First Deer Meat Picked Up From Butcher... What do you normally get?

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  • midget

    Master
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    Apr 2, 2010
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    Leo
    Loins,
    Roasts,
    Steaks,
    Hamburger,
    and if there is anything left, some jalapeno cheddar snack sticks
     

    jagee

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    Jan 19, 2013
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    New Palestine
    Typically, I get tenderloins, roasts and round steaks, along with some rolls of summer sausage. That's what I got out of my doe this year, with my buck I'm trying some new things...brats, cheddar jalapeno sausages, and deer bacon. Whatever is left I have ground up in to burger.
     

    Bob2

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    Dec 24, 2010
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    Following for interest, in case I get my first deer this year. I love various flavored snacksticks, but didn't think was a good idea or affordable to only do those lol. I hear the backstraps are the best meat?
     

    Expatriated

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    Apr 22, 2013
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    I only took mine to the butcher once, then realized that was way too much money so now I do it myself. Archer's charged me $100! So, the next year, I spent the $100 on an electric grinder and never looked back.

    But, I get backstops, tenderloins, then grind up the rest for hamburger. I have sometimes taken some roasts, rather than grinding them up. And sometimes I make jerky. And once I grilled out ribs wrapped in tin foil--not bad, but not a ton of meat.
     

    sugarcreekbrass

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    I do my own. We cut the back straps thick for filets, sometimes keep a couple round roasts, cube stew meat, and grind the rest. My wife started canning stew meat last year. If I get a big buck, I just keep the back straps and grind the rest. Sometimes I will take a lot of that meat to the processor and have them make summer sausage for me.
     

    CountryBoy19

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    Nov 10, 2008
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    I do all my own processing, including smoking my own snack sticks and summer sausage.

    I generally keep the tenderloins & backstraps. Our tradition is that tenderloins get cooked fresh after processing a deer. Backstraps packaged in ~3 lb roasts for later hand-cut steaks or roasts. Everything else gets ground. We use a lot of ground meat in our house. I try for ~100 lbs of burger, ~50 lbs summer sausage, ~50lbs snack sticks... But mother nature sometimes restricts that. So far I'm up to 50 lbs for grinding this year. Hoping for a few more deer before firearms season is out, and a few in muzzleloader season.

    ETA, guess I can also hunt late antlerless season... once upon a time that used to be archer only I thought but I never had to worry about it because I grew up in a count that NEVER had a 4 or more antlerless limit. Now that I'm in a place with 8 antlerless quota I guess I have until January 7th to fill my freezers...
     
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    wildcatfan.62

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    Jan 9, 2011
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    South Bend
    This thread is making me hungry. We usually get steaks, chops, polish sausage, brats and hunter sticks (kinda like jerky), with anything left ground some with beef and some with pork.
     

    bstewrat3

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    I process my own and grind the front, thick cut the backstraps, and make steaks and roast from the rear legs. If it's an old deer I will take some meat to Claus's on the near southside of Indy for some hot summer sausage. If you have the time it is worth it to process your own, because the paid processors are not getting you as much meat as you can get yourself. For them it's more about speed than thoroughness.
     

    sugarcreekbrass

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    I process my own and grind the front, thick cut the backstraps, and make steaks and roast from the rear legs. If it's an old deer I will take some meat to Claus's on the near southside of Indy for some hot summer sausage. If you have the time it is worth it to process your own, because the paid processors are not getting you as much meat as you can get yourself. For them it's more about speed than thoroughness.

    I feel it is just the opposite. The processor near me gets out so much more than I get. There is hardly any scraps when they are done. I don’t mess with the ribs, areas I think are questionable, and chunks that have too many tendons. Our grinder can’t handle all that the big commercial grades can take. I do my own because I enjoy doing it and know exactly what I’m getting.
     

    kennedy759

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    May 15, 2014
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    as a processor, we cut it into 3 sections, the front, the ribs and the rear, out of the front you can get shoulder roasts, chuck roasts, stew meat and grinds, if you grind the neck, take out the chuck eyes and add them to the back strap. out of the ribs you get the back straps and they can be cut into steaks or chunked up into roasts and tenderloins. Out of the rear you can get sirloin steaks, sirloin tip roast or steaks, then a rump roast and round steaks. also you can get jerky out of the rounds. If its a tough old buck, get the tenders and backstraps and grind the rest. or you can take the rumps and cut off the shanks and leave the leg bone in and smoke it like a ham. On the grinds, we add breakfast sausage seasoning, or beef fat, or bacon or a pork butt.
     

    dnurk

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    Jun 20, 2012
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    Cut my own as well....been doing it for quite some time.

    Neck roast...criminally underrated. We cross cut it into one or two roasts depending on size of the deer. Quick sear in butter to brown it off and then into a crockpot. Ridiculously tender and flavorful.

    If if it’s a small to medium sized deer we smoke the front shoulder whole. Smoke over cherry or applewood for a few hours and then foil with a bit of apple cider vinegar. Super good fall apart meat that is very similar to lean pulled pork but with more flavor.

    We do traditional roasts, jerky, stew meat as well but venison is so much more versatile.
     

    spainy79

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    I'm learning a lot here. Thanks for the contributions folks! :ingo:

    So am I. My usual are steaks, butterfly the loins, burger and roast. Usually place an order for 4 rolls of sausage. My processor does not make the sausage until mid December. I make my own jerky. I'm going to have to start getting stew meat from mine though.
     

    bocefus78

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    Cut my own as well....been doing it for quite some time.


    If if it’s a small to medium sized deer we smoke the front shoulder whole. Super good fall apart meat that is very similar to lean pulled pork but with more flavor.

    We do traditional roasts, jerky, stew meat as well but venison is so much more versatile.

    Smoking the fronts whole is a little known secret it seems. You get ALL the meat from it, and you save time by not having to debone it. Everyone I tell about it or make eat it, swears they will never do a front quarter any other way.
     

    AtTheMurph

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    Jan 18, 2013
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    Rule #1 is have a cool place to hang that thing for a good long while. I usually let it hang for 2-3 weeks depending on the size, but I have a cooler to do it. If you don't maybe the processor will hang for you but I have only been able to get them to hang for 1 week. Not nearly enough.

    Once aged, I do chops (double cut), steaks, roasts and hamburger as well as brats, italians and hungarian summer sausage. I take the tender loins out after I gut them. They dry out too easily otherwise.
     
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