I Am So Proud of ME!

[Pony]

Yesterday morning, I had plans to finish butchering the last of the meat chickens. Then I got a call from one of our sheriff's deputies.

No, I wasn't in trouble with Johnny Law. Nick and I are on the list of people to call when there's a usable deer by the side of the road, and there was a good deer on the highway just a little north of us.

Nick was at work with the truck, and I had no idea how I was going to lift a deer into the back of the Cherokee. But after a couple of questions as to gender and size (doe; not too big), I decided to give it a shot.

But not until I called my friend in town, Sandy. Sandy's a city girl ,but she's always up for a Lucy and Ethel type adventure, so she was out of her jammies and into her grubs almost before she hung up the phone.

While waiting for Sandy to get here, I found a big ol' cardboard box, cut it open, and laid it out in the back of the Cherokee (after I dropped the rear seat). Then I grabbed some work gloves, and as soon as Sandy arrived, we were off in the fog to find our prey.

Though it was foggy, it wasn't too hard to find the doe on the other side of the road. A quick u-turn, drove past and backed up a bit. No, the deer didn't look too big for us to move, and thank God, she was dead but not in bad shape at all. The deputy was pretty accurate in his estimation that this was a recent kill.

We sized up the doe. Sandy grabbed one end, I grabbed the other, and we tossed her into the back of the Cherokee.

To make a long story (and most excellent adventure) short, we got her back to the house. We got a t-post in through the back legs, but had a rough time finding a place to hang the carcass. Eventually (after dragging the carcass back and forth and all over the yard), I got the idea to screw a bike holder into a tree. Hung the carcass from the hook on the tree, got it gutted, got most of the hide loose, and Sandy went on her way (she had a hair appt).

Then, I called a neighbor to see how long I had to let it hang. She said I could hang it in the hide for a day if I wanted. So I shrugged, and figured I'd leave it until Nick got home from work. Next thing I know, there's a knock at the door: The neighbor sent her son-in-law over to help me finish skinning the doe!

Great! He had that hide off in no time flat!

And now, it was just me and that carcass... And my trusty boning knife, kitchen shears, cleaver.

Believe it or not, I actually got that whole carcass butchered before Nick got home from work at 4 that afternoon. Meat in bags, ribs slow roasting in the oven, and most of the blood between the back yard and the kitchen cleaned up.

I will admit that, today, I am hurting so bad from the fibro flare that was inevitable with all that work, but...

It was so worth it!

I've never ever butchered an animal that large all by myself before (yes, Sandy and Jim helped me, but I did the lion's share of the work). My father-in-law estimates that, considering the amount of meat I put up from the deer (almost 50 pounds), it must have weighed around 120 pounds live.

W00t!

I am very, very proud of myself. I know that if you were to mention this to my friends back in The City, they would not be surprised that I did it, but more surprised that there are such opportunities in the world. ("You got a road kill deer and you're doing WHAT with it???")

heehee...

[Minelson]

You are a SUPER HERO!! I can't imagine doing that..good job!!

[RideBarefoot]

Yes, a big serious WOOT!!! to you!

[gone-a-milkin]

Pony and Sandy's excellent adventure!

Good job girls.

[Pony]

Except for the ribs, it's all in the fridge. I'm whomped today!

I'm looking for suggestions on jerky recipes, and will be borrowing my friend Judy's meat grinder tomorrow (hers is heavy duty and electric; mine is hand-powered from the iron age). My daughter will be mightily disappointed if I don't make her a bit of sausage, even if I don't have casings for it.

I may can some, though...

Mmm... No matter how I cook it, it's all good -- it's VENISON!

[Pony]

Originally Posted by rose2005

and Free!

Ah, my favorite 4-letter "F" word!

My second favorite 4-letter "F" word is FOOD!

[romysbaskets]

Great way to utilize that meat, glad you had a friend to lend a hand too! A friend of mine, didn't get her deer one year, she hunts, suddenly she hears tires squealing right out front of her house. After she left to see if she could help out, down her long driveway....she sees.....a deer, people peering at it, just killed by a car....she lives on the edge of town so...city folks don't really know what to do...well she ran back to her house, grabbed her deer tag and snagged it. She actually handled the entire process herself? Well she does stand 6 feet tall and used to be a bouncer in a bar...heheheh Ok so.........aren't you thrilled to have all that meat for free? Wow, in todays world....city folks...well they "dispose" of road kill but....you sure did great!

What an awesome story!

[jen74145]

WTG Pony!

Free meat. Deer not wasted. And butchered by yourself with hand tools.

Attagirl. Oh, now I want venison stew so bad, lol.

[manygoatsnmore]

All right, Pony! I'm proud of you, too.

[uncle Will in In.]

The next time the Pilgrims and Indians have a cook out, I bet you get a special invite. LOL <>Unk

[hmsteader71]

I am in awe. I wouldn't have known what to do in the first place!

[Fae]

Good job! I would not have had a clue what to do.

[Pony]

Y'know how I knew what to do?

I read Ozark Jewel's tutorial on how to butcher a goat a while back, and it also happened that I was noodling around her site the other day (she has her 2010 breeding list up!) and re-studied the page on butchering b/c I was going to help a friend butcher a couple of goats.

Well, the friend was able to re-home the goats, but I still had the instructions on how to do the butchering in my head.

Deer are a lot like goats, and honestly, the whole process is the same for everything from rabbits up to a steer.

But I don't want to try to hang a steer on a bicycle hook. LOL!

[Tracy Rimmer]

Originally Posted by Pony

But not until I called my friend in town, Sandy. Sandy's a city girl ,but she's always up for a Lucy and Ethel type adventure, so she was out of her jammies and into her grubs almost before she hung up the phone.

Lucy and Ethel friends are the BEST!

Hung the carcass from the hook on the tree, got it gutted, got most of the hide loose, and Sandy went on her way (she had a hair appt).

I read this line and started to giggle.... I wonder what she told her hair dresser, and how the hair dresser took it?

You SHOULD be proud of yourself! That was a HUGE undertaking, and you did it! And you've got fifty pounds of meat out of the deal. What a GREAT day's work!

[lenii]

Besides being self sufficient, you are a great writer. I can totally see that as a short story. I love the Lucy/Ethel reference..WTG

[garnetmoth]

that rocks!

I would loved to get in on that! I learned to skin/process with my husband this year- a woodchuck and a rabbit. We have lots of deer around here, does in the back yard sometimes.

Good friends to have too!

[MaggieJ]

Well done, Pony!

I'm totally impressed! Here's to you and Sandy!

I'll bet Nick was impressed too!

[truckdriverx72]

Another big ol' ATTAGIRL !!!!!!!!

[Wolf mom]

Really impressive!!!