A few weeks ago in this space I wrote about my deer-butchering experience. While I didn’t claim any expertise, I did express familiarity. The column promoted an upcoming Field to Freezer program at the Jay Henges Shooting Range and Education Center near High Ridge.
The in-person demonstration, offered for the last several years, provides solid instruction and is likely to take place again next fall. A new online program this month took that information a step further in a Deer Sausage, Brats and Jerky Making class. If the class is offered again, I highly recommend it.
A cooperative effort of the state Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri Extension, the program was hosted by identical twins Kyle and Lyle Whittaker. The retired teachers brought their credentials as educators and a repartee that comes with familial ties.
Lyle is an education specialist with the conservation department, and Kyle, his younger brother by six minutes, serves the extension office as an agri-business specialist connecting local producers to nearby consumers. Both have experience working in meat-processing facilities.
Kyle Whittaker said one of the many repercussions of the recent COVID pandemic was the significant reduction in the number of meat-processing facilities that are willing to accept deer. The increased demand and the toll on skilled professionals caused a spike in the cost of processing. The new program was intended to help those considering a do-it-yourself option.
“Standard skinning and processing is up to about $140 per deer,” Lyle Whittaker said. “If you want brats or summer sausage, that’s an additional $3 to $4 per pound. Snack-sticks are smaller, so they are more labor-intensive and cost more. Jerky can be up to $8 a pound.”
The hosts showed the basic equipment necessary to make your own sausage or jerky, explaining that they had the most economical options they could find at area retailers. The total costs of the one-horsepower grinder, a vacuum-packaging sealer and a sausage stuffer came to about $350.
“You can pay for all of the equipment in one season if you have multiple hunters in the house,” Lyle Whittaker said. They also used off-the-shelf bratwurst, jerky, and summer sausage seasoning kits for the meat.
The program highlighted the importance of food safety. Proper cooling of the deer meat after harvest and adequate internal temperature for smoking or cooking the end products are critical.
“You have to handle the meat safely to guard against the spread of food-borne pathogens, which could cause illness,” Lyle said. “The danger zone is between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. Venison should be cooked to 160 degrees and freezing kills most pathogens.”
Coincidentally, I had seen Blake Meyer of Festus at the Henges program a few years ago, and this year when his name popped up on the chat feature of the webinar, I knew he was in the class with me again.
“I always enjoy the MDC classes,” Meyer said. “They are very educational and allow you to ask direct questions, unlike YouTube videos. I have helped friends process their deer in the past, but I’ve never felt comfortable enough to do it on my own.
“I have made my own summer sausage the last three years, but there is always room for improvement. I used the burger I got back from the processor.”
I talked to Blake before deer season opened, so there was still a question, he said, about whether he might have meat to work with.
“Now I have my own grinder; I just need to get the deer,” Meyer said. “I tried to make jerky in the past, but I didn’t like how it turned out. My slices were too thick. After seeing the jerky cutting board they used in the class, I may have to give that a try this year.”
The plastic cutting board is designed to guide the knife for slices of one-quarter or one-eighth inch thickness, and costs about $29, Kyle Whittaker said. The vacuum sealer allows processed venison to be safely stored in the freezer for up to three years, Lyle added.
“If you make good-enough-tasting brats, there’s no way they should have to last for three years,” Kyle said.
Lyle said his favorite preparation for the loin, known by hunters as the backstrap, is to grill it whole rather than cut it into butterflied chops as the two butchers demonstrated.
“I don’t know about that,” Kyle said in a quick retort. “If you cook the whole thing at once, you don’t have any more to cook later.”
Between the brothers’ banter and the butchering tips, the program provided plenty of guidance for those taking on the home-sausage-making process.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and is the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.