Looking for deer butchering videos/book

[Nandy]

Any of you have seen or read a good video/book about how to butcher deer? I am going to try it tomorrow for the first time and I know it will be late for this deer but I hope I get another one before season is over and do a better job. I got me a nice motorized grinder so if all else fails I will have a lot of deer burger and sausage! I have seen many youtube videos and I think I have a good idea but the thing with the youtube videos is that they are not too professionally made and leave a lot of questions, details and had bad visuals, etc. I mean, they are priced right $0.00 but I need a bit of more help. The only video I have seen so far that seems promising is Venison Done Right, Butchering 101:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvoH2IlDCB8

any help will be appreciated!

[thomae]

I just jumped in and did mine. I probably watched the same youtube videos you did.
I think I have butchered three deer so far. basically, a sharp knife and patience and a good workspace is all you need. What I do is pull apart each "muscle group, and cut the silvery membrane and fat (not a lot of fat on a deer) off and then weigh it, put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. Some I cut up into steaks, some I use as general purpose stew meat, and if I want sausage, I mix it with some beef and pork (gotta have some fat in sausage) and seasonings and put in casings. It takes a while, but I like the satisfaction of doing it myself, and not paying someone over a dollar a pound just to process and package it.

The hardest part is picking the hair off the meat if you are not careful when you skin it.

But, It does taste better when you've done it yourself.

Make sure your knife/knives are as sharp as possible. It is a lot safer, and it makes the job go a lot faster.

Lots of luck.

[12fv 308]

I watched this guy on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzYGBNDc_xU he also sells the whole video. I come from a long line of butchers and his step by step is very good.

[darkker]

Unless you want to know "What cut is where", don't watch videos....
Here is how butchering works:
1) Does it look like something you wanna eat? - Then keep it.
2) Does it look like something you can't quickly define, or DON'T wanna eat? - Toss it out.

Meat looks like meat, Fat looks like fat. Other things that may or may not be nasty tasting, looks like some wild stuff.

[rjtfroggy]

I belteve you can find what you want here http://www.lemproducts.com/category/books_videos

As far as the hair residue a small propane torch and a bucket of water and a rag are your friends.Besides a good knife or two you will also need a meat saw or a hack saw, it is easier to work with small sections 1/4s than the whole carcass.

[Nandy]

Thanks guys! I end up last week pulling the trigger on the Venison Done Right, Butchering 101 video which I found for $13. It is not bad, he goes a little fast but since I have done one already it was not too hard to follow. My biggest problem is working on the hind quarters and separating them right. I also spent a lot of time cleaning the meat. Seems I "over did it" by looking at other videos including the one that I bought. I shot a doe yesterday so I am going to be trying this again next week. The family complains that I did not make enough jerky so I am pretty much doing both hams into jerky. Still have 2 tags to fill with the next deer going to donation and the last tag (if I get lucky, season ends 1/1/13) will be my third deer in the freezer. I shared the first 2 with my friend so I have about one complete deer worth of meat in the freezer.

12fv 308, I seen that video and it was what I used to work on the one I butcher. I wished they would have use better quality on the youtube.

Thanks again!