Randy Newberg shows how to break down and process antelope in the field in no time flat. Quickly processing the animal and cooling the meat is key.
Newberg has a gutted pronghorn hanging upside down in a tree and he's about to give a quick tutorial on how to process antelope. He's got his knife in hand and is skinning the animal with a little help from his ATV.
He gets the hide started before hooking it up to the rear of the ATV to pull the rest of it off slicker than you know what. Getting the hide off in a hurry is very important to the cooling process.
"With antelope that is priority number one, to get it cooled down," says Newberg.
Then he goes to work on separating the quarters and trimming the meat. First he removes each front quarter, bags them up in synthetic game bags and hangs them in the shade of the tree to let the air cool them off.
Next, he removes the backstraps. These separate pretty easily. All you have to do is follow the natural separation lines of each backstrap.
Then he efficiently removes as much trim meat from the ribs and sides as possible, including the tenderloins on the inside of the animal. Those too go in a game bag and into the tree.
Pretty much all that's left are the hindquarters. Off they come and into the game bags they go to cool with everything else for a little while.
Before he puts the bagged meat into the cooler he covers the floor of the ice chest with something to keep the meat off bottom. He also wants as much air as possible to circulate around the meat. Blocks of ice go on top of the meat, and once closed, the cooler gets covered with a blanket for added insulation.
And that is how you quickly and efficiently process an pronghorn antelope.
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