for wet storage go get some veggie bags at the store and put 'em in that before using the foodsaver. for game I used the same method and deer I shot three years ago was delicious. Birds go straight in the foodsaver.
Hey everyone! New guy here. What do you do to keep your kills as fresh as the day you shot it?
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Nice write up every one. Don smacked it on the nail. We use to use a spare refrige to age the meat for a week. But I like it fresh to. Same here, gut it on the spot. The kosher thing is to cut throat and remove any blood left in the big game. Hang it. Skin it. Let it sit under a tree with game bag. And let it glaze. Then quarter. I know some here like to debone. And that's cool to. I use to have good luck with butcher paper. But there are other options now. As mention by every one. The main deal is to keep it cool at all cost. Heat is the enemy. Deep freeze for long term store.
My favorite deal at camp was fresh sliced up deer liver and heart fried up with onions and potatoes. Yummy.
Thanks
Sure thing guys. I only just realized you could quote multiple people by clicking reply more than one time.Thanks Stuart.....It was a daunting task for us techy type guys......
Sorry to be confusing ,but I was talking about a freezer unit that auto-defrosts (keeps it from building frost in the first place). The auto-defrosting ones are indeed the ones that cause the freezer burn by removing the moisture from the environment inside of the freezer, and if there is a hole in your packaging or your food isn't sealed it will be desiccated :O
So basically the "crust" that you are wanting to form on the skin, is there a way that you could maybe artificially create one faster? Like..I dunno, torching it?
The crust is from the lack of moisture......deers body temp is 102 and the bones hold the heat really well. That's why I debone plus the weight of the bone and your one step closer in the processing
I'm the opposite on here I always do the gutless debone on the spot and stuff it in a heavy duty plastic bag then cool it in a stream or in the cooler.
I've also done the submerge in ice water, or put beer cans on the bottom of the cooler then meat & ice......all turned out the same.
Heat is the biggie
I'm the opposite on here I always do the gutless debone on the spot and stuff it in a heavy duty plastic bag then cool it in a stream or in the cooler.
I've also done the submerge in ice water, or put beer cans on the bottom of the cooler then meat & ice......all turned out the same.
Heat is the biggie
Seriously never even thought about what freezer type to use. Never had a problem. I know the old style were a pain to get stuff out. Frozen like a rock.. The newer style worked for my requirements.
lol like a rock! You'd pull out meatcicles.
I'd be curious to see if your stuff tastes better or worse vs what everyone else seems to do. Maybe you should enter some cooking competitions or something
lol like a rock! You'd pull out meatcicles.
I'd be curious to see if your stuff tastes better or worse vs what everyone else seems to do. Maybe you should enter some cooking competitions or something
The only time my meat every tastes gamey is when I can't get the blood out or cool it quickly enough. The most common way to ruin a tenderloin is, after gutting, let the tenderloin marinate in warm blood at the bottom of the body cavity in the bed of your truck. I shot a 600+ pound elk last fall and it took us awhile to get the Polaris to it. I field dressed it, and I didn't want to skin it in the field because of the dirt and dust. By the time I'd harvested the tenderloins back at the cabin, they were gamier than I'd ever tasted elk meat. Too much heat and blood. The rest of the meat, including backstraps, was fine. That tells me it was the "marinade" as much as the retained body heat. The tenderloin is the canary in the coal mine, I think. Very delicate flavor and easy to damage. If I had it to to over again I'd take the loins as soon as I was done gutting, and put them in a small game bag. Maybe I'll try a controlled experiment in the future... But not on elk
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The only time my meat every tastes gamey is when I can't get the blood out or cool it quickly enough. The most common way to ruin a tenderloin is, after gutting, let the tenderloin marinate in warm blood at the bottom of the body cavity in the bed of your truck. I shot a 600+ pound elk last fall and it took us awhile to get the Polaris to it. I field dressed it, and I didn't want to skin it in the field because of the dirt and dust. By the time I'd harvested the tenderloins back at the cabin, they were gamier than I'd ever tasted elk meat. Too much heat and blood. The rest of the meat, including backstraps, was fine. That tells me it was the "marinade" as much as the retained body heat. The tenderloin is the canary in the coal mine, I think. Very delicate flavor and easy to damage. If I had it to to over again I'd take the loins as soon as I was done gutting, and put them in a small game bag. Maybe I'll try a controlled experiment in the future... But not on elk
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So I just read a little trick that may be of use to you. If you have something that is going to be gamey because it marinated itself like you describe above then try soaking the meat in a brine. It supposedly helps cut down on the game flavor and I think tenderizes.
The flavor comes from a few things yes the lack of blood helps. But a few things compound it and it's luck sometimes.
Ageing, hormones, diet, game animal, field prep(urine, poop, dirt) age of the animal all have an effect. Some good some bad
As to a cooking contest......never had a bad piece of game animal and I'm picky!
Ageing, hormones, diet, game animal, field prep(urine, poop, dirt) age of the animal all have an effect. Some good some bad
As to a cooking contest......never had a bad piece of game animal and I'm picky!
most of the old big game like the old bucks are usually tough and gamey. I do the same with rabbit soak it in brine the day before cooking. it helps. I in addition i generally remove the the sack glands on the rear legs. and like Don I don't skin it until it's in camp were I can hang it.
The old grizzled, tough bastards lol
So I see that I can be making more improvements with what I do after I drop a deer. I'll be taking these suggestions into account.
Personally I vacuum seal as much of the meat as I can and freeze it. I then put the vacuum sealed bags and put them in cardboard boxes and write on the box. It helps keep my freezer organized and I've never had any bags fail that way. I will also take a few seconds to do a double seal.
When I was trying to figure out what vacuum sealer to buy I found this site to be really helpful. There was a lot about vacuum sealers that I just didn't think about or even know I didn't know about so that guide helped me learn. I would have bought a FoodSaver and regretted it. Instead I got a VacMaster Pro 380 and man have I worked that thing. I couldn't exactly afford a chamber sealer at the time...though I can yearn. I signed up for the vacuum sealer bags and roll discount club too. I bought ammo with the money I saved haha
I also discovered Sous Vide because of vacuum sealers. Anyone else know about it?
You all have been very helpful, I'm loving these forums.
LOL that posted 3x..few words huhIf you don't learn sometime new every day you're not paying attn
Man of few words