Butchering

[pvtpublic]

I just love tying up roasts! I can't wait to smoke this elk shank roast and throw it in a crock for a while. Who else butchers their own game? How do you delegate your cuts?

 

[Old Medic]

In my entire life, there's only one animal I didn't butcher myself. Was planning our annual Pig Picking and split a hog on the hoof. I picked it up alive, ran it to the processor, following week went back and got my half, and all his packaged stuff. He paid the butcher's bill, and gave me a few lbs of sausage to boot. As a kid was helping butcher hogs, cows, chickens and deer. Even helped with one bear about 13 or so.
Deer get Backstrap cut into butterfly steaks, couple roasts from the hindquarters, Rest gets ground up and becomes burger and sausage.

 

[Airborneguy]

I butcher my deer occasionally but I honestly do not enjoy it. I gave it a solid try, learning on my own as my family never did it. My cousin took to it and does all of his own. I just can’t get into it.

My maternal grandfather was a butcher but didn’t hunt. Hunting came from my dad’s side.

 

[bracconiere]

i butchered a couple deer in my life, first one slopily....second i learned basicly all i'm trying to do is seperate muscles from each other, so was decent....

edit: and nothing like the feeling of watch a wave of ticks crawling at you while you're skining them huh!

 

[pvtpublic]

This is only my second time butchering an animal (aside from birds), last year was a deer fawn and I learned on that. I always grew up bringing everything in, and I gotta say, this is so much better. I look forward to making some salumi with some of theses cuts!

 

[Airborneguy]

If that’s your second and you managed to produce a roast like that, you’re on fire. I’ve done at least 10 deer and mine still look like crap lol. I pretty much get the backstraps and loins out then grind the rest.

 

[bracconiere]

salami sounds good, on a fermentation oriented forum!

 

[bracconiere]

If that’s your second and you managed to produce a roast like that, you’re on fire. I’ve done at least 10 deer and mine still look like crap lol. I pretty much get the backstraps and loins out then grind the rest.

??? still has silver skin?

 

[pvtpublic]

salami sounds good, on a fermentation oriented forum!

I'm not doing salami yet, I still have to learn grinding, then sausage making. Salumi, not a typo, is a whole muscle cure. I did it last year with success, so I want keep that going.

??? still has silver skin?

Those are the tendons, it's a shank roast. I'm going to brine it, smoke it, and let it barely simmer for as long as reasonably possible.

 

[passedpawn]

I'm not doing salami yet, I still have to learn grinding, then sausage making. Salumi, not a typo, is a whole muscle cure. I did it last year with success, so I want keep that going.

Those are the tendons, it's a shank roast. I'm going to brine it, smoke it, and let it barely simmer for as long as reasonably possible.

Salumi is all of the cured meats, including the ones that are ground. I've made lots.

 

[pvtpublic]

Salumi is all of the cured meats, including the ones that are ground. I've made lots.

Shows what I know, ha! I'm just getting into it, thanks for the correction! I haven't decided on any specific recipes yet, do you have any recommendations?

 

[passedpawn]

Shows what I know, ha! I'm just getting into it, thanks for the correction! I haven't decided on any specific recipes yet, do you have any recommendations?

Nah, I just make salami and pepperoni. I haven't done whole muscle, but keep thinking about. it. Don't put fennel in your salami, I've tried that and got tired of it really fast.

 

[passedpawn]

OK I lied, I've done duck prosciutto. That's an easy one for sure.

 

[pvtpublic]

That looks amazing! I'm a little hesitant about doing something like that, like I'll mess it up something fierce. How long did it take for you to get used to making salami?

 

[Airborneguy]

Make biltong, that’s a super easy whole-muscle cure.

 

[passedpawn]

That looks amazing! I'm a little hesitant about doing something like that, like I'll mess it up something fierce. How long did it take for you to get used to making salami?

Worked well the first try actually. However, unlike brewing, where you can totally screw up the process and still feel safe drinking it, curing meat requires fairly strict adherence to known methods or you will fail. Get some black mold on that meat, it's a goner. Case-hardening, due to low humidity, goner. Slow growth of ph-lowering cultures, it'll rot and it's a goner.

Very important to use that beneficial white mold on the outside. And temperature/humidity are critical also. And the recipe, which of course must include curing salts. I included an activity log here and here during my first tries.

It's possible that solid muscle, though it takes a lot longer, is less risky. Not sure.

 

[bracconiere]

Nah, I just make salami and pepperoni. I haven't done whole muscle, but keep thinking about. it. Don't put fennel in your salami, I've tried that and got tired of it really fast.

View attachment 807719
View attachment 807720

with a pic like that, aren't you supposed to ask if this is a pelicle?

 

[camonick]

This is only my second time butchering an animal (aside from birds), last year was a deer fawn and I learned on that. I always grew up bringing everything in, and I gotta say, this is so much better. I look forward to making some salumi with some of theses cuts!

If that’s your second and you managed to produce a roast like that, you’re on fire. I’ve done at least 10 deer and mine still look like crap lol. I pretty much get the backstraps and loins out then grind the rest.

I process all the wild game my family harvests. We save a few steaks and roasts from the deer and antelope we get but most gets ground into burger meat to use in any dish that calls for hamburger, or I make sausage. This is my most recent… venison jalapeño cheddar summer sausage.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

I butcher all of our game as well and I've done some hogs and birds. Deer we keep the backstraps, which I keep them whole, maybe cut in half, and smoke them, this is best I've had. Grind the rest, I've made numerous types of bologna with the ground meat and we use it throughout the year for burgers and tacos and such. The last bologna i made was was smoked venison hot pepper cheese.

Here's the backstrap

And the bologna hanging in the garage, no sliced pic.

 

[pvtpublic]

@passedpawn I see that you use the same chamber for lagers as sausage, but you ferment at 55. I ferment at 50, would that work for the sausages too, or is that too cold?

 

[pvtpublic]

with a pic like that, aren't you supposed to ask if this is a pelicle?

HBT threads aren't really official threads until bracc tosses out a smart ass comment hahaha

 

[mbronkalla]

@passedpawn I see that you use the same chamber for lagers as sausage, but you ferment at 55. I ferment at 50, would that work for the sausages too, or is that too cold?

50F would work fine for fermenting the meat. Big thing is keeping the humidity up to 75%. If you are starting fermented sausages, I highly recommend Marianski's "The Art of Making Fermented Sausage". It covers the techniques AND the safety requirements.

 

[pvtpublic]

50F would work fine for fermenting the meat. Big thing is keeping the humidity up to 75%. If you are starting fermented sausages, I highly recommend Marianski's "The Art of Making Fermented Sausage". It covers the techniques AND the safety requirements.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to add that to my giant book wishlist haha

I'll have to throw a hygrometer into that fridge next time that I have a lager going to see what kind of moisture a fermentation throws off.

 

[pvtpublic]

I wound up with about 150#. I havent ground up anything yet nor made my jerky.

 

[bracconiere]

I wound up with about 150#. I havent ground up anything yet nor made my jerky.
View attachment 807936

are those two bag on the left tallow?

 

[Airborneguy]

Big deer!

 

[pvtpublic]

are those two bag on the left tallow?

No, that's jerky meat ready for salting. I don't have everything in the pic, either. The trimmings for burger are defrosting in a cooler, and I forgot to grab the other stuff from the other freezer.

Big deer!

Really big deer haha

 

[Airborneguy]

Really big deer haha
View attachment 807937

Wow! Nice! Elk is my unicorn hunt. Hopefully in the next few years. I’m part of a group of Army buddies waiting for the last guy still serving to ETS so we can meet in Wyoming for a hunt.

 

[pvtpublic]

Wow! Nice! Elk is my unicorn hunt. Hopefully in the next few years. I’m part of a group of Army buddies waiting for the last guy still serving to ETS so we can meet in Wyoming for a hunt.

Have you told him to hurry up?

 

[Airborneguy]

Have you told him to hurry up?

He was months away before Ukraine started…

 

[pvtpublic]

Ouch, voluntarily stayed, or volun-told?

 

[Airborneguy]

Voluntold. He’s a CSM so retirement is a “request”.

 

[pvtpublic]

Voluntold. He’s a CSM so retirement is a “request”.

I was ten years in as a jarhead, I get it. It's too bad that it's for such a childish engagement (aren't they all though?)

 

[pvtpublic]

Smoking one of the rounds today

 

[bracconiere]

Smoking one of the rounds today

how long til it's ready?

 

[pvtpublic]

It's at 110* right now. Doing it super slow, like at 200*

 

[bracconiere]

It's at 110* right now. Doing it super slow, like at 200*

and it's final destination?

 

[pvtpublic]

135* and I'm going pack it in a cooler for a bit after that

 

[bracconiere]

135* and I'm going pack it in a cooler for a bit after that

fancy! no alumminum foil!

 

[pvtpublic]

Right! I'm going to transfer it to a dutch oven with veggies in it and let it finish in the oven, then the entire thing goes into a cooler full of towels for an hour or so.