Sept 1 Meat Care

[Kingpuck]

So I have a raffle tag to fill on the East side of the mountains and an elk tag to fill on the West side. What do you all do about meat care during the hot September days? Thinking I will bone out completely and then put the meat into a bag and inside my internal frame pack. Then pack it down to the car and put the meat in a cooler with dry ice.

Any other tips? This being my first year I want to make sure to respect the meat and not waste the life of an animal. Taking the life of an animal is a big deal and I want to care for that meat.

[washelkhunter]

Get the goods cooled asap. Best bet is laying it on shaded rocks and/or hanging it above a flowing creek bed. It will cool over night. Then down and out as fast as possible.

[Todd_ID]

Raffle tag??  I don't blame you for wanting to get something in September.  That's a great time to find an unsuspecting one.  If you do shoot something in the first week of September, then cooling is your friend.  It does not matter how you get the heat out of the critter, but you do have to get it out.  I plan on being 6 miles in the wilderness at that time, and I know it'll be hot.  If I get lucky enough to get a critter, then I'm heading for the nearest creek or spring with the quarters to cool it out.  I'll pack it out in the dark and soak it in the cold water (hour max) to drop the temperature.  The biggest thing you've got to be concerned with is getting the original body heat out of the animal; the core/bone temp has to get down low enough to stymie the bacteria and moisture trying to ruin the meat, and that's not all that hard.  If the cool creek beds are 50 degrees, then you can just hang it there.  You can keep meat in 75 degree weather just fine by keeping it in a cool area, but you've got to keep it dry and cool.  Laying on ice is not good for meat for more than a day.  Dry ice is a good idea, but I'd not do it because: 1. it's expensive, and 2. it'll freeze the meat that it touches.  I think you'll be happier having a cooler with regular ice.  If it melts away, then you can run to town to get more.

[fair-chase]

Kingpuck, that Whitcomb tag is a true blessing for you in this situation. Yes it's going to be hot there, with a good chance of it being in the 90s during the day. However, it's proximity to the river, and the fact that you cannot possibly get more than 1/4 mile away from any road leaves you a good opportunity to get your first one cleaned up fairly easily.

Don't forget a layer of insulation over the top of your dry ice. Will prevent freezer burn and also allows the blood to drain down lower than the bottom layer of meat. I also like to put a layer of cloth in between each section of meat to keep a bit of airflow between them and preventing them from sticking together. Also, multiple medium sized ice chests tend to work better than one gigantic one.


Good luck.

[Johnb317]

Internal frame pack?  You're in much better shape than I. 
Depending on the size of the elk plan on 4 trips. 
Get the hide off ASAP and hang in a cool spot. If you're boning out the meat careful not to let it mass in one big lump.  Careful with the dry ice.

[billythekidrock]

Get it cool asap. Don't be afraid to put the quarters in a creek overnight.
Buy heavy duty game bags. While boning out, place meat in multiple bags to help with cooling.
If you bone it out, back at the rig, make sure to spread the pieces out in multiple ice chests to help with cooling.
I would not use dry ice. Use block ice or better yet, 1/2 gallon jugs of frozen water.
The product "Liquid Game Bag" will help keep the blow flies and bees away.

[whack em]

All good gouge, and thanks for the question and replies.  To add my two cents, in Arizona, we would use black pepper all over the game bags / cheesecloth / meat to help fight off the flys, bees, and wasps.

[Todd_ID]

Another trick to help with flies is to take your game bags out now.  Soak them in lemon juice, cayenne, and black pepper.  Throw them over a bush to dry in the sun, and then vacuum seal them.

[Crunchy]

Another trick to help with flies is to take your game bags out now.  Soak them in lemon juice, cayenne, and black pepper.  Throw them over a bush to dry in the sun, and then vacuum seal them.

I never thought of vacuum sealing them. I might give that a try to see if it compacts them some.

[ribka]

Another trick to help with flies is to take your game bags out now.  Soak them in lemon juice, cayenne, and black pepper.  Throw them over a bush to dry in the sun, and then vacuum seal them.

I never thought of vacuum sealing them. I might give that a try to see if it compacts them some.

Great idea

I hate dealing with wasps and meat in the early season.

[ouchfoss]

Another trick to help with flies is to take your game bags out now.  Soak them in lemon juice, cayenne, and black pepper.  Throw them over a bush to dry in the sun, and then vacuum seal them.

I never thought of vacuum sealing them. I might give that a try to see if it compacts them some.

Great idea

I hate dealing with wasps and meat in the early season.

X2  That is a very good idea! I will have to give that a try if I fill a tag this year.

[rebal69972]

Tagged

[Kingpuck]

So glad I asked this question. Very unusual answers. Would have never thought of lemon and pepper.

Going to scratch the dry ice plan and just bone out fast, and get to town for ice. Might even have ice in the cooler to start with. Should I buy real game bags or go with the pillow case idea and buy a bunch of those to keep the meat separated?

[washelkhunter]

Forget pillow cases. Real game bags are an investment in the future and properly taken care of will last so grandkids can use them. Check out huntergamebags.com.    Go with the elk 4 pack.

[Todd_ID]

Make sure you locate a walk-in cooler that hangs wild game where ever you plan on hunting.  Only use ice and coolers during transport.  Many orchards and grocery stores have coolers; some advertise wild game storage, and some will do wild game but you've got to ask first.  Make sure to keep track of their business hours, and ask if they will do after hours calls.  Again, coolers and ice are for transport, but walk-in coolers are much better!

[TommyH]

  Good info here! :tup:I always have  to bone out the meat, but will have another cooler with me this year so the meat can be spread out more.

[pianoman9701]

Giardia is a concern when cooling meat in water without covering it. The bacteria will grow on the meat after you remove it and can make you sick. It also isn't the best for the meat and won't allow a protective skin to form.  If you're going to cool in a stream, I would leave the meat in the elk bags and put it in heavy duty plastic garbage bags to keep the meat dry. Make sure not to leave the meat in the garbage bags very long at all before cooling, as it will spoil within an hour or less. Get it right in the water.

Boning and hanging the meat in the shade will help keep it cool as long as the sun doesn't hit it later. If you need to store it on the ground under foliage, then stack some sticks a couple of layers high log cabin style and lay the meat on that. This will help air circulate all around the meat, including underneath.

Vinegar on the hide will keep the flies and hornets away until you're done skinning. Get a 1 lb ground black pepper from Cash & Carry or Costco to sprinkle on the meat after skinning and before eviscerating and the hornets are gone.

[Kowsrule30]

During some early ML hunts we've had to put them in the creek then hang them in the shade between a cluster of spruce... Never got above 45* there....... And we bring gallon jugs froze solid for cooler purposes....

[huntergreg]

  great info here!

[oldcamper]

 

[elkhuntingcouple]

we also carry a ice chest full of 1/2 gallon ice, it last for the whole trip, we can lay out the meat and ice it, cover it with a breathable tarp. My dad said they would dig a hole, put the hide down and cover it with dirt, that is how he was taught by the indians when he was a kid of course that was 75 years ago.  But he said he never loss any meat and many of the men that hunted with him hung their and lost it. so some food for thought.

[NW-GSP]

Lots of good ideas here. I will try the food saver idea and the pepper, I can't stand the flies and hornets

[billythekidrock]

During some early ML hunts we've had to put them in the creek then hang them in the shade between a cluster of spruce... Never got above 45* there....... And we bring gallon jugs froze solid for cooler purposes....

We have done this for years on bears and never had a problem. Leave the hide on, dry and then wipe down with vinegar when hanging and everything will be fine. Just remember that while the water may be cooler than the air, it is not as cool as ice or a freezer and should still be processed as fast as possible.

[Kingpuck]

Okay so with the advice given I think my approach will be to bone out, place in game bags, and into garbage bags to separate out and then cover with ice for the 4 hour drive. Would that create spoilage? Not much else I can think of to do.

Just makes me sick to think about wasting meat after the animal gave its life for all this.

[washelkhunter]

Sounds like a plan, now all you gotta do is get one. 

[Bean Counter]

I know this is a deer conversation but here is an elk tip. Something we have always done on the femur is to cut down to the bone and separate the meat around the bone so that air can come in and circulate around. The bones hold a lot of heat, and even with the hide off its good to go in so the deepest heat can dissapate. You don't have to completely pull out the femur or even get 100% of the meat off the bone, but if you have a large incision all the way down and can cut the meat off the bone around the middle this will help buy you some time. If you have to pack it out over several miles it may be helpful for the meat to be attached to both ends of the bone for some structure.

We've never got one in September but when we do this, skin them, bag 'em in game bags, hang 'em outside in the shade in November they have been fine for five days.

[Fishmasterdan]

Forget pillow cases. Real game bags are an investment in the future and properly taken care of will last so grandkids can use them. Check out huntergamebags.com.    Go with the elk 4 pack.

Huntergamebags.com Well I order some game bags from them a few weeks ago and have yet to receive anything. I emailed Steve 2 days ago with no reply. I have going to give them the big thumbs down.

[KFhunter]

1 liter soda bottles work awesome, they pressurize when you freeze them and they stay frozen longer and have a nice shape that doesn't take up a lot of room in the cooler.
 
also salted ice, load up your cooler with salt ice - if you fish the coast you know what I'm talking about.   you can also toss some dry ice on top of the ice to keep it frozen all during your hunt so even a few days later you got seriously cold ice and not a cooler full of luke warm water.
 
 
I use a big white marine cooler - load it up with ice and dry ice on top and have a few empty coolers to hold the overflow when you start loading quarters.
 
 
 

[Kingpuck]

Sounds like I need to step up and buy a truck after the house this fall. Hunting from a car is going to suck real quick at this rate.

[rebal69972]

as far as ice we use 1 gallon milk jugs from wal mart and 1/2 gallon jugs.they stack into coolers good and last all trip.

[TommyH]

So what does everyone do with their game meat after they get out of the woods?  Everyone bring their meat to a walk in cooler? I have stacked meat in a extra fridge on low, with towels between layers of meat,

[Broken Arrow]

Several years ago we started bringing a medium size chest freezer to camp. Prior to the season we freeze numerous mild jugs, etc. and then pack the freezer. After we get an animal down we bone it out and place it in the freezer surrounded by ice. Every few day we will run the generator and give it a good chill. We have been able to store several elk and deer like this, averaging around 40 degrees for a week or more. Save a ton of money with not having to run back and forth with gas cost etc. The last few days of camp, we butcher, cut and wrap at camp and them run the generator the remainder of the time for a hard freeze. This system works awesome.

[fillthefreezer]

if you pre-pack your ice in the cooler with the frozen half gal water jugs it can double as emergency water and wrap the cooler in an old sleeping bag, will help to keep it frozen longer

[Kingpuck]

Good grief you guys get pretty elaborate. Guess ingenuity loves company. Some very cool ideas. Would like to get to the point that I have 2-3 freezers in my future house. One full of meat and the other full of vegetables and other frozen food.

[fillthefreezer]

Good grief you guys get pretty elaborate. Guess ingenuity loves company. Some very cool ideas. Would like to get to the point that I have 2-3 freezers in my future house. One full of meat and the other full of vegetables and other frozen food.

a lot of your veg should get canned to leave freezer space for fish

[Kingpuck]

fill the freezer, that is true. Not sure what the heck I was thinking. One year we canned 177 pounds of beets and some cherries and froze a bunch of strawberries. Nothing like a cold December day and you are having strawberries on your pancakes. Gotta love hard work during the harvest season. Can't wait for steaks this year. You know, if I don't get one though it is no big deal. Got some practice and will be a lot smarter next year. Hopefully even more in shape.

[DoubleJ]

Going to try something this year.  Making a solar powered swamp cooler.  I normally have a tarp pulled over the bed of my truck.  Call it my redneck tonau cover.  I am going to make this:
http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=33842
and run it to blow into the bed area of my truck.

[TommyH]

Thats pretty cool!