Yes, you can grind frozen deer meat. In fact, cold deer meat is the best state for grinding in the meat grinder. However, you cannot put completely frozen meat in the meat grinder. Before that, you have to thaw the meat for a while at room temperature.
Sometimes if it is not possible to ground deer meat right after you hunt it. So, you have to cut the meat and store it in the refrigerator. But it is better to cut the meat into small pieces and then put it in the freezer. Then, you can thaw it and grind it. Cutting thawed meat requires time, and thus it can get contaminated.
People are often concerned with using frozen meat in the grinder. But it is actually good for ground venison. The frozen state of the meat keeps the fat and protein together. Thus, it does not smear while you grind the meat.
This is why butchers intentionally freeze venison in the refrigerator for a while. When the meat gets cold inside and outside, they ground it with the meat grinder. It keeps the process clean. If you try to grind without freezing, the meat will fall apart and disrupt the grinding process.
You may not know how to properly defrost frozen venison to grind it. So, here is what you need to do:
- First, you have to get the venison out from the freezer. Then wrap it with a plastic bag and submerge it in cold water.
- You have to change the water from time to time so that it does not get warm. Although the water will remain cold, the venison will thaw partially. You just have to get rid of the frost and hardness of the frozen meat.
- After that, unwrap the plastic bag and take the venison for grinding.
- If it is not cut for grinding before, you should cut it as soon as possible. Thawed meat is prone to contamination.
- Put the meat in the meat grinder according to the grinder’s capability. You will see how nicely ground venison comes out of the meat grinder.
So, this is how you grind frozen venison. The ground venison may require a longer time to cook because of the coldness of the meat, but the quality of the meat will not be affected.
