GAMBREL SKINNING BIG GAME

Once a big game animal has been gutted, the next butchering step is skinning. The easiest way to skin an animal is while it is hanging from a gambrel, which looks like a heavy-duty coat hanger. It is much easier to work on an animal that is suspended above the ground, and gambrels are ideal for deer-size game that hunters are able to get out of the woods in one piece.

Skinning

1. Begin by making an incision through the hide on the lower rear leg near the foot.

2. Extend this cut down along the inside of the ham until it meets your original gutting cut at the abdomen. Now begin skinning the rear leg by slicing between hide and flesh. Do your best to keep the meat clean and free of hair and dirt.

3. Skin around the ankle joint.

4. Next, you’ll need to separate the meatless shin bones from the rear quarters. Find the knee joint at the top of the shin. Use your knife to cut the tendons around this joint. Continue cutting these tendons until the joint loosens enough to twist it. Twist the shin bone in a circular motion until it “pops.” At this point, one or two more cuts will completely free the lower leg.

5. Each rear leg has a heavy tendon behind the knee. Cut a slit through the skin in the gap between the tendon and the leg. Lower the gambrel, or with the help of a buddy, lift your animal in order to place the hooks on each side of the gambrel through these slits. Try to hang the animal at a height that allows you to work comfortably.

6. On each front leg, make a cut from the foot to the gutting incision at the chest cavity. Now skin each front leg until the hide is hanging freely.

7. Next, move up to the rear legs. Continue skinning each rear leg downward to the rump. You should be able to separate portions of the hide from the carcass just by pulling on it. In other places, you’ll need to use your knife.

8. Once each rear leg is completely skinned, continue skinning down and around the back, flank, and belly of the animal.

9. Skin the animal downward past the shoulder and front legs. At the neck, keep skinning until you reach the animal’s head.

10. Now separate the head and hide from the carcass where the spine meets the base of the skull. Use a knife to do this the same way you popped the leg joints or you can quickly sever the spine with a bone saw.

11. Finally, take the time to pick any hair off the meat and then wash the carcass before moving on to breaking the animal down into individual cuts of meat.