# dead deer last night



## big game cook (Jun 4, 2009)

well last night i had my two boys with me and a preg doe jumped right in front of us. with some fancy trick driving i could have missed it but with the two boys with me and trees along the road i wasnt risking it. i turned into her direction as turning with her usually results in more damage. as it was she took across the road and i turned at her letting the extra second she almost cleared the front but the passenger light bumper got her. another second she would have made it. had i not turned at her direction she came from i would have squared her dead center.

well its an old 95 f-150 with prior collision damage so all i really need is a new headlight turn sig assembly. $65 at the salvage yard and some sheet metal screws to secure the grill it will be back in service. glad the kids wasnt hurt.

so being the redneck i am waste not want not she came home in the back. illinois law states anyone involved in a collision with a deer if killed has possession rights. or if they leave the scene any citizen of illinois can transport and possess the animal. usually in these hard hits it does bad things to organs and over the years ive learned a tecnique that allows meat to be salvaged without the mess.

i make an incision down the spine through skin. peel it back and remove the loins backstraps. then make an incision down from that one over each leg and fillet back skin to remove front shoulders if undamaged. this allows me to see right off if any fluids or blood has gotton in it. both of these were undamaged. the rear quarters were not full of blood either and i was able to get the rump roasts tip roasts of each side. loins were perfect too. and never seen any blood guts. the rest can be disposed of intack with innerds still inside.

sink full of meat.




so off to the freezor for the roasts and loins wich i froze whole.

the front shoulders on the other hand are at 250 degrees.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			









ill post results. smoked a whole deer ham i cured once but never a whole front shoulder. plan on feeding a couple buddies as well.


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## bigbaldbbq (Jun 4, 2009)

That is a good looking roast. Glad you and your kids weren't hurt.


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## bassman (Jun 4, 2009)

Good save!  I've hit a couple that were'nt hurt too bad.  Still good meat.


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## alx (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for info.We had record deer hunt in maryland last year.Figured it was economy.I still have a 95 f150 4x4 runs like a champ.Kids got a good lesson.


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## jjrokkett (Jun 4, 2009)

Look like an almost bad accident turned into something positive.  Glad everyone was okay.


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## coffee_junkie (Jun 4, 2009)

I wish that where the law in Montana....That is pretty much how I do my Mule deer in the field, no guttin involved, it all gets made into sausage anyway.


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## big game cook (Jun 6, 2009)

well i thought i was even. the new headlight assembly turn sig sidemarker and chrome trim was gonna run me $65.

found a matching one with a small crack in turn and the headlight looked as if it had been close to a fire melting it in just slightly. he said $35 for it. then i said what about grill. mine was missing a corner. it had bug net attacking lugs on it. got it all for $75. cool. but after going home i relized the black plastic peice that it all hooks to was destroyed and all but gone.

it was another $85.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 it runs through both headligh assemblies and grill one peice. so now its looks better than before the deer. it was slightly damaged before from a rear ender i got into. so $160 is fixed better than before. 

the shoulders were great. ill post pics soon. great smoke ring and goos flavor. ate it last two nights.


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## oneshot (Jun 14, 2009)

Where's the pics?????


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## mballi3011 (Jun 14, 2009)

Glad nobody was hurt but you tried and I'm sure that it will taste good. A truck can always be fixed.


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## smoke freak (Jun 14, 2009)

You got pretty good aim with that truck. But it sounds like your free meat just got a little more expensive...


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## big game cook (Jun 16, 2009)

sorry. been busy. heres the pics.









second one is a lil blurry but clearly shows the ring in that meat. this was the second one. we had consumed the first already.


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## ezmoney (Jun 18, 2009)

Excellent work BGC! Glad you and the truck are OK!!


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## guvna (Jun 18, 2009)

i'm glad no one was hurt. thanks for not wasting the animal.


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## big game cook (Jun 18, 2009)

thats one thing about me. even if a buddie hits one he knows to tell me. hate to see it go to waste.


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## fourthwind (Jun 22, 2009)

Glad it all came out in the end with no injuries. The rules are the same here in CO for road kill. Thankfully for you them white tail does are tiny. Hit a 165 pound Mule deer doe (average, I have harvested 190 pound doe here) or a 500 pound cow Elk, and you dont just lose a lite 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. I usually get at least one extra animal of meat per year from DWM (game warden) buddies in the field. They know if it comes to me that the meat will get used. Like the Elk mortadella (italian summer sausage) I made yesterday for fathers day. yummmo! 

Great looking smoke rings you got on them shoulders!


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## dingle (Jun 22, 2009)

Here in NY the law is a bit different. You can not have a deer in your possession(sp?) without it being tagged, whether you shot it, hit it with your car, someone else hit it with a car, found it etc etc. A state trooper, or game warden must be called to the scene before you leave with the deer he/she must tag it. Because car/deer accidents are not real high on the priority list it usually takes them a couple hours to show up. That usually makes it almost worth taking your chances of throwing it in the truck and taking it home.


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## trashcan (Jun 22, 2009)

Yeah, For a state that has some ridiculous game laws, and DRACONIAN firearms laws, we in IL have it easy with that one. 
Friend of mine and I were driving down RT47 from WI and nailed a young buck at... I'm gonna say around 35 because we were doing like 50 and he mashed the brakes pretty good. 
He was still very alive, but the "fashion wagon" demolished the poor things pelvis and left rear leg (I swear that buck did a better 360 than I could ever pull on a BMX...), so he got his 20ga out of the trunk, loaded it, blah blah blah, no cops involved, securing it to his now mangled mid80's olds station wagon went pretty fast and... sausage.


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## que-ball (Jul 2, 2009)

Looks great, bet it tasted even better! 

With your butchering method, did you just peel the meat off the leg bones while on the carcass, or take the whole leg and bone it out later? Do you get alot of hair on the meat that way?

We need more details! What rub did you use? What smoker temp did you use, and what did you take the meat temp to? What kind of wood did you use? Any issues with the fat when you do a whole leg like that? I always have done individul muscles just so I can take all of the silverskin, fat, etc off.

Tim


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## waysideranch (Jul 2, 2009)

Glad you werent hurt and she sure looks yum-wow.


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## big game cook (Jul 8, 2009)

i took meat off bone without removing the bone at all. i remove the big fat deposits and the one with the limph node in the front shoulder but i really dont get to crazy about it. i eat venison more than beef for the most part. if one likes it the fat in small areas isnt a big deal. i even eat deer ribs. now those must be eaten warm. as they cool that fat does get a tad funky texture and cools hard.

as far as smoke. did these on my brinkman horizontal at 200 with charcol and wood chips. hickory i believe. took meat to 150ish. had a tad bit of pink still in it. i eat my deed steak pretty rare so it doesnt bother me that way. well done deer IMO is ruined. hope this helps. the rub was a brown sugar based one i make myself.


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## dirtman775 (Jul 17, 2009)

To this day the best venison i ever had was one that was road kill in wayne n.j. we sort of struck her with the garbage truck luckily it was feb and colder than a witche's tty....we threw her in the back brought her home and let her hang for 4 weeks....went to butcher er up and she was nice and drained and still a lil frozen...absolutely the best ever...i think it had to do with the hang time


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