After skinning, the next step to process deer is quartering. You will need a knife, a sharpening steel, a cooler, bone saw, wax paper, and a trash can for the scraps. A boning or fillet style knife is best, but any sharp knife will work. The meat needs to be kept between 32 and 40 degrees. A cooler with dry ice is good. Lay the meat in the cooler as you quarter.

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First, trim away blood shot or contaminated meat.

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Step 1: Remove the shoulders. Cut along the top of the shoulder blade, then lift the legs away from the body. Cut them free of the body under the shoulder. Put shoulders aside in a cooler.

Step 2: Backstrap. Make a cut down each side of the backstrap at the vertebrae, from pelvis to neck, keeping knife on the edge of the vertebrae. Make the cut deep to the bone sticking out from the vertebrae. Along the ribs, insert the knife until it meets the vertebrae cut. Work the knife down along the ribs until the whole backstrap is loose. Cut ends of backstrap and remove. Set aside in cooler.

Step 3: Neck. You can trim all meat from the neck and set aside for stews or ground meat, but if you want to roast or smoke it, make a slice around the base of the next where the backstrap ended. Then, with a bone saw, cut neck free. Set aside in cooler.

Step 4. Scrap meat (for grinding). Cut stomach muscles away from pelvis up to the rib cage and set aside. With fillet knife, remove meat from between the ribs and set aside the strips. Trim away superficial muscles from remaining chest area. Put all this aside for grinding (is will yield 3 to 6 lbs, depending on the size of the deer).

Step 5. Rear legs. Work the knife along the top of the pelvis, keeping knife as close to the bone as possible. From underside, work knife down the edge of the pelvis until Ball Joint (hip) is exposed. Put tip of knife into the Ball Joint and separate. The leg is almost free at this point. Cut it free, making sure it doesn't fall once it's free from the pelvis. Insert knife around "ankle" and free it from the lower shank.

Now you're ready to butcher!

Process Deer Yourself - Quartering

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