How to Process a Deer: A HuntWise Guide

Don't stop here and pay a processor to do the rest of the work for you. Go the extra mile, see it through to the end, and process that deer yourself. Knowing how to process a deer correctly is crucial for ensuring the best quality meat and can save you a ton of money in the long run once you get the hang of it.

But just like the butcher at your local meat counter, you will need some tools of the trade and understanding of deer anatomy to get the most out of your game.

Here's what you need to know to process that big buck you'll bring home this season!

How to Process a Deer: The Tools You Need

What are the tools you need to process a deer? Here are a few critical things to have on hand.

A Knife

Always start with a sharp knife.

Not only will it make the job easier, but a dull knife is dangerous because it forces you to push harder and causes an accidental slip of the blade.

Make sure you use proper knife technique by cutting away from yourself and using short precise cuts. Always know where your hands are, and if working with a friend, where their hands and knives are at all times.

Additionally, keeping your knife handle clean can help with a firm grip and prevent a slip. 

A Saw

A handy bone saw can make short work of splitting the pelvic bones or taking ribs off of the spine. However, my secret weapon has become a reciprocating saw with a clean demolition blade.

Gloves

Wearing gloves while processing your deer can make cleaning up a breeze. Periodically changing gloves while processing can also help reduce the spreading of hair or contaminants.

A Clean Cutting Surface

A sturdy table — or even the top of your cooler — will complete your workstation. A good cutting surface will keep your meat from sliding around as you process your game. 

Getting Started: Elevate your Game

There are other ways to skin a deer, such as the gutless method.

But in my opinion, the best way to skin a deer is by hanging it.

A gambrel and hoist can help the skinning process by bringing the carcass up to eye level and allowing gravity to work in your favor. If you don't have access to a hoist, you can hang a chain from your garage or even use a rope over a thick branch in a tree.

However, if hanging your deer is not possible, you can use painter's drop cloths or tarps to help keep it clean while working from the ground. 

Let It Hang

If you have a shed or garage that stays below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing your deer to hang for two to fourteen days to age is best. This allows the naturally occurring enzymes in the meat to start breaking down tissues and enhancing the tenderness and flavor of your game. 

Here in Texas, where I hunt, the windows of time where temperatures stay below 40 degrees are few and far between. Due to my lack of a personal walk-in cooler, I have been known to take up the entire refrigerator with skinned primal cuts of venison set on wire cooling racks on top of baking sheets to allow venison the time to age properly.

This allows airflow around all sides of the meat and maintains a safe sub-40-degree temperature for the entirety of the aging process.

The Skinning Process

I find hanging the deer upside down works best.

Make a slit in the hide between the tendons of the back legs and insert the gambrel through the created hole. Raise the carcass up to about chest level.

Always cutting with the direction of the hair, make an incision from the groin up the haunches to where you were for the gambrel. Begin pushing the hide down from the legs; it should come away from the meat with little or no cutting.

Remove the tail with your knife by cutting at the base in between the bones. The hide will become more difficult to remove once you reach the shoulders and neck area, especially on mature bucks.

Raise the deer up again on the hoist to give yourself more leverage as you continue to make small cuts between the hide and meat and continue pushing the hide down past the shoulders. This is a good time to remove the front legs at the elbows by cutting through the joint.

Splitting the hide at the neck to the jaw, remove the windpipe with your knife and cut through the spine with your bone saw to remove the head.

Rinse the cavity with a water hose to remove any excess blood or hair. 

The Breakdown

Now that the deer has been skinned, it's time to start breaking the animal into its basic primal cuts.

I start by removing the tenderloins from inside the ribs. There isn't much meat to this cut, so being precise with your knife is key to getting the most out of them. 

Backstraps

Moving to the backstraps on the outside of the spine, make a horizontal cut at the top of the hips. Making a horizontal cut downward as close to the spinal column as possible to the tops of the shoulders, slowly pulling and cutting this amazingly flavorful and tender cut away from the spine and ribs.

Shoulders

The shoulders are not attached by bone and can be easily cut away by lifting up the arms and slicing upwards from underneath until they come free. Cut through the neck meat with your knife until you reach the bone at the clavicle, then use your saw to remove it. 

Ribs

If you're keeping the ribs whole, they can be sawed down close to the spine to be smoked or BBQ'dd. However, if removing only the meat for grinding, make small cuts from the last rib as you cut away the meat from between each rib.

This should come off as one piece long piece on each side. 

Everything Else

Using your bone saw, saw off the remaining spine from the top of the hips and discard. At this point, I lower the gambrel back down to chest level and move the carcass to a cutting table.

Using your knife, down between the hams to expose bone and saw the two remaining quarters free of one another. Now cut through the shanks with a knife and remove the feet with the saw.

Now that you have your primal cuts, you can break them down even further into their subprimal and portion cuts and get to cooking dinner. 

Use HuntWise to Tag Out and Enjoy More Venison This Season

Using every part of the animal shows respect for the life we have taken. It takes patience to master skinning and dressing a deer — but after some practice, it becomes second nature and another rewarding part of the hunt and the animals we pursue. 

We hope this guide boosts your excitement for the upcoming deer season! To improve your chances of bringing home a big buck you can process and enjoy, make sure you use the best hunting tool for mapping, scouting, and planning the ideal days and times to hunt.

The HuntWise hunting app does all of that (and more) to help hunters become better hunters every season. Use features like HuntCast, WindCast, and RutCast to time your hunt around wind and weather conditions and animal behavior (including the rut).

You can also apply various mapping layers (including the latest LiDAR feature) to mark and scout potential bedding areas, feeding areas, and pinch points to improve your understanding of a hunting area and plan your strategy — before you even get into the field.

We hope this season is your best one yet! Download HuntWise for the first time and explore it free for your first week.