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Any tips or recommendations for skinning and processing a frozen deer?
Was fortunate enough to harvest a buck last week and with the temp drop, I've had a frozen deer hanging for a week now.
I've thought about throwing a space heater in for a few hrs before, or possibly trying the golf ball skinning process...
Anyone experience this with any tricks or tips?
We have had moose freeze solid years ago. The butcher had to thaw them out to skin and process them.
You will need to unthaw it. I had to process one in Michigan a few weeks back and it was frozen. Had to bring it in the garage to unthaw & skin it. No way I could get the hide off or cut the meat when it was frozen solid...
On the plus side the meat was extremely tender after a few days of hanging... :)
Forget the ball trick. It won't work.
Be prepared to have very frozen and unfeeling fingers by the time you're done.
How do you unthaw something that is frozen?Quote:
Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter
You'll have to bring it into a garage or shed that's heated and it may take a full day to get to where you can handle it.
You should be able to cut off all the appendages and then quarter it up with a sawzall /recip saw with out losing too much meat then bring the parts into the basement to thaw
I got my skinned while the carcass was still warm, but then it froze over night. I did a quick quartering while it was still hung, brought the pieces in and left it for a day then deboned it the next morning.
If you have a small chainsaw it will work well too, you just lose a bit more meat. The chain oil will wipe off the exposed meat after your done cutting and it's still frozen.
Sounds like this will be some extra work! Lol
I'll likely have to bring it to the garage and get a space heater on it... sounds like it may take the better part of a day?
Does this sound right?
What Mike says. You can use cooking oil instead of chain oil for chain lube if you go that route.
Do I need to worry about spoilage from warming it up to skin/process and refreezing?
Dont completely warm it up. Make sure the meat stays near the freezing temps and you will be ok. I wouldn't subject the carcass to any heat source though. Like Sawbill said, you will have some very cold fingers !!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridger
Sawsall is the ticket to cut it up into chunks.warm it up just enough to pull the hide off.
Butchers don't like the chainsaw method. Tiny bone splinters. Been there done that. Sawsall is the way to go.
Vegetable oil for bar oil..
Sawzall with 12" blade works well in a pinch
Supposed to be warmer in the coming days. Now's the time to get a sunny afternoon to warm up your workspace. Ideally you get that thing into a warm space, or a space that can be warmed... you need to thaw the outer layer to get the skin off.
We dropped a deer off at the butcher last week... taken at last light, gutted in the dark... -20 overnight. By the next morning it was frozen solid. Got it to the butcher the night after it had been killed, he had to thaw it out to be able to butcher it. You only need a workspace around 4°C to thaw it out.
I like to freeze the meat in as big a chunk as you are going to use.leave your steaks in a chunk and cut them up when you are ready to cook them. Meat keeps better in the freezer in bigger chunks. You can cut it with a sawzal pretty easy.
I think the last thing I'd use on an animal I respected and wanted to eat is a chain saw. Go spend $50 at Canadian Tire and get a sawzall. You owe the animal that much.
I've only seen it used when guys are out at a remote camp and circumstance requires a 'MacGyver' fix.Quote:
Originally Posted by blasted_saber
It really is rather clean and easy, your cuts are only to remove appendages and split the main bones, spine and hips, so very little 'eating' meat is touched by the saw blade. Very clean actually, minimal loss, better than the alternative of being forced to abandon the carcass.
They didnt have an axe?
I just....dont agree with its use on an animal. There is nothing about a chainsaw cut Id describe as clean.
At 4 in the morning and after a 12 hour day and its a road kill to clean up then yep! I'd use a chainsaw. But for a hunt then its just about all skinning and filleting knife.
If you haven't seen it done, it's best not to comment on how good it actually works.Quote:
Originally Posted by blasted_saber
Remember the OPs question is about dealing with a frozen solid carcass that needs to be processed...your fillet knife is useless.Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
Either you dry to warm up the whole carcass in an open building like a garage hanging on a gambrel.....or you find the best way to quarter it up to move indoors so you can warm up to process it.
If your at a camp, chances of having a sawzall are slimmer than having a chainsaw so the idea is put forth for consideration.
Been using the golf ball and bike for years with frozen or not deer, always worked perfectly. Just make sure to cut around the legs though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridger
if your using the golf ball technique you pretty much have to do it while the deer is still warm in these temps
When I shoot a deer I normally have it cut and wrapped in less than 2h from getting it home but my deer aren't big bush deer either
Dan
I know this is about deer but a few times when we had limited tools available in the bush, we could cut a moose lengthwise using 2 axes. Use one to gently hit the other and split the backbone. You need to steer the one axe while hitting with the other but it works if nothing else available and will work on frozen critters. It is a 2 person job. One pulls the halves apart while the other cuts (chops)
finally
Warm it up just a bit then put the air compressor tip under the skin and blow it up like a Ballon. Should help loosen the skin