While processing, it’s important to avoid contaminating the meat with the tarsal glands and the contents of the digestive or waste organs. Removing the organs allows body heat to escape, and skinning lets body heat dissipate even faster, so don’t put off processing any longer than absolutely necessary. This helps ensure that you get the best quality meat. While in the field, remember that it’s essential to cool the carcass quickly to reduce bacterial spoilage. If you’re interested in tanning the hide yourself, see “ How to Tan A Deer Hide.” If you plan to mount the head and antlers, get skinning instructions from a taxidermist. Initial Considerationsīefore field-processing a deer, read up on your local wildlife laws, and take care to obey them. And it’s often easier to pack out a deer in two or three loads rather than to haul the entire carcass home. Plus, disease-carrying parasites, such as ticks, remain in the field, or are bagged and frozen with the hide prior to tanning. However, when you process the entire deer in the field, it gives you the option to bring home only the parts your family will use while the remaining parts are left to feed scavengers and nourish the soil where the deer lived and died. Field dressing involves a hunter removing only the internal organs in the field and then bringing the carcass home to process or taking it to a butcher. Many hunters share the same sentiment and choose to field dress and/or field process their own animals as well. It’s satisfying to sit down to a meal of venison that I’ve harvested, processed, aged, and packaged, and often roasted, smoked, or grilled myself. I was raised in a family that processed most of the meat we ate, so when I began hunting deer, it was second nature to process them myself. Following a successful hunt, learn how to field process a deer to ensure your freezer is filled with the highest-quality venison.
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