don't look if you're a bit squeamish- first deer!

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Clouston98

Woodsman & Beekeeper
Aug 19, 2013
4,364
2
25
Cumbria
Well done, a very impressive first attempt.

The pics are really good also.

Out of interest, did you keep the ribs, I do not know if deer ribs are good for eating.

rorymax

Thanks mate :). There was very little on the ribs of this deer - barely anything but I guess had it been larger or a different breed I may have if there was more on them. :)
 

Clouston98

Woodsman & Beekeeper
Aug 19, 2013
4,364
2
25
Cumbria
Nice, and it looks like you made a neat job of it. Deer liver is good, just make sure that it looks in good condition and doesn't have lumps and bumps on it. Keep all of the bones, they will boil up to make a good tasty stock.

Thanks- and that was our worry, didn't spend ages checking it but I thought I wouldn't risk it this time' but next time I shall certainly give it a go :).
 

Clouston98

Woodsman & Beekeeper
Aug 19, 2013
4,364
2
25
Cumbria
You got some nice meat there Clouston98, well done for having a go with butchering it you did well, a little tip for skinning deer in case you ever need to do it again, if you loosen the skin from meat in the area around the belly flaps and the area where the inside of back legs meet the belly flaps you can then often peel the rest of the skin off whole without using a knife at all especially on a young deer (pull skin with one hand and wriggle/push fingers of other hand between skin and meat). I have had to deal with a few deer killed on the roads (and sadly had to kill a couple of badly injured ones). Usually the carcase was so badly bruised it was fit for dog food only. All you got to do now Clouston is cook it and eat it, enjoy your meal. ATB. :)

Cheers mate! And thank you and everyone else for all the useful bits of info that will be a great help if I ever find another one :).
 

weekender

Full Member
Feb 26, 2006
1,814
19
54
Cambridge
Like mike313 said I know nothing of butchering and would like to have a try one day (with proper supervision I think) but 👍 for doing it. Braver then me. Love the look of all that meat it looks tasty.


Sent from somewhere?
 

Cromm

Full Member
Mar 15, 2009
1,312
5
46
Debenham,Suffolk.
A side note, if you have one skin from the deer and one brain from the same deer, you will have enough brain to brain tan the skin. It takes a bit of time but can be well worth it.
 

DocG

Full Member
Dec 20, 2013
869
123
Moray
Excellent post, thanks for sharing.

Ref the hide, I stretched my first deer hide using three green poles. I lashed two long ones (c.6 ft) together, top and bottom, then separated them under tension by pushing a third between them so that the frame ended up looking like a Zulu shield. I then removed the third pole, tied on the hide to the edges of the "shield" then replaced the third pole. At this point I had to cut it to size based on the tightness of the hide. Once it was fitted, I lashed the ends to the frame.

My inspiration was Canadian west coast Salish methods of processing deer. (My kids referred to it as Dad doing Pocahontas on crack.). It was not perfect, but it worked for me.

All the best.
 

DocG

Full Member
Dec 20, 2013
869
123
Moray
image.jpg

Here's a snap of what I was trying to describe.

(Sorry about the surrounding chaos, tidying the garage at present so one side = total mess:))
 

Clouston98

Woodsman & Beekeeper
Aug 19, 2013
4,364
2
25
Cumbria
Excellent post, thanks for sharing.

Ref the hide, I stretched my first deer hide using three green poles. I lashed two long ones (c.6 ft) together, top and bottom, then separated them under tension by pushing a third between them so that the frame ended up looking like a Zulu shield. I then removed the third pole, tied on the hide to the edges of the "shield" then replaced the third pole. At this point I had to cut it to size based on the tightness of the hide. Once it was fitted, I lashed the ends to the frame.

My inspiration was Canadian west coast Salish methods of processing deer. (My kids referred to it as Dad doing Pocahontas on crack.). It was not perfect, but it worked for me.

All the best.

Cheers mate! That's great and the photo helps too- certainly something I'll be doing if I ever get a deer again :).
 

Clouston98

Woodsman & Beekeeper
Aug 19, 2013
4,364
2
25
Cumbria
Well done Cameron good find ,You will dine well for a while buddy!


Cheers mate! Just had one of the legs tonight - it fed four of us and it was divine! I really enjoyed it and I don't think I've ever tasted meat that good - or not for a long time anyway :).
 

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