Deer processing

[Powerhouse]

We grind most of ours,and the actual grinding is what takes the most time. Once we move up to a bigger grinder it will go much faster.

Doing it by myself usually takes about 3 hours, if my wife helps that knocks @ 45 minutes off that.

 

[jeep78]

Since I bought my smoker, all I do these days is hams, shoulders, and backstraps. There is some meat I am missing, but not much.

This is easy to do with a rope, a climber, a couple good knives and a saw. Takes about 20 minutes per deer (including the skinning).

I bought one of the old timey hand grinders/choppers about 25 years ago, and probably ran 30 or more deer through it. Even when boning the whole deer out, I wasn't getting much more meat than I get now and that hand grinder gets to be work after the second deer of the afternoon.

Get someone to show you how to butcher a deer, and you will have a useful skill for the rest of your life. You may still want to use a processor on occasion, but when you have the time, you save a lot of money when you DIY.