Gutless Method Q ?

[Trigger50]

Next month on my WY deer/antelope hunt I'm gonna practice the gutless method for my 2014 elk hunt even though its not necessary for this years hunt. Just have a quick question. I'm not a rookie, I've butchered over 50 deer & antelope but all eastern style or w easy access to a freezer in WY. Should I let the meat hang in game bags in the cool shed for a night or day to get that outer "film" & for the meat to relax from rigamortis? Or should I just get them in the freezer right away even if the meat is still "warm" ? I was told once to always wait 24 hrs before freezing any game meat ? Just curious how quickly to get in into the freezer ? Thanks

 

[MHMT]

Not sure if one way is better or not, but I've let boned out meet hang over night when its cool and I've also killed a deer, processed and froze it in the same day when it was hot out. Didn't notice a difference one way or another.

 

[WapitiBob]

I quarter them where they lay, put in bags and pack all of it to a cooler in my truck. A WY antelope will be cased over before you get the quarters into a game bag based on my last 3 years out there. I never freeze my animals. Just a cooler with ice and they stay in there till I cut them up a week later. I just keep adding ice and drain.

 

[muledeerjunkie]

I second WapitiBob's method, ice cubes on/over the meat in a cooler...

We've gone so far as to keep some clean empty soup cans and punch holes in them with a nail, then cover the interior drain hole with the can to prevent the meat from plugging the drain hole.

 

[idnative1948]

Do the same, but only with crushed soda/beverage cans and tilt the cooler just a tad to that end. Learned it from the wife when she is planting her large flower pots in the spring so the dirt doesn't fill up the drain holes.

I second WapitiBob's method, ice cubes on/over the meat in a cooler...

We've gone so far as to keep some clean empty soup cans and punch holes in them with a nail, then cover the interior drain hole with the can to prevent the meat from plugging the drain hole.

 

[RobG]

Should I let the meat hang in game bags in the cool shed for a night or day to get that outer "film" & for the meat to relax from rigamortis? Or should I just get them in the freezer right away even if the meat is still "warm" ? I was told once to always wait 24 hrs before freezing any game meat ? Just curious how quickly to get in into the freezer ? Thanks

Not sure what you are asking, but I'd be really hesitant to freeze anything, then re-thaw it for butchering, then freeze it again. Every freeze/thaw dries out the meat.

 

[WapitiBob]

There is evidence that if immediately frozen after death, game will be "tougher" than if you let it rest for a few hours.

 

[1_pointer]

I second WapitiBob's method, ice cubes on/over the meat in a cooler...

We've gone so far as to keep some clean empty soup cans and punch holes in them with a nail, then cover the interior drain hole with the can to prevent the meat from plugging the drain hole.

Thanks for the can tip! Good one. I'll hopefully have need to employ that next weekend.

 

[ccc23454]

the place i am using in WY for my processing says 24 hours of either hanging in temp 32-41 degrees or what they call wet aging where you let it sit in a cooler or fridge sealed in a bag with its own juices (no water) just ice covered and it will break the toughness down itself. back east i shot them and 2-3 hours later they are already butchered and in freezer but its ususally warm here in VA and i have never had a problem with toughness or taste. if you ever run into a toughness problem they is ways to still use meat, slow cook, jerky, tenderizer added etc. but seldom do i ever see that.

CCC

 

[Muskeez]

I was always told to keep the meat on ice to cool, but not let it get wet as it is not good for the meat for it to be just swimming in water? I was planning to put it in plastic bags and buried in ice. any thoughts on that?

 

[1_pointer]

I was always told to keep the meat on ice to cool, but not let it get wet as it is not good for the meat for it to be just swimming in water? I was planning to put it in plastic bags and buried in ice. any thoughts on that?

Yes, it works and well! That's how I've done it and plan on doing again in a bit over a week. I put the boned meat into lawn trash bags and then cover with ice. Drain as much as needed/convenient to keep the water off. I've kept meat for up to 7 days like this and it was fine.

 

[CILhunter]

I am always a fan of letting meat go through rigormortis on the bone, if possible, before processing. If you debone it to pack it out, at least let it sit in a cooler with ice for a few days before processing.

 

[Trigger50]

Thanks, folks. From your ideas...looks like I will hang the game bags or cool them before I do the final cutting/wrapping/freezing. We usually just skin them right away & hang the whole animal overnight in my friends cool shed & then do final cutting/wrapping/freezing within 2 days. Looks like you guys suggest same process just with "game bagged meat vs whole carcass.

 

[sbhooper]

What you end up doing depends on outside temps. If you are dealing with cool temps at night, you cannot beat hanging boned-out meat in bags for as long as the temps allow. Early season antelope very rarely provides low enough temps to allow you to do this, however. Putting the boned-out antelope on ice in plastic bags works very well.

I have totally boned out all of my game that was any distance from the road. Antelope has always gone from the field straight to the cooler and I have never had any better meat than the meat treated this way.

 

[Gunner46]

If your asking about tenderizing the meat, it' simply a matter of reducing the temp to under 40 degrees for a couple of days, up to about 4-5. Just be careful, depending as to where you are. The more exposed the whole meat surface section is exposed, the shorter the time. After that, the less air exposure the better during the freezing process.

 

[sbhooper]

If you need to get it into the freezer quickly, you will still get tender meat, but you have to leave it for quite awhile. The longer it is in the freezer (to a degree) the more tender it will be. I have proven this many times over the years with my own meat.

A couple years back, I read a study from I think it was the University of Wyoming ( not positive) that confirmed this. Long-term hanging of wild meat does very little good, as the fat is not inside the meat like it is with beef. Aging beef starts the fat to breaking down and tenderizes the meat. The ideal hanging temp if you are going to do it, is 38 degrees.

 

[Triple BB]

If you need to get it into the freezer quickly, you will still get tender meat, but you have to leave it for quite awhile. The longer it is in the freezer (to a degree) the more tender it will be. I have proven this many times over the years with my own meat.

A couple years back, I read a study from I think it was the University of Wyoming ( not positive) that confirmed this. Long-term hanging of wild meat does very little good, as the fat is not inside the meat like it is with beef. Aging beef starts the fat to breaking down and tenderizes the meat. The ideal hanging temp if you are going to do it, is 38 degrees.

Everything you've posted is contrary to what is taught in meat science. If you freeze meat too quickly, you run the risk of tough meat due to thaw rigor. Also freezing meat does little if anything to tenderize meat. Aging meat involves controlled temperatures just above freezing, whereby enzymes in the muscle cells break down the overlapping proteins, which makes the meat tender.

I took several meat processing classes at the U of W back in the day. The literature I still have references nothing about fat breaking down to create tender meat. It all has to do with breaking down muscle fibers. I remember shooting several elk and hanging them in their meat lockers for 7 - 10 days at a controlled temp of 34 degrees.. They used to recommend up to two weeks depending on other factors such as outside temps when harvested, condition of the meat when shot, was the animal run for long distances before or after being shot, etc.

 

[sbhooper]

I wish that I could find the study that I am referring to, but I can't. I have no reason to doubt what you said, as you evidently have the literature to back it up, but I do know that over the years, the meat that I have had in a freezer over a period of time was definitely more tender than that meat that was more recently placed there.

The aging is an excellent idea as long as you have the facilities to do it. I guess overall, what I am trying to say is that you are not going to be disappointed if you have to freeze it quickly.

All the aging stuff pertains to beef more than anything because beef is done under a totally controlled environment for the most part. You are somewhat dealing with apples and oranges when talking about the qualities of fat beef vs venison that is taken in the wild. The way that they are handled is going to be totally different for the most part.

This is not what I was thinking of, but it is a very good explanation.

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B513Rpdf.pdf
.

 

[mtlion]

I was always told to keep the meat on ice to cool, but not let it get wet as it is not good for the meat for it to be just swimming in water? I was planning to put it in plastic bags and buried in ice. any thoughts on that?

I absconded with a cooling rack for baking that my wife has, it has fold down legs and fits inside my large cooler perfectly, and is the perfect height to sit over ice. I put ice in the bottom and quarters on the rack above it. If you need to cool it fast on a hot day throw a bag of cubes on top still in the bag. What water that comes off that will drain to the bottom. It works well, meat stays dry and cool. Here is a link to the rack I use, it fits in my big xtreme 5 day cooler like it was made for it.

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=2093&categoryCode=BK