The moderate consumption of meat obtained from animals in the wild, which are fed naturally, provides many health benefits, due to its low fat content and the contribution of proteins and nutrients.
Wild meat is highly prized for its texture and flavor. The way in which you obtain the different cuts after killing the animal will largely determine the quality of the dish you want to prepare.
Here we tell you how wild meat cuts are obtained from the moment the animal is collected and what it takes to do an impeccable job.
The importance of a good cut in bush meat
All parts of game pieces can be used. Its proper preparation and cutting allow us to fully enjoy its different textures and flavors.
To achieve a good cut of game meat, it is important to know how to do it, have the appropriate tools and carry out an orderly process. Before starting, we must have everything we need on hand.
Knives, tools and other implements are needed to work the dam in the field and later on the work table. Here we tell you which ones are essential.
Tools to work when picking up the animal
The preparation of the game meat cuts begins in the field, just at the moment of killing the animal. For this, it is important to have certain supplies and tools that allow you to work comfortably. Below we tell you what they are.
Cutting Tools: Depending on the size of the piece, axes, bone shears, and saws may be needed.
Lifting equipment: if the animal is large, it will be necessary to lift it to be able to work with precision. A set of ropes or chains, hooks, steel hanger and pulley will be necessary.
Plastic bags: they will be useful for packaging and transporting the viscera.
Game carrier tray: highly recommended to transport the game comfortably and not be confused with an animal.
Gloves and gauze pads: To prevent contact with the bodily fluids of the game, the use of latex or nitrile gloves is recommended. This is because animals in the wild could suffer from some type of disease, which can be transmitted to humans.
If hunting takes place during the summer season, or in very hot areas, it is recommended to wrap the piece with gauze to prevent flies from laying their eggs.
Knives and other tools
To make clean and precise cuts, you will need to have at least the following knives:
Filleting knife: it is a knife with a long, flexible and thin blade. We recommend that it have a length between 18 and 21 centimeters, and about 4 or centimeters wide.
Boning knife: it is a knife with a narrow and very sharp blade, to easily separate the meat from the bone.
Knife sharpener: it is very important to always have the knife sharpener at hand. While there are many models available, the simple, classic Steela type is a good option.
Meat grinder: this tool allows you to take advantage of all the meat that remains attached to the bones and that is extracted in small and irregular pieces.
Cutting board: Indispensable for making good cuts of meat. It can be made of wood or some synthetic material. The important thing is that it is rigid to be able to cut with precision, but not so much that it can damage the edge of the knives.
Meat Cuts Guide
We tell you step by step how to obtain the best cuts of meat to guarantee optimal raw material.
First step: take care of the conditions in which the animal is killed
To obtain the best cuts of game meat, it is very important to kill the animal suddenly and instantly.
Taking down an animal under stress, such as during a chase, will cause it to release adrenaline into its bloodstream; this will affect the flavor of the meat to the point that it would make it uneatable.
Second step: collecting the piece
We must make sure to leave the weapon unloaded, to avoid an accidental shot.
Approaching the downed animal must be done carefully, as it may not be dead and it would be dangerous to approach it.
Third step: evisceration
The game must be eviscerated as quickly as possible, to take care of the quality of the meat. In general, this task is carried out in the place where the dam was shot down.
If we do it in the field, it should be done far from the hunting camp, to avoid attracting other predators with the smell of blood.
Evisceration can be done in two ways: with the prey lying or hanging. If you choose to hang the piece, it will be necessary to tie it by its hindquarters and hoist it with a hook or a steel hanger fitted with a pulley and ropes or chains.
If the evisceration is practiced with the prey lying down, the animal will be placed on the ground on its
back, head elevated. In both cases, the neck will be cut to drain the blood.
The evisceration process consists of another series of steps:
Sealing the anus: to avoid contaminating the meat due to the expulsion of feces, we must make a cut around the anus and forcefully pull the rectum to tie that end of the intestine.
Removal of glands and genital organs: we must remove the hormonal glands and the genitals, also removing the area that surrounds them.
Sealing the esophagus: To seal the esophagus, a cut will be made under the lower jaw and around the neck. We will extract the tongue and the trachea until we reach the esophagus, which must be separated and tied in the same way that it was done with the anus.
Opening the carcass: with a very sharp knife and with the edge facing outwards in the opposite direction to our body, we will proceed to open the piece from the base of the sternum, making a cut along the thorax, avoiding perforating the digestive system.
Extract the viscera: to extract the viscera we will make a cut in the diaphragm muscles, taking care not to perforate the digestive system. At the end of the cut, we will extract them all at once.
Step Four: Skinning
The best thing is to transport the game with its skin, which will serve as protection until the moment of making the meat cuts.
The transfer must be done on a game tray or other similar device. Once the dam is in the place where we will carry out the skinning, the best thing to do for comfort and hygiene measures is to do it with the animal hanging.
The skinning will start from the skin of the legs pulling outwards and downwards, with the help of a skinning knife. We must gradually separate the skin from the meat.
Step Five: Cut
This is the final part of the process in which we will separate the different types of game meat that we will see below.
Types of cuts of game meat and how to obtain them
Next, we will see the main types of game meat cuts, and how they are obtained so that they are in perfect condition.
Loins
They are the first cuts that were obtained. They are two pieces of meat that are located on top of the vertebrae, and that go from the neck to the hindquarters.
To extract them, with the help of the boning knife, the meat is gradually separated from the bone. They are the best cuts of game meat. We can prepare them in medallions or roast them whole.
sirloins
It is the portion of meat that we will find hanging in the internal part of the abdomen. If possible, we should remove them in the field and store them in a plastic bag, because they tend to dry out very quickly, forming a thick layer when exposed to the air. It is a very tender cut of game meat, which can break easily.
hindquarters
To separate the hindquarters we will use the boning knife working around the leg bone and pelvis. With the help of the tip of the knife, we will separate the ball from the pelvic cavity and the rest of the leg will come off easily.
We will place the hind quarter or ham on a table with the external part facing up. The muscle fibers will serve as a guide to make the cuts. Using the filleting knife, and following the line of the bone, we will easily cut the three portions of meat from the ham.
The largest cut of meat and the center portion is good roasted whole or grilled. The upper part can be cut into horrible fillets that can be prepared in various ways.
The remaining portion of meat with nerves can be processed in the mincer, to make sausages or hamburgers.
front paddle
We will separate the forequarters by making the cut just below the armpit of the game. From the shoulder blade we can extract two pieces of meat that turn out well, roasted whole or in fillets.
However, because they are muscles that the animal uses a lot, they are usually somewhat hard. Processing it in the chopper to make hamburgers is a good option for this cut of meat.
Ribs
They roast very well on the grill, once cut into strips with the help of a saw or an axe.
other meats
We can repair the meat that remains attached to the bones with a knife. The remaining cuts can be processed in the food processor to make hamburgers, meatballs or Bolognese sauce.
Wild boar meat cuts
Wild boar meat is lean, highly nutritious and very tasty. The boar meat cuts are:
The neck has a meat that, when processed in the chopper, is exquisite for preparing hamburgers.
We can cook the loin in the oven, grill or grill, and also cure it to obtain sausage loin.
low loin
The sirloin is a very soft meat and we can prepare it in the oven or on the grill.
With hams and shoulders, we can make sausages.
The ribs are very good baked or on the barbecue.
brazuelos
Wild Boar Parts Guide to Game Meat Cuts
Roe deer meat cuts
Roe deer meat provides the diet with phosphorus, iron, magnesium and potassium and B vitamins.
In order for the venison meat to soften and develop its flavour, it is necessary to keep the already clean carcass under refrigeration for a while. Once the ripening process is complete, we will proceed to make the cuts.
The softer cuts should be eaten rare, so that they retain their aroma and flavor.
Neck. It is an exquisite dish roasted on a barbecue with little intense heat.
Loin. Grilled, rare is a delight.
Sirloin. It requires very little cooking. Great to prepare on the grill or on the barbecue.
Low loin. Good fillets are extracted from this cut.
Ribs. The meat of the ribs processed in the grinder is excellent for hamburgers.
Shoulders. They require maceration and low heat cooking to make stews.
Bracers. By slow cooking, the meat falls off the bone and works great in stews.
hindquarters. The best steaks for barbecue grilling are obtained from this cut of meat.
Roe Deer Parts Guide to Game Meat Cuts
deer meat cuts
Deer meat has a unique flavor in all its cuts.
Neck. It is a cut of meat with thin layers of fat. It is used in pieces to prepare ragout.
Loin. Very soft cut of lean meat, which we can prepare whole on the barbecue, or in grilled medallions.
Chest. It is used to prepare ragout, as well as casseroles and stews.
Blade. Cut of meat of intense aroma and flavor, corresponds to the front quarters of the animal. It allows us to obtain various cuts for a variety of preparations.
Osso buco. It is the cross-sectional portion of the end of the legs. Its preparation can be presented in medallions with bone and marrow.
rib. Cut that presents some intramuscular fat. Ideal for roasting whole or separated by ribs. Great aroma and flavor.
Sirloin. It is the leanest cut. It is prepared in medallions, whole in the oven or in stews.
Leg. From this cut of meat we can obtain other cuts for various preparations.
