Preserving meat after the kill

[hexy23]

All,

Heading on a mulie hunting trip to new mexico in a few days and wanted to get your thoughts on preserving meat from camp and the long drive home. Obvious ones are skin, gut, quarter as fast as possible and get meat into ice. But curious if anyone has any other tips or recommendation for best care?

 

[Bonejour]

There are some very good sources on the web. I'll post some links for you. Keep in mind the main principles: your enemies are heat, moisture and dirt. The main reason to gut (field dress) the deer is to cool the meat, but it also protects the meat from contamination that occurs as soon as 6 hours after death due to breakdown of the gut lining. Or you can do the gutless quartering LP and others talked about in a thread awhile back, which also cool the meat quickly. If the weather is cool and you have a place to hang it, you can gut it and hang the entire carcass. Leave the skin on an cover the entire carcass with a heavy game bag till you are ready to process the meat into smaller portions to place into a cooler. Cloth game bags are great for initial care because putting meat directly into plastic bags holds heat in. It's best to avoid plastic bags till it goes into the cooler, if possible.

 

[Bonejour]

Here are some useful links:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.meatcare
http://www.elk-hunting-tips.net/big-game-meat.html
http://www.bowhunter.com/tactics/handle-with-care-how-to-maintain-quality-game-meat/
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/hunting/hunting_game_meat.html
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=592042&mode=2

Have a safe trip and a great hunt!

 

[NBK]

If you have the ability to chill the meat this method works great:

2" foam sheet's
visqueen plastic
moving blankets


Buy some 2" foam and cut it so it will fit the front half of the bed of your truck. Lay a moving blanket over the foam sheet on the bottom of the bed of the truck. Wrap the quarters in visqueen plastic and place on the moving blanket. Wrap up and add a couple more blankets. Tuck the excess blanket underneath the meat package like making a bed.

Your meat will be ice cold when you get home. We have hauled thousands of pounds of meat this way. It's cheap and efficient!

And congratulations on your first post hexy23!

 

[TonyS]

Forget gutting. Bone it out; gets cooler quicker and you aren't playing cave man. Take the skin and horns with you.

 

[MJB]

I'm on the opposite side of the fence.......I use the contractor trash bags and do the gutless debone. It's worked for me with no loss of meat. I do this for two reasons first the blood is in an plastic bag and won't leak. Second I sometimes need to cool the meat for a few days before we hike out so I submerge the meat in creeks to keep it cool. Infact I do this in D16 if we don't tag out in the first am.

The bones hold a lot of heat rember the deers temp is around 103 so even 80 is much cooler. As I'm deboning I lay the meat on the flesh side of the hide to let it cool then stuff it and keep cutting.

 

[hexy23]

Thanks for the tips guys, all very helpful.

@NBK that is completely new one i've never heard before! Might consider that since its about a 14 hr drive back from where we'll be.

Hope to have a few good stories for you guys on the hunting report threads.

 

[MJB]

14 hours it better go in a cooler/w ice

 

[hexy23]

14 hours it better go in a cooler/w ice

I agree. I think the 110 qt cooler I got will do the job.

 

[DanSanDiego]

Any thoughts on processing costs? I plan to go to Bishers in Ramona. One post said $100. But since I'm a Noob I want to make sure I can question things if they say $400.

 

[Bonejour]

T&H is $1.95/lb for steaks and roasts with packaging. More for processed stuff like sausage depending on what you order.

 

[bodomwarrior13]

Any thoughts on processing costs? I plan to go to Bishers in Ramona. One post said $100. But since I'm a Noob I want to make sure I can question things if they say $400.

Bishers is $125 for a clean deer cut and wrapped. They will skin it for an extra $30-$35. Extra depending how much sausage you want.

 

[ilovesprig]

T&H is $1.95/lb for steaks and roasts with packaging. More for processed stuff like sausage depending on what you order.

I used to take all my game to Jacob.......Just priced himself out IMO.......Over 200 bucks for a 100 lb deer.

Specialty Meats........99 bucks.......Last years bill, including Italian sausage.......$138.00

.

 

[El Matavenados]

In 2012, a buddy and I went to Wyoming. We harvested 5 does (well, 1 was a button buck) in the 100-120 lb range, 1 turkey, and 4 grouse. We deboned the deer, but I brought back all the leg and shoulder bones (not allowed to bring central nervous system parts- spine and brain- back into CA due to CWD concerns) for the dogs as well. It all fit into 2 large ice chests, as I recall, even though I brought a 3rd. I packed them in ice, and drove back, with the trip taking about 25 hours (including frequent nap stops). No problems whatsoever with meat quality.

 

[Your Mama]

I'm the new bait around here. However to this post. I think: dirt,heat, and moisture are the most important. If you think that way, everything else will just come to you. Good hunting to you. Oh and it might be just me but i try and keep to the best i can. getting the hair on the meat.

 

[MJB]

Here's a picture of my deboned deer from this past weekend cooling in the creek.......and my young and dumb deer

 

[NBK]

Here's a picture of my deboned deer from this past weekend cooling in the creek.......and my young and dumb deer

Baby killer!

 

[D16hunter]

Here's a picture of my deboned deer from this past weekend cooling in the creek.......and my young and dumb deer

Baby killer!

Lol That aint too small I shot a doe last year my dad tied it's legs together and carried it out like a purse. MJB Congrats on the buck btw


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TaftHunter]

Here's a picture of my deboned deer from this past weekend cooling in the creek.......and my young and dumb deer

Is that milk in the corner of his mouth?

Just messing with you, I've killed smaller

 

[Lungpopper]

What do you think the water temp was? Congrats on your buck.