Ya see...this is a great topic. NJ Bowhunter, "you have to try taking the hide off with your truck." Hang it from the neck cut the legs off, split the legs (if it is a bigger deer), go up and around the neck and pull just enough to get a golf ball (small round object) under the skin and a rope around it. Attack to truck and pull. It is off in seconds! I take a propane torch and burn any remaning hair. I cut the backstraps out first. Then the shoulders and then the hams. I have taken the ribs many times but I have not found a good way to cook out the fat in them. Any tips would be appreciated. Carc [no swearing please] gets cut and finally the neck, which I freeze whole. You can use it for hamberger or for stew (bone and all). I agree in freezing larger chunks and do the fine work later. The outside layer gets the freezer burn, if there is any, and the inside stays protected. All of the scrap gets frozen to be ground later when the season is over and can be done in larger portions. Shoulder can be deboned and frozen whole or there are a few decent chunks if it is a big deer. There two lines on the ham on the outside. Cut lightly and the ham can be opened into the different muscle groups. I use my fingers to pull apart the groups and use the knife only if there are connective fibers. Some groups are more tender than others. That goes into how you cook and use them. Tools: Buck Zipper for quartering, bonesaw, and Buck 119 for all of the butchering. Yes, sharp knifes are a must. Without doing any of the fine work it can be done in under an hour. The only draw back is that you can not give packages of nice cuts of meat to friends. The time taken to trim the meat is the same. It is your choice whether you want to spent the time while you butcher or before dinner time. Again...there is no right way or wrong way, and the more people I talk to the more tips I get. As long as you trim it like NJ Bowhntr said...you can't go wrong, it all tastes good.
