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When you butcher your next whitetail, give some love to these little-respected cuts that offer up plenty of prime venison.
When a whitetail goes up on the meat pole and the skin comes off, everybody oohs and ahhs at the prime cuts residing underneath. If itxe2x80x99s a yearling doe or a small buck hanging, the comments center on how tender and savory that prime venison is going to be. If itxe2x80x99s a big, mature buck, the observations focus on the volume of great meat that is going to come off the carcass.
Either way, certain favored cuts get all of the attention: the lean, long loins running on either side of the backbone; the nicely textured sirloins at the top of the rump; and the top rounds residing in the upper back legs. Everything else is usually more or less relegated to the xe2x80x9ctrimxe2x80x9d pile for grinding or turning into sausage products.
Thatxe2x80x99s all well and fine xe2x80x94 as long as all of the venison from any deer gets put to full use. So when you butcher your next whitetail, consider paying some extra attention to the following six cuts that donxe2x80x99t get much respect xe2x80xa6 but should get more. Herexe2x80x99s what they are, where to find them, how to remove them and some options for what to do with them.
1. The Neglected Neck
What a shame to skin a deer just past the shoulders and throw out the neck. Itxe2x80x99s full of muscles (meat), some very large and for the most part relatively tender, too xe2x80x94 especially on young deer, does and small bucks.
Itxe2x80x99s easy to generate an extra 2 or 3 to 5, 6 or more pounds of venison off a whitetailxe2x80x99s neck and turn it into great end-products. You can:
- Make prime ground venison.
- Toss the meat in the trim pile for sausage products.
- Create stew meat.
- Cook chunks in a Crock-Pot with beef broth for shredded hot sandwich meat.
Another great option for neck meat is a roast. Herexe2x80x99s how to do it.
Remove the head at the top and the neck from the chest. Slice up the front of the neck to remove the windpipe and esophagus. Cut down to the neckbone from this incision, then fillet off a slab of intact meat from around the neck. You will end up with a flat piece of meat that xe2x80x9cwrappedxe2x80x9d the neckbone. Roll and tie this for a rolled roast. Cook long and slow (275xc2xb0 to 300xc2xb0F) in a moist/sealed environment.
2. Beautiful Briskets
The brisket cuts are found on the lower part and front of the chest, at the front of the ribcage. These slabs peel off nicely, making nice, flat pieces of meat that range from quite small on does to very large on big-chested mature bucks. Brisket is best cooked long and moist, and served hot. Herexe2x80x99s how.
Season a brisket slab well with a favorite rub. Roast for an hour at high heat (about 425xc2xb0F) to get a seal on the meat. Then add a half-inch of stock to the pan, cover it tightly with foil, turn the heat down to 300xc2xb0F and cook for three additional hours. Alternative: Do that second, lower-temperature session in a smoker!
3. Ribs of All Sizes
After taking off the front legs and loins, the ribcage is what you have left. Removing the brisket piece (above) starts utilizing this often-ignored area. But the ribs themselves can make some fantastic meals, too.
Therexe2x80x99s no need to work real hard getting ribs ready. Just use a bone saw and cut along the spine to remove the rack, then saw off the lower edge. Rib cages vary widely in size, according to the deer you shot, so break down into separate slabs, or keep the rack all together.
Herexe2x80x99s how to cook a rack of venison ribs without much fuss. Rub the rack with a stick of room-temperature butter and then the juice from an orange. Sprinkle with oregano and other spices such as rosemary and any others you like, and add minced garlic, too. Wrap the rack in foil and cook long and slow, at least four to five hours, at 275xc2xb0F or so. Crank the heat up to 425xc2xb0F and pop off the foil for the last 10 minutes before serving, to crisp up the ribs.
4. Shank You Very Much
The shank is the lower portion (below the knee joint) of any leg. This is a tough piece of meat on every deer xe2x80x94 full of tendons, sinew and gristle. Wasting lower legs outright is bad. But putting the filleted-off chunks of meat into a grinder isnxe2x80x99t a good practice either, because all of the toughening components mentioned can really bind up the workings.
One solution? Fillet off the meat and use it in a stew. Classic stews are cooked long, slow and moist, which helps break down all of those tendons and sinew. Osso buco is an Italian style stew with the meat cooked in red wine and stewed tomatoes xe2x80x94 with potatoes, mushrooms and carrots added late in the cooking process.
You can also take an entire bone-in shank and cook it whole in an osso buco environment. The bone adds extra heartiness, richness and flavor.
5. The Forgotten Flank
Youxe2x80x99ll probably get a meaningful flank only from a very large deer, but these small pieces are worth gleaning from even a small whitetail, if only for the trim pile.
The flank is the piece of meat left behind the ribs after you remove the loin. Itxe2x80x99s a nice, boneless piece of meat, relatively tender and filled with excellent flavor. Flank steaks (also called skirt steaks) serve well as fajita meat. Marinate the piece whole, grill it to medium-rare to medium perfection, then cut into cross-grain slices for the fajitas.
6. Substantial Shoulders
Because they are so substantial, front shoulders are seldom forgotten. But they are under appreciated and under utilized. A shoulder is easy to remove: You donxe2x80x99t even need a saw! Grab the lower leg, pull it away, and simply slice the connective tissue and ligaments that attach the shoulder to the chest cavity. There is no ball-and-socket joint.
From a small- to medium-sized deer, a shoulder (trimmed up and without the shank) makes a perfect bone-in roast. Just wrap or seal and freeze as-is. Thatxe2x80x99s about as easy a way as there is to butcher a good chunk of your deer.
You can also make boneless shoulder roasts. Lay a shoulder on the butcher surface with the xe2x80x9cinsidexe2x80x9d down and fillet off the two main pieces (there is an upright blade that separates them). Use these pieces as roasts; you can also cut these pieces up into stew meat later. Itxe2x80x99s good to have options!
I also like shoulder steaks, to be honest. While not as tender as loin or top round steaks, I think shoulders have more character and flavor. You do, though, have to cook them long, slow and moist to tenderize them. A Swiss-steak or osso buco approach is good.
Front shoulder meat is also good for grinding. The chunks are relatively free of gristle and other by-products, which is easy on the grinder and makes for nice burger, too.
Conclusion
While itxe2x80x99s true these six forgotten cuts of venison might not be as xe2x80x9cclassicxe2x80x9d or tender as other parts of your whitetail, each one of these underrated muscle groups is highly flavorful in its own special way. Give these cuts some special attention the next time you butcher your deer, and give them a try in ways other than throwing them into the trim pile for grinding or sausage.
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