Legs of one or more deer, lamb or goat, cut off at the “knee” joint
Warm water
Scrub brush
Bowls
Bread knife or serrated knife
Sharp paring knife
Instructions
Cutting the legs into pieces
You can skin the top portions now, or save them for later—your choice. Preferably using a reciprocating saw, cut the legs into ⅓rds.
Clean the trotters
Soak the bottom portions (trotters) in warm water, scrubbing the hooves with a brush, changing the water occasionally until it runs clean. Chill the hooves on paper towels for a bit to dry. Remove the hooves, and, using a freshly sharpened paring knife, make a slit in the skin and begin to articulate around the skin to help it release. Think of it like peeling a banana, if a banana were a foot.
Skinning
Peel the skin down until you can’t reveal anymore, and you’ve reached the hooves, then cut around the venison trotter to remove the peeled hide. From here, cut through some of the connective tissue separating the two parts of the hoof so you can bend them apart.
Trimming around the hooves
Now get the serrated knife. Cutting on a slight bias toward the bone, cut pieces of the hoof off to remove the remaining fur around the top of each “toe” until all the fur is removed. Repeat the process with the other trotters. Once the trotters are skinned and hairless, inspect them closely for any fur, and dirt that may be stuck on the bottom of the hooves, and clean them accordingly.