Deboning can be quicker than an oil change.
After wasting too many hours of my life deboning meat and killing too many animals to afford a butcher, I came up with a deboning solution that works like a charm.
Usually, when preparing meat to freeze, 10 percent of the time is spent getting 90 percent of the meat and 90 percent of the time is spent getting the remaining 10 percent. I don’t bother wasting 90 percent of my life on such small scraps, yet I still get all 100 percent of the meat without wasting an ounce.
This method will work if you freeze your meat as chunks of roast. If carefully cutting for sausage or making select steak cuts this strategy, however, isn’t for you.
This is my trick for deboning deer or hogs:
First of all, I soak my meat in icy water for several days before deboning. I freeze the meat as is in doubled gallon freezer Ziplocs, preparing and cutting off the fat and fascia (the silver meat) after defrosting and before cooking.
1) To start, I put my backstraps/tenderloins in Ziploc bags whole or chopped in half.
One Minute.
2) Next, I cut two to three giant sections of roast from the back legs, putting each in a ziplock.
Four Minutes.
3) Then, I’ll do the same for the front legs, cutting either one or two big chunks.
Three Minutes.
4) Finally, I’ll cut any remaining fat, putting all four legs with the leftover, small chunks of meat attached in a larger bag.
Two Minutes.
That’s all; just 10 minutes and you’re done with the slicing and dicing!
If I kill a small hog or deer, I’ll freeze the legs whole on the bone in a 1- or 2-gallon Ziploc bag, which takes even less time.
I’ll then proceed to freeze my meat, clean the cutting board, knife and ice chest, and it’s a done deal.
Within 20 minutes of starting I’m done and everything is ready to ice down another animal. Doesn’t get easier than that!
Now to that last step – the eating: After you had cut the chunks of roast from the legs you are left with the 10 percent of the meat, which usually takes the majority of the time to tediously cut off with a knife.
Ditch the cutting utensil. Instead, use your teeth!
The bag I was talking about is a giant turkey baking bag. I put four legs inside, along with onions, garlic, salt, pepper and seasonings/sauces of choice, baking for a few hours on a low temperature until the meat is tender. Tasty. Quick. Efficient.
After I’m done chewing on the bones, I’ll let the dogs finish the job. Sometimes I’ll do a whole shoulder with this process to cook more meat.
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