Thread: Seeking advice on processing deer at home without access to a chiller

Hi all,

I've recently been fortunate to gain access to a local forestry block to help control deer numbers. This block has a fallow deer problem and also holds the odd red (and poachers, but they're not a game animal...).

Until now I've almost exclusively hunted on public land where I've only shot animals so sporadicly that taking them straight to the butcher was a cheap and easy enough solution.

However going forward I need a more economical solution for processing deer myself. My mate who I hunt with has a good grinder, sausage stuffer and vacuum bag sealer and we know enough basic butchery to get by. We just don't have a chiller which limits how long we can hang deer for.

So for everyone else who doesn't have a chiller, how do you do it? Let it hang in the garage for a day or 2 then process? Quarter and chuck it in the fridge? I've considered buying a second hand commercial fridge although understand the idea of a chiller is that air can circulate whereas a fridge seals it in. I'm just north of Auckland and this time of year the high is about 16°C and low about 9°C.

Cheers