Any good books on butchering game?

Potshot21

Potshot21

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Moose Country, Ontario
Looking to acquire some knowledge and skill on butchering deer and moose. I've done a fair amount over the years, but never really had a good understanding of the different cuts and where they come from. I enjoy steaks the most from these and usually try to get as many as I can out of a harvest, but since my usual butcher has moved on, I've been struggling to do it myself.

Anybody know a good source for this kind of education?

Any help appreciated!!
 
I’ve watched a lot of videos on field dressing and butchering deer the last few years and Scott Rea out of the UK has the best butchery break downs. He shows you a lot more cuts than most North American hunters videos, coming from a traditional butchers background he goes into more detail on cuts than just some steaks and roast’s and grind the rest. His sausage making videos are great, he’s working on book number 3 or 4 if I remember correctly.


 
The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 1: Big Game

The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 2: Small Game and Fowl

-covers recommendation of equipment
-hunting strategy
-hunting location
-back-country hunting
-butchering of the big game

A $15-$30 on amazon.ca. A good start...
 
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Another vote for Butchering, Processing and Preservation of Meat by Frank G. Ashbrook. My copy was published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company - ISBN # 0-442-20377-2.
 
Basics of game butchery - keep it clean, keep it cool.
We cut many early season deer on the day after harvest. They were as tender as those hung for 5 days.
If you get it dirty, trim it clean ASAP.
Trim away all fat, silverskin and bloodshot meat - that's where off tastes come from.
If it's too small to be a roast, it is steak, too small for steak it's kebobs, smaller than that it's for the grind pile.
You can afford the time to fuss over your game meat, get the cuts you like, and waste less than a professional butcher.
Choose a book that you like, but you mostly learn by doing.
 
i've butchered deer myself but never a moose. my advice is get several different sources. I have copies of every book listed and a few more. none will cover the same thing in the same detail. youtube is a good supplement as you can see the cuts being made. the best thing about diy is you can take the time to trim really well. keep it clean and keep it cool.
 
See if you can get a cutting guide for a lamb, very similar to deer. If you own a bandsaw you can get into a whole new universe of cutting.

Not specifically cutting related but the book charcuterie by ruhlman and pocylyn has good info in general on sausage making and curing whole muscles as well as recipes.
 
The 3:50 mark has previews of his venison volume, there’s a second book on birds out now as well. Lots of good pics and step by step breakdowns, recipes as well at the end. 1st and 2nd runs sold out fairly quick iirc.


 
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