Short answer: Chore boy copper scrubber is like a magnet for picking hair off of meat. Of course, if you can avoid the hair on the meat in the first place…. That comes with practice.
Silver skin- it seems the worst on the front shoulders. The two solutions I’ve come up with are simply cooking shanks/Osso Buco, and cutting through the meat and taking it off from the back side much like filleting the skin off a fish filet.
Processing can be a great way to extend the experience of the successful hunt.
Fresh tenderloin medallions on a Coleman stove with butter, onions, a few shakes of flour and fresh black pepper is a great way to start processing any deer.
I truly hated butchering when I was a kid, up until my late teens when a friend’s dad introduced my dad and I to how to actually do it.
So here’s a few of my favorite home processing things I’ve learned;
Preparation, organization and clean-up.
Clean coolers, freezer/fridge space, bags, clean up plan, gambrel and ropes are ready along with a hoist or tractor bucket to hang from are all ready to go before the hunting starts.
I love the prep and the build up almost as much as the hunt.
I have a small tote with all my processing stuff. This has been huge in getting game taken care of in warm temps and extreme cold.
Gutting/field knives are never used for processing and processing knives are like my wife’s sewing scissors- off limits for anything but processing game, to the point I won’t even cut a rope or plastic with them.
Sharp, clean knives, buy them here and there and try things. Rapala filet knives, victonox fibrox handle knives and Mora-knives with the sheath are my go to. I like a belt or pocket sheath because I can’t set the knife down and lose it.
A small roll of construction poly Home Depot to cover my table and floor below anything hanging. Legs, heads and whatnot end up on the poly and get rolled up nice and neat when done. Not so much as a hair on the floor when I’m done. Contractor bags in a can so there’s no blood or stink later.
Folding plastic table or two. Here’s the clincher- cut some 1” pvc sleeves to put on the table legs to create a lift kit to put your table at a better height. I’m 6’ and 42-46” is ideal for me. This is big, it will save your back and shoulders from fatigue and soreness.
Hair- I prefer to hang head down, I remove both front legs at the knee joint. Next, I cut the hide above the tarsal gland on the rear legs all the way around and down the inside of the thighs before I hang the deer or pig from the gambrel. I put a short rope on one side and around a hock so later when I cut the Achilles’ tendon the animal stays put. At this point I do a quick singe of the hair around the tarsal cut to prevent it from sloughing on to the meat. One other note- when I gut a deer now, after doing hundreds, I’ve learned to leave the skin intact as much as possible in the mammary area until actually butchering . This keeps an enormous amount of hair off later, as well as a clean cavity and tenderloins. I do not split pelvises either. It’s unnecessary, as you can cut around the rectum and easily cut around the colon from the outside, and pull that in through the pelvis and out with the guts. It may sound complicated, but with practice and confidence I can say that from start to finish, Buck or doe in a couple of minutes and never get any blood beyond your wrist is possible.
Meat totes are another great thing to have while butchering, clean totes will work too. . We keep 2-3 on hand to sort trim, steaks and roasts. A bucket of hot soapy water is another must have for washing hands and knives during butchering, sharpening etc.
A bone saw is handy, but a clean hack saw will work too.
Just add a few small items each year and you’ll have a great butcher kit in no time.
Sausage making and smoking are an area that it pays to get the good stuff. Watch for sales and used grinders and stuffers. As others have said, foot pedal stuffers, 3/4 hp and larger grinders. The little stuff and kitchen aid attachments just don’t get it done. Make a few pounds of snack sticks with a hand crank grinder and stuffer and you won’t be able to pull a bow back.
Good luck, I hope to pick up some tips here too.
Silver skin- it seems the worst on the front shoulders. The two solutions I’ve come up with are simply cooking shanks/Osso Buco, and cutting through the meat and taking it off from the back side much like filleting the skin off a fish filet.
Processing can be a great way to extend the experience of the successful hunt.
Fresh tenderloin medallions on a Coleman stove with butter, onions, a few shakes of flour and fresh black pepper is a great way to start processing any deer.
I truly hated butchering when I was a kid, up until my late teens when a friend’s dad introduced my dad and I to how to actually do it.
So here’s a few of my favorite home processing things I’ve learned;
Preparation, organization and clean-up.
Clean coolers, freezer/fridge space, bags, clean up plan, gambrel and ropes are ready along with a hoist or tractor bucket to hang from are all ready to go before the hunting starts.
I love the prep and the build up almost as much as the hunt.
I have a small tote with all my processing stuff. This has been huge in getting game taken care of in warm temps and extreme cold.
Gutting/field knives are never used for processing and processing knives are like my wife’s sewing scissors- off limits for anything but processing game, to the point I won’t even cut a rope or plastic with them.
Sharp, clean knives, buy them here and there and try things. Rapala filet knives, victonox fibrox handle knives and Mora-knives with the sheath are my go to. I like a belt or pocket sheath because I can’t set the knife down and lose it.
A small roll of construction poly Home Depot to cover my table and floor below anything hanging. Legs, heads and whatnot end up on the poly and get rolled up nice and neat when done. Not so much as a hair on the floor when I’m done. Contractor bags in a can so there’s no blood or stink later.
Folding plastic table or two. Here’s the clincher- cut some 1” pvc sleeves to put on the table legs to create a lift kit to put your table at a better height. I’m 6’ and 42-46” is ideal for me. This is big, it will save your back and shoulders from fatigue and soreness.
Hair- I prefer to hang head down, I remove both front legs at the knee joint. Next, I cut the hide above the tarsal gland on the rear legs all the way around and down the inside of the thighs before I hang the deer or pig from the gambrel. I put a short rope on one side and around a hock so later when I cut the Achilles’ tendon the animal stays put. At this point I do a quick singe of the hair around the tarsal cut to prevent it from sloughing on to the meat. One other note- when I gut a deer now, after doing hundreds, I’ve learned to leave the skin intact as much as possible in the mammary area until actually butchering . This keeps an enormous amount of hair off later, as well as a clean cavity and tenderloins. I do not split pelvises either. It’s unnecessary, as you can cut around the rectum and easily cut around the colon from the outside, and pull that in through the pelvis and out with the guts. It may sound complicated, but with practice and confidence I can say that from start to finish, Buck or doe in a couple of minutes and never get any blood beyond your wrist is possible.
Meat totes are another great thing to have while butchering, clean totes will work too. . We keep 2-3 on hand to sort trim, steaks and roasts. A bucket of hot soapy water is another must have for washing hands and knives during butchering, sharpening etc.
A bone saw is handy, but a clean hack saw will work too.
Just add a few small items each year and you’ll have a great butcher kit in no time.
Sausage making and smoking are an area that it pays to get the good stuff. Watch for sales and used grinders and stuffers. As others have said, foot pedal stuffers, 3/4 hp and larger grinders. The little stuff and kitchen aid attachments just don’t get it done. Make a few pounds of snack sticks with a hand crank grinder and stuffer and you won’t be able to pull a bow back.
Good luck, I hope to pick up some tips here too.
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