Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

A friend had one to spare, and it seems like there's a lot of tasty stuff to be done with one.

The one I'm expecting weighs about 16 pounds. I've got my work cut out for me (pun semi intended :) )

@Bisbee -- Two words: Arapaho Packing. They do a lot of game meats, and I suspect that once it's cut and frozen solid, you just pack it in styrofoam coolers with some dry ice, and ship next-day air. There are probably other places, but if I'm not mistaken about where you are, Arapaho is probably the closest, should you find a warm deer on the roadside :-) I've been there when people have pulled up with a deer strapped to the top of the car or an elk in the back of the pickup.

That's the place where I pick up lambs from a lady I buy from in Lyons, and I've seen cows in a pen, so they do domestic meats there as well.

@Simon, I've never cut up a deer neck, but with sharp knife and some patience, it's not to difficult to follow along the muscles in a cut of meat and separate it cleanly. As far as the innards...have fun with that.

Not to burst your bubble, but if you're getting a 16 pound neck it's probably from a fairly mature deer, and its sweetbreads (thymus) are likely to be shrunken or nonexistant- the thymus begins to shrink pretty quickly after puberty begins. If you do think you see one, it's good if it's grayish-pink rather than yellow- more yellow means more fat deposits and an older animal.
I'm not an expert on deer anatomy per se, but I would also expect to find some lymphatic vessels in any mammal's neck, and they're not particularly good to eat. I would also expect that muscles analogous to our sternocleidomastoid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternocleidomastoid would be well developed in a ruminant, and deer tend to be lean to begin with. If I were you, I'd be thinking of making a nice, enriched, slow braised ragu.

Hank Shaw, who posted here as Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, would be the person I'd consult if I were waiting for a deer neck.
http://www.honest-food.net/blog1/about/

Thanks guys!!! This is exactly the type of advice I was hoping for. It's sitting right here next to me at my desk. Tomorrow will be the big day. And yes, I'm pretty sure it's from a mature animal. I guess the sweetbreads will be out of the equation. But older animals tend to make for tastier meat, so I'm looking forward to that. Thanks again!

If the neck is really large, you can cut it in half with a meat saw (looks like a large hacksaw).

Cut off all exposed fat. Rinse it well, paying attention of any veiny spots. Soak it overnight in lightly salted water (this helps draw out excess blood).
You want to be able to taste the salt in the water, but it shouldn't be as salty as a brine. Just lightly salty. Change water after several hours if it's particularly bloody.
These two steps (remove fat, soak in salted water) are important. Do not skip. The fat is what gives off the gamely taste. Drawing excess blood imrpoves the flavor.

Neck makes great stock and soup meat. Place the neck in a large pot, cover with cold water. Add small maount of salt or beef boullion, a couple of bay leaves, 5-10 pepper corns, 2-3 cloves garlic, a trimmed onion-cut in half, a scrubbed-trimmed carrot or two and celery stalk. You could add other herbs/spices if you wish. Add a few dashes of soy or worchetershire sauce to up the flavor if desired.. You can also add a teaspoon or two of red wine vinegar or a cup of red wine to stock liquid (acid helps tenderize).

Bring to a boil. Skim stock. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3 to 4 hours. (If using a slow cooker, cook on high for two hours, reduce to low for total of 8-10 hours.)

Remove from heat and let meat cool in the liquid. Refrigerate overnight.

Skim hardened fat from the surface and discard. Pull or cut meat from neck bones. Pour stock through through a sieve to remove vegetables and spices. Use as you would use beef stock.

Venison Vegetable Soup
Sautee onion, carrots and celery. Add a can of diced tomatoes, frozen mixed vegetables (or some green beans, corn, pease, etc.), stock, maybe some sliced cabbage or rutabaga. Add a handful of barley, a dash of Worchestershire, whatever seasonigs you'd like. When vegetables are tender, add cooked meat to the pot.

Thank you both. Cooking advice is always welcome, but my biggest concern is with the butchering aspects, removing the nasty bits etc. It did occur to me that butterflying it would probably be the way to go. I do still have to remove the esophagus and other stuff. It's still defrosting. Tomorrow should be the big day...

If you want to make certain that you clear away various glands and lymph nodes, taking the neck apart muscle by muscle, as you've planned, is definitely the way to go, since those smaller structure are not easy to see (they're often surrounded by fat/connective tissue). Treat it like a dissection: traction towards you the muscle you're taking off at the moment, and cut the connective tissue where you see it, stretched between the muscle you taking off and the rest of the neck.
Clear away lumps of fat and bundles of connective tissue as you come across them. A small sharp knife is most efficient, since it is more agile, and you can see what you're doing; doing this in full daylight (if your schedule permits) makes the job much easier, too. Any small grayish object should probably go; they're most often lymph nodes, of which there are quite a few in the neck.

So, any news there Simon?