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Anyone Butcher their own kill?

Cubslover
As you may have seen on a different thread, I'm looking to pick up some new kitchen knives for butchering deer this year.

What knife styles do you recommend?

I'm thinking...

8" Butcher
8" Slicer
6" Boner (hehe[:D])
Skinner

Anything else? I have a good Lansky Sharpening set with the Diamond stones.
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Comments

23 comments

Date Votes
  • Mossbergboogie
    a good meat grinder.
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  • dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by chrishiher
    a good meat grinder.


    Well hes gonna need a bigger boner. Don
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  • JustC
    a sawzall for the shoulder joints is good. The boner or standard longer blade knife will do everything. A grinder and beef suet from the grocery store will make better burger.

    I have done the majority of the whole animal with my field knife and the saw for the shoulder joints. A good filet knife if you learn how to use it will beat most other knives until bones come into play.
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  • HandgunHTR52
    I do most of my own deer. I would recommend a 8-10" boning knife. It allows you to cut the ham completely from the bone without having to cut it into pieces as the bone coming down from the pelvis is about 8-12" long.

    You can do everything you need to do with a 6" & an 10" boning knife. If you want to do jerky (not the ground meat type) try to find a meat slicer. It works great at making even strips. If you want to do the ground meat kind I recommend the Jerky Shooter (or Cannon) and Backwoods Seasoning. If you have a smoker the Cabelas brand Summer Sausage kit is great. Other than that, one thing that is essential is a vacuum sealer. I have had meat in my freezer that was sealed up to two years before use and it comes out like it went in. No freezer burn, no loss of taste. It is awesome.
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  • Jacob2008
    Cubs.. SOMe things are better NOT pointed out.
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  • Cubslover
    I have a few fillet knives already from fishing.

    My buddy is the one who's place we'll be doing it at, I just didn't want to dull up his knives. He already has the grinder set up. I though about donating a sausage stuffer to the shop as well.

    I do have a smoker. I actually made jerky in it last year, it was aweseome. My inlaws bought be a jerky shooter and a bunch of that backwoods seasoning kits this year as well. I've made beef jerky with it once....really good.

    I planned on buying a vaccum sealer sometime in the future.

    Thanks guys!
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  • dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by cubslover
    I though about donating a sausage stuffer to the shop as well.


    You just won't quit! Don
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  • 1911a1-fan
    10-12" chefs knife

    for deer i just used a 12" survival knife in the joints, mainly he saw, and a 6" boning knife on everything else
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  • Cubslover
    quote:Originally posted by dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by cubslover
    I though about donating a sausage stuffer to the shop as well.


    You just won't quit! Don


    [:D]
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  • Odawgp
    any knife a good knife, you'll get 90% of the meat off with your hunting knife if you really want to spend the next three days to get the rest go for it. And a good meat grinder. after a few yrs 20 or so deer & elk and you'll not worry about that other 10%

    I'll cut steaks from the backstraps, we have the lux. of a butchers saw ie "band saw." and can cut the hind quarters into round steaks. and the rest of the meat i can get off without fusing goes into the grinder. I may keep a roast or two. but like i said after a yr of doing it yourself you will appreciate the butcher. I still don't get i package professionally. but every yr swear its the last.
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  • sarge_3ad
    I had about everything a fella needed to make sausage, from a commercial Hobart grinder to a 18lb sausage stuffer to a walk in smoke house. I could smoke about 250lbs of meat at a time. My smoke house was a 8 x 10 wood building with a small wood stove inside. The building was insulated and it worked great. I had it a cooking several times with the internal temperature at 375 degress. The plywood interior would pop and all, but never caught fire until one day I had to run after a friend and left it unattended. Burnt it to the ground [:(]. Had alot of fun and enjoyed making alot of different styles of meat. Great eating too, but after the fire I sold all of my equipment and got out of the business. By the way that wood smoke house lasted me for 6 years before it burnt down.
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  • allen griggs
    I started using a Sawzall on the knee and elbow joints last year.
    Works great!
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  • nyforester
    I have been processing my own deer for over 30 years. My best advice, Find a nice wood butcher block made of a solid hardwood like sugar maple. Once you cut meat on a block, you will never use anything else. I found one at a garage sale years ago. I gave it a good cleaning. I will never give it up. As far as knives, use what ever feels comfortable in your hand. I also use a hack saw on a few bones.
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  • JimmyJack
    Learn how to bone out your cuts. Forget about needing a saw. Everything can be done with a knife. I used to saw through the bone but never again. Just separate the muscles and slice across grain.
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  • farfromnormal
    I agree with boning it out, much easier. You might want to think about a glove made out of the cut resistant fabric, can save a nasty cut and makes hanging onto the meat easier. Also, forget about the ground meat, we save all the little junk pieces that would be ground up and can it. Very easy to do and you end up with a quick meal whenever you need it that tastes great and falls apart. And I second the motion for vacuum sealing. Put your portions into the bags, put in freezer till frozen, then vacuum seal. This way you don't suck any juice out.[;)]
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  • spryor
    quote:Originally posted by JimmyJack
    Learn how to bone out your cuts. Forget about needing a saw. Everything can be done with a knife. I used to saw through the bone but never again. Just separate the muscles and slice across grain.
    X2
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  • Johnnylikesguns
    I've never even thought of NOT cutting up any game I shot or caught. Any good sharp knife will do the trick. Forget the saw you don't eat the bones anyway so cut the meat off them and give the ol dog a treat.
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  • dcon13
    quote:Originally posted by dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by chrishiher
    a good meat grinder.


    Well hes gonna need a bigger boner. Don



    He ain't the only one.Danielle
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  • buddyb
    If you have a cooler to hang deer to age a few days they cut a lot easier.
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  • Cubslover
    In the winter months we let deer hang 3-5days. But when September is the beginning of bow season, you don't have that luxury.
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  • alledan
    quote:Anyone Butcher their own

    ...and which of my neighbors are you referring too[}:)]



    When i hunted back in my younger days, i always used a good sharp fillet knife for the critters.
    Nowadays I might wanna try one of the new fangled porcelon knives when the price recedes a bit.
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  • Ding-a-ling
    On deer, elk, etc.,I cut out each individual muscle and then slice them up. End up with a lot of little steaks, but they taste a lot better.[8D]
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  • carbine100
    I use a drop point hunting knife with about a 4 in. blade to do everything. Seperating the joints with just a knife is easy if you take your time and know what you are doing. This makes deboning easier.
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