The work after the shot decides whether your venison tastes great or gamey. Heat, dirt and time are the enemies. Here is how to handle a deer from the moment you recover it.
Before you start
- Tag it. Follow North Carolina’s tagging and reporting rules before you move the deer.
- Gear up. Bring a sharp knife, latex or nitrile gloves, paper towels, a few zip-top bags for the heart and liver, and plenty of water.
- Wear gloves. It protects you from bacteria and is recommended whenever you handle deer from areas with chronic wasting disease.
Field dressing basics
1. Lay the deer on its back with the head slightly uphill. 2. Make a shallow cut from the bottom of the breastbone to the pelvis, cutting only through the skin and belly muscle. Use two fingers under the blade to lift the skin away from the organs. Puncturing the stomach or intestines taints the meat. 3. Cut around the anus and tie it off so its contents don’t spill. 4. Cut through the diaphragm, reach up into the chest and cut the windpipe and esophagus as far forward as you can. 5. Roll the deer on its side and pull the organs out, using your knife to free connective tissue. 6. Save the heart and liver in a bag if you like to eat them. 7. Drain the body cavity and wipe it clean with paper towels.
Avoid cutting into the spine or brain in CWD areas; prions concentrate in those tissues. Many hunters debone in the field or leave the head attached for testing.
Cool it fast
Bacteria grow quickly above 40 degrees. In early-season warmth in North Carolina, you may have only a couple of hours.
- Get the hide off as soon as practical, or pack the cavity with bags of ice.
- Hang the deer in shade with airflow, or get it to a processor or walk-in cooler quickly.
- If you quarter it, put the meat in coolers on ice, kept drained so meat doesn’t sit in water.
Disposing of what is left
North Carolina now has statewide rules for the inedible parts of any deer. You must take them to a lined landfill, bury them at least 3 feet deep and 300 feet from water, or leave them lawfully on the ground in the county where you killed the deer. Never dump carcasses in streams or on roadsides.
Test before you eat
If you hunted in or near a CWD area, submit your deer for free testing and wait for results before eating it.
Share the harvest
If you have more venison than you need, consider donating. NC State Extension notes that programs like North Carolina Hunters for the Hungry route donated deer through state-inspected processors to local food pantries. A single deer can feed a lot of families.
