I have the back or loin strap ready to fillet the loin from the bone. The upper portion of the loin toward the neck is usually reserved in one piece for a small roast but the balance is sliced and usually grilled or hand cubed for cubed venison steak and mushroom gravy.

My cutting board looks rather rough but it is clean but has some deep stains in it. The upper left hand portion that is missing was used as a base for a hand powered vegetable shredder currently replaced by a Kitchen Aid food processor.





The pix on the right is what those beauties look like sliced. I also have the “tenderloins” from the inside of the back strap near the kidneys, which is the tenderest portion of meat on a deer. This muscle apparently doesn’t get much exercise or movement; otherwise it would be a little tougher.



This piece of venison fillet is going to make a small loin roast!



This one is ready for the freezer. Used aluminum foil and then freezer paper on the outside to help reduce freezer burn. The type of fold I used is commonly called “Drugstore fold”. You start at one of the pointed corners and make a few calculated folds and it works real well.



The upper section of the back/loin strap for a “loin roast”.



The hindquarter being separated at the ball and joint with the portion on the left commonly called a “rump roast”, however the hindquarters will be ground up but I will show the three different muscle groups cut up.



You can see the ball joint and the socket a little clearer on this pix.

The next task is to break down the “ham” into three major muscle groups, top sirloin, top and bottom round roasts. The rump roast is on the left with the pelvic bone and socket bone.



Here you can see the major muscles partly filled off the thighbone. Look about four inches to the left of the lower portion of the thighbone and you will see the popliteal (flank) gland, which is grayish in color surrounded by white membranes and tissue. If this gland is left in, it will give the meat an unpleasant odor and taste. The number of hunters who never remove this gland surprises me.



This is a closer look of the popliteal (flank) gland removed from the muscle.



Here we have the three muscle groups detached from the thighbone and the thighbone has the shank portion still attached. The shank has many sinuous fibers and mostly used for burger and it will clog up the meat grinder blades if not precut into small chunks.



The sirloin cut into steaks. This pix is for demo only because I plan to grind the entire hindquarter for burger



You can see the different shape of the steaks. Venison steaks have hardly any cholesterol and when prepared correctly make for some “beautimous” eating.



The last muscle of the hindquarter cut into steaks. It is almost sacra religious to grind those beautiful slices of steak into burger but the Venison Summer Sausage is calling my name out very loud!



It hurt a little to cut those steaks up but the venison cubes are about ready for the grinder.



See how easy that was. The burger and loin straps are in the freezer as I type and it want be too much longer before the burger will be transformed into some of Porter’s Venison Cajun style Summer Sausage hickory smoked in my “Porter Stein Smoker”.

Later, Bill aka Mickey