Your deer hunting gear is put away and another season has passed. What started with scouting, early mornings, and strategizing, ended abruptly. There were highs and lows and we would have it no other way. But the annual whitetail life really doesn’t have to end when the sun sets on that last evening of the season. In fact, it can lead us to the butchering table with friends and family.
DIY Deer Processing
In my neck of the woods, the price of basic deer processing ranges from $70 – $125; and that’s before any sausage, snack sticks or jerky is made. For many, that’s a quite a hit to the wallet, especially if you’re processing multiple deer. Once tallied, the list of hunting expenses can no doubt be staggering. Our experiences in the field and hunting camp, albeit expensive, yield great memories. Processing your own game meat from start to finish will at least offset some of the monetary damage. Why not let it create more memories? It is, after all, an extension of the hunt.
Enter Friends and Family
For years, any combination of my dad, brother, and friends would gather at
the ranch in the spring or summer to combine our venison and make sausage and jerky. Here, meat grinders, home-brew seasonings, and smokers were put in motion. Beer, good-natured trash talk, and tall tales also went hand in hand with the ritual. The inherent fellowship mirrored that of deer camp. Often, the process would be broken up by or end with a trip to the pond for a little bass fishing. It always included great food – a logical addition with a hot smoker already at the ready.
Luckily, the equipment costs associated with DIY processing are manageable – especially when shared with others. The basics include sharp knives, a cutting board, a meat grinder, scale, seasonings, butcher paper, and tape. It’s even better to have a vacuum sealer. If you’re making link sausage, you’ll need fatty pork, some type of sausage-stuffer, casings, and a smoker. The latter, of course, represents greatness, as hunters (and humans in general) love fire.
Use these tools and take the time to adopt an efficient system. Think assembly line. You don’t want to be tripping over each other. Trade out functions intermittently to keep it from getting mundane. Put on some good music and get your butcher on.
As mentioned already, DIY processing represents an extended connection to the hunt. As conservation-minded hunters, most of us understand the gratification associated with harvesting a deer that benefitted from our own habitat management practices. Having a hand in the process from start to finish is satisfying – especially when paired with fellowship among other hunters.
Fellowship and the Hunting Process
Speaking of fellowship, this part of the hunting experience is an ideal opportunity for hunter recruitment. A DIY processing gathering shows the new hunter the whole process. For that matter, invite
a non-hunting friend or even a hunting skeptic. The concept and value of hunting take on increased meaning when they see the animals being put to their proper use. Steve Rinella calls it “venison diplomacy”. Well before this, I grew up with the term “back-strap benevolence”. Both terms in part suggest sharing venison to honor the game we hunt.
As sportsmen, we’re blessed. Through hunting, we have an opportunity to further conservation, connect to a great tradition, and directly obtain lessons from the natural world. To top it off, we can be part of a meaningful comradeship – sometimes with multiple generations. There is arguably no better way to celebrate the hunt than through the gift of wild game. Throw in friends and family and the processing party is a common-sense if not obvious venture. Perhaps now is the time to clean and organize your freezer and start contacting folks. In my opinion, you won’t regret it.
