Deer Rib Meat

[ne kid]

Cut as much out of them for the grinder then put the ribcages in the field drive a t post through them usually good for a songdog or two.

[the1rod]

I'm right there with most the others,  the deer I take out whole I take every scrap I can.  If packing out,  I leave a few extra scraps.  This year my buck was real fat and meaty,  so I took all the flank meat and meat covering the ribs, but did not take the meat between the ribs. I felt a little guilty about it but I knew it would get put to use by scavengers. Also I am really glad to see this thread go the way it has.  So many other threads have rude and unnecessary bashing,  but threads like this one are exactly why I came back to hunt WA.  Keep up the support everyone!  Make hunt-wa great again!

[Stein]

There is a cool way to peel the meat off and between the ribs in one sheet.  It's hard to explain, but pretty easy to do and I'm sure there are a ton of Youtubes.  Basically you cut to the side of a rib, then over the top, then the side of the next.... until you get to the other end and have a single piece of rib meat and leave clean ribs behind.

[Piscatory_5]

Always save the ribs and deep fry them. Never deboned ribs, cut them off half length then again at the backbone. Marinate and BBQ or season and deep fry fast. They come it ok.

[the1rod]

Is there an easy way to remove the ribcage from the spine other than sawing all the ribs off?

[smdave]

There is a cool way to peel the meat off and between the ribs in one sheet.  It's hard to explain, but pretty easy to do and I'm sure there are a ton of Youtubes.  Basically you cut to the side of a rib, then over the top, then the side of the next.... until you get to the other end and have a single piece of rib meat and leave clean ribs behind.

We call it a Rib Roll, you end up with a sheet of rib meat.

[Okanagan]

Is there an easy way to remove the ribcage from the spine other than sawing all the ribs off?

Where the end of each rib attaches to the spine, there is a thin layer of cartilage that a knife tip will slip into and cut.  I'd not say it is easy, for me anyway, but with practice I think it would become pretty quick and easy. The whole side of ribs comes off in one piece.

 I've only cut up a few deer that way, in order to get tomahawk cuts.  With the outer strap of meat still on the carcass and still attached to the ribs, it has worked best to do it with a hanging deer and with two people.  One person pulls the side of ribs out while the other cuts each rib off from the inside of the rib cage.  The trick is to find the cartilage seam.  Good light helps and it is easy once you find that spot on each rib with the tip of a  blade.

The ribs could be cut off this way with or without the outer strap still attached. With the steak meat of the outer strap out of the way, you can cut the cartilage attachment point on each rib from outside. 

[Humptulips]

Yea, it absolutely is wastage.
Barbecued ribs are my favorite part of the deer and I now save the elk ribs for the barbecue. Call them Fred Flintstone ribs.
I don't know if some don't know how to take care of them or what but if you are going to throw them away you might as well leave the tenderloin.
Cut correctly on a not shot up deer there are at least 8 servings.

[Okanagan]

Once again, we encounter the problem when we try to make one answer fit all reality.  I have cut up skinny deer with the only red meat on the ribs the thickness of a sheet of paper.  One such sheet was between the ribs and the other was outside.  Go for it if you want to, but I'll not call it waste if another hunter chooses not to retrieve the red colored layer of natural cellophane

On the other hand I killed an old mule deer doe that had thick layers of red meat outside the ribs and a layer of red meat between her ribs ˝ inch thick.  It would be a significant waste not to take the rib meat from such a deer.

 Most deer fall somewhere between those two examples, and I don't decide whether to take rib meat before I start cutting. I also have seen ”boned out” carcases that had a lot of meat left on them, some of them with plenty of rib meat.  That's a different topic than never or always salvaging rib meat, even when there is no meat to salvage.

 If we have not encountered a deer with no meat on the ribs, nor one with quite thick red meat, that does not mean that such animals do not exist.

[Humptulips]

Young deer are the best but any deer with an absence of fat is better then a fat one. No fat you can leave all the side meat on and make thick ribs. Simplifies the cooking too.
Fat deer you have to trim more of the side meat away and try and get the worst of the tallow off then simmer them in water to cook off the fat before you turn them into a delicacy.
Seen a lot of deer go down both big and small. Never seen this skinny deer like mentioned.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Leave the ribs? No way. These were the hit of the party up in Alaska one winter.  Soaked in Yoshida's overnight then slow cooked all day.  Oh yah, we keep the hearts and livers too.  These are all from a big group hunt. 5 deer limit.  Oh and if you leave the ribs in the woods up in Alaska, if you are caught, you will get a wanton waste ticket.

Yeah, hit of the party.  Ive been to parts of alaska where fermented whale fat is a delicacy.  Muktuk.  No joke.  They eat rotten whale fat in alaska.  So saying people love it in alaska isnt saying much.

Also, the first pic looks like theyre soaking in about 5 gallons of HFCS.  That will make anything edible to a majority of americans with how screwed up their taste buds are from that crap.  Soak a coyotes butthole in a teriyaki bath for a few days and the fast food scarfing junk food junkies will love it.  Hell, ever been to a diner in new england?  People think scrapple is great.  If youre not familiar, scrapple is basically all the foul garbage they put in the cheapest hot dogs, but instead of grinding it to an unidentifiable paste, its left in large, almost identifiable chunks, and fried in lard.   

Funny..... No muktuk here. No stinky flipper or stink eggs either.

But maybe some King Crab, corned moose brisket,  home made lox, Swedish moose meatballs,  blueberry gravlax, pickled salmon, the list goes on and on.  Yah we have it bad up there having to stoop to eating deer ribs. lol  You must visit the wrong villages.

[NOCK NOCK]

There is a cool way to peel the meat off and between the ribs in one sheet.  It's hard to explain, but pretty easy to do and I'm sure there are a ton of Youtubes.  Basically you cut to the side of a rib, then over the top, then the side of the next.... until you get to the other end and have a single piece of rib meat and leave clean ribs behind.

and that my friends is where the McRib comes from...…………….  

[Karl Blanchard]

I'll bone out between the ribs and toss them in the grind, unless they are real fatty or blood shot, etc. Deer fat is a very undesirable taste and texture to me. I consider myself pretty handy in the kitchen and I've gone way down the rabbit hole on cooking ribs and it's just not my thing. I've tried every trick in the book to rid them of the tallow but nothing gets them to a level of my liking. I've never noticed off taste in my burger though. Even on a small deer you are looking at about a package of burger worth of trim.   Like others have stated, I don't judge people that don't bone out the ribs. 

Que the comment from someone telling me I can't cook and I'm doing it wrong

[Bango skank]

There is a cool way to peel the meat off and between the ribs in one sheet.  It's hard to explain, but pretty easy to do and I'm sure there are a ton of Youtubes.  Basically you cut to the side of a rib, then over the top, then the side of the next.... until you get to the other end and have a single piece of rib meat and leave clean ribs behind.

and that my friends is where the McRib comes from...…………….

Im sure youre joking, but nope.  "Primarily pork shoulder"  makes me wonder what the rest may be.  Either way, ive never had one and never will.

[bearpaw]

I was taught to use as much as you can and almost always save the rib meat for burger. I also try to trim away as much excess fat as possible before grinding!