How to Butcher Venison at Home

Proper butchering increases the quality of the meat.

Deer hunting is a great way to fill your freezer with meat, but many hunters cannot afford the high cost of professional butchering. One option is to butcher the animal yourself. Butchering a deer does not require many specialized tools.

Things You'll Need

• Game bags
• Ice chest
• Boning knife
• Knife sharpener
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum bags

Instructions

1. Field dress the animal to prepare it for butchering. Several field dressing methods may be used, but gutting and quartering are effective for breaking the deer down into workable portions. Be sure to remove the anus and use a separate game bag for each quarter.

2. Remove the back straps, neck meat and rib meat in the field. Scrape the neck and rib meat away from the bone and store it in a game bag. This meat is ideal for cubing into stew. Run the knife along each side of the spine to separate the back strap from the bone and place the meat in a game bag. This is a prime cut and is very tender.

3. Transfer the game bags to a butchering area. Keep the meat on ice to prevent it from spoiling. The quicker you cool the meat, the better the quality. Set up tables in a garage or cool area to process the remainder of the deer. Plug in a vacuum sealer and have a felt marker ready to label the cuts.

4. Place the back strap into vacuum bags and seal the bags. The back strap may be divided into several sections or individual steaks depending on your intended use. Also vacuum seal the neck and rib meat into several bags for stew. Label the bags.

5. Place the hind quarters on a clean, disinfected the table. Cut the front sirloin away from the thick part of the bone. You will notice natural seams in the meat that help to guide your knife. Remove the white fat and muscle tissue from the bone. This will leave you with red meat only. Cut the sirloin into steaks or leave intact for a roast. Vacuum seal and label the meat.

6. Remove the next three chunks of meat from the hind leg. Follow the seams with your knife and you will have three pieces of meat for steaks or roast. Vacuum seal and label these as chops or hind quarters. Repeat the process on the opposite hind leg.

7. Follow the seams on the front quarters to remove the shoulder, shank and breast. Remove the white fat and muscle tissue. Divide the meat into steaks or leave intact as a roast. Vacuum seal and label the meat.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the sharpener regularly to ensure your knife is not tearing the meat. Be sure to remove all of the usable meat from the deer. Use the scraps for salami, ground burger, stew and as food for your pets.

• Cut away from yourself to ensure you do not cut through skin. Wear gloves as an extra measure of protection.

References

• Da Vinci's World: Butchering a Deer
• Free Deer Hunting Tips: How to Butcher a Deer
• Wild Game Processing: Deer Cuts