With big game archery seasons as close as a month out in some states, I thought now may be a good time to touch on processing a big game harvest in house rather than taking to a processing plant. With a pretty reasonable upfront cost and a little bit of research, processing your own big game harvests can take the table fare from mediocre to crowd pleasing in no time. Not to mention, once set up…it requires very little upkeep cost year after year. I must say though, I do understand there are many people who take their deer or elk or whatever they harvest to their favorite butcher/processor and love every ounce of the meat they receive back. I’m just not one of them. All I’ve known since being a child is everything, we harvested being processed in-house…”trigger to table” if you will. I think it definitely makes a difference in the quality of the end product as well as costs less. But I primarily do so because it’s just all I’ve ever known. Plus, there is just something special about harvesting an animal and then making food with it all in the same day. Processing the meat also allows you to thoroughly trim away all unwanted fat and silver skin. Resulting in a much less “gamey” product than when mass processed. I’ve successfully served venison to a number of people who swore it off just by thoroughly trimming and properly preparing the cut.
It honestly doesn’t take much to get started processing your own big game and the equipment needed largely depends on what your end goal for the meat is. Many people tend to like having processed products made from their harvest such as jerky, summer and smoked sausages and meat sticks just to name a few. Others tend to lean more towards ground meats and steaks/roasts. Regardless of the desired outcome, it is all easily achievable. I would say the summer and smoke sausages would be the most labor intensive and require the most equipment but it’s still pretty simple. My family tends to eat more ground venison than anything else but we also do a fair amount of jerky and steaks. Aside from a designated place to hang, skin and quarter my deer, the only equipment I use are my knives, a meat grinder and a vacuum sealer for the actual processing and packaging of the meat. I will say, having a good cool dark dry place to age your venison for a few days is very ideal. However, coolers will do if that's not doable. As the meat ages, it begins to break down, thus tenderizing the meat as well as developing flavor. I always age my venison a minimum of 5 days and have done so for as long as 21 with great results. That's it….pretty simple. And honestly, I used only Ziplock bags for many years. I just recently started using the vac sealer. I will note that with those pieces of equipment I mentioned, it does not take the best piece money can buy but you do get what you pay for. I generally like to go ahead and pay a little extra for a midrange option which seem to bring the most longevity for my dollar. As always, any questions, comments or further detail, email me at epicchef424@gmail.com. Be safe this upcoming season! EC
It honestly doesn’t take much to get started processing your own big game and the equipment needed largely depends on what your end goal for the meat is. Many people tend to like having processed products made from their harvest such as jerky, summer and smoked sausages and meat sticks just to name a few. Others tend to lean more towards ground meats and steaks/roasts. Regardless of the desired outcome, it is all easily achievable. I would say the summer and smoke sausages would be the most labor intensive and require the most equipment but it’s still pretty simple. My family tends to eat more ground venison than anything else but we also do a fair amount of jerky and steaks. Aside from a designated place to hang, skin and quarter my deer, the only equipment I use are my knives, a meat grinder and a vacuum sealer for the actual processing and packaging of the meat. I will say, having a good cool dark dry place to age your venison for a few days is very ideal. However, coolers will do if that's not doable. As the meat ages, it begins to break down, thus tenderizing the meat as well as developing flavor. I always age my venison a minimum of 5 days and have done so for as long as 21 with great results. That's it….pretty simple. And honestly, I used only Ziplock bags for many years. I just recently started using the vac sealer. I will note that with those pieces of equipment I mentioned, it does not take the best piece money can buy but you do get what you pay for. I generally like to go ahead and pay a little extra for a midrange option which seem to bring the most longevity for my dollar. As always, any questions, comments or further detail, email me at epicchef424@gmail.com. Be safe this upcoming season! EC
