Another meat safety question. Elk not recovered for 24 hours.

[hank4elk]

Recently the MT boys shot a bull early and we walked to it. Had in skinned and in bags quick.
They then cut all the meat into smaller pieces and laid them on a table in the shade to cool for a while. It worked quick.
They took home 200lbs of cold meat and it hung in trees for 2 days,cold.No room in the freezer or it would have gone in.

Last year I shot a cow early and I lost a shoulder that filled with blood. It stunk when I skinned it and I left it. The shoulder end of the backstrap was off too. Just blood pooled on the downside. All smelled like guts.
The round had gone back into the hole, after hitting the blade on opposite side,and I found it on the top hind skin. It had gone through all the guts.
All the blood smelled gutshot. It was in the 20's.
The backstraps tasted funny and even Rio did not enjoy them.

Lost half a buck that laid in the snow overnight. All the bottom meat was bad. I was mad at me.
1978 and I quit bowhunting.
Losing the meat, I lost the trophy.

 

[npaden]

Well I finished butchering him today.

Ended up tossing one hind quarter, one tenderloin and part of one of the front shoulders but not the entire thing. Also tossed part of one side of the neck.

There was no doubt those were bad based on the smell. The one hind quarter was the worst, almost knock you over kind of smell.

We ended up with about 60 pounds of roasts and steaks and 80 pounds of ground. One of the batches of ground we labeled with XX on it because it did have a little smell to it but not bad. If it turns out bad then we know which ones to toss. I think it is going to be okay though.

Wish we would have found him first thing that morning but we did the best we could to salvage as much as possible.

 

[Valley1320]

Well I finished butchering him today.

Ended up tossing one hind quarter, one tenderloin and part of one of the front shoulders but not the entire thing. Also tossed part of one side of the neck.

There was no doubt those were bad based on the smell. The one hind quarter was the worst, almost knock you over kind of smell.

We ended up with about 60 pounds of roasts and steaks and 80 pounds of ground. One of the batches of ground we labeled with XX on it because it did have a little smell to it but not bad. If it turns out bad then we know which ones to toss. I think it is going to be okay though.

Wish we would have found him first thing that morning but we did the best we could to salvage as much as possible.

Sounds like you did what I would have for the most part. I killed a buck that layer out over night only got down to about 28 that night, found him right away the next morning and got him butchered. Everything tasted ok tho. I was worried tho. Hindquarters and the tenderloin would have worried me the most

 

[ScottP]

Well I finished butchering him today.

Ended up tossing one hind quarter, one tenderloin and part of one of the front shoulders but not the entire thing. Also tossed part of one side of the neck.

There was no doubt those were bad based on the smell. The one hind quarter was the worst, almost knock you over kind of smell.

We ended up with about 60 pounds of roasts and steaks and 80 pounds of ground. One of the batches of ground we labeled with XX on it because it did have a little smell to it but not bad. If it turns out bad then we know which ones to toss. I think it is going to be okay though.

Wish we would have found him first thing that morning but we did the best we could to salvage as much as possible.

Glad you were able to salvage some, and lots of good advice here. Great job sticking with it. Congrats to you and your son.

I have had to leave 2 cow elk overnight, one archery season lows in 50s, one rifle lows in teens. Got lucky and didn’t lose any meat either time. I deboned the archery cow and packed it in ice at the truck before noon. Used the smell test in the field and at home expecting to have some sour meat. But those cows‘ body mass is significantly less than a huge bull like yours.

 

[OverlordBear]

Awesome bull congrats on finding him, I would eat all of it. I d keep the premium steaks and use a strong marinade on them. Than anything that was kind of iffy I d make a potent chorizo or breakfast sausage. And I’d do a double grind on it as well. The only way I’d throw out meat is if when you cut it open there was any green coloration in between the muscle groups.

 

[BrowningCitori]

Good thread, unfortunate but it happens.

Now that it has been a month, how is it eating?

 

[ashersdad]

Missed this thread somehow. Glad you were able to salvage what you did. Heck of a nice bull! Tell your son congrats.

 

[shrapnel]

This is a simple device I invented called the “Bloat Gauge”. You just put the stick between the legs to see how far the animal has bloated, then read the scale and determine the value of the carcass…

 

[npaden]

Actually just ate some for the first time this evening. Wife won’t let anyone else eat any until she sees how it affects me.

Overcooked it even with the sous vide. I was a bit worried about it so cooked it at 145 degrees for 56 hours. Plenty tender but a bit dry.

Didn’t stink and tasted fine, just overcooked. Ended up doctoring it up with wasabi.





I think I’m not going to worry about it and just cook it the way I normally would (I would have normally cooked this roast at 129 degrees for 36 hours).

If I end up sick I will let you know. So far so good.

 

[DFS]

This is a simple device I invented called the “Bloat Gauge”. You just put the stick between the legs to see how far the animal has bloated, then read the scale and determine the value of the carcass…


View attachment 304791

How did yours rate last year?

 

[shrapnel]

How did yours rate last year?

You are the only one that even noticed. That was after waiting only an hour and a half before we went looking for it.

This cow, however, was past prime…

 

[Steiny77]

Friend of mine shot a whitetail buck with muzzle loader last weekend. Shot it right at dark and didn't recover it till 10am next morning so it laid about 16 hours. Shot was quartering so it busted up some guts, temps were between 30-50F. He brought it by to show me, skin and put in the cooler. A small critter had chewed on the butt a bit and probably consumed a pound or more of meat out of a hind quarter. It stunk from the guts, hosed it down real good after skinning, then put in the cooler for three days. Had a very clean killed, quickly recovered deer in the cooler also killed about the same time.

I helped him butcher it but it was not a very pleasant experience, still smelled where the gut had contacted interior body cavity areas. The weirdest thing was that it had not stiffened up in the cooler. The other clean killed deer was stiff like you would expect with the fat hardened up (We butchered it first to not take a chance cross contaminating), but his deer was still quite flexible and meat not firmed up? It was a run down post rut buck so had little fat.

Did the butcher job taking care to pitch out anything suspect, but it still kind of gave me the creeps and I'm glad I wasn't putting it in my freezer. I'd have probably turned the whole thing into sausage.

I've never seen one cooled for a couple days like that and not stiffen up?

 

[David658]

You are the only one that even noticed. That was after waiting only an hour and a half before we went looking for it.

This cow, however, was past prime…


View attachment 305161

Friend of mine had his buddy were hunting, his dad had let him drive the brand new pickup. Came across a cow like that, pulled up beside it, and decided they'd have to see what happened if they shot it. Poor choice of shooter, cow, and truck locations. The cow downright exploded, spraying my friend and his dad's new truck, with the driver's door wide open, with the contents of that hairy balloon.

So glad in my stupider days I didn't pull that one off.

David
NM

 

[mxracer317]

Friend of mine shot a whitetail buck with muzzle loader last weekend. Shot it right at dark and didn't recover it till 10am next morning so it laid about 16 hours. Shot was quartering so it busted up some guts, temps were between 30-50F. He brought it by to show me, skin and put in the cooler. A small critter had chewed on the butt a bit and probably consumed a pound or more of meat out of a hind quarter. It stunk from the guts, hosed it down real good after skinning, then put in the cooler for three days. Had a very clean killed, quickly recovered deer in the cooler also killed about the same time.

I helped him butcher it but it was not a very pleasant experience, still smelled where the gut had contacted interior body cavity areas. The weirdest thing was that it had not stiffened up in the cooler. The other clean killed deer was stiff like you would expect with the fat hardened up (We butchered it first to not take a chance cross contaminating), but his deer was still quite flexible and meat not firmed up? It was a run down post rut buck so had little fat.

Did the butcher job taking care to pitch out anything suspect, but it still kind of gave me the creeps and I'm glad I wasn't putting it in my freezer. I'd have probably turned the whole thing into sausage.

I've never seen one cooled for a couple days like that and not stiffen up?

Water equals bacteria. I never let meat touch water if i can help it.

 

[mtmuley]

Water equals bacteria. I never let meat touch water if i can help it.

Tell Bearfoot that. mtmuley

 

[mxracer317]

Tell Bearfoot that. mtmuley

Bearfoot?

 

[mtmuley]

Bearfoot?

He dumped a whole moose into a creek. mtmuley

 

[mxracer317]

He dumped a whole moose into a creek. mtmuley

Yeah, them buggers usually go for a swim when trying to expire. Out of his control indeed.

 

[mtmuley]

Yeah, them buggers usually go for a swim when trying to expire. Out of his control indeed.

He put it in gutted overnite. 3 kids and a dog thread. mtmuley

 

[woods89]

Water equals bacteria. I never let meat touch water if i can help it.

Ideally you don't get meat wet, but if the alternative is meat spoiling from warm temps, it can be done. Lots of guys in the South age meat in ice water slush.
I hate the way it makes meat look, though!