Gird up for the loin

Jon Snowdon deals with the choicest of cuts in the latest in his series on butchering venison, and says it is the finest meat you will taste

Of all the fantastic venison cuts, the loin fillet is the one to die for. The loin is the meat you see in the middle of a chop, often called the backstrap. Many of you will have heard of the venison saddle – that is the whole saddle from the last rib to the pelvic bone. It includes the loin and fillet (in the cavity side of the carcase) and is attached to the backbone. The loin is often used as a roast and is a very good joint. I always fillet the whole loin and find it is the most succulent and tender piece of meat from a deer.

Fillet the loin

I do this with the shoulders already removed and the rib cage complete. Using a sharp knife, cut along one side of the ridge – the whole length from the rear of the carcase all the way up to the neck. While you can cut down into the ridge of the backbone when you get to where the ribs attach, there is bone that you will have to cut around to get to the short ribs [Fig 1].

Once that is done, pare the fillet from the bone. Always keep the knife close to the bone so as to achieve a clean cut [Fig 2]. It is also possible to cut down the ribs so that the meat to the brisket can be removed with the fillet. Use the bone as your guide and that way meat will not be wasted.

You will now have the fillet still attached to the meat from the ribs and brisket. Now, carefully use your fingers to separate the loin from the rest of the attached meat [Fig 3]. Unless you have a really stubborn piece of meat, a knife is not needed for this as you are separating the natural line of the loin muscle. It pulls away using a firm, smooth action, leaving just the silver skin on the underpart of the loin.

You are now left with the fillet but it still has silver skin on one side. If this is cooked with the loin it will be stringy and tough, so it has to be removed. The easiest and neatest way to do this is to make a shallow cut at the bottom of the wider end of the loin until the blade touches the silver skin. Hold the blade at a shallow angle against the silver skin blade forward. Ensure you can feel the cutting board underneath your blade with the silver skin in-between and pull the silver skin towards, keeping the blade firmly held and slightly pushing forwards throughout. If all goes well, it will strip away the silver skin as if skinning a fish [Fig 4]. This is quite an art and takes some practice, so I would advise doing it slowly at first. Stop if you feel the blade lift from the bench and reposition it.

The end product is a long, smooth loin fillet of the finest meat you will taste. It can be used for tender, succulent steaks [Fig 5], thin medallions, venison Wellington and

“the end product is a long, smooth loin fillet of the finest meat you will taste”

many more varied dishes.

The end result is two loin fillets and remaining meat for sausage and burgers [Fig 6].

Hanging your carcase

If you really want the best from your hardwon deer then it should be hung for at least four days. I hang ours for minimum 14 days, often longer if the carcase has been well prepared and it is dry.

I am fortunate enough to have the benefit of a chiller. Regulations state that from the moment of shot a deer should be steadily cooled down, within reasonable time, to the point where it is stored at a maximum of 7°C. Most hung deer will be stored in

a chiller at anything from 2°C to 5°C. This helps prevent bacteria and get the best out of the meat. It does not, as many people think, give a stronger gamey taste. Hanging birds does make them taste gamey as, unlike large game, most are hung without being eviscerated, i.e. pluck still inside.

Many stalkers do not have chiller rooms. If that is the case and it is for your own consumption, hang it to dry out somewhere overnight in a pest free, clean, cool area, then butcher it and vacuum pack the meat to age it in your fridge for a week or so before freezing.