it, and I'm always looking for new techniques to incorporate, so I want to see how you do it, too... the process of processing a deer is an ongoing process.
Congrats.
I personally do not that I would like to kill, butcher, and eat a deer. Really. But I would eat some as long as I had absolutely nothing to do with how it died.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the best! Meat tastes so much better when you kill it yourself.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could ever eat a deer's heart.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure Catherine?
ReplyDeleteI remember that you told us about this in class... or more like, read us what you wrote. So no need to spend extra money on meat?
ReplyDeleteyou should bring in some deer burgers. i'm sure you could sell them and make BANK
ReplyDeleteDeer heart sounds really gross but its cool that you don't have to go to the super market for every dinner you make. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I've never had deer meat, but I've always wanted to try it.
ReplyDeleteWait...is a dear heart really big enough to make a sandwich out of? I mean unless its more than one...?
ReplyDeleteYes Amanda, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteTo Emily Swanson: I have had home made deer jerky
ReplyDeleteI don't think I even want to try deer heart, but I guess you should use it. My dad always says "Waste not, want not."
ReplyDeleteI'm to soft hearted to take the life of any living creature.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to, I would try the deer meat and deer burgers. But I could never eat a deer's heart. Somehow, that just seems very wrong.
ReplyDeleteONCE AGAIN!!!
ReplyDeleteSince my comment, just got erased (sad), Mr.Ingram, I completely agree that deer meat is the answer to straying away from the grocery store. Not only that, but it also enhances skill. You can begin a hunter and end with intelligence, experience. And that is a beautiful thing. My grandfather is a hunter and whenever the time is right, hunting deer is his life. We go from tenderloin, to deer burgers. I've even gotten up my spirits and tested my cooking with using deer meat in a soup, made by myself. Overall, a wonderful and highly loved traditional meal by my family.
You can't compare a homemade meal to a store bought one, you just can't and it sums itself up perfectly, right here.
-Jamaica Pannell =D
jamaica i like your comment
ReplyDelete-Brooke :D