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6 )(^64) September/October 2019
next to the carcass to stage the cuts of
meat. (If you aren’t yet familiar with
the different cuts, use a permanent
marker to label the cuts on the tarp so
there’s no confusion.) If you harvested
the deer with a firearm, discard the
meat from around the bullet wound.
Before you process the meat adja-
cent to the wound, check for bullet
fragments and discard any pieces that
contain fragments.
16 a-b. Remove the front legs. To do
so, pull a leg away from the body and
cut the connective tissue and muscle
just deep enough to remove the leg
and shoulder from the carcass. Rotate
the leg to see where the shoulder blade
connects to the carcass, and work
slowly to make the cuts. Place both
legs on the tarp; you’ll remove the
meat from them later.
17 a-b. Next, remove the backstraps,
which make great steaks and roasts.
These long, round muscles run along
each side of the backbone from just
in front of the pelvis to the neck. One
side of the backstrap is positioned
next to the backbone, and the bottom
side sits next to the ribs. Make the
first incision along the length of the
backbone until you feel the ribs. Next,
gently roll the muscle, and cut it away
from the ribs until the muscle is free
from the carcass.
- Remove the tenderloins next.
They’re the two long, round muscles
inside the body cavity along each side
of the backbone from just in front of
the pelvis to near the diaphragm. Cut
and peel them away from the carcass.
Use them for steaks, kebab medal-
lions, and roasts.
19. Next, remove the rump and
rounds from the back legs and hips. To
do so, pull one back leg away from the
body, and locate where the hipbone
and femur attach to the body. On
the inside of the leg, cut through the
muscle to the femur bone. Then, cut
along the femur and expose it to the
next joint, which will be the knee. Use
your fingers and a knife to separate the
muscle from around the entire length
of the femur. Cut the meat at the knee
joint so the only attachment is at the
hip joint. Cradle the entire chunk of
meat with one hand so it doesn’t fall
on the ground, and cut it free from the
carcass. Use the rounds and rump for
roasts, steaks, and jerky.
20. Cut off the shanks from the calf
area of the back legs. Remove the
large, round muscle from the bone and
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