From: ses@hpfcls.fc.hp.com (Steve Speer)
Newsgroups: rec.hunting
Subject: Re: Re: Venison Processing
Date: 30 Jul 92 15:18:14 GMT
Originator: hunting@osnome.che.wisc.edu

John S. Van Etten writes:
 
[stuff deleted]
> all kinds of stuff about bandsaws and bone saws and such.
>      I butcher all of my own deer myself (and usually do so for most
> members of my hunting party, although they always help me with the
> task).  When I was young (and that goes back a while) I was taught
> that you *never* leave bones in venison and even more so than that,
> that you should *NEVER CUT A BONE* in venison.  All the bonedust (?
> vs. sawdust) makes the meat taste downright horrible, and leads to a
> very "gamey" flavor. :-P  As such, we always de-bone the meat before
> butchering it.

Absolutely correct.  This is the way that I was taught (and I was
raised eating almost no red meat other than venison).  This was also
confirmed several times during the course of my life when I was served
a "round steak" with a bone in it.  GAG!!  This stuff tasted like a
road kill.

>      The process.  Basically, the deer is hung and gotten out of its
> jacket ASAP (all that talk about letting it hang to cool for several
> days is a bit off the mark as well -- no offense to anybody that has
> been taught to do so).

This would include every meat packing plant in existence.  Beef, pork
or any other large animal is always hung for a few days to make the
meat more tender.  When you get right down to it, it is actually
beginning to decay.  You may be quite happy with your meat not being
hung, but that meat will be more tender (and IMHO tastier) if it is.
Notice how stiff that guy is when you try to get him out of the truck
compared to when you slid him in?  I'm sure you know that it is called
rigormortis.  What you may not have considered though is that this is
a temporary state.  It subsides after about 36 to 48 hours and the
muscles again relax.  Care to guess what the meat is like if butchered
and frozen in the earlier state?

>      Other tips.  All that stuff that they used to teach us about
> using at least 15 different knives all sharped to a razor's edge and
> keeping a whetstone around is all cowdung, too.  Get one of those nice
> new electric knives for the job.  Works better than any bandsaw I've
> ever seen, and you don't have to let the meat hang outdoors for a week
> to stiffen up so you can use it.

I've never tried the electric knife, probably won't.  I haven't seen
them in use at the local butcher shop either.  'Course, those guys
aren't into the 90's yet either.  The meat isn't hung to "stiffen up",
it's really just the opposite.

> electric knives will slice up raw meat.  And all this "wrapping" stuff
> can go the way of the Passenger Pigeon, too.  It's 1992 people, let's
> stay in touch. :-)  

I know you said this with a smiley face, but you must be serious.  I
don't think the basics of freezing meat for long periods of time have
changed in recent years (except that fewer and fewer people have a
deep freeze and are trying to use frost free freezers for storing meat
in).  Those freezer bags provide little protection from freezer
burning.  That's what freezer paper was invented for.  Used properly
(and it can be done poorly) you can get meat to last quite well for a
couple of years (It takes me a long time to eat an elk).  Run an
experiment some time.  A few pounds done each way set aside for a year
(maybe you never have meat last that long, I dunno).  The stuff in the
bags will be suitable for dog treats and maybe some really bad chili,
but that's about it.

>      Final words.  The whole process takes me about 2 hours by myself.
> It takes not much more than an hour if somebody lends a hand (and
> they'd better, if it's their deer ;-).  That's the time from when the
> deer is hoisted into the tree to when the baggies go in the freezer.

You got me here.  I have never done one from the two points you refer
to in the time you say.  That's pretty darn fast.

The book someone else mentioned is called the "L.L.Bean [Wild?] Game
and Fish Cookbook".  I love it, try the antelope marsala parmesian
with any type of venison and you will flip.

Let's see... antelope in 6 weeks, then antelope the next weekend, then
antelope again, then deer and elk followed by deer and finally my
first whitetail hunt in late Nov.  Man, I'm gonna need another
freezer...

	-Steve Speer 
	"Get Scouting!!"
Newsgroups: rec.hunting