I had mentioned a few posts back that there was a wild game butchering class coming up that I was thinking about attending. Well, Saturday was that day. Someone managed to bag a deer a day before the class, which was handy, so in addition to the sheep that they were keeping on hand ‘just in case’ we also got to use an actual deer.
I have gutted and disassembled plenty of deer. However, I have never actually butchered one. That is to say, I have never broken it down and processed it to the point where it was chunks of meat wrapped in butcher paper ready for the freezer. I usually knock the horns off, gut it, and haul it to the processor. The in-town processor, the oft-derided H&H Meats, closed a few years back leaving no in-town processor. SO, time to bone up (see what I did there?) on DIY. Why not? I have a vacuum sealer, a freeze dryer, a pressure canner, and a pair of deep freezes. As it turns out…I don’t have a good boning/fillet knife. Gotta fix that.
The class was pretty good. There were about a dozen people there and about 3/4 of the XX chromosome persuasion. The class was at the Missoula Urban District facility which is one of those lovely left-wing co-op type organizations that has parking lots full of Subarus and cars with ‘coexist’ bumper stickers. The brother/sister team of cutters teaching the class helpfully made to note their preferred pronouns on the whiteboard. Fortunately that was about the extent of the political self-identification.
The class was informative and these people clearly knew what they were doing. The gal doing the majority of the instruction was an absolute maestro with the knife. She would just point it at a cut of meat, slip the very tip pf the blade in, and the meat came apart like she was wielding a lightsaber.
Did I learn anything? Of course. Do I have the confidence to spend a day dissecting an elk, stuffing it into vacuum bags and getting it into a freezer? Mmmmmm :::hand waggle:::. More confident than I was, let’s say.
The gal teaching the class does butchering for people..I mean, on behalf of people..so I would guess that if I drop an elk, bring it to town, and throw some money at her I can just get it done that way. But, the apocalypse wont necessarily give me the option of hiring a pro to farm tasks out to, so its probably a good idea to take a class like this.
Marttinni fish filet knives. A few years ago I bought mine at wallyworld in the fishing isle. Wood handle very narrow blade, about 6″ blade. Works great at separating the sphincter too. Other brands may work, this one is quality. I picked up a longer (chinese?) fish filet knife, never needed or use it. Our small club butchers as a group, more efficient and more fun.
If you drop an elk, throw money at her and have her walk you through the process with you wielding the knife. Muscle memory sticks.
Thats kinda what Im thinking too
Strikes me as interesting the lefties in your class. It’s the second example I’ve seen this week that they are entering more and more into the “survivalist” mindset. Doesn’t feel consistent with the level of government dependence I’m used to from them. And I generally expect that demographic to be more of the vegan type than the ones butchering their own meat. That being said, it seem that more people in general are noticing things going on. Doesn’t seem like the apocalypse will be so right leaning as it used to seem…
I think that in the realm of game processing, the appeal to the lefties isnt so much about survivalism (although it may be to some extent) but probably something more about ‘sustainability’, organic, no antiobiotics, ‘closer to the earth’, etc, etc.
Following. It would be wise and prudent to perform the whole process yourself from trigger pull to last wrapped package placed in your freezer (s) yourself. Although there are / may be very competent and professional processors of wild game, that meet and exceed all standards, there is still the typical Murphys law scenarios occurances in any businesses. Is the hired help there as squared away as an owner or front facing individual representing the company? Is your game meat inadvertently or short cut co mingled with another order. Is everything really cleaned, sanitized and processed above standards, or just rushed through the door to fill the order and get it out of there. Is a C.W.D. disease sample properly taken and sent to a qualified laboratory entity for testing. Was that done honestly, unlike government c.s.i. labs botching crime cases by shoddy work. At this juncture of our shit show systems and examples of incompetence and malfeasance, doing your own game processing no matter how amateur you may be, may be the best course if action these days. Even if I just strip meat and fat from bone and grind everything up into meal sized packaging for storage, I at least know the process was done nose to tail to a proper and self monitored standard. Roll your own, just because. Stay frosty