Processing your deer?

[coonriver]

Who does there own deer meat? we have 6 deer in the freezer now and going to be grinding and stuffing meat soon.We do around 100 pounds of burger every year along with deer bacon summer sausage etc.we are doing venison hotdogs and polish sausage along with burger this year.I use Curleys Sausage Kitchen seasonings from here in Iowa,we mix beff tallow we get free from the meat counter at the grocery store and pork in with the deer meat.I have 40 pounds of pork belly coming for curing and smoking homemade bacon,65 pounds of boneless pork butts and 60 pounds of 72% lean pork trim to mix in.

 

[CurtisWalker]

Who does there own deer meat? we have 6 deer in the freezer now and going to be grinding and stuffing meat soon.We do around 100 pounds of burger every year along with deer bacon summer sausage etc.we are doing venison hotdogs and polish sausage along with burger this year.I use Curleys Sausage Kitchen seasonings from here in Iowa,we mix beff tallow we get free from the meat counter at the grocery store and pork in with the deer meat.I have 40 pounds of pork belly coming for curing and smoking homemade bacon,65 pounds of boneless pork butts and 60 pounds of 72% lean pork trim to mix in.

We do our own.. ground Bacon and pork fat into our last batch of hamburger.. use high mountain seasoning for jerky and deer sticks

 

[JNRBRONC]

I just cut out the loins and throw the rest in the ditch.

But seriously, I don't like to buy pork/fat to add to a lean protein source. I've kind of soured on paying the price to have "specialty" meats made at the local locker, so I might look into getting the equipment to make processing easier. I have meat grinders, but no sausage attachments.

Last year I bought some "hot Italian sausage" spice mix from the local HyVee meat counter. That turned out pretty decent and I didn't have to put it in casings.

use high mountain seasoning for jerky and deer sticks

I got a Hi Mountain variety pack and also their Inferno kit for Christmas. I went out bow hunting tonight for some jerky meat. I saw deer but they were out of range, maybe tomorrow.

 

[Hardwood11]

Friend of mine is like a butcher, so we cut them up. We take 20-40 lbs in every year to the locker for sausage and sticks. We try to time it away from gun season so that we font get someone else's meat.

 

[LYON]

We do our own. Don't shoot a lot of deer every year so it doesn't end up being too much. We used to grind almost all of it and mix it nearly 50/50 with ground pork. Last year I kept the back straps and rump roasts and pretty much made jerky out of everything else. The hi mountain seasoning is some good stuff! Did the jerky last year in a dehydrator and it turned out great. I just got a sweet smoker for Christmas so I will be making a round of jerky with that and see how it turns out.

 

[JNRBRONC]

The hi mountain seasoning is some good stuff! Did the jerky last year in a dehydrator and it turned out great. I just got a sweet smoker for Christmas so I will be making a round of jerky with that and see how it turns out.

I've been using the Hi Mountain cure and then hanging the strips in my Brinkman Smoker. I use wood toothpicks to hang it. I have an electric element with a wood pan on it. I alternate between hickory and apple wood, since I have plenty of both available.

 

[LYON]

I've been using the Hi Mountain cure and then hanging the strips in my Brinkman Smoker. I use wood toothpicks to hang it. I have an electric element with a wood pan on it. I alternate between hickory and apple wood, since I have plenty of both available.

Do you follow the hi mountain "smoker" instructions or have you found a better temp and duration? It seemed like their direction for the smoker was a little higher heat and shorter duration than I would have guessed. I know the dehydrator was at like 150° for 6 hours or so for 1/4" whole muscle strips.

 

[FinBonZ]

LEM's "Trail Bologna" mixture is worth a try. Use about 2 pounds of pork with 8 pounds of deer. The mix has some crushed red peppers in it but I add some more for more kick. I also add dried jalapenos and high melt cheddar cheese (many meat markets have it for sale if you ask.) Stuff it, smoke it on low heat for two hours, finish is off in the oven, and then it goes into ice water to cool it quickly.

 

[JNRBRONC]

Do you follow the hi mountain "smoker" instructions or have you found a better temp and duration? It seemed like their direction for the smoker was a little higher heat and shorter duration than I would have guessed. I know the dehydrator was at like 150° for 6 hours or so for 1/4" whole muscle strips.

With my electric element, there is no control of temp. For jerky, I usually figure ~2 hours, depending on outdoor temp, without water in the pan (actually take the water pan out for jerky).

I've got a great brine recipe I've been using for salmon (Lake Michigan fishing trip last summer). I target 4 hours with water in the pan for that.

 

[muzzleloader128]

I do all my own processing.usually about 7-8 deer a year,jerky ground and whole muscle,along with sausage,sticks and breakfast sasauge,and I usually smoke the loins