There is still time to eat frugal and healthy deer products after hunting season arrives this year, if you get one. Procure a 32 size hand-crank meat grinder and a few basic butchering hand tools. Build a Wolfer Smoke-Cooker or use your oven for making pre-cooked shredded deer meat for home freezer storage.
Bleed-out your deer well ASAP after dropping it. Consider pulling the tenderloins while field-dressing the deer, for having for supper. Soon after arriving at your processing area hang the deer by its Achilles tendons, cleanly skin it out and trim away any surface contamination.
Pull whole loin-eyes, cover or wrap them tightly then age them under refrigeration for tenderness and more desirable flavor development. This year I’m going to try removing any fat cover and age the whole loins in a weak salt-water solution. That way there will be very little fat left to oxidize, liquid will seal-off oxygen from around meat and purified salt will inhibit bacterial growth plus cause muscle proteins to swell (helps moisture retention in cooked product). The use of sodium phosphate in the brine will further decrease fat oxidation (oxidation causes off/warmed-over flavor) and enhance moisture retention. After loin-eyes are aged for a moderate number of days cut them into butterfly chops, tightly package and quick freeze them. Hold at or below 0 degrees F for up to 6 months.
Cut the remaining thick muscles of the shoulder and hind leg into approximately 2 inch cubes, soak them in a drinking alcohol containing marinate for about 3 days then slow cook them either in large fibrous casings or in a covered large rectangular oven roasting pan. Shred deer meat while it is still warm and pack-off for freezer storage. Shredded deer meat is a convenient and versatile high quality pre-cooked product.
Chill shank meat, BBQ meat trimmings and thin muscle cuts overnight then grind with some fat pork trimmings. Package and freeze ground deer mix immediately.
These practices generate low labor input & high quality meat items that are quick to prepare plus gives you an assurance of who’s deer you are eating (not always sure with a deer processor). Further, these minimal processes assist in the avoidance of nitrite containing smoked and/or fermented sausage products. Acquired basic butcher equipment can save you money year round if you process wholesale cases of pork and beef, from wholesale club stores, when hunting is out of season.