OT--Why No Processing Sub-Forum?

[Cast_Iron]

Why is there not a processing sub-forum? I'm sure folks here may raise and/or hunt their own critters. It would be nice to see the details from field to freezer/plate. It would be nice to see all this info in one spot, versus posted in very specific sub-forums.

 

[SmokinAl]

I’ll forward this on & see what they say.
Al

 

[Sowsage]

I think this would be a great! Its deffinatly something people have knowledge of here and I think it would have a lot of value to folks that are not familiar with much of it. From fish/seafood, farm raised hogs/steer chickens.. All the wild game.. Learning and sharing how to process different cuts of meat can give people a better understanding of what they are cooking and also allow them to fabricate cuts that may not be available in their local area....

 

[Bumppo]

Not even just whole animals. Cutting up a store bought subprimal can be intimidating for a lot of people.

 

[Sowsage]

Not even just whole animals. Cutting up a store bought subprimal can be intimidating for a lot of people.

I agree Nate.... Even something as simple as cutting up a store baught chicken is usefull. 90% of the chicken I buy is whole birds.. Cost savings is astronomical. And although that might be something I find usual and easy for me.... there are a lot of people that have absolutely no experience with doing it.

 

[indaswamp]

EXCELLENT IDEA! We do a big processing day at the end of the hunting season...but here lately it has turned into processing week with all the smoke sausages I have to smoke and the packaging. I have been posting it in the wild game forum but it would fit better into this new forum.

And breaking down a whole animal is a much needed skill that seems few know how to do today. And there are different styles too. I know that the Italians break down a hog much differently than we do here in the U.S. because they do a lot of salumi with their pigs. I have only recently learned the Italian way and have been using it on the wild hogs I get.

 

[poacherjoe]

Sounds like a good plan. Years ago I would take my wild game to the local butcher and have him cut and wrap it for me. Over time the small town "Honest" butcher's went out of business and the price for cut and wrap went out of sight. I have several horror stories about how I had my meat stolen by butcher shops so I new the basics and started doing my own butchering and it's easy after you repeat the process . The internet has all kinds of videos and you can purchase books to read on the subject. Just make sure you get set up properly with good solid equipment and ample space to make the job easier .. If you plan on butchering a lot I would get a #22 grinder if not bigger. Now that I make my own sausage and Bologna it tastes way better than the crap I was getting from the butcher that was mixed up with other people's gut shot deer or Elk. You think cutting up an animal is hard, hell most of the so called hunters out there don't know how to clean and gut a deer !!

 

[yankee2bbq]

I agree with this too!

 

[indaswamp]

You think cutting up an animal is hard, hell most of the so called hunters out there don't know how to clean and gut a deer !!

Yep^^^^^^That....and they wonder why deer does not taste good?!?!

 

[bmudd14474]

The problem we run into is that we want all of these sections created and it doesn't get used. We currently have a nose to tail section that we can use. I will looking into reorg of the forums to see if it makes sense to do this one.

 

[motocrash]

This is a good idea. Though your thread title would have to be a question - Need to know how to field dress a deer?
This way someone would have to answer - "yes, yes I do". This would then heed the rules of the forum.
Links | Smoking Meat Forums - The Best Smoking Meat Forum On Earth!

 

[tallbm]

Why is there not a processing sub-forum? I'm sure folks here may raise and/or hunt their own critters. It would be nice to see the details from field to freezer/plate. It would be nice to see all this info in one spot, versus posted in very specific sub-forums.

Hi there and welcome!

Processing is very important for those of us who hunt as well. All my life what I have been shown gets the job done but is wildly poor in technique and process when I came to see and learn of proper ways to go about it.

I put a post up on processing a deer here with many good youtube videos I found from a real butcher. I agree and follow about 90% of what he puts on display:

Great Venison Butchering and Processing Videos and Info!!!

I promised I would do this post as a result of a conversation in another thread where the info was asked for. So here it is! If you've ever looked for a youtube video on butchering a Deer or a Wild Hog you will know how hard it is to find a decent video containing any quality information and...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

It seems 99% of the videos on youtube were trash or just random guys filming with no structure, organization, or proper practice at all.
The videos in my post are meant to be instructional and are top notch.

I'm also very lucky that I used to meat hunt on a trophy ranch and one of the guides was also a professional wild game harvester. So I got to see how to properly handle and prep animals from the moment they are dropped and into the hanging coolers or ice chests.
It was an amazing education and I'm so lucky I got that experience from him.
It was also awesome to be pulling does and spikes off a trophy ranch since the trophy hunters go for the horns and I could help them manage their herds and get great quality venison for a good price. Sadly those days are over as the ranch sold to a family for recreational use a few years ago :(

Anyhow, I strongly urge any hunters of deer/elk/moose/etc. and hogs to check out the youtube videos in that post as they are top notch and you may have found that finding good video tutorials is almost impossible on youtube.

Best of luck! :)