Butchering: Splitting Haunches in to muscle groups

countrryboy

Well-Known Member
Alright folks

I was jist looking for a few tips from some off the more experienced/ or master butchers on the site. I have had a bit off a search and there doesnae seem to be many threads on more advanced butchery and splitting the huanch up into the individual muscles and wot muscles/cuts are which. (more for larger deer species)

There is a very good thread i found, posted a while back by remington :thumb: (no idea to post a link to it). Which covers skinning and basic butchery but he didnae split the haunch with it being a roe, a wee bit small for the hassle

I am reasonably confident with skinning and jointing deer allbeit to my very amatuerish standard.
I can and do split the huanch on fallow but to be honest have no idea wot i'm doing, do it a different way each time and jist really poke about with my fingers till i find a join then split down it. I have no idea what muscles/cuts i'm left with for labeling for the freezer. For my personel use this is fine but i'm jist trying to improve and learn a bit more about it

Am i right in saying there should be 6 cuts off meat u end up with, Topside, Silverside, Rump ... ? etc. Does anyone know off diagrams/charts which show where they are so i can label them. I have also heard off a salmon fillet? which is a small muscle somewhere inside the haunch which is meant to be very tender and almost as good as tenderloins/fillets.

Cheers in advance
 
hi countrryboy as a chefi dont like cutting the haunch into steaks so i always split roe/fallow haunches down as you have said really but you must remove all the silverskin and connective tissue feel for the muscle seperation with your fingerand you can almonst pull them apart not too fresh though too mush rigamortis makes it much harder as for labelling there no real difference beween the cuts the salmon is self explatitary once you see it dont use the last muscle on the hock its very tough next time i do one ill post a pic of the breakdown if you remove all sinew etc and marinade in oil and herbs for a few days most leg cuts are very tender
 
countryboy

As Deer Man has said, the BDS DVD is good. So, also, is Dave Stretton's DVD. For another good explanation have a look through the photos on the Best Practice website. Slides 1 to 8 in the third section on butchering describes how to cut up the haunch (http://www.bestpracticeguides.org.uk/carcass_butcher03.aspx)

Personally, for the haunch I either bone it out and leave it whole (sometimes cutting off the sirloin to tidy things up), or I split it into the three major muscle groups and then steak it. Bear in mind that this is primarily with roe and muntjac so the haunches are quite a handy size.

So far as the different cuts, although American this diagram might help: http://www.best-venison.com/venison-cut-charts.html Or, if you prefer an English version: http://www.beecraigs.com/images/venison_cuts.gif But Google for "Venison cuts" and then click on Images - there are lots of diagrams out there.

I've not heard it called a salmon fillet but I've always been told that the fish fillets are located at the top of the chest cavity between the shoulders, as opposed to the tenderloins which are located under the pelvis and between the haunches (or that's how I'd describe them).

willie_gunn
 
http://www.bestpracticeguides.org.uk/carcass_butcher03.aspx

The salmon cut is much paler than the other muscles and lies underneath the main outer muscles and is a nice tender cut of meat.

Many thanks for that - you live and learn!!
On slide 10 I see they say that cut 4 is the salmon cut....but fool that I am I can't tell from the picture which one cut 4 is :doh: Help me here!!

butcher10_fs.jpg


butchering 10: Haunch muscle group:
1: Thick Flank
2: Tender Heel
3: Silverside
4: Salmon Cut
5: Hind Shin
6: Topside
7: Rump/Chump

willie_gunn
 
The Salmon cut it the long & thinest Muscle in the photo.
It forms part of the silverside which is pictured below it.
Hope this helps.
 
Cheers folks thats exactly wot i was looking for.

I was doing a pair off fallow huanches last nite and ended up doing them both completly differently, start the rite way then it jist goes which ever seem my finger finds first and found differnt numbers off muscle/cuts each time:doh: I'm jist sort off self taught but thought there must be a right way off doing things. I will have a right good study at those videos the morro when i have more time. Dinae think i'm that far away jist need to tidy things up a bit.
Remington i'm sw scotland

Alright david. Hows things going. Hope u are keeping well

Cheers again folks very helpful
 
Stu

If you have a animal to do this weekend my dad is up (Butcher before he Retired butcher) he will show you how.


ATB



Tahr
 
Alright kev

it's sort off done now or atleast hacked to reasonably sized bits be embarrassed to show a butcher that.;) think even a butcher might struggle to save it now. Cheers i'll give u a bell the morro

It was a fallow doe been left for dead by dog boys, managed to chase it down field and put it out its misery. Poor bloody thing, cannot understand the logic in that courseing a deer then leaving it there not even taking the venison. only lost 1 shoulder and neck with bruising damage. In bloody good nick apart from that wot a fat on it
 
A book I used some years ago, a bit hard to come by but anatomically correct 'The Structure of Meat' by McGreggor. You could use any butchery drawing of quadrupeds as all mammals share similar bone and muscle structure. I.d always run a knife down each side of the rib cage to split the meat from the carcass, leaving the neck muscle on the haunch.
 
Cheers again folks.

I have got everything split up and labelled, looks almost professional from a distance (quite a big distance). Not entirely sure all the labels are 100% correct but not far away and have somehow ended up with afew exrta bits somehow:) :doh:Also managed to find the salmon fillets too and recognise thats wot they were:)

I havenae been that far away, with a bit off fine tuneing will be spot on. It's actually quite easy when u have a vague idea wot ur trying to achieve

2 final questions

Wot do most people do with the shin part. At the moment it ends up with the dogs, I have been told if u cook it long and slow enough they can be ok and the ligaments/tendons arenae to bad.

Finally while looking throu my best practice book i see there is a similar diagram to split the front shoulder, does any one do this? At moment i jist debone it and use as a rolled shoulder joint. In the book it has all the seperate cuts but all advised for casserole or mince, seems alot off work if ur jist minceing or casseroling

Cheers again
 
Wot do most people do with the shin part. At the moment it ends up with the dogs, I have been told if u cook it long and slow enough they can be ok and the ligaments/tendons arenae to bad.

It is nice in the slow cooker, the tough silvery coloured bits on the outside break down and are not an issue.
 
Cheers folks thats exactly wot i was looking for.

I was doing a pair off fallow huanches last nite and ended up doing them both completly differently, start the rite way then it jist goes which ever seem my finger finds first and found differnt numbers off muscle/cuts each time:doh: I'm jist sort off self taught but thought there must be a right way off doing things. I will have a right good study at those videos the morro when i have more time. Dinae think i'm that far away jist need to tidy things up a bit.
Remington i'm sw scotland

Alright david. Hows things going. Hope u are keeping well

Cheers again folks very helpful

If you were near me I would of helped you out mate,never mind............Martin
 
Roll the shoulders as you do already, waste of time owt else. Strip as much sinew off the silverside as you can then cut across the grain of the meat to give delicious steaks (give them a battering with the meat mallet first).
A haunch tunnel boned makes a lovely sunday roast for 4-6. (tunnel bone is very easy once youve had a go, strip out the aitch bone then push a sharp knife down from each side of the bone to release it then pull it through to give a boneless haunch)
 
Carcass cutting

I made and sold a video which was quite well received - I chucked a few of these out the other week as no one uses video these days.

Perhaps I should transfer it to DVD anyone interested. It covers seam cutting which involves taking out individual muscles as apposed to cutting across muscle groups.
BASC deer officer did review it at the time which helped promote sales. There are probably some still out there.
 
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