Ice chest rack ideas

[Cammy]

3 rotomolded and two igloo. Need to fit a cow bison. Only need to cool the meat in the field and overnight before getting it to the butcher. Will qtr the animal and debone ribs, neck, etc. Thenafter processing I’ll put dry ice for trip home. Just going to be hot in the field and need to cool the meat down

Get the hide off and guts out as soon as you can to accelerate the cooling of the carcass. Bison body temp is around 101 degrees F so any temp up to that is cool comparatively. Game bags or pillow cases go a long way to helping cool down in preparation for putting meat in a cooler. Split large chunks of meat to the bone (rear hams and large shoulders) to facilitate cooling. As others have suggested, keep a prechilled cooler of ice well insulated and shaded. A contractors bag helps keep water off meat however, if the meat goes in the cooler still "hot" the plastic will trap that heat and sour your meat. If not using a bag, I have found that a bath towel on top of frozen water bottles help absorb sweat from the bottles and any fluids from the meat. I really like the wooden rack idea.

 

[wytex]

If you're coming out West most of our grocery stores have dry ice. Great way to keep those ice jugs frozen, just top off your cooler with a couple of chunks of dry ice to keep them frozen or re freeze once you have an animal down.

 

[MaddH]

If you're coming out West most of our grocery stores have dry ice. Great way to keep those ice jugs frozen, just top off your cooler with a couple of chunks of dry ice to keep them frozen or re freeze once you have an animal down.

Good idea

 

[wolfpup]

Freeze 2 liter soda bottles prior to the trip.... place them in the cooler the day of your departure, then don't open again until you have meat.

I freeze about 10 of them and have been using the same bottles for about 5 years now. Same water too. I just bought the safeway brand soda for a $1 each and dumped it out. then filled with water. I power wash them along with the cooler each time and store them til next year.

The caps hold up way better than milk jugs.

Depending on the temps obviously, but on large deer and elk, I prop the cooler open on the day of harvest so I do not lock that heat in the cooler all night... Then the next morning I close it with my temp probe and don't open until processing.

I also keep a fridge / freezer temperature sensor in there to be sure I have the right temp without having to open to check.

 

[Hertervillian]

I’ve been using the plastic 2L bottle racks from coke/pepsi in the bottom of the cooler. They are sturdy, and are maybe 4” of lift. You’ll need a bit of larceny in your soul to procure them.

 

[rybwv]

I use a white closet wire shelf from Lowe's, works great. Phone Skope also sells cooler trays for $25.

 

[Dsnow9]

I use these blocks. Bottom of the cooler and between meat. They are a game changer. No moisture on meat and they go between meat much better than jugs but same concept.

 

[Boarmaster]

View attachment 330960
I use these blocks. Bottom of the cooler and between meat. They are a game changer. No moisture on meat and they go between meat much better than jugs but same concept.

I use these as well. Before these I used frozen 2 gallon rectangular water jugs. While these are much more expensive they are much more durable and fit better in many different size coolers. I bought 8 about five years ago. All still in use today. My strategy for dealing with water in the bottom of the cooler is not to have it at all if possible.

 

[Dsnow9]

I use these as well. Before these I used frozen 2 gallon rectangular water jugs. While these are much more expensive they are much more durable and fit better in many different size coolers. I bought 8 about five years ago. All still in use today.

Yep, I bought a couple per year for a couple years in a row. I’ve had some for over five years and some 2 years. I can’t tell the difference though.

 

[Wildabeest]