Utilizing the Gutless method in Ontario

Therein lies the rub. You have to take the ribs, and rib meat is not part of the traditional gutless method. Yea, it can be done gutless, but you end up basically doing a backwards order full dress as the organs ultimately come out to get the ribs. I find it completely impractical to cut rib meet off the bone too, organs in.

that is the big problem of the gutless method you are not recovering the meat on the rib without a risk to cut the inside ... way easier to gut straigth at the beginning.
 
^^Essentially what this fella is doing is quartering without gutting.

I do what this guy does, gutless & boneless.
Except for the hind leg that tag is attached to, and on that leg I hack around on it to include evidence of ### and in the case of deer, the tail.
After cutting all the way down the back from neck to butt direction, I do the tagging leg first because it can generate the most hair dealing with evidence of ### & tail.
I like this method a lot, and when I get home with the meat its already 2/3 cut up for packaging.
 
I’ve never read anything in Ontario that defines whether you need to harvest rib meat or not. I did the gutless method once and then went in for tenderloins and heart. Tenderloin is easy but heart not so much so now I just gut normally and essentially debone/quarter the rest.
 
I’ve never read anything in Ontario that defines whether you need to harvest rib meat or not. I did the gutless method once and then went in for tenderloins and heart. Tenderloin is easy but heart not so much so now I just gut normally and essentially debone/quarter the rest.

if the law doesnt specicfy that is one thing but what about ethic and not wasting good meat?
 
if the law doesnt specicfy that is one thing but what about ethic and not wasting good meat?

I like deer ribs so keep them for that. Slow cooked then finished on the bbq they are great. Otherwise I think rib meat on deer is hardly worth the effort. Too much fat in it for my taste

I’d greatly prefer heart and liver if it’s young enough to eat the liver and think they are a much greater waste than rob meat. But we all have our own ethics
 
I’m a townie now so do everything I can in the field to leave as much of the carcass behind as possible. The extent of butchery is determined mostly by daylight and temperature, my fingers get cold.
I’ve never understood why guys do the dorsal cut, it seems cleaner and easier for me to start at the bottom an just roll the hide off. Gives you a cleanish place to set the meat as well.
 
I like deer ribs so keep them for that. Slow cooked then finished on the bbq they are great. Otherwise I think rib meat on deer is hardly worth the effort. Too much fat in it for my taste

I’d greatly prefer heart and liver if it’s young enough to eat the liver and think they are a much greater waste than rob meat. But we all have our own ethics

Rib meat is great to add to the trim/grind pile, bit of added fat is never a bad thing with deer meat, it’s pretty lean to begin with.
 
Therein lies the rub. You have to take the ribs, and rib meat is not part of the traditional gutless method. Yea, it can be done gutless, but you end up basically doing a backwards order full dress as the organs ultimately come out to get the ribs. I find it completely impractical to cut rib meet off the bone too, organs in.


Cutting rib meat off while doing the gutless method is easy. With a big animal like a moose you can do a Rib Roll and on a deer you just cut through the ribs and bring them whole, like you would pork ribs. A small hatchet is handy but it can be done with a knife too as deer bone connections aren't that sturdy.
 
I’ve tried the “rib roll” before we knew it was called that on goats and a moose, it is not what I would consider easy. Without a second set of hands I wouldn’t attempt it, personally.

I believe most will find it’s easier to just field dress traditionally. By the time you’ve done the “rib roll” you’ve essentially done a field dress backwards, and didn’t get the cavity open to cool it nearly as quickly. And you still need to drop the intestines at least a bit to make room for the rib work. I see downsides, for very little upside.
 
I’ve tried the “rib roll” before we knew it was called that on goats and a moose, it is not what I would consider easy. Without a second set of hands I wouldn’t attempt it, personally.

I believe most will find it’s easier to just field dress traditionally. By the time you’ve done the “rib roll” you’ve essentially done a field dress backwards, and didn’t get the cavity open to cool it nearly as quickly. And you still need to drop the intestines at least a bit to make room for the rib work. I see downsides, for very little upside.

Rolling up a rib roll with stuffing and seasonings and cooking it low and slow is a great meal, but not everyone wants to go to the effort. If a person lacks the skills or confidence to do a little intricate knife work for a rib roll, then it's pretty easy to just cut the meat out in strips from between the ribs. Since you only do one side at a time, gravity does the work of holding the guts down away from the ribs you are working on.

An animal that is cut into pieces (like with the gutless method) will cool much faster than an animal that has been traditionally field dressed, which leaves the hide on and only opens the cavity and leaves the mass of meat intact. When you do the gutless method, by the time you get to the ribs you have removed the front and rear and loins of the animal which are all now cooling.
 
Not clear enough on my part, I’m talking the skin, gut, and quarter, the way you’d put in on a horse or a plane. You’re not cooling it faster by leaving the hottest part in the center of the carcass while you work. With removing the ribs, you’ve simply got a backwards order of that. If you do that with a bison and arguably even a moose, it’ll be soured long before you get to the tenderloins.

Never leave the skin on regardless your preferred order of breaking up the animal, consider that the first element of business.
 
Not clear enough on my part, I’m talking the skin, gut, and quarter, the way you’d put in on a horse or a plane. You’re not cooling it faster by leaving the hottest part in the center of the carcass while you work. With removing the ribs, you’ve simply got a backwards order of that. If you do that with a bison and arguably even a moose, it’ll be soured long before you get to the tenderloins.

Never leave the skin on regardless your preferred order of breaking up the animal, consider that the first element of business.


How long does it take you to cut up a moose the way you described? (Assuming at least 2 people since most moose hunting is done with a partner)
 
I’ve never competed in timed field dressing events admittedly. The only hurry is getting the skin off and guts out, which takes around half to three quarters of an hour with two good hands. After that you’re quartering.

I have no doubt your method will beat that and result in cooler meat in an internet debate.
 
I only asked about timing because you brought up meat going sour, and we have never had anything like that happen, even in warm weather. it made me wonder about what would make you think that.

It's not important to me how anyone deals with their animals but it is important for people to have correct information about the different methods. The fact is that the gutless method doesn't encourage spoilage, nor does it make rib meat retrieval difficult.
 
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