Meat leason learned

[Musket Man]

not if you pack the cavity with snow.

How could it be packed with snow if its not found until the next morning? What cmbbulldog and myself are saying is if you shoot an elk in the evening and dont find it or gut it till next morning the meat will probably be spoiled regardless of the temp that night.

 

[dustin ray]

MM got it iv seen elk that have been gutted and open for the night and the big pieces a
are still to warm in the morning and never tasted right. also an ice chest will work as a hot chest. anymore i only use dry ice to keep ice frozen unless the meat is wrapped good it will leave a funny taste

 

[chsdaddy]

I know this isn't an option for most but this year we took the food saver and generator and the cut to size bags on the roll. We camped 17 days on the CO Archery hunt. My dad shot a cow on day 8. We quartered and deboned into chunks that fit in the bags we made long enough to hold those pieces of meat. Sealed and put in the coolers with frozen milk jugs and bag ice. The food saver bags fix the meat soaking in water problem really good. I shot a small bull on day 13 and did the same thing. We cut our meat on day 18 and it was all perfect.

 

[Dark Mavis]

If possible, I leave my deer meat in icy water for several days before I process it. Usually 3 to 5 days. I drain the water and add fresh water and ice every day. It helps remove excess blood and gaminess out of the meat. I know a lot of folks out west believe in keeping meat dry while cooling and aging, but cold water will cool the meat faster than cold air. (Also, cold air is usually hard to find in Louisiana) As long as the bloody water is drained frequently it doesn't hurt for the meat to be submerged.

Also, the deep freeze/generator combos will work if the meat is cooled properly first. I know some guys that lost a couple hundred pounds of venison by filling a deep freeze full of warm meat, plugging it in, and heading home across Texas. When they got to LA they had a nice frozen crust of meat, with a warm spoiled stinking center. If they would have cooled everything down with ice first they would have been fine.

Like the previous posts have said, big coolers, lots of regular ice, drain the bloody water frequently. All will be good. We brought back four antelope from Wyoming recently in one of cabelas 400 quart coolers. We just layered ice below and above the quarters of each goat we added to the pile. Took about 30 bags total to get everything cooled and kept cold for 6 days.

 

[WapitiBob]

Iv'e also done the ice bath method. It works well but the slush will pull blood out of the meat as you mentioned.

 

[480/277]

IMHO
This is not hypergolic fuel technology
Keep it cool
Keep it dry
Keep it clean

I also agree leaving it out over night was
The begining of the problem.

 

[Fink]

I know this isn't an option for most but this year we took the food saver and generator and the cut to size bags on the roll. We camped 17 days on the CO Archery hunt. My dad shot a cow on day 8. We quartered and deboned into chunks that fit in the bags we made long enough to hold those pieces of meat. Sealed and put in the coolers with frozen milk jugs and bag ice. The food saver bags fix the meat soaking in water problem really good. I shot a small bull on day 13 and did the same thing. We cut our meat on day 18 and it was all perfect.

I like this idea. The next time we head out on a two week trip, with multiple tags, I'll take a food saver, and a fold up butcher table. Either go to a hotel and butcher it there, or, my truck has 110v power outlet, that I can plug the food saver in.

 

[brianboh]

Good point. They were just saying it if its not skinned it will go bad. I am sayin if you gut it and don't have time to skin it push snow in the chest cavity. We kill deer all the time in the south and just put ice in the chest cavity and they are fine. When it is 90 degrees outside.

 

[Ranger3-94]

Thanks for all the advice ive got away with a lot in the past on deer here in pa and ill. Will definatly do some things different next time (next year) Bad timing on my part coupled with a bad shot set me up here. will take my time year and make a better shot.

 

[mallardsx2]

Best thing you can do in my opinion is to take the meat to a local butcher and have it processed and frozen solid. Then take it home. Open up the freezer and put it away.

When you are traveling that far it really is the best way to handle it.

Yes, your going to pay a little to the local butcher....but the hassle of hauling it home and taking care of it simply isnt worth it unless you are on a very tight budget.

My .02$

 

[Gr8bawana]

Good point. They were just saying it if its not skinned it will go bad. I am sayin if you gut it and don't have time to skin it push snow in the chest cavity. We kill deer all the time in the south and just put ice in the chest cavity and they are fine. When it is 90 degrees outside.

We're talikng about an elk here. There is a BIG difference between a southern deer that may weigh 80-100lbs and an elk that might go 600-700lbs on the hoof. Those hindquarters can weigh 100lbs each. The shoulders 60-70lbs each. The backstraps probably 20lbs apiece. So no, putting a bag in ice in the chest cavity is not going to do any good. You're not going to drag that elk down to your truck where you have bags of ice to put in it. You're comparing apple to oranges.

 

[Ranger3-94]

heres a pic maybe

 

[Sawfish]

Best thing you can do in my opinion is to take the meat to a local butcher and have it processed and frozen solid. Then take it home. Open up the freezer and put it away.

When you are traveling that far it really is the best way to handle it.

Yes, your going to pay a little to the local butcher....but the hassle of hauling it home and taking care of it simply isnt worth it unless you are on a very tight budget.

My .02$

Unfortunately, many local butchers use the bulk processing method to deal with the crush of business during hunting season i.e. you bring in 150 pounds of meat, you pick up 150 pounds of meat, but it may not be the meat that you brought into the shop. No thanks. I will take care of my own meat. I have had more than one outfitter tell me not to take my meat to a local butcher for just that reason.

 

[Sawfish]

We're talikng about an elk here. There is a BIG difference between a southern deer that may weigh 80-100lbs and an elk that might go 600-700lbs on the hoof. Those hindquarters can weigh 100lbs each. The shoulders 60-70lbs each. The backstraps probably 20lbs apiece. So no, putting a bag in ice in the chest cavity is not going to do any good. You're not going to drag that elk down to your truck where you have bags of ice to put in it. You're comparing apple to oranges.

Gr8bawana is correct. If you plan on using the meat from your elk, it must be skinned and cooled before it goes into the ice chest, or you will wind up with a box of sour meat. Snow, cool creek water, air circulation, etc. are all effective cooling methods for elk that have been skinned and quartered. You cannot leave the hide on the meat. Elk hide and hair is so efficient as an insulator, that an elk killed during a snowstorm will not even melt the falling snow.

 

[Fink]

Best thing you can do in my opinion is to take the meat to a local butcher and have it processed and frozen solid. Then take it home. Open up the freezer and put it away.

When you are traveling that far it really is the best way to handle it.

Yes, your going to pay a little to the local butcher....but the hassle of hauling it home and taking care of it simply isnt worth it unless you are on a very tight budget.

My .02$

No thanks.. A few years back, I took about 30 pounds of meat to a local butcher, and asked him to grind and turn to sausage. He told me they wouldnt run the grinder or sausage stuffer for less than 100 pounds.. WTF, gross.. Thanks for confirming that nobody gets back all their own meat.

 

[WapitiBob]

I get back my own meat, that's why they get my business. Depends where you go.

 

[BKHunter]

I useful tip that I read online if you cannot fully debone the meat right away is to make an incision down the muscle line to the bone. This allows a lot of heat to escape and only takes a minute or two. It helps the meat cool down a lot faster.

 

[2rocky]

Reminds me of the joke about the blonde who got her first thermos. She asked what it was for and was told "it keeps hot stuff hot, and cold stuff cold." So the next morning she filled it.....With coffee.... and a Popsicle.

In a commercial beef plant it takes 24 hours to get a beef carcass down to 7 degrees C in a a -20 degree C chiller.

In a conventional locker that would take about 2 days.
Now you don't want to get the meat below 10 deg C in the first 10-12 hours until it comes out of rigor mortis. Cold Shortening will make it tough.

General rules of cooling a carcass:
The more surface area exposed the quicker the carcass will cool.
The hide holds in heat. Remove it if practical
Let the air get between the carcass and the ground to cool it faster.
Quarters hung in the air will cool faster than quarters on the ground.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I get back my own meat, that's why they get my business. Depends where you go.

Through word of mouth you will find out really quick which butchers not to use.
The guy I use owns the meat shop that has been in buisness in the same location since the 50's. First the dad and now the son. They have always done good work and all of the by-products they make for you are top quality. Find a good one and they will really appreciate your repeat buisness.

 

[CrossCreeks]

I think some if the problem could be from not recovering the cow till the next morning. Elk can spoil pretty quick if they are not opened up so they can cool.

I agree that may have been more of problem than you suspect. I have just never used dry ice that much because like what has been said it will burn the meat in places it's touching !