Cutting big frozen meat
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: DonVathome
05-Mar-19
I was going to bust out the table saw to cut my big hunk of meat (no bone) from the back leg of my elk into individual steaks. Any better ideas? I do not have a bank saw and was going to use a wood blade.
From: Pop-r
05-Mar-19
Lots of kerf waste but if it's not thicker than what blade is sticking up it'll cut it like a champ.
From: dirtclod Az.
05-Mar-19
I cut them at a semi-frozen point with a good sharp Butchers Knife.Same for all my meat.Might not be so easy to do now that your meat is fully frozen.
From: COHOYTHUNTER
05-Mar-19
Wyoming saw.. I don't know if that's easier but I've cut frozen meat with it before
From: TreeWalker
05-Mar-19
I prefer semi-frozen in the freezer then cut. This makes cutting thin jerky strips quite easy. Steaks cut more evenly as well.
Thawing out frozen meat will be the opposite than semi-frozen since the outside will be thawed before inside.
If only cutting steaks then would let that in fridge until 2" of the outside is soft then cut the steaks with a long, strong-bladed knife.
From: DonVathome
05-Mar-19
Thanks!
From: Franklin
05-Mar-19
Any bone saw with a new blade....band saw is the best.
From: IdyllwildArcher
05-Mar-19
Yup, band saw works way better. I've used my brother's. If you use a table saw, prepare to have a bunch of meat wasted and sprayed all on the inside of your saw. I bet if you called a butcher, they might cut it for you for a nominal price.
From: LKH
05-Mar-19
I wrap all my steak/chops in family size chunks then cut semi-thawed for each meal. I make a small cut across the grain so it's easy to see when ready to cut.
Allows us to make steak/roast/stir fry or whatever we want. Zero waste or mess.
It's been 45 years since I've seen a frozen hind leg of deer or anything cut with a saw.
From: ELKMAN
06-Mar-19
Thaw it out and use a knife. Easy and no waste.
From: Treeline
06-Mar-19
I just cringe thinking about using a saw on my meat!
Thaw it down and cut it with a knife!
From: DonVathome
06-Mar-19
I could that but do not want to freeze twice. I have cook outs and used a lot at a time so I really only need to make 3 or 4 cuts. Might just handsaw it. Good idea about the butcher!
From: Jaquomo
06-Mar-19
Thaw it and then butcher it. The old idea that freezing twice ruins the meat is a myth. I've discussed this with the county meat inspector and he said its an old wives tale and has no effect on meat flavor or texture at all.
From: Scar Finga
06-Mar-19
A sawz-all with a meat/ bone blade. You can use a metal blade if not cutting through bone, but I prefer a blade made for meat since it does not get any paint from the blade on the meat or bone. It's not very messy and pretty easy cleanup. buy the big heavy blade and cut slow for more control, it's easy!
For me personally, you couldn't pay me enough to use my band-saw on meat, what a mess that would make of the saw! JMO!
From: LKH
06-Mar-19
I get a kick out of the myth that you shouldn't freeze deer/elk twice. I believe every deer we killed in northern MN was frozen solid by morning in the 50's and 60's. Hard part was getting them thawed enough to skin.
From: TrapperKayak
06-Mar-19
My better suggestion would be to take the time to cut it up into usable sized pieces in the first place, then freeze it. Who would freeze a whole elk hindquarter that intends to not eat it all at once? Unless you had a dire need to freeze it whole as in having an emergency at home of something. And yes, you can re-freeze game meat. The day I shot my doe this year, it was 5F out, and for the next two days it went below zero, and it froze solid hanging in the shed. It subsequently thawed, and I cut it up, re-froze it of course, and now it tastes wonderful, and it has been frozen twice.
From: orionsbrother
06-Mar-19
Don - You blew it with that elk hind. You should just ship it to me so that we can dispose of it properly.
;>D
What Lou and others said. Don’t worry about thawing and refreezing. Use a knife. Double wrap with freezer paper and drop in a zip lock if you want to save some for longer.
From: westslope
07-Mar-19
Yep, no problem whatsoever with thawing and re freezing. Keep it simple.
From: APauls
07-Mar-19
Thaw and re-freeze. Done it a million times. I thought it was common knowledge that a couple freeze/thaws actually tenderize the meat. I do it all the time.
From: Darrell
07-Mar-19
I usually come home from my elk hunt way behind on work, home and family stuff so at least half the time, I throw the boned out quarters in the freezer and then in a few weeks or sometimes months, I thaw it out, cut it up and refreeze. Never a problem. I also think the "don't freeze twice" is a myth.
From: DonVathome
07-Mar-19
I have done it to and agree I do not think I can tell.
Also I do not recommend a table saw. Yikes. Messy and I got tiny pieces of meat all over me. It was like the wood chipper scene in the movie Fargo!
From: luckychucky
07-Mar-19
band saw is the way to go
From: Beartrack
07-Mar-19
One of the only times I winter hunted moose here it was 62 below. We shot 3. Those things froze overnight with the hide on! We loaded them in a trailer and brought them home. With a chainsaw I'd cut a quarter off them at a time and took 3 days to thaw. I've shot 37 moose and saw no difference in them from any other one I've taken.
From: Jaquomo
07-Mar-19
I once watched a guy cut a hanging elk down the middle with a chain saw. Two guys watching on the other side got a face-full of meat, marrow, and bone dust before they could get out of the way. Man, was that funny!
From: Swampbuck
07-Mar-19
My buddy has a meat processing band saw-grinder combo. That thing is awesome. He gets the meat firm but not frozen and slices steak out of the hams. We have done it with frozen meats also. Very little waste
