Do any of you debone your meat.............

[manwitaplan]

How many of you debone your deer meat before taking it to the processor? If you do this how long will it sit in your freezer?

I remember one time years ago that the processor charged $12 dollars a quarter to debone the deer meat. I have been doing it myself ever since.

Thanks,

Manwitaplan

[Chew]

I do. Saves big money on the processing/deboning fee. My processor likes it and I get my stuff back quick. I have some in the freezer in big ziplocks from a doe I killed on opening day of bow season. Will take it later on when I get time.

[BURTONboy]

We had some in the freezer from last December that we just made sausage out of about 3 weeks ago. I wouldn't advise keeping it that long, and we didn't intend to, it just got forgot about really. But on average, I will keep deboned meat in the freezer for 3-4 months of average if I need to. We process our own so I wait until I have enough meat, or myself and some friends have enough meat to make it worth our while to fire up the butcher house. Just processed 5 deer yesterday actually!

[doright]

I dont mean to be a smarty pants but by the time you get done deboning all you have left to do is slice it up and put it in freezer bags. You could skip the processer all together.

[SwampRabbit]

Well, technically I am the processor. But yeah, deboning meat isn't all that difficult once you are confident with what it is your are cutting. If I am deboning for grind, it can go pretty quick. If I am muscling out the hind quarter, it only adds a couple minutes to the process.

[manwitaplan]

I do. Saves big money on the processing/deboning fee. My processor likes it and I get my stuff back quick. I have some in the freezer in big ziplocks from a doe I killed on opening day of bow season. Will take it later on when I get time.

Thanks Bobby! I deboned 12 quarters last night and asked my self was it worth it when everyone else just takes it in quartered up.

[SwampRabbit]

A meat hook really helps the process go by quicker to. I picked up a couple and it really helps.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw&feature=player_embedded"]Cut Deer 8 minutes Heid Wild Game, Bone.MOV - YouTube[/ame]

[Pineywoods]

Well, technically I am the processor. But yeah, deboning meat isn't all that difficult once you are confident with what it is your are cutting. If I am deboning for grind, it can go pretty quick. If I am muscling out the hind quarter, it only adds a couple minutes to the process.

Yup...this^^^

[Brute Killer]

I am doing my own stuff, now, but the last few I took to a processor was just a tub of meat, to make sausage. The rest was cut up by me to make jerky and steaks, etc. This year, I'm doing all of it, since I got a grinder.

[manwitaplan]

I dont mean to be a smarty pants but by the time you get done deboning all you have left to do is slice it up and put it in freezer bags. You could skip the processer all together.

I did not think you were being a smarty pants!

What about sausage, snack sticks, summer sausage, tenderized and butterflied backstrap, plus everything vacuum sealed! I do not have all the equipment or know how to make my food taste as good as the processor. Plus my processer uses T-Bone trimming in my ground meat!

[G MONEY]

Had a $300.00 processing bill a long time ago for only 1 deer. Been deboning ever since.

[Chew]

I dont mean to be a smarty pants but by the time you get done deboning all you have left to do is slice it up and put it in freezer bags. You could skip the processer all together.

Unless it magically turns into smoked sausage or pan sausage...I'm still going to the processor.

[salth2o]

I debone everything and do most of the processing at my house (sausage, hamburger, roasts, etc). The only thing I take to the processor is my steaks to be tenderized and vacuum sealed.

If I ever get a tenderizer, then I'll cut out the processor all together. However, they only charged me $20 this year for this service.

[EastTxTracking]

Unless it magically turns into smoked sausage or pan sausage...I'm still going to the processor.

Yup X2

[SwampRabbit]

And even if I was taking it to the processor for some specialty sausage, I'd still debone the meat than pay $50 for somebody to do that for me.

As for how long it stays in the freezer? The last couple years I have been processing each as I bring them home. The meat never touched the freezer unless it was cut up into roasts, cutlets or stuffed in casings. This is the first year I am freezing them in large vacuum sealed bags and will defrost them before turning it all into various sausages and burger before refreezing in portion sized packages. I am curious how long some go, but watching guys like Smart who freeze it until February, etc... I am following thier lead.