Properly Caring for Game Meat

[sbhooper]

Misconceptions about wild meat are thicker than flies.

First off, it is absolutely necessary to get the hide off and either hang the animal in the shade, or bone/quarter it for immediate removal. I always bone out my elk immediately and hang the meat in bags where there is good shade. Done in this manner, it can take a lot of warm weather.

I am killing deer for my neighbor on a depredation permit. It is 90 degrees plus most days this summer. I immediately do a gutless process of the animal. I take the four quarters and backstraps off immediately. I then bone them out on the tail gate of my Mule. Even in hot weather, it is amazing how fast meat cools once you get it off the bone and allow air to get to it. Nothing better than summer deer for eating!

According to several studies, it does very little good to hang wild meat to "age" it. The reason beef is aged, is that the fat is dispersed within the meat and as it ages the fat starts breaking down and the meat is more tender. Wild meat has the fat on the surface and most is removed anyway. It has been proven that meat ages in the freezer. I know that it is not suppose to make a difference, but my own stuff seems to be a bit more tender after about two years in a vac bag in the freezer. If it is cool out, it does not hurt it to hang it, but you will get a lot more shrinage, also.

If you are concerned about flies when hunting in warm weather, just liberally sprinkle pepper all over the spots where the problem is-case solved. They hate pepper.

It drives me crazy to see bow hunters on TV shoot elk and leave them until the next day. It would be interesting to know what percentage of the meat they lose. I have seen whole elk hung in a tree over night when it was 10 degrees still have body heat under the hide the next day. I told the guy and he would not believe me until he saw it for himself. Luckily, it had cooled enough that the meat did not spoil.

If beef was treated the way some people treat their wild meat, it would taste like crap.

 

[TLC]

you're right. many mis-conceptions. such as having to get the hide off immediately. when it is hot outside, that is the case. but when the temps are 45 or below, it is not that critical. if what you are saying was true, then every bitcher shop that handles deer(in my case)would have nothing but spoiled deer hanging up. and if you have to wait to get the animal to a butcher shop, or home, the hide will act as an insulator to keep the interior where the ice is cold. and that cold will seeep into the meat. direct quote from the butcher I used to use before I decided to butcher myself.

CILhunter. if your daughter gets one in october, or you do with your bow, and it's still warm, stuff the chest cavity with ice. usually use a 21 lb. bag in the chest, and then a 7 lb. bag for the stomach area. if it will fit, put 2, 7 lb'ers in the stomcah area. hang mine in the pole barn also, and have always had excellent results from doing this if I don't have time to butcher it until the next day if it's warm.

 

[sbhooper]

That is all well and good in cool weather. Common sense tells you that. The post was essentially aimed at warm weather. Leave that hide on and haul it around all day in the heat and then take it to your favorite butcher and see what he says. Leave the hide on an elk in warm weather and you have 150 pounds of trapping bait.

I couldn't care less what a butcher says or does. I have not used one in many years since I got sausage back that had hair in it after I took him totally cleaned and cut up meat to grind. I do all processing myself.

Why on earth would you want to leave a deer hanging and keep stuffing it full of ice instead of just boning it out? There is zero logic in doing that unless you just like spending time and money icing it down. Bone the meat and put it in a big ice chest in bags and THEN ice it down if you can't get it cut up quickly.

It is your option to remove the hide or not, but unless it is cold, mine are coming off!

 

[TLC]

That is all well and good in cool weather. Common sense tells you that. The post was essentially aimed at warm weather. when it is hot outside, that is the case. Leave that hide on and haul it around all day in the heat and then take it to your favorite butcher and see what he says. Leave the hide on an elk in warm weather and you have 150 pounds of trapping bait. handles deer(in my case)
I couldn't care less what a butcher says or does. I have not used one in many years since I got sausage back that had hair in it after I took him totally cleaned and cut up meat to grind. I do all processing myself. the butcher I used to use before I decided to butcher myself.

Why on earth would you want to leave a deer hanging and keep stuffing it full of ice instead of just boning it out? if I don't have time to butcher it until the next day if it's warm. There is zero logic in doing that unless you just like spending time and money icing it down. Bone the meat and put it in a big ice chest in bags and THEN ice it down if you can't get it cut up quickly. and the difference in money is what? you still put ice on it.

It is your option to remove the hide or not, but unless it is cold, mine are coming off!

guess that answers all the things you said.

 

[Bambistew]

I was wondering since this is a meat care thread has anyone used citri acid to keep flies off and if so does it work. Do u use the powder and mix it with water or what just wondering cause black pepper didnt seem to work to well or i didnt have enough.

I use it quite regularly. Get the powder, and a little spray bottle, coat all peices evenly, let dry and do again every couple days. The acid retards bacteria growth more so than keeping flies off, but does both quite well.

Good game bags are the key. The cheap cheese cloth type sould be left at home. Flies can blow eggs right through them. Get quality synthetic bags. They're a bit more expensive, but are reusable. They wick blood and water much better than cotton, and dry easitly as well. Cotton game bags should also be left at home, once wet, they take FOREVER to dry. I usually bring a spare set of bags, and swap meat between them, and wash the dirty ones in a stream. They dry out in a hour or so. Cotton could take days. TAG bags or similar are worth the $$$.

 

[Rat Fink]

As far as meat bags go I have been using old pillowcases I get from a buddy that manages a Hotel. Free and they work great. I carry 5 pillow cases on my elk hunts and that is just right for putting a boned out elk in. If they rip or get too nasty I just toss em. I have washed and reused the ones that stay in good condition many times.

 

[sbhooper]

Yep. Pillow cases are great-and cheap.

 

[sbhooper]

guess that answers all the things you said.

I guess you have never noticed the difference in the amount of ice you use in a cooler vs an animal hanging in the open air.

Bottom line is do what floats your boat. It is your meat to do with what you want, but in warm weather you are tempting fate leaving it hanging vs doing a quick butcher job and cooling it quickly.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

I completely agree on getting them hung, deboned an on ice ASAP! Last year it was 90-95 F for the opener in Wyoming. We took the antelope to the truck and immediately cut them up. My brother built the contraption in the pictures below for about $40 and we just hung the antelope on there after we gutted them in the field. We threw two collapsable plastic saw horses, a sheet of plywood and a roll of painter's plastic and this contraption ino the bed of the truck and simply cut them up where ever we were. We got a few strange looks when we were cutting up antelope on the side of the road. With that said, we cut up 3 does (gutted, skinned, hair and dirt cleaned off, deboned, steaks and roasts separated and everything on ice) in about an hour and half between 3 guys. Any longer and I think we would have been in real trouble. I know it's not usually that hot, but with temperatures like that the window to get these cut up was very, very short!

The only picture we took with an animal on the "rack" was this buck that my brother shot. I have a ton of respect for anyone who passed on an animal, because they actually ackownledge that they can't get an animal out before it will go bad. That's true sportsmanship.

Oh yeah... I have no problem shooting a doe... saw the other thread awhile back. I figure if the F&G will give out the tags, then I might as well buy them. The tenderloins and backstraps tasted the same to me

 

[jryoung]

As far as meat bags go I have been using old pillowcases I get from a buddy that manages a Hotel. Free and they work great. I carry 5 pillow cases on my elk hunts and that is just right for putting a boned out elk in. If they rip or get too nasty I just toss em. I have washed and reused the ones that stay in good condition many times.

To think of the things I've wiped on hotel pillow cases.

 

[SagebrushSlayer]

I grew up being taught to drag a deer or elk either physically or with a vehicle to get it out. I didn't even hear about quartering an animal and packing on my back until I was out of high school.

That being said, I always took the animals to a friends grandparents house. They had a walk-in cooler attached to a very nice cutting shop. All animals were meticulously washed, skinned, and the dreaded task of pick hair from the animal til it was hair free (usually around the rear quarters). Then the animals were hung for 4-6 days in the freezer before they were processed. I never had bad tasting meat and sometimes the animals wouldn't get into the cooler for 6+ hours after the animal was killed.

Since then I have learned a lot and still haven't de-boned an animal to pack it out. Not that I think there is any difference, other than weight, but I definitely don't drag it like I was taught. I do take animals out whole depending on terrain, but always am using a game cart ( http://gametote.com/ ) now at some point in the pack out. Last year I took out 6 deer whole, with the longest pack being 4.5 miles and the shortest being a 1/2 mile.

Another idea I like using for meat coolers, is apple juice bottles or 1 gal heavy plastic bottles( Arizona Sweet Tea) filled with water and frozen. These can last for days frozen and also double as extra water. Just an idea for others who don't have accessibility to ice after the pack out.

I don't usually turn down elk or deer from others that offer it, but if they have told me how the hunt and pack out went and its shady, usually I will pass if it sounds sketchy or that they don't think it tastes right to them.

 

[sbhooper]

Great pics of the 'lopes.

The last antelope hunt that I went on was for does only. My partner and myself bought three tags each and were done in one day. We hunted a "walk in" private area. We shot the antelope and returned to the truck for frame packs. The animals were quartered where they lay and taken out in the packs. The meat was put directily into coolers and down the road we went to the next one. It was kind of funny, as we were about a mile from the truck and a game biologist walked up and scared the crap out of me because I was busy processing the doe. We ran into him a couple times on that hunt and I think he was impressed with out knowledge and willingness to do it right.

Fortunately for some, the temp was in the 60's. We saw some guys with an enclosed trailer that had antelope stacked like cord wood. They carried them around all day stacked in the back of the trailer and when they finally got their last one later in the day, they took them to the processor. I'll bet that was some real good meat!

I have never been much of a trophy hunter. I don't have the wall space! It is all about the meat and the hunt and I do everything that I can to keep it in the best shape possible.