..................curmudgeon? I know lots of folks cut up their own game animals, although, in my area at least it is far more common to pay to have deer processed. I am a real sticker for saving the edible parts of game of any sort, so waste ticks me off.....big time. I had a relative deliver some deer carcasses last week so I could put them out to feed the eagles. I was floored when the tailgate dropped and the first carcass pulled out was still sporting all of it's neck meat. I said something to the guy to the effect that he had wasted a bunch of good meat. He didn't have much to say. He is not very experienced at butchering deer, having only done 3-4 before this season. I walked him through the very first one several years ago. Also on the carcasses (3 deer) was all of the rib meat and a good bit of meat on the poorly trimmed quarters. The worse part of the deal was the fact that 6 of the tenderloins were still intact!!! The meat was not salvageable because the deer had been butchered too long ago. I consider what this guy and his knucklehead buddies did as nearly criminal. Michigan, unfortunately, has no wanton waste laws. If someone was hunting out of my camp, or as a guest on my property, tossed that much edible meat I would never invite them back. Period. They shot the deer, so I guess it is their choice, but it sure does rub me wrong. Any opinions out there today?
imo it is wrong to waste meat. i personally think we have to many laws now and it should not be illegal. deer need killing or they over populate. plenty of places will take and use donated game meat. your buddy sounds lazy to me.
I have often wondered about this. I like to get as much meat as possible but rarely get much neck meat, and never any rib meat, I have tried the ribs but seems like it was so dry after letting the skinned carcass hang for a day or two that there was nothing there. How much meat do you get from a mature deer? I had a buck field dressed weighed 170 last week. After butchering I had 37 lbs of meat. I trim it as I doing it so (there’s no scrap in it) that when it’s thawed out it doesn’t have to be trimmed and can be processed right away.
I have often wondered about this. I like to get as much meat as possible but rarely get much neck meat, and never any rib meat, I have tried the ribs but seems like it was so dry after letting the skinned carcass hang for a day or two that there was nothing there. How much meat do you get from a mature deer? I had a buck field dressed weighed 170 last week. After butchering I had 37 lbs of meat. I trim it as I doing it so (there’s no scrap in it) that when it’s thawed out it doesn’t have to be trimmed and can be processed right away.
Somethings not adding up there. You should have more meat.
I don't eat organ meat and I'm not going to remove the meat from the ribs on a deer. But when I butcher there's slim pickins when It comes what's left on that carcass.
That very well might be true, catch 22. I’m wondering how much others get. I “do it the way we’ve always done it”. But am always open to learning better ways.
Nodak63, if you had a deer that dressed out at 170 lbs, and you only saved 37 lbs of meat, you didn't save a very large chunk of the edible portion of that buck. I understand a lot of folks don't do rib meat, but even that would have accounted for less than 15 lbs or so. Did you save any of the neck or shanks? I personally trim all the meat from between the ribs, all 4 shanks and neck. I have weighed nearly every deer I and my All Purpose Boy have shot, many even before and after dressing if they were shot near the house. I can guess real close how much meat I will end up with be simply knowing the dressed-out weight. You will get nearly half the dressed weight in pure red meat....at least within 4-5 lbs one way or the other. This tally has been tested on scores of Michigan deer.
P.S. That weight doesn't include the heart or liver.
My mother was one to cook ribs with BBQ sauce. I liked them, but if you ate them cooled off, the tallow would stick to the roof of your mouth. I can see where crock-potting them first could cure that problem. May have to test it some time.
My roe bucks here only weigh 35 kilos, guts feathers and all, so I get everything I can from them. I love the ribs on the bbq and take all the shanks and neck meat. Only a shot up shoulder might not get a lot of trimming time. I can't imagine leaving tenderloins in a Michigan whitetail.
Fifteen years ago I butchered a Yukon moose on a totally solo hunt and both the pilots congratulated me on the amount of meat I got... and they saw the carcass too.
But I don't like eating organs, so those are for neighbors.
We sometimes cut the head off, and then one more Cut back of neck to make a Nice Roast!!! Rib meat all goes into Scrap for mixing with 1/3 pork for Great Hamburger.
Nodak63, if you had a deer that dressed out at 170 lbs, and you only saved 37 lbs of meat, you didn't save a very large chunk of the edible portion of that buck. I understand a lot of folks don't do rib meat, but even that would have accounted for less than 15 lbs or so. Did you save any of the neck or shanks? I personally trim all the meat from between the ribs, all 4 shanks and neck. I have weighed nearly every deer I and my All Purpose Boy have shot, many even before and after dressing if they were shot near the house. I can guess real close how much meat I will end up with be simply knowing the dressed-out weight. You will get nearly half the dressed weight in pure red meat....at least within 4-5 lbs one way or the other. This tally has been tested on scores of Michigan deer.
P.S. That weight doesn't include the heart or liver.
Looks like I got some more work to do then. I get the whole hind quarters, tenderloins and back straps. Do my best with the front shoulders but seems like after I sort through it and trim out all the tendons/ligaments and fatty tissue I don’t get a while lot, especially if it’s been shot in the shoulder. Never gave much thought to neck meat but I def will going forward. Usually skin up to the neck then cut the head off. Guess I need to do better getting the hide down before cutting the head off. Don’t do organ meat and still don’t think I’ll be doing ribs but I’ll give it a shot.
63, another thing about the front quarters. You for sure can spend a lot of time trimming on them, to get small roast or jerky meat. I don't get to particular about it anymore except for the fat. I either pressure cook or put them in a slow cooker and the meat falls away. Also, are you making burger from the trimmings?
Catch22, all of mine goes for sausage, summer sausage, or sticks and is mixed with pork. So I probably should be less picky about trimming and get after it more on the carcass.
I rough bone out my deer in the field right after shooting, I get most of the meat but don't take every scrap, and I won't apologize for it. Coyotes clean up whats left pretty quick.
If you think thats wasteful, you'd cry when you see what the nuisance shooters here do.
I'm OCD when it comes to butchering - just the way I am and don't apologize for it. My neck meat and trimmings go for summer sausage - the rest goes in the freezer. Like The Beav, I don't eat any organs, but even the bones get sawed up for my dog to chew on. She loves it and it keeps her teeth clean.
I hate to say it but you wouldn't believe the amount of deer I've picked up for bait that about the only thing they took pf it were the back straps and the hind quarters.The rest of the carcass was thrown out.I remember years ago I went to a guys house to pick up the waste from 2 deer he butchered himself.He wasn't home when I got there so I let myself in his garage and there were,basically,2 carcasses hanging there with the hind quarters cut off and the back straps missing,That was it.I figured he wasn't done cutting them up so I left them.A couple of days later I got a phone call from him,he wasn't happy that those deer were still in his garage.I told him I didn't think he was done cutting them up,he said whats still on there wasn't worth cutting up.And he's not alone in that thinking.Thru the years I've ran acrossed many deer in the field with just the hind quarters taken.What a waste.
CWD is a couple counties away and who knows might actually be here by now. This has changed the way I process my deer. Since bones are one thing they don't want moving out of the cwd area and are not allowed to bring into the state I try not to mess with the bones anymore. No more ribs or neck roast. Wont touch one with a saw anymore. Just bone everything out. May not make a bit of difference but I guess it doesn't hurt anything and besides I don't really miss scrapping the tallow off the roof of my mouth after eating deer ribs.
There are few parts of a deer that I enjoy more than a neck roast slow cooked in a crock pot. I do not mess with the meat between the ribs of our small Virginia deer. Not enough there to feed a sick cat. The meat which lies on top of the ribs (flank meat I guess) goes into the jerky sack. Front quarters are cut in two at the shoulder joint and the halves go in the crock pot sack. (This is as good as the neck roast!) Hock meat goes in the jerky shack. Hind quarters are deboned while hanging. Only thing left for the vermin is the innards, and maybe the rib meat left over from the sick cat.
I have often wondered about this. I like to get as much meat as possible but rarely get much neck meat, and never any rib meat, I have tried the ribs but seems like it was so dry after letting the skinned carcass hang for a day or two that there was nothing there. How much meat do you get from a mature deer? I had a buck field dressed weighed 170 last week. After butchering I had 37 lbs of meat. I trim it as I doing it so (there’s no scrap in it) that when it’s thawed out it doesn’t have to be trimmed and can be processed right away.
37 pounds, you've got to be kidding me! I get 45-60 pounds of boned out meat out of our little blacktails, I once got 93 pounds off a huge one. There is no reason to leave rib, neck or any other meat; have you ever heard of burger or stew meat? The most common thing out of state hunters are ticketed for in Alaska is wanton waste of game. You can't believe the number of times the statement is made "back where I come from we never save rib meat", that statement just digs the hole deeper since it shows they never read the game regs. Sorry to rip on you (well not really), but you should know better.
