snake123

I've always butchered my own deer with the exception of 1 that was taken in really warm weather. When I gotmy deer back 3 months later i was very unsatified with the quality and the amount of deer I got back. It's not hard butchering your own deer and its definitely not as messy as your friend told you. As with anything that is killed there is always going to be blood, but thats where hanging and rinsing your deer ocmes into play. I always rinse the inside of my out after it's hung and again once its skinned to get off any excess hair that may have stuck while skinning. This also elimates most of the blood. As far as a "gooey mess", the only thing thats even close to this is your exit and extrnace hole where the blood clotted.

Anthony T.

I have always thought be was'nt wise to rinse the deer out, especially in hot weather. When you cool it off and let it heat back up, you've ruined it. You should only have a little blood in the cavity when youre done field dressing if you didnt gutshoot it. Just let the deer cool on it's own and if it's warmer weather, pack it out and rinse it off, then fridge it. Water will ruin a deer if it warms back up any afterthe watercools it.

MOTOWNHONKEY

To each his own but water causes bacteria growth. If you take the time when field dressing you can get the cavity completely cleared. When you hang it it will dry out the cavity. I then skin it and as I cut it up the meat goes directly to packaging. It's just the way I roll.

rankbull

Well sence we are on the subject I have a question. I have butchered two deer and am going to do all my own this year. Does anyone have a good way of removing the clear “goo/slime” from the meat?

atlasman

Yea.............I would worry about it if I was giving the deer off to someone else and had no idea what they were doing with it after that, or how long it may sit in who knows what kind of conditions.

We have always rinsed our deer..........in my experience leftover coagulated blood causes problems.........water doesn't. As far as bacteria is concerned I try to keep the deer as cool as possible until I butcher them.........this frequently means bags of ice in the cavity which yes.......melt and make it wet. The fear of bacterial contamination would only enter my mind if temperature control was lost. If anyone thinks their butchering shed or garage is a sterile environment they are mistaken.

Staph. Aureus is your major "food pathogen" to worry about and it is easily killed by heat..........it's toxin however is heat stable and won't be killed by cooking. That toxin however, is only present when staph population reaches over 100,000/gram............since staph aureus can only grow from 15 degrees C (59F) to 45C (113F) I don't worry about it.......as the likelihood of staph aureus colonization occuring is clearly minimal with proper precautions.

Your only other concern would be e coli...........a gram negative rod that is normal flora in your intestines and can be found on/in many animals and humans alike. Heat kills this bacteria easily. The only concern is when it gets mixed deep into thick ground products (burgers, meat loaf) and may not get enough heat to be killed. Normal sanitary procedures in your butchering area will make this a non issue.

Neither one will kill you anyways unless you are immunocompromised.


Keep your equipment clean.......especially your hands and your grinder. (use bleach where you can).

Try not to cut yourself.........mixing your blood with the blood of a wild animal is NEVER a good idea.

drstalker

I rinse my deer cavity all the time and seldome if ever have worried about bacteria growth,matter of fact I have at times rinsed with cold creek water nearby,I nor my family have ever got sick from my deer either.Atlasman geat writing and agreed 100 percent.Also hard freezing meat can kill much of the bacterium too.

TradTech

I cut meat for nearly 25 years of my younger life. I've processed all of my venison. It's not difficult at all. I've seen snipits of the video you're speaking of. Good information for anyone who's never processed their own.

The best way to minimize hair on the meat while skinning is to skin with the head down while hanging. After boning each round, backstraps, shoulders, and neck take a damp hand towel and wipe it down before further processing.

It's not messy at all to process the animal. You'll appreciate the fact that you'll package exactly what "you" want vs what the processor will do for a price.

Have fun!

atlasman

I bounce back and forth between this and a torch..........both work very well but the damp rag is easier most of the time. Some minimal care while skinning goes a long way too.