Cutting the Humble Hindquarter

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

When it comes to game meat, the backstraps and tenderloin get all the glory. Front quarters are composed of smaller muscles that do a great deal of work and are better used for grinding than cutting into steaks and roasts. Neck, rib, brisket, and flank are all pretty darn tough if not cooked for a long time or ground into burger or sausage.

Then we get to the hind quarters, where most of the meat on the animal resides. The hind quarter is easily broken down into some really nice and extremely underrated pieces of meat. I’m going to take you through the sequence I break down hinds and describe how I use each cut. This way you can do this at home with the next deer or elk you punch a tag on.

Hunter with large cut of meat ready to prepare
Give me a skinning knife, a boning knife, and a honing rod and I can take on any critter on the continent.

Before We Start Cutting

First off, all of these cuts can be done on a table. But I prefer cutting them while the quarter is hanging because gravity helps and I can easily work 360 degrees around the leg. I prefer using a 5” semi-flex boning knife for this job. These knives typically cost between $10-$32 dollars and will probably last you a lifetime. This is the order I make these cuts. As a rule, you will want to follow the seams between the muscles and work them apart with your hands as much or more than you actually cut with the knife.

Gloved hands cutting the tri-tip from the sirloin tip
The Tri-tip sits above the sirloin tip and is easily taken by working the seam between the muscle groups.

Cutting the Tri-tip

The tri-tip roast is one of the most popular cuts of beef in the northwest, almost as popular as brisket in the south. On a deer, this is a small piece of meat that not much can be done with. On an elk, it is more substantial and can be cooked with a hot sear to 125 degrees internal temperature and then sliced against the grain. 

Gloved hands using a knife to deal with the sirloin tip
The sirloin tip is a great cut to learn when you are starting to delve into the world of butchering. It’s a big hunk of meat that will feed a family.

Sirloin Tip

Next, the Sirloin tip is a large cut of meat that is ideal for turning into a roast. You can cut steaks from it, but there are several internal seams that are a bit tough. Make sure to use lots of braising liquids and some kind of acid like vinegar, Worcestershire, tomatoes or coffee to help tenderize this meat as you cook. The sirloin tip is an ideal roast for wrapping in caul fat if you saved that when you were gutting the animal.

Heavy fibers of the top round mean cut
Notice the heavy fibers in the meat, that’s a dead giveaway for the top round.

Top Round

The top round is a long cut of meat with course muscle fibers which tend to be a darker red than other meats. This is the ideal cut for turning into jerky. Cut the top round into long flat pieces, with the grain rather than against it. Marinate, season, and then smoke.

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Cutting the top sirloin and freeing it from the bone
The top sirloin should just be hanging near the ball of the femur and a quick cut will free it from the bone.

Cutting the Top Sirloin

If you ever ordered steak and eggs at a greasy spoon diner, chances are they gave you a piece of top sirloin. As a roast on a beef cow, this is a great piece of meat. On an elk or deer, it’s decent, but not one that I typically keep as a whole muscle. My preference is to cut this into cubes and can it with a pressure canner. Canned elk meat is a hot commodity around these parts and makes a great snack or filling for a sandwich.

The light meat on the eye of the round makes for an underrated piece of meat
Notice the lighter color and finer muscle grain? The eye of round is the single most underrated piece of meat on the whole animal.

Eye of Round

The Eye of Round is a hidden gem. It lies between the top and bottom round. The muscle fibers are smaller and the meat itself is noticeably lighter in color. The Eye of Round looks a lot like the beloved tenderloin and actually cooks and tastes almost exactly the same, if not slightly better. Grinding the eye of round is a culinary sin.

Cutting the bottom round with a wicked knife
At this stage, everything left on the femur is the bottom round. Make sure to remove this small gland (near the tip of my knife) that sits between the eye of round and the bottom round.

Cutting the Bottom Round

The bottom round is a really big piece of meat that can be cut into multiple roasts. Even if you plan on using it for steak, I suggest cutting it into larger pieces. Start with grilling the meat, go to slicing it after the meat has rested for a few minutes, then plate and serve. Aged balsamic vinegar is a wonderful condiment for these steaks.

The shank getting ready to go into a dutch oven or crock pot.
The Shank is a cut we hate to love because of all the tendons and ligaments inside this hard-working muscle. Give it some time in a dutch oven, pressure cooker or stock pot with braising liquids, carrots, onion, and celery. Your family and friends are going to want more.

The Shank

The shank is composed of two separate muscle groups. The larger of the two (the calf muscle) attaches where the bottom round was cut off the femur. The part remaining on the shin can be sawed through to make osso buco, a classic Italian dish. These muscles are full of tendons and should not be used for a steak and don’t make great grind either. They are fantastic when braised and the collagen has health benefits.

READ MORE: Simple Gourmet: Big Game Drumsticks (Bone-In Shank Roast)

Cutting through the hind quarters of an  elk
From the top left moving clockwise: Sirloin tip, top round, top sirloin, shank, more shank, bottom round, eye of round, top round (again) and try-tip.

Make sure you sanitize your knives and cutting surfaces, wear gloves, and keep everything as clean as possible. Keep some bandaids and superglue close by for any cuts that might occur. The best way to prevent cuts is to keep your knives sharp. I use a ceramic honing rod every couple of minutes to keep the edge of the knife straight. A work sharp Ken Onion edition powered knife sharpener is fantastic. I sharpen to a 20-degree angle which seems to be the sweet spot on these knives between easy cutting and durability.

Don’t be intimidated to try these cuts. If nothing else, start by removing the sirloin tip and explore more of these cuts as you become more familiar with the landscape of the hind quarter. Once you’ve discovered how amazing the eye of round can be, you’ll want to learn more and more about the butchering process.

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About the author: James Nash is an outfitter, professional hunter and cattle rancher from NE Oregon where he resides as the fifth generation of his family to raise cattle, hunt, and fish on the 6 Ranch. He studied history at Adolf Øien Videregående in Trondheim, Norway where he also competed on the Norwegian National Greco-Roman wrestling team, then studied Literature and Writing at the University of Montana Western in Dillon, Montana. Afterwards, Nash served as an Armor Officer and platoon commander in the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank in the US Marine Corps for five years. Nash was wounded in Afghanistan and received two Purple Heart Medals and after a period of convalescence was subsequently retired. He returned to the 6 Ranch and resumed guiding and outfitting, with a focus on other combat wounded veterans. Nash has guided salt and freshwater fly and gear fishing, all kinds of hunting, and back country wilderness trips since age 14. He hosts the 6 Ranch Podcast, and you can learn more about him on instagram @6ranchoutfitters.

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  • Charles Burklund January 5, 2024, 10:10 am

    I have been processing my own deer for decades. I found I get about half again as much meat as I would from a processor and this way I know I am getting the deer I took.
    The eye round is one of my favorite pieces of meat off the hindquarter. I cut it in half with the grain down the long axis, and then slice each of those halves thinly on a bias across the grain. I will have slices that are an inch or so wide by maybe two inches plus or minus long. Put them in a bowl with a little baking soda mixed with water for ten minutes or so will work to tenderize them even more. This is just the beginning of a wonderful stir-fry. I have a number of copycat recipes from famous Asian restaurants, as well as those I created on my own, so I can choose between Korean, Mongolian, Chinese, Thai recipes for what style I am feeling like that day. I keep hoisin, soy, oyster, fish sauce, Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce, et al, in my fridge. This is also a good way to introduce venison to those who have never had it or thought it was too “gamy” when they did have it.

  • Frank November 7, 2023, 6:18 pm

    Hi, and thanks for the article. I was in no way expecting to become a butcher by reading your article. I do think however, that it would be much easier to understand if you had some labeled diagrams and/or pictures. Other than the shank cut, it’s not easy to understand which cut is which when looking at the hindquarter. My lack of knowledge notwithstanding, I’ve butchered, prepared and consumed dozens of Whitetails. Proof that you don’t necessarily need to know which cut you’re dining on.

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