How do you hang and skin?

[Elkeater]

Yeah, I do mess with the innards. Sadly, the gutless method exempts the tenderloins from the equation - the very best of the animal. And, that elk was flipping HUGE once it was on the ground! Dealing with all those innards on the "outards" would have been a sideshow in the dark and 28 degrees and dropping. I am just a very food conservation minded chef in the field.

And there's nothing better that meat on the bone. My guide wondered why I was so game to take the shanks - those 12 lb elk hindshanks were the most amazing game dinner item for 8 I've ever served.

What???? I have done gutless in plenty of critters and never left a t-loin. You just reach under the last rib after the hind quarter and the backstrap comes off. Heck by the time I'm done there ain't much left for the coyotes but bones. I take all 4 quarters, backstrap, tenderloin, neck meat, brisket, basically any scrap I can get off it. You can even get in between the ribs for the heart if there's one left. If it's a real PITA of a pack out I'll debone everything out in the field too.

I don't tend to eat liver, kidneys, etc. I do like heart though. I've tried liver but just couldn't get my head wrapped around the idea.

I agree with you on the shanks though. They are freaking awesome.

 

[Vortex!]

Hang it by the head and get it started then I just pull it on down. I use an electric winch so it's really handy. Sometimes I park my truck and hook the hide to the truck while using the winch to pull it off.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

If I can get a deer back and I usually can. By the legs upside down, skin it down.

Super fast, no cutting away hide just put your elbow in and pull it down with body weight. Makes for super easy caping and mounts to take to taxi if you want.

If it's gonna be cold enough jack it up high so yotes won't reach it and let it hand a week or so.

 

[FIGJAM]

Yeah, I do mess with the innards. Sadly, the gutless method exempts the tenderloins from the equation - the very best of the animal. And, that elk was flipping HUGE once it was on the ground! Dealing with all those innards on the "outards" would have been a sideshow in the dark and 28 degrees and dropping. I am just a very food conservation minded chef in the field.

And there's nothing better that meat on the bone. My guide wondered why I was so game to take the shanks - those 12 lb elk hindshanks were the most amazing game dinner item for 8 I've ever served.

I have never left a tenderloin behind and have used the gutless method on countless animals...they are pretty easy to get to and it only takes a couple seconds...and you dont have to take the meat off the bone.

 

[Hand Skills]

Here is a highly refined gutless method for deer.



Unfortunately, a lot of meat gets wasted here, but the gutless method is not to fault for that. Still, a lot of good tips and tricks (that apply to any animal) make it a worthwhile watch.

Personally I'm interested in a more 'nose to tail' approach, which means using as much of the animal as possible. Tongue, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs - all are of high caloric and nutrient value. Even if one doesnt want to eat these delicacies themselves, all make excellent pet food.

I'm interested in the best quality I can achieve. Hanging meat can really make a difference, and it hangs best on the bone. Most butchers will agree cutting up meat while it's still warm is not a good idea. There are several reasons, including contamination and the simple fact that cool firm meat is not only easier to cut, but it makes better cuts.

A typical harvest for me involves field dressing. Generally I leave the skin on for transport as it protects the meat and keeps it clean.

I get a kick out of hunters who think blood is icky!

 

[Sflutes]

Here is a highly refined gutless method for deer.



Unfortunately, a lot of meat gets wasted here, but the gutless method is not to fault for that. Still, a lot of good tips and tricks (that apply to any animal) make it a worthwhile watch.

Personally I'm interested in a more 'nose to tail' approach, which means using as much of the animal as possible. Tongue, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs - all are of high caloric and nutrient value. Even if one doesnt want to eat these delicacies themselves, all make excellent pet food.

I'm interested in the best quality I can achieve. Hanging meat can really make a difference, and it hangs best on the bone. Most butchers will agree cutting up meat while it's still warm is not a good idea. There are several reasons, including contamination and the simple fact that cool firm meat is not only easier to cut, but it makes better cuts.

A typical harvest for me involves field dressing. Generally I leave the skin on for transport as it protects the meat and keeps it clean.

I get a kick out of hunters who think blood is icky!

Thanks a lot for the video, made it look too easy.

 

[NEMTHunter]

I hang it with a rope and skin it with a knife.

 

[Blacktail]

I found the gutless method several years ago and it changed my life. Never again will I gut an animal or haul an entire carcass back to the truck. That baby is processed on the ground where it took its last breath.

totatlly agree! I dont care where I am 200 yards from the truck gutless haved to skin anyway so might as well just get it done and not have to deal with opening up the carcass and getting loins out is a piece of cake

 

[Hand Skills]

Thanks a lot for the video, made it look too easy.

Cheers, I am always looking to improve. Some solid tips from a skilled artist there. I don't mean to be critical, but it doesn't get any easier than leaving 75% of the deer in the gut bucket... On the other hand, if I had to dress a dozen deer a day for clients who may not even pick up the meat from the butcher that's a pretty smart way to go.

I hang it with a rope and skin it with a knife.

How novel!

 

[chickm1]

Hang from the neck or antlers and skin down. Unless I am going to mount the head. I cut the top of the flank and get the tenderloins out. The liver of a buck is only good for trotline bait, and I have not tried the heart or kidneys, except for the same thing.

 

[JWHIII]

Depends on the environmental conditions. In winter I like to haul them out whole to avoid freezing. Then hang and process in the warm.

 

[Northerner]

Been using the gutless method for a number of years now and our party has done easily a dozen elk that way. We have found it is easiest to get the tenderloins last. Once the quarters, backstraps and any other salvageable loose meat is cleaned from the carcass we roll what's left on its brisket and get the tenderloins. Gravity pulls the guts away from the back and makes it easier to reach in under the last ribs to get the tenderloins out without fighting the weight of the guts. We gutless method all elk even if they are easily driven to. Since we process all our own we are going to skin and quarter it all eventually. We just do it where they die and not fight so much weight all at once.

 

[HOT TUNA]

Gutless method...

Big nod for the gutless method. It cuts out gutting the animal, dragging the whole carcass out of the field, hanging it, then skinning it, then quartering it, then deboning it... so much freaking work. I can fully take down a deer in about 10-15 minutes using the gutless method and have it packaged in quarters in a freezer within 40-45 minutes if I have one available. I hung deer for many years until I tried gutless one year and I won't be going back.

 

[Trb696]

Hanging from neck, Rock, rope and car/winch method all the way! Work smarter, not harder!