(Cooking) Processing Your Deer at Home

8/3/2019 (Cooking) Processing Your Deer at Home

1/21

Processing

YourDeer

AtHome

NEW

MEXIC

OS

TAE

UNIVERSIT

Y T

CooperativeExtensionServiceCircular508

January1994

Las

Cruces,NM

NewMexicoStateUniv

ersityisanequalopportunity/affirmativeac

tionemployer

andeducator.NMSUandtheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculturecooperating.


2/21


3/21

2

tightly.Venisonfromthebonedanimaltakesuplessspaceinthe

coldstoragelockerorfreezer.

Fortheuninitiated,thefirststepinboningoutadee

ristostudy

figure1.Locatethemajorpartstobebonedout.Afteryouhave

themfairlywellin

mind,pickuptheknifeandbegin.Itisnot

necessarytofollow

theexactorderofthestepsasshown,butitis

agoodwaytoproc

eed.

Fig.1.Venison

boningchart,locationofmaincuts.

39

TIPSONUSING

VENISON

Whenyouencounterbloodshotm

eat,mostofitcanbesavedby

s

oakingitincoldsaltwater.Putabo

utagallonofwaterina3or4

g

allonbucketordishpan,add3or4handfulsofsaltandputthe

b

loodshotmeatintothesolution.Letitsoakforanhourortwo,then

w

ashandscrubthebloodoffthepieces.Usethemeataccordingto

thecut.Ifthebloodimpregnatesthe

musclesofthemeat,trimthat

p

artoutandthrowitinthescrapbo

x.

Theboningprocessdescribedandillustratedfavorsgettinglots

o

fsteak

meatfromthecarcass.A

venisonsteakisnotlikea

b

eefsteak.Avenisonsteakissmaller

,withoutboneormuchfat,and

c

anbecutfrommostofthelargermu

scles.Inotherwords,theloin,

tenderloinandroundarenottheonly

sourcesofsteaksfromadeer.

M

usclesfromtheshouldblade,rumproast,armroastandontherib

c

agecanbeisolatedandcutintothinvenisonsteaks.Theyare

s

mall,butdelicious,andarefavoritebreakfastmeatformany

families.

Venisonsteaksfromaboneddeerarecutdifferentlythan

d

omesticmeat.Cutallvenisonsteaksthinexceptthosecoming

fromtheloinandtenderloin.Steaksfromthetenderloinandloin

c

anbecuteitherthickorthin,depe

ndingonyourpreferences.A

thinvenisonsteakisabout1/4inch

thickandathickoneisabout

3

/4inch.Thediameterofsmallsteaks

canbeenlargedbybutterflying

them.

Thechunksofroundfromthehindlegmakeexcellentsteaks

w

hencutthin.Havethechunkpartiallythawedbydinner,thencut

into1/4to3/8inchsteaksjustbeforefrying.Fryinahotskilletor

fryingpan.Thefryingtimeisabout90secondsonasideforasteak

c

ut1/4inchthick.Frysteaksjusten

oughtobrowntheoutsidebut

leavethecenterslightlypink.Thesteaksshouldbejuicyand

tender.Itsteakisdryortough,itwascookedtoolong.


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3

Fig.2.

Thefirstcutistoremoveafrontshoulder.Liftthe

frontlegupfromthech

estandcutthemeatattach-

ingittothesideoftheribs.

38

Fig.37.Chunksoftrimmedroundthathavebeensep

aratedfrom

thehindlegareshownabove.Thesechunkscanbemade

intosteaksorroasts.Forthesmallerfamily

,thelarger

piecesofroundmaybehalvedlengthwise.Leavethepieces

wholeuntiljustbeforecooking.Theroundmakesexcellent

steakmeatwhenitiscutthin.


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4

Fig.3.

Thenworktheknifebackandforthtocutthe

connectivetissuebetweenthelegandtheribcage.

Thela

stcuttobemadewillbeatthetop

ofthe

should

erbladewhereitisattachedtothew

ithers.

37

F

ig.36.Divideorseparatethelarg

elegmusclesintheroundby

cuttingtheconnectivetissueholdingthemtogether.Avoid

cuttingintothemeatasmuc

hasyoucan.Themeatcloseto

thelongtendondoesnotm

akegoodsteakmeat,itistoo

tough.Removeitandtrim

outthemeatforgrindingor

otheruses.


6/21

5

Fig.

4.Cutthefrontlegintothreepartsshoulderorbladeroast,arm

roast,andshank.(figures5thr

ough7.)

36

Fig.35.Inthisph

otograph,thelegbonehasbeensep

aratedfrom

thelargechunkofround.Themeatfromtheleg

bonecanbe

trimmedoffandusedforgrinding.Thenextstepisto

separateth

eroundintoitsindividualmuscles,e

achofwhich

isenclosed

initsindividualenvelopeofconnectivetissue.


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6

Fig.5.

Removetheshoulderroastfromthelegbyseveringatthe

joint.Locatethejointbymovingtheshoulde

rbladeup

anddownandthencutthroughit.Theshou

lderblade

roastisnowremovedfromtheleg.Noticethat

thecuthas

beenmad

ethroughthejoint.Trimtheroast

tomakea

neat-look

ingpieceofmeatforroasting.Theboneisnot

removed.Thetrimmingsaregoodforhamb

urgerand

otheruse

s.Forthosewhoprefersteak,themuscleson

eachside

ofthebonyridgeontheshoulderbladecanbe

removed.Steaksshouldbecut1/4to3/8inchthickfor

frying.

35

F

ig.34.Liftingtheboneasyoucutwillmakethecuttingeasier.


8/21

7

Fig.6.

Toseparatethearmroastfromtheshank,preparetosaw

thelegbonebycuttingthe

meatdowntothebone.

34

Fig.33.Turnthelegoverandshaveandcutthemeatlo

osefromthe

legbone.Thiswilltakealittlemaneuvering

aroundthe

joints,but

keepcuttingwhatcomesnaturally.


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8

Fig.7.

Sawtheb

onethrough.Thisisoneofthefewplaceswhere

sawingis

doneclosetomeat.Trimthearmroastanditis

readyforcookingorstoring.Trimoutthemeatfromthe

heavytendonsandtissueoftheshank.Thism

eatisgood

forgrind

ing.

33

F

ig.32.Continueseparatinguntilth

emeatisfreeallthewaytothe

joint.


10/21

9

Fig.8.

Thisisabackviewof

thewholedeerwiththe

outlineofthepreliminarycutsthataremadeto

removetheloinorback

strapalongonesideofthe

backbone.Theloinlies

inthegroovebetweenthe

ribsandtheverticalspinesofthebackbone.Three

basiccutsaremade.Cut1:Cuttheflankloosejust

infrontofthehindleg

andextendthecutallthe

waytothebackbone.Cut2:Usetheverticalspine

ofthebackboneasagu

ideandcutforwardalong

theseuntilyoureachth

ebaseoftheneck.Cut3:

Maketheside-of-ribcutdirectlyoverthepoint

wheretheribscurvedo

wntojointhebackbone.

32

Fig.31.Toremovethebonefromtheround,startby

cuttingthe

tendonandconnectivetissuethatseparatesthe

shankfrom

theround

andthebone.


11/21

10

Fig.9.

Thisp

hotographillustratescut2,theuseofthe

verticalspinesofthebackboneasguidein

cutting

forwardtothebaseoftheneck.Cutdowntothe

backb

oneuntilthejunctionwiththeribsisr

eached.

31

F

ig.30.Thesirlointipisexcellentas

aroastoritcanbecutintothin

steaks.Thesteaksshouldb

ethiniftheyaretobefried.

Makethemnotover1/4to3

/8inchthick.Themeatisgood

forhamburger,stew,oroth

eruses.


12/21

11

Fig.10.Removetheloinbycuttingitloosefromtheribs.

Lifttheloinandstartcuttingandpeelingitfrom

thegroove,continuingforwarduntilloinmeatends

orthebaseoftheneck

isreached.

30

Fig.29.Oncethesirlointiphasbeencutfromtheleg,removethe

connective

tissueandextrameatsurroundingit.There-

mainingchunkofsirlointipmeatwillbeenclo

sedinathin

connective

tissueandwillresembleanundersizedfootball.


13/21

12

Fig.11.Oneofthe

twoloinsfromadeer.Itisreadyto

betrimmed.

Laythelo

inonthetableandpreparetopull

offfat,odd-

grainedm

eatandtoughtissuebystartingatoneend.Cut

enoughoftheconnectingstrandstoallowagoo

dhandhold.

Pullandripthelayeroffatandconnectivetissuefromthe

loin.Theloinmeatwillstillbeencasedinthinconnective

tissue.Rem

ovethelooselyattachedmeatneartheneckend

oftheloin.

Thismeatisgoodforstews,groundm

eatorother

uses,butitdetractsfromthetendernessofgoodsteaks.

29

Fig.28.Laythehindlegflatonthetableandremovethesirlointip

byusingthelegbonetoguidetheknifewhilecuttingoff

thelargechunkofmeat.

Noticethelargewhitebone

(arrow).Startattheknee

capandkeeptheknifeina

verticalplaneagainstthisb

one.Cutthemeatawayfrom

thebonewithshortstrokes.


14/21

13

F

ig.12.Cutthetrimmedloinintofamily-sizedchunksorpiecesand

freezewhole.Byfreezingth

echunkswhole,moistureand

flavorsarepreservedandpackagingiseasier.Waituntil

youarereadytocookthem

beforecuttingthesteaks.Cut

them3/4to1inchthick.The

bonelessloinsarenotlargebut

theyhavenoconnectivetiss

ue,fatoroff-grainedmeat.

28

Fig.27.Nextcutthesirlointipfromtheremainderoft

hehindleg.

First,set

theleginaverticalposition.Makeacutabove

theknee

cap.Cutdirectlydowntothelargelegbone

whichisshowninfigure28.


15/21

14

Fig.13.Remov

etheflankbycuttingitfreefromtheback-

bonea

ndtheadjoiningribs.

27

Fig.26.Thesirloinroastisshownfromthetopside.Removethe

fatandsharpprojectionsofpelvicbonebeforecookingor

freezing.Ifyoupreferothercutstoroasts,themeatcanbe

removedandcutintosma

llsteaksorusedforgrinding

meatorstewmeat.


16/21

15

Fig.14.Removetheneckbysaw

ingthebackboneoffjustin

frontofthepointofth

eshoulder.Theneckmeat

makesexcellentmincem

eat,stew,orgrindingmeat.

Itcanalsoberoastedwhole.

26

Fig.25.Cutdowntotheball-and-socketjointandworktheknife

through

itasshownabove.Makethecutas

verticalas

possible,

butleaveenoughmeatonthesirloin

roastfora

meal.Separatingwithaknifeinsteadofsaw

ingavoids

spreadingbonemarrowanddust.


17/21

16

Fig.15.Removethesideofribfromthebackbone

.Usethe

sawan

dcuttheribslooseatthepointwherethey

curveenroutetoconnectingwiththebackb

one.Cut

allthe

waytothebaseoftheneck.

25

F

ig.24.Tocutupthehindleg,remo

vethesirloinroastfirst.Todo

this,locatetheballandso

cketjointwhichconnectsthe

pelvicbonesofthesirloinroastwiththelargelegbone.Feel

forthejointasyouraiseandlowerthesirloinroast.Once

located,cutasshowninfigure25.


18/21

17

Fig.16.Asideofribthathasbeenremovedfromthedeerisshown

here.Youcaneithercutitu

patthispointorturnthedeer

overandstartboningouttheremainingside.

24

Fig.23.Usethespinalcordinthebackboneasaguideinmakingthe

cutwiththemeatsaw.Eachhindlegiscutintoasirloin

roast,asirlointip,theroundandtheshank.


19/21

18

Fig.17.Alayerofmeatcoverstheribs.Itisusuallylefta

sshown,but

thelayer

ofmeatcanberemovedandusedforjerky,

grindingm

eat,stewmeat,ortinysteaks.Enou

ghmeatwill

beleftbetweentheribsforbarbecuing.

23

Fig.22.Thetwohindlegsare

readytobeseparatedby

sawingthroughthemidd

leofthebackbone.


20/21

19

F

ig.18.Hereasideofribisbeingcu

tintoplates.Platesofribscan

bebarbecuedwholeorseparatedintotwoorthreeribsper

piece.Ribscanbecutintos

hortpiecesandusedinstewif

youprefer.

22

Fig.21.Sawthebackboneoffjustinfrontofthehin

dlegs.It

canbecutintosectionsandusedtomakesoup

stocks.Themeatscrapscanbepickedoffandused

inmin

cemeat,headcheese,groundmea

torfor

otheruses.


21/21

20

Fig.19.Remo

vethetenderloinbyliftingandcuttingitfree

from

thebackbone.Thetwotenderloinsarelo-

cated

oneachsideofthebackboneandjustfor-

ward

ofthepelvicarea.

21

Fig.20.Eachtenderloinisonlyabout11/2inchesindiameterand

afootlong.Thesearethemosttenderpiecesofmeatinthe

deer,andtheyareexcellentforsteak.Tomakethesteaks

largerindiameter,butterflythem.Abutterflysteak

consistsoftwosteakslying

sidebysideandconnectedby

thesametissueononeedge.Thesesteaksaremadeby

cuttingthefirststeakalmostcompletelyoffandcutting

thenextonecompletelyoff

.Thentheyarefoldededgeto

edgeatthepointofconnectionandlaidflatinthefrying

pan.

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(Cooking) Processing Your Deer at Home