Wild Game Processing Tips

Wild game processing starts as soon as you bag your animal. After moving to Colorado thirty years ago from New York I learned many things about wild game processing. When I would get a deer there, archery or shotgun hunting, I would follow the same game processing procedures as my father and other fellow hunters did. Strap the gutted carcass to my hood or fender with the hide on and drive for hours from the Pennsylvania border and head home to Gasport, New York. Then I would let my deer hang for at least a week before taking it to the local butcher who would saw my venison up like a cow with the bone in and the fat or tallow still wrapped around the meat.

I used to love deer hunting but could not understand why any one would really enjoy eating venison. I used to eat everything I hunted like rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, and ducks and loved them, but unless doctored up with applesauce and cloves that deer meat was so gamy and that tallow sticking to the roof of my mouth made it almost not edible.

After moving to Colorado I started to see the light after hunting with some of the people that had grown up around this area told me the proper method to wild game processing. The difficult terrain and distances makes it mandatory to learn how to cut up an animal so that you can pack it out easily. Dragging deer out of a woods in New York suddenly seamed senseless. Learning how to properly quarter out animals and place them on a pack frame, leaving all the waste behind for the coyotes and ravens to pick at is a lot simpler. Its also much easier to step over things in the woods than to drag a deer over and through bushes and dead fall.

Hides,heads,rib cages, all weigh quit a bit and there is no sense in bringing it home with you unless you get a trophy worth the effort to cape it out. By hunting with a pack frame and knowing wild game processing procedures you will be able to hunt further from camp and in more difficult terrain like canyons and mountains.Wild game processing begins once the animal is down and making sure it is actually dead by touching its eye with something. I start by laying out my game bags and getting everything in order so that I don't trip over anything. Clearing the area of sticks and rocks and placing my gear together makes it easier to move around and not lose anything. If you are hunting bucks or bulls then have a fold up saw to remove antlers from the skull after the meat is taken care of.

If you will be caping the animal to have mounted then cut the hide along the backbone from the back of the head to tail, then a cut from behind the front legs around the girth of the animal and around the knee joints. The next step is cut from knee joint to knee joint across the underside. Remove skin forward till it is up around the neck then remove the head leaving the skull in the hide with antlers attached to take to the taxidermist. Try not to slip with your knife because every extra cut will be sewn up and charged for. If not caping then start wild game processing with next paragraph.

If the animal has been dispatched quickly then start with the procedure bellow. If however the animal was hard to find and dead for a while then start by gutting the animal first because of bloat and gas.

I start by cutting the hide from tail to the back of the head along the backbone. Then I skin the hide from the back straps and neck. Next make a cut on the outside of each knee joint and cut the hide straight up to the back. I continue to skin around the legs and making sure not to puncture the gut or bladder by the back leg.

In Colorado you have to leave proof of sex attached to one rear quarter, testicles if male and mammary gland if female so be aware of this when skinning. After the hide is off the legs I remove the lower leg at the knee joint on both by cutting the tendons and discarding them. Be careful not to cut your legs while doing this as these can be a bugger.

Next I pull a game bag onto the front leg and while pulling up I cut along the ribcage under the leg to the top of the back freeing the leg and pulling it into the game bag. Moving to the rear I put a game bag on and cut along the backbone of the back leg and then pull up and move the leg around to locate the hip joint then cutting along the hip bone to the joint,cut the tendons and muscles and remove the leg pulling the game bag up and around. Always be careful here so as not to puncture gut or bladder.

I fillet the meat from the back making a cut along the backbone from the back of the head to the rear quarter. Holding the blade flat on the ribs carefully pull up and remove the back meat from the backbone in one strip from head to rear quarter. I usually place this and the tenderloins in the same bag as the front legs.

To remove the tenderloin inside bellow the backbone cut an incision at the back of the ribs and below the backbone being careful not to puncture the gut. Cut just enough to place your hand inside the cavity and reach up and feel for the tenderloin. You can then get under them and with the tip of your knife clip the ends and remove them. Now roll the elk or deer over and repeat on the other side being careful not to get dirt on any exposed meat.

Wild game processing becomes easier and quicker once you have done this a few times.

Always carry a knife sharpener in case your blade gets dull. If you or your family likes the heart or liver then once meat is removed gut the animal, remove the heart, liver, and tenderloins then.

By not gutting the animal first during wild game processing you will save time and keep you from standing in a gut pile and slipping around in blood while you take the meat off so it can cool quicker.

An elk is a real handful to do by yourself because you can't drag the carcass like a deer. Its hard enough just to roll it over to do the wild game processing procedure explained above so if you have friends hunting with you carry a radio and get help.

If its late make sure you carry a L.E.D. head light so that you can have your hands free so that you can get the work done. An elk left gutted and lying on the ground with the hide on all night will not cool properly and can spoil so get it done.

I never keep the meat between the ribs because it dries out so quickly in a game bag and its best to eat the tenderloins as soon as possible for the same reason unless you plan on leaving within a couple of days.

If you wish to keep the ribs they can be removed with just a knife by cutting them free from the bottom of the backbone and along the stomach area starting at the rear and pulling up on the ribs while you cut them free.

I always place logs or rocks in a shady spot and put my game bags on these so air can circulate under the meat to keep it cool while I pack it out, at least 3 to 4 loads. If your really far from roads you can totally bone out the meat by removing leg bones from the quarters to further reduce weight.

Blow flies can be a real nuisance in warm weather and I either bring pepper and sprinkle it on the bags or spray a tarp with mosquito spray like Deep Woods Off and put it around the meat loosely so that the air can still get to the meat, this works great.

One of the most important things with wild game processing is to remember to always get the hide off and keep the meat cool and clean. Some people like to keep the hide on till butchering so meat stays moist and clean but only do this in very cold weather and I still won't do it with an elk or bear because of the thick hide.

Wild game processing I do differently for antelope is since they are located in the high desert its usually warm and with little shade. I bring large coolers with block ice and place meat in trash bags on a rack above the ice to cool and keep meat from being in the water. The meat should be cut as soon as possible at home. Antelope meat is very fine tender meat and deserves proper care for excellent eating.

The best way to make sure that you end up with excellent meat is to process the meat yourself. I have never noticed any difference between cutting the meat right away or waiting a week as far as tenderness or flavor. If their is someone who you can trust to cut your meat fine. Make sure that all fat and bone is removed and no sawing of the bones because it drags the bone marrow and fat through the meat making it spoil quicker and taste gamy.

Also with the spread of wasting disease in deer and elk its recommended that you don't get brain or spinal fluids on your meat. Shooting the animal in the chest cavity and not the neck, back or head will keep these fluids intact. An animal shot in the chest cavity also bleeds out quickly making for better meat. The Colorado Division of Wildlife will do a test on the head for wasting disease if brought to them for a fee.

Wild game processing done correctly means cleaning any dirt with a wet towel and remove any dry crust that forms from being in a game bag. Then remove the meat from the bones with a knife and cut into roasts or steaks and save smaller pieces for stew meat, sausage, or burger. Remove all tendons and fat between muscles and anything else that does not look good to eat. A fish fillet knife works great for this. Always wrap meat with plastic then put in a freezer bag with air removed. Wild game processing takes my wife and I, 8 to 12 hours for an elk, and 2 to 4 hours for deer or antelope.

When wild game processing is done properly and cooked correctly wild game is some of the finest of meats and also has the benefit of being low fat and without the chemicals domesticated animals receive. In the wild only the strongest and healthiest can survive.

If this sounds a little long I guess I get sick of people saying that they had some type of wild game and it was just terrible. I know better and have to laugh. Some folks just don't know what their missing.

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