I’m not going to say where or when this happened, but it was a long time ago and the people responsible have mended their ways, so there’s no sense going into those specifics. But the story really illustrates how old wives’ tales and misplaced traditions can contribute to the potential waste of a truly fine resource.
It was deer camp at a farm in the Midwest. There were perhaps seven or eight of us there, and it was gun season. It wasn’t a guided hunt or anything like that; just a bunch of guys doing some slug hunting in the woodlots, creek-bottoms and farm fields, and managing to shoot a few whitetails in the process.
After a few days of hunting, there were four whitetails hanging in the barn. Then the weather started really warming up. No problem: We’d have a butchering bee and take care of that meat pronto!
We set up a good assembly line: skinners, carcass washers, two guys breaking the deer down, and then finish-up cutters. But I noticed a problem as the big pieces started coming down the line: There were back legs, loins, even necks to chunk up … but no front legs!
I didn’t say anything but walked over to the trash containers where the carcasses were going and found what I expected: Some perfectly good front legs were stuffed in with the refuse! I reached in, pulled a couple out, and started heading back to the butchering table with them.
“Oh those things are too tough and stringy,” said one guy. “My dad never saved those things. There’s not any good meat on them anyway.”
I wanted to yell, “What a waste that is,” but held back. Old ways die hard. I can’t remember exactly what I said, but it was something to the effect of, “Aw, just send them down the line, we’ll turn them into some good stuff.”
As I converted those front legs into some bone-in roasts and burger trim (two of the fastest things you can do with these parts of a deer), I hoped from the example that my companions would change their viewpoints on front legs.
When we divvied up the deer meat later, I noticed that everybody took at least one front leg roast in their pile. Maybe I did make some progress!
Front Leg How-To
Front legs still don’t get much respect in the venison department. My butchering companion had one valid point: Front legs are in fact tougher and stringier than other portions of a whitetail carcass. But that doesn’t mean you should throw out this important source of meat. You just have to know how to work with front legs, and what to make out of them.
Next time you have a whitetail skinned out and hanging by the gambrels, take a look at the front legs for a moment. There’s a substantial amount of meat there, and it’s a terrible waste to ignore this resource. Front legs account for about 20% of the usable venison on a typical deer.
Here’s the breakdown of the major parts of a good-sized whitetail carcass that typically yields somewhere between 40 to 45 pounds of boneless venison:
— Each front leg: 5 pounds (10 pounds total)
— Each loin: 5 pounds (10 pounds total)
— Each tenderloin: 1 to 1½ pounds (2 to 3 pounds total)
— Each back leg: 10 to 11 pounds (20 to 22 pounds total)
— Total: 42 to 44 pounds
Bucks, especially as they mature, grow bigger in the shoulders and yield a higher proportion of front leg meat to the mix. Adult does are usually larger in the withers than they are in the shoulders, and yield proportionately less front leg meat. Front legs from yearlings and fawns-of-the-year are very small, but boy are they good.
Yes, front leg meat is in general a little tougher than other parts of the whitetail for a reason: These limbs get used more every day. And the more a muscle is used, the tougher it gets. That’s why the loins at the top of the back are usually so tender: They don’t get the workouts that front legs do.
Front legs are also stringier in general, with tendons and ligaments and other connective tissue. That’s because a deer’s front legs are designed and built to help the animal juke, shimmy, dodge, jump and leap as it runs to escape predators. Front legs get a lot of work. But that also makes them very flavorful.
One of the most interesting aspects of butchering a front leg is the fact that you can remove it from the carcass without a saw or much effort at all. That’s because there is not a shoulder “socket,” as you might expect. A hunting knife, or even just your boning or fillet knife, is the only tool it takes to remove a front leg from a whitetail carcass. Here’s how.
Have a partner hold on to the shank (lower end) of the leg as you work your knife between the shoulder blade and the rib cage. As you work and slice the tendons and tissue, the leg will slowly, easily and naturally pull away. You can also take care of this process by yourself, but it’s a little easier with a helper.
Front Leg Notes
One challenge with front legs is that because of their placement on the deer (shielding part of the ribcage and chest), they are often shot up, especially during gun seasons. As you would do with any other section of the deer, it’s important to generously trim away any damaged or bloodshot meat.
As much as it is important to maximize the amount of venison you take from any deer, it’s equally important to ensure a wholesome and healthy output for any family, friends, hunting partners or guests who will be eating it.
Put simply: It’s not worth risking taste or food safety by trying to keep more blood-shot or shot-up meat than you should. Don’t feel bad if you come away with only a little clean trim meat from a badly shot up front leg.
This past winter, during our annual antlerless hunt with my boys, everybody seemed to be hammering the whitetails directly in the front shoulder, and the big muzzleloader bullets were doing quite a job on them. That brings up another challenge with front legs: The wide shoulder blade provides a lot of bone mass to produce bone fragments.
Archery hunters avoid ruining much if any front shoulder meat, just because they know they can’t usually punch an arrow through the shoulder blade. But during gun season, you’re going to shoot up some front shoulders.
One other note on front legs. While it’s important to trim away tough gristle and excess fat, it’s also true that these features can add flavor and character to the meat. In other words, don’t over-trim.
Nine Front Leg Options
Butchering a front leg is a fairly simple proposition. You’re presented with two parts: the upper leg (around the shoulder blade) and the lower leg (shank). While the two outputs I made from those farmland whitetails long ago are certainly some of the easiest things you can do with front leg meat, you have many more options at your disposal. You’ll be surprised at the variety of cuts and products you can get from a whitetail’s front legs. Start with these nine concepts.
Bone-In Shoulder Roast — One of the easiest things you can do with a whitetail’s front leg is make a shoulder roast. Simply pop off the shank or lower leg: Push the joint the wrong way, then cut through the ligaments to separate it from the test of the leg. The larger piece, with the shoulder blade in, becomes a flavorful roast. Easy! Of course, the size of the roast depends on the size of the deer.
Rolled Roast — Bone-in shoulder roasts are great, but if you want a boneless roast, it’s easy to create from the shoulder. Just use your fillet knife to carve off the meat from the T-shaped shoulder blade, then roll up the resulting piece and tie up with twine. You can also create a rolled roast from the shank meat. Just slice along the lower leg bone, carve off the meat, then roll up and tie.
Ground Venison — If nothing else, the front leg makes great ground venison. Cut off and chunk up all of the meat from the shank (if you’re creating roasts from the upper shoulder) to grind. Or, you can turn the entire leg into trim for ground venison. Nothing wrong with that.
Stew Meat and Chili Chunks — The front shoulder is ideal for stew meat or chili chunks. You cook those dishes long and moist anyway, so these are perfect uses for “tough” (that’ a relative term) front leg meat.
Slow-Cook Steak — Yes, you can make some steaks from the front legs. You just have to cook them long and slow and moist, such as in Swiss Steak or by braising. To be honest, these are some of the best-tasting and flavor-filled steaks from a whitetail. Instead of a shoulder roast, carve and peel off those hunks of meat and use them for slow-cook steaks. Tip: Save work at butchering time by making shoulder roasts; you can always turn them into steaks later.
Jerky — Use those flat pieces peeled off the upper shoulder and slice them cross-grain to make pieces for jerky. This is another option you can take care of later, if you want to save work by freezing an entire upper shoulder when butchering.
Trim for Sausage, Brats and Snack Sticks — Use the front legs as a resource to fill the grinder for any and all kinds of sausage products. This is perhaps the easiest and most obvious use of all for the front legs, if you don’t need more roasts, stew meat, chili meat or ground meat.
Smoke It — Turn that bone-in shoulder into a smoked ham. Remove all of the silver skin and gristle. Brine the roast (one day per pound of meat) in the refrigerator in a gallon of water mixed with 2 cups of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of curing agent, and a quarter cup of pickling spices. Inject the meat with brine, too, before soaking. Remove from the brine and let it dry (a sheen will form), then smoke for six to 10 hours to an internal temperature of 140 F.
Grill It Whole — Got a whitetail on the meatpole and a hungry deer camp crew to feed? Peel off a front leg and slow-grill it on low heat for a few hours, basting with barbecue sauce. It’s simple and fun to do, and everybody loves it.
Conclusion
A whitetail’s front legs deserve more respect than they get, and they offer multiple options for great venison outputs. The meat is full of flavor and character, and without much work you can turn this bounty into memorable venison meals.
BONUS RECIPE: Tender Treat
Lindsey Bartosh of Utah has some great recipes on her website, www.HuntingandCooking.com, including several for deer. She and her husband enjoy hunting and other outdoors pursuits, along with preparing and cooking wild game. This recipe for venison steaks is simple and tasty, and can be done with elk or other big game. Check out her tips and recipes at www.HuntingandCooking.com.
Deer Tenderloin Topped with Gorgonzola
- Five or six ½-inch butterflied deer
- tenderloin steaks
- 4 oz. crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)
Mix the cheese and herbs in a bowl, which should be minced finely. Use other herbs if you have a preference. Heat stove to medium-high. In a non-stick skillet, add vegetable oil (or not, if you don’t want it to flavor the meat) and lay in the tenderloin steaks. Because they’re thin they will cook quickly. Cook for about 1 to 1½ minutes, then flip. Cook for about 30 seconds and then apply cheese mixture on each steak. When the cheese is melted remove the steaks and serve.
(Option: Use bleu cheese instead of gorgonzola for a different flavor.)
