Thanks for all the tidbits of info! I was thinking about taking the shanks in to work, and using the bone saw we have to cut them up, but now, I'll just treat them like Osso Bucco without cutting them up.
I tried to make some venison sausage years ago. It didn't really work out. It "smeared" and clogged up the die plate on the grinder with connective tissue. I don't know if it's just that the grinder wasn't powerful enough to cut the connective tissues, or if the connective tissues in deer are tougher than pig or beef. I do know that you'd have to basically remove ALL of the connective tissue.
If we have a grinder at work, I may try to grind some of the venison there, using the 40 qt stand mixer (much more powerful than a KitchenAid 5qt). Not sure if I'll turn it into sausage, or just use it for chili.
The deer aren't really a problem around here. OK is not as heavily populated as many places back east, and much of the farmland is cattle/horse pasture. So, the deer are pretty much wild, and graze wild. Up in MI, when I lived there, the deer were EVERYWHERE, and were a major problem. They were also grain-fed, as much of the farmland up there is planted in corn and soy. Lots of accidents, and dead deer on the highways.
Yes, I did take some pics. I may try to get them uploaded at a later date, and post them, but right now, on this crappy 56K connection, it takes to long to upload the pics.