Processing venison is similar to butchering beef, but the removal of silverskin is a major difference. The carcass is hung, bled, and skinned before trimming blubber and silver skin. The hindquarters are cut into steaks and roasts, while the front legs can be cut into steaks or left as roasts. Nothing is wasted in most processing plants, with small pieces used for burgers or stew meat, and the leather sold. The whole or partial animal can also be made into jerky, summer sausage, or pepper sticks.
Processing venison isn’t much different than butchering beef, and the same amount of care should be applied to the carcass. The required removal of the silverskin or venison sinew is commonly the biggest difference between the two. Once the deer is hung up and allowed to cool and bled thoroughly, the skin is removed. The blubber is commonly trimmed in the first stage of venison processing, followed by the removal of the silver skin from the meat. The hind straps are commonly removed later in venison processing, followed by the removal of the hindquarters, rib sections, and then the forequarters and neck.
The back straps, or loins as they are commonly called, are typically butterfly cut when processing venison. This cut is also commonly the preferred cut of venison for many eaters. Occasionally, during some discount meat processing, these loins are cut into sections called short ribs containing small pieces of backbone and top rib meat. This is a common practice in some processing plants due to the convenience of the process compared to hand trimming and loin trimming. In some areas where chronic deer wasting disease (CWD) is prone to exist, much of the bone, including the ribs, spine and neck bones, is disposed of and not consumed by humans.
The hindquarters are cut into steaks, roasted, and small pieces are left over for the hamburger meat. Commonly chilled to freezing point, large quarters are placed in band saws at the venison processing plant and cut into desired cuts. Round steaks and roasts are the largest cuts from hindquarters. Ribs are trimmed of all fat, silvery skin and dissected into small packets. The front legs can be cut into individual steaks or left whole as roasts, depending on the customer’s wishes.
In most venison processing plants, nothing is left to chance. Small pieces of meat from the brisket, rib and neck areas are used to create burgers or stew meat. The leather is also sold, tanned and used for leather. A popular option when using a venison processing plant is to process the whole or partial animal into venison jerky, summer sausage, or pepper sticks. This option is a good way to use the whole animal while feeding friends and family at parties, holiday meals, or just simple get-togethers.
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