How to bone-out a deer tutorial with pictures

[Alchase]

That was quick!

Even better thanks Ray

[bow4elk]

Axle,

I've been wanting to do this for years!  Now I don't have to  .  Well done!

I'm a big pillow case fan as well and have been using them as game bags for many years.  cheap, washable, disposable, and if you buy new king size cases on clearance (Kohl's, Target, etc) they are strong and great for larger game like elk. I follow this identical process on all my game animals and it works perfectly.  Why people insist on getting into the guts or packing all those heavy bones out is beyond me!

Most of the time I do cut up my hinds into steaks, but I leave my backstraps in roast-size chucks.  My favorite cooking method is a dry rub or marinade, then jam in a meat thermometer and BBQ on indirect heat until it reaches 150 degrees, then I pull it off and let it finish to about 155 degrees on a platter before slicing into 3/4-1" thick steaks.  Juicy, tender and worth fighting over at my house.

[hoytem]

simply amazing! i hunt with meat cutters and am not sure their method is that neat. we always gut, then bone. it takes me atleast an hour to bone, it takes them about 15 minutes.

[Alchase]

I use to use the old fitted bed queen sized bed sheets as game bags. If you cut out a piece were the elastic is you can use the elastic to pull closed the sheet (like a tall kitchen garbage bag) and tie it off on the antler.
Just throw them in the wash and re-use.

[Savage3006]

Great info on processing. I bought this DVD set a few years ago and I learned a lot from it. Larry Metz Deer Processing I and II. Worth the money IMHO.

http://www.onestopjerkyshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=259

[Galpster]

Great write up Axle. I would be interested in trying this with my bear if I ever get one. Would you be interested in being on hand for expert advise?

[NW-Eric]

ive seen axel in work, the only reason it took an hour and 4 minutes is cause he was taking pics alog the way, i watched him bone out his boys deer in less than 25 minutes... but he has had a little practice

[eastside boy]

Good info....thanks.

[KillerMiller]

Thanks!

[flyguide]

Great job, thanks for posting.  This would have done me a lot of good 10 years ago!  A LOT of newer hunters will benefit greatly from this.  I especially liked seeing you pull the hind roasts off in one chunk.  I have never been very good at that, but am rejuvinated now.

[sa]

Great post...Thanks for sharing!

[Mike_D]

Axle,

Great article and well done.  I've never done this (only the old fashioned way) so I've got some questions. I figured you could use some.

1.) Near the end you were looking at knee to hip, did you lop off the lower leg?  Also I presume if this was a buck with tarseles you remove those or lop off the lower leg?

2.)When cutting around the hip (after getting through the ball and socket) I presume you cut on an angle toward the inside of thigh? (if you continue cutting straight down you end up in the yucky stuff)

3.) when removing the rear leg, you still need to cut around the anal canal right?

4.) when you removed the backstraps and neck, (at the neck part) you remove the entire all the way down to the windpipe?  (since this meat is round, does it matter where you cut in half on the bottom side?

5.) when working on the front leg, I always thought there was some shoulder meat that was pretty good.  Is it not enough to worry about (too small) on deer?

6.) Whats the best way to remove the most rib meat?

Asking alot of questions here and probably more to come, I'm still chasing whitetails for late season, and I can no longer afford to take this stuff to butchers.

md

[Axle]

Great article and well done.  I've never done this (only the old fashioned way) so I've got some questions. I figured you could use some.

1.) Near the end you were looking at knee to hip, did you lop off the lower leg?  Also I presume if this was a buck with tarseles you remove those or lop off the lower leg?

I hope I can answer all the questions as needed.
The whole leg bone stays intact. I skin it as far down as needed and that is it. I try to avoid glands as much as possible. This method keeps you from cutting into the bladder too. Urine and other stuff from the digestive system can spoil meat when it touches. I don't 'lop' off anything. It is all knife work. I use no saw or axe.

Near the end you were looking at knee to hip

It was knee to socket. When you cut along this line, you will be amazed at how easy it is to get all the meat off the leg (except the hock) and it is totally intact. Makes it easy to bag and identify later. A butcher will know exactly what he or she has when getting something like this. The rest on the leg is just burger meat. If you can't tell the difference between roasts, don't worry. Just cut it as you see fit.

2.)When cutting around the hip (after getting through the ball and socket) I presume you cut on an angle toward the inside of thigh? (if you continue cutting straight down you end up in the yucky stuff)

I make the hip cut first (this is on the outside near the backstrap). The inside is a little tricky with the innards being close. I'm careful due to bladder and intestines and it may take someone a time or two to get this perfectly right, but once you do, you will love it! Once you are through the joint, it is all meat and not much to risk for innards getting in the way. My son got it a bit wrong his first attempt but his second time he did it just right.

3.) when removing the rear leg, you still need to cut around the anal canal right?

You don't cut around it. You will stay away from it by staying to one side or the other depending on which leg you are cutting. It really is easy to stay clear of this. slit the hide up to the anal canal and then you will be able to stay stay on one side or the other.

4.) when you removed the backstraps and neck, (at the neck part) you remove the entire all the way down to the windpipe?  (since this meat is round, does it matter where you cut in half on the bottom side?

Since I use all the neck meat as burger, I don't get pretty on cutting it up. There is enough steak and roast in the back and rear legs that I don't bother with cutting it perfect in the neck area. Anyway you want to cut it is fine. The cuts are easy except on a rutting animal. Then they get tough due to active behavior but they make fine burger. I try to leave it all attached to make it easy to transfer to the cutting table but it can get hacked up at times.

5.) when working on the front leg, I always thought there was some shoulder meat that was pretty good.  Is it not enough to worry about (too small) on deer?

I think when you say 'shoulder' and 'front leg' you are talking about the same thing. If so, the shoulder meat is great. It's just that I like lots of burger and use it as such. I used to cut the shoulder into roasts but ended up pulling lots of roasts out to make more burger. If you cut it into burger, then it doesn't matter how you get it off the bone. There is plenty of meat there, it's just a bit more work to get off. If you are talking about the brisket - this is a great cut which I didn't mention before. Brisket can be used in good ways but I usually burger it too. Especially on a small animal but on a big elk, it makes a great roast. As you can see from the final picture, nothing went to waste. I didn't eat the liver but I did give it to a neighbor.

6.) Whats the best way to remove the most rib meat?

I fillet the meat off the outside of the ribs first. Then I cut the meat from in between the ribs individually. Takes a bit of time but you will get plenty to make it worth while. Run the knife along one side of the inside of the rib (next to the bone) and then hold on to the meat and cut up the other direction. There is a trick to this too - make a slit on one side (next to the rib), then go a couple inches away and make a slit on the opposite side (but still between the same ribs). This will give a better starting point for the other side once it is cut off with the first cut (otherwise it is hard to get a grip on it due to it being a small flimsy piece of meat). This also goes into the burger pile. Older animals will usually have more fat layered in between the meat on the outside of the ribs and some folks may not want all that fat.

I hope this works and you get an animal to practice on. The more you utilize this method, the more you will impress your hunting partners.

One problem some hunters face now is that there aren't many butchers out there to go to. That is one reason it is a good idea to have a grinder at home. You can get some fat from your local grocery store to mix in the burger. I usually add 10 to 15 percent beef fat on the burger that I grind for grilling purposes. I save some for use in spaghetti, Mexican food, etc. with no fat added. You only need fat if you plan on grilling it and I grille a lot. If you pan fry it, you won't need the extra fat added.

[Axle]

One of my goals in this was to help hunters not only with time, but to help them learn to get the best meat possible. Especially for helping young and new hunters.

Many of us didn't have this when we started hunting and many have had meat go bad for different reasons which could've been avoided. I hope I've shown that this method is not only simple and easy, but it will save you a lot of time. There are videos on the market if you really want to get fancy with cuts of meat.

My goal would also be to see this taught in hunters ed. If anyone wants this in a word doc, just send me your email address and I will send it directly to you. You can save it, add pictures, change it to make it suit you, or however you like to use it. Just as long as it gets used to help hunters - I will be happy!

[washelkhntr]

Awesome write up and pics. Thank you.