 It is important to take plenty of time to do a good job of skinning. It is much easier to skin a deer while it is still warm than after it has cooled. When removing the hide, always cut out with the blade of the knife toward the skin. This procedure is referred to as cutting inside out. It protects against meat contamination from hair and dirt on the hide. When skinning a deer, follow a specific order and sanitary procedures throughout the process. Start at the top with the back legs and work your way down, rolling the hide away from the carcass as you go. This way the carcass stays clean. Begin skinning by making a cut along the inside of the hind legs from the hock to the cut made between the legs. Complete skinning of the leg and rump by removing the hide back to the tail. Skin around the tail, leaving a portion of the tail holding the hide. At this point you can continue pulling the hide down over the back. Continue skinning along the flank, keeping the hide pulled back away from the carcass. Skin along the side over the breast. Make a cut along the inside of the front legs to the breast and skin out the front legs. Skin the hind legs, flank, and fore legs to approximately 3 fourths the depth of the side. Continue skinning down the carcass. If the head is still attached, remove it by carefully cutting between the back of the skull and the first vertebrae. This particular deer was shot in the shoulder, so part of the shoulder has already been removed. Remove the bloodshot meat and get it away from the other meat so it won't contaminate it. Once skinning is complete, inspect the entire carcass. Make sure there is no dirt, intestinal fluids, or fecal contamination left behind after the internal organs are removed. If there is, remove it at this time. Thorough trimming is the only way to ensure that you've removed the contamination. Once the internal organs have been removed, the inside of the carcass can be sprinkled with a generous amount of food grade salt to help stop bacterial growth.