On the eve of the buck rifle season here In the 4c region of PA , I sit here pondering all the wonderful foods that we can make from of venison. I saw on one statistical sheet that states on average Pennsylvania has the leading number of Licensed resident Rifle hunters in the entire nation! It has the 4th highest deer kill in the nation. With many hunters harvesting multiple deer what do we want to plan to do with all that meat? When we butcher a deer there is a basic average that can be figured to know just how much meat we can use off every animal. A Mature Buck weighing 180 lbs. would equal 72lbs of meat 108 lbs. of waste or 40% of the deer is what ends up in our freezer. Now while these are rough numbers it gets it close. So what are we doing with that 40%? On average most hunters will stay with the basics. Steaks roasts chops, and ground meat. Still others go strait for the sausages , fresh and smoked being the mainstay. But for a limited few , mostly those that butcher at home , well the buck doesnt stop there! Jerky , pastrami, bolognas, smoked deer hams , multitudes of sausages and even deer bacons!!! The limits of uses for those wonderful whitetails is only as limited as your taste buds! Now here is the thing , butcher shops while doing a fantastic job , often can get pricy when you start asking for all the goodies. So why not learn to do the butchering yourself? It really doesnt take much for the beginner. While a meat saw is great most butchering can be done with some simple tools and a little research. You could get away with 2 good knives, a fillet, and a chefs knife honed razor sharp, a hand saw , and a grinder.( hand or power) . Many retail stores now carry entry level electric grinders at a cheap price. No another item I suggest , you most likely own since your reading this, lol. The computer! Every detail of home butchering can be researched with it . from the cuts to make, to the spices and casings suggested for each product we want to make. even the suppliers of these products often have helpful hints and recipes to make with their products. I suggest you start small if you have any doubts. Make some of your own sausages and jerky, Just ask your butcher to set aside some nice chunks of meat or cut them yourself being sure to get some lean portions from the hind quarters to do your first batch. The as your abilitys and confidence grow so will the variations to what you make. For myself I already have a hind quarter for pastrami made up, some jerky, and experimented with some bologna varieties . Should I get lucky on a buck , it will be time for sausages, fresh , smoked, pepper and onion, and thinking of trying feta and spinach but still looking at a couple of ideas! Looking for the Taste of the wild you can create yourself? Give home butchering a try and let your imagination run wild!!
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:37:53 +0000