Field to Fork Process
While many of us know how to process our own harvests and optimize cuts of meat for flavor and tenderness as described in my book, “Changing The Game,” there is a significant portion of the hunting population who do not or have never tried doing their own game butchering for a number of reasons. These could range from “it’s not for me,” to I always wanted to try but, wouldn’t know where to begin.” This article is written for those who want to gain an understanding of where to begin butchering their own game.
“Changing The Game” is actually two books in one. It is both a cookbook with fabulous recipes (just sayin’) and a resource that covers in detail, how to butcher various types of game, where I share my 30-plus years of experience and compiled knowledge on how to butcher to achieve tender cuts of meat and bring out the meat’s beautiful flavors while eliminating any underlying gamey tastes that may be present. These learnings are my “7 keys to the game” that I compile and detail in chapters 2 and 3 of “Changing The Game.” And… “Changing The Game” is the only resource I could find that identifies and consolidates these key factors into one easy and fun-to-read resource. So, I begin chapter 2 “Identifying The Keys to the Game: Unlocking Your Meat’s Flavor and Tenderness” with a deeper discussion of developing your “gameplan” and pointing readers in the right direction in regard to how and where to begin and, provoking thought as to what tools you are going to need? Please ”bear” in mind, I’ve also shared techniques and reasoning that I have found to simplify the processing of game while optimizing the return on investment of doing so in these chapters. Once one becomes proficient in butchering large and medium game and optimizing their harvests, that individual can expect to be knocking out a deer in less than four hours, and that includes packaging, labeling, and cleanup of the work areas.
Most of you who are doing your own game processing will likely be doing it or some stage of it at home. So, prior to taking on such a gratifying and cost-effective endeavor, you may want to ask yourself “how is this going to go over with the other family members?” Yep. that reminder is in “Changing The Game” (a few times) and it’s just another sharing of one of my personal experiences so you can avoid such an awkward pitfall. It should be the first question you explore… with the rest of your family.
As for coming up with a game plan on how you’re going to get started and do this, let’s visualize you just harvested a whitetail and are dropping it off at the butcher. Have you ever observed what they do with it? If you’re thinking “hang it in the freezer for a few days,” bypass that notion. “Aging” a deer is not necessary if you follow my advice in “Changing The Game” and I’ll explain why and the science behind it that will ensure you achieve tender cuts of meat in an upcoming post or, you can read “Changing The Game” for that discussion. I have consistently employed my “7 keys to the game” and cannot recall having a tough piece of venison that I butchered since around 1993. Not kidding. It left a bad impression. But, I also learned from it. So, don’t let the fact that you don’t have access to a walk-in freezer or you have to wait until outdoor temperatures are in the high 30s to butcher a deer, deter you.
So, with impressions you’ve gotten from your local butcher shops, you may have noticed some of them have separate work areas for breaking down the carcass versus making final cuts and packaging the meat. Well, I delineate these further in “Changing The Game” using my many years of experience and have determined you should give thought to having at least two distinct work areas. One would be considered the “dirty side” where you debone the harvest into what I refer to as “rough cuts” and the other would be a “clean room” where what I refer to as “final cuts” and packaging are completed. “Changing The Game” also prompts readers to think about the proximity of these locations in relation to one another and the off-loading of the carcass from your vehicle or your friends’ vehicles. You may have noticed I used plurality in that last sentence in reference to your friends. Because once you begin butchering like me and as described in “Changing The Game” and your friends taste your venison, all of them will be bringing over their harvests for you to process. Hey, take the compliment for what it is and realize this could be the beginning of some new bartering-type relationships for you. For example, remind them to bring over some beer for you when they drop off their deer. So, when deciding if you want to butcher your own harvests the first questions you need to consider are:
Do I have the space or spaces to do this?
What are these spaces and how convenient and easy can I make this on myself?
How do I get the “rough cuts” to the “clean room” work area while minimizing contamination? (I got yelled at for that too, a few times.)
Will these spaces accommodate the staging or hanging of a carcass that will enable me to harvest the “rough cuts” in somewhat of a safe and convenient manner?
What tools will I need to easily suspend and process the game and do I already have them?
You just don’t want to do what my friend, Bob did (unless maybe you had that discussion with the other family members) the first time we butchered at his house. By the way, you’ll get to “meat” Bob when you read “Changing The Game.” He hung the deer in his barn, about 60 yards from the house and we ended up doing final cuts there, on a lower-than-normal worksurface might I add, on a cold January day, without running water. We would have had a more enjoyable experience if we could have done the “rough cuts” in his attached garage and “final cuts” in the kitchen or, at least on a suitable, clean work surface in his garage. So, when determining if you want to take on butchering your own harvest, give some thought to visualizing your process flow, seeing your harvest go from your vehicle to your freezer, considering where wastes or scraps will be generated and the efforts it will also take to get those to the trash receptacle. Give thought to the tools you have available and those you may need to purchase to make your endeavor as easy and successful as possible. You may have many of the things you need already at home.
I’m hopeful this brief discussion will prompt those of you who want to try processing your own harvest in some type of direction and arm you with the confidence to try it. Doing so is very gratifying, especially when your family and friends will be raving over the meal you served them and you tell them that it went from field-to-fork and you executed every step on your own. It can also be a real cost saver as well as an educational activity you can do with other family members and friends. A sample flow diagram along with more detailed discussion on “game planning”… what factors you will need to consider to prep for and take on the project of butchering your own large and medium game, along with detailed instructions on how to butcher are spelled out for you in the first four chapters of “Changing The Game.” YOU can do this!
