Just out of curiousity? My husband got his first elk yesterday and we took it into the butcher's and I had it skinned in an hour and a half (which included time off for breastfeeding). Which wasn't bad considering that I was talking to the baby in the bucket seat beside me too.... First time doing an elk I have now done deer, elk and bear Am way better at it than my husband who has been hunting for 20 years and he tells me that I am now the official skinner and butcherer of the family Which actually isn't bad. Oddly enough I like doing it. But what is a good DVD or book to get so that I can learn how to cut them up right and just it right at home? I can do the dear and that at home but the elk and the bear are a bit big for me....
I would say take your time...it's not a contest. BTW you now must run for political office, especially if you wore high heels while skinning the elk. Shooting the elk in high heels would be the icing on the cake, but just try getting an elk to wear high heels....you know how that goes! Anyway, my father-in-law has killed a lot of elk in Arizona. He makes elk tamales...deeeelicious!
As you well know, almost any four legged animal is going to be butchered the same way. It's just a matter of scale and where to make the appropriate cuts (between what ribs, etc. etc.) I learned by working for a butcher that'd been doing it for years, so I can't help you with a book or DVD. But, you've got to describe what you're calling "skinning" for me. I can remove the skin from a deer in less than three minutes. It's the actual butchering after skinning that takes a while.
3 minutes? How do you do it in 3 minutes???!! Skinning as in taking the hide off. Here I was all proud of myself for doing it in an hour and a half *glum now*
I use a hoist. Hang them by the back legs. Cut around each ankle, a slit down the inside of each thigh on the rear legs, and a ring around the neck. Pull.
Oh very cool. I'm going to tell DH that because am doing the deer out here and we are going to be using a hoist. We had one for the elk...not the bear though. That kind of sucked actually doing it in the back of the truck. Would so NOT recommend skinning anything that way. In fact next month the neighbours and I will be doing 10 buffalo in a day....hmmm...wonder if that would work.
honestly, when my stepdad and i go hunting....we skin the animal we hoist it and skin it asap and then let it hang there for a couple days to cure in a meat locker or a really cold basement. I don't know how everyone else does it, but that's how we do and it works well...
