Boneless Meat Cutting

[pitw]

First you have to have something to cut and for this little demo I'm using Mandy's yearling moose.  I had to cut her in half to hang but this step isn't necessary for deer and actually makes it harder.  Sharp knive's will help and a good cutting board also.
Start on the hind quarter's



The first thing I take off is the flank's and we use this meat in sausage/burger making.  Try and keep all gristle out of your meat for the best sausage and burger.  Grinder's don't think much of gristle either.



The next thing I remove is the sirloin tip.  This makes excellent roast's and steak's.  Make a cut in right at the knee joint and follow the big bone to the hip joint.  Now turn your knife out about 30 degree's and remove the sirloin tip as a single piece.





Now I take the round off in a single piece.  Cut around the the bone next to the pelvis and at the knee make a second cut around the bone.  After the first two cut's are done you just cut around the bone and the round [ham] come's off in a single large chunk.  Put this on the cutting board and you will see where the three seperate muscle's are.  Seperate the muscle's [eye of round, top and bottom] by following the gristle or tendon like membrane and remove the membrane and outer crusty skin.  I find the round to be tougher type meat and make roast's and steak's.





I now remove the sirloin and this I make into steak's as it is excellent fare.  Start this cut along the backbone and follow the meat in around the curved bone.  Remember there are two muscles here and to make the best steak's they should be cut across the grain.



Two pic's so you can see it better [I hope].


Now cut the loin off and this is fun.  Go back to the cut from the sirloin and follow the backbone all the way to the neck [if you haven't cut it in half as I did] and make sure to cut right in to the rib bones.  Now go to the top and cut in along the rib's to your original cut and follow the rib's down to the neck.  You should end up with a long piece of meat that slice's into excellent steak's.



Now the tenderloin come's outof the inside of the carcass.  Cut this by starting at the hip and following the boness down to the end of meat.  Trimmed properly this should make the bet steak's on the animal [I think]



At this point some idiot lost the rest of the picture's of doing the shoulder.  It's easy to seperate the shoulder from the rib's with just a few cut's of the knife.  We use the shoulder and rib's for sausage/burger meat and once again try and remove as much tendon [gristle] as possible.  Now the only thing left to do is pick around on the carcass for any piece's of meat that are left for sausage/burger.
   What's left makes excellent bait for trapping/snaring and you will have the satisfaction of having done it yourself plus saving hundred's of dollar's and I know who's meat I'm eating.
  Please feel free to add comment's that will help myself and other's with this project.
Barry

[Frogman]

Barry,
     Thanks, that's basically how I do it.  Pictures help.  Good post.  I have never had a professional meat cutter do as good a job cutting one up as I can do.  Removing as much of that shiny connective tissue is very important.  It takes time, don't skimp on it.


Jim

[alscalls]

Only thing I do different is I remove the front Shoulders first then the back straps and loins, everything els is exactly how I do it.
Sometimes on a small deer I will take both front shoulders, and cut them off at the knee joint. Tie them together with baking twine inside to inside of the shoulders and smoke em 
Great tutorial Barry Thanks for sharing this.