After the shot Meat care and storage.

[windygorge]

  wt.  no gasket blown, but you sounded like you were ho-hummin about what to do with it.  to me it sounded like" ok, like i just like shot this little bear, and well, its hangin, no wait, its in my fridge wrapped in plastic....just wonderin what you guys think i should like um do with it"      
 heard you don't need to age wild game, so i don't.  places in the web say you do (for weeks).  i have friends that do, and im sure tons of people do in this forum.  for me, i get it home and the only aging that happens is while its waiting its turn to get butchered. i have waited to butcher elk, only because i was working and couldn't get to it.  so it hung a few days while fans were blowing.  if it is really warm out, i take it over to a friends house who sets up his a/c unit in his garage.  sometimes it takes a couple nights to do an elk, so it will hang until i get to it.  does it make the meat better, more tender.  not for 5 days.  for that short of time, it doesn't matter.  aging is more for beef cattle, and it takes twenty somethin days.another thing i do is cut allfat and silver out of my elk and deer. if i can't, it goes to grinder.  if i was lucky enough to get a bear, there would be no fat left on the meat after butchering.  if i can't cut it out, it goes to grinder.  never killed a bear, so im speaking only about deer and elk.  i do know however, never ever wrap your game in plastic.  and it boggles my mind when i hear people still put quarters in garbage bags to pack out their game.  let it breath.  when it holds moisture, it will promote bacterial growth, which leads to spoilage.  plastic is the ideal incubator for bacteria.  thats how i skin my cat, and im sure others do it different.

[KFhunter]

Uh, I don't agree with letting a piece of meat rotate in "fluid" for 5-7 days. That is a good way to promote bacterial growth.

You would be better off hanging it overnight somewhere a tad warmer, BUT dry. We mix 50/50 water and vinegar to rub down the animal. Then use a clean towel to dry it off. Then put it back in the fridge.

Same here - no "twinge" to the meat, yuch
 
regarding that twinge I know what your talking about, the other day my wife brought home some steaks from walmart with a 50% off sticker or some such - I opend the plastic and got to experience your "twinge" - I didn't like it 

[windygorge]

 We mix 50/50 water and vinegar to rub down the animal. Then use a clean towel to dry it off. Then put it back in the fridge.

yea, do the vinegar thing to.  kills any bacteria it makes contact with.  also torch the quarters to get rid of hair that can't be wiped off.

[DoubleJ]

Uh, I don't agree with letting a piece of meat rotate in "fluid" for 5-7 days. That is a good way to promote bacterial growth.

You would be better off hanging it overnight somewhere a tad warmer, BUT dry. We mix 50/50 water and vinegar to rub down the animal. Then use a clean towel to dry it off. Then put it back in the fridge.

I knew that would sound bad.  There's really no fluid to speak of.  Just came out wrong

[DoubleJ]

Uh, I don't agree with letting a piece of meat rotate in "fluid" for 5-7 days. That is a good way to promote bacterial growth.

You would be better off hanging it overnight somewhere a tad warmer, BUT dry. We mix 50/50 water and vinegar to rub down the animal. Then use a clean towel to dry it off. Then put it back in the fridge.

Same here - no "twinge" to the meat, yuch
 
regarding that twinge I know what your talking about, the other day my wife brought home some steaks from walmart with a 50% off sticker or some such - I opend the plastic and got to experience your "twinge" - I didn't like it 

Works for me.  5-7 days is about right.  Venison tastes better and is more tender.  I have tried mine side by side with non aged venison and I greatly prefer mine.  Like I said in my post, it's not for everyone but I know I'm not the only one that ages venison

[ghostshell]

Treat your bear just like you do your deer...GET IT TO A COOLER FASTER THAN ASAP.. In this HOT weather,,get the skin off RIGHT NOW, and cut off the fat faster than that.. DO NOT EVER PUT FRESH MEAT IN ANY PLASTIC,,,EVER!! Unless you boned this bear out, chances are it will be bone soured, and spoiled.. Bear meat will go bad faster than fast..This is going to be a hell of a learning experiance for you..You should of asked these questions before you went bear hunting..

Hunterman(Tony)

agreed... wow man cant beleive there was no research prior... what a waste of a animal...

[Plainswalker]

If nothing else, you can put this down as a "learning experience".  Like many of my "learning experiences" in life, it either comes with a healthy side of embarrassment, or in many cases, actual physical pain.
 

[wt]

Meat up date: It's in the freezer vacuum packed and  I sampled each quarter. Yummy!!!! I'll. Still make some changes next time.

[DoubleJ]

Glad to hear you saved it.  Good job.

[JLS]

Uh, I don't agree with letting a piece of meat rotate in "fluid" for 5-7 days. That is a good way to promote bacterial growth.

You would be better off hanging it overnight somewhere a tad warmer, BUT dry. We mix 50/50 water and vinegar to rub down the animal. Then use a clean towel to dry it off. Then put it back in the fridge.

The standard for bacteria is that life begins at 40.

[JLS]

wt,

Next time, I'd recommend putting the meat on ice, but not wrapped in plastic.  The heat has to escape the meat, and the plastic will hinder that.  You can successfully submerge meat in a stream in a plastic bag to cool it, but for icing I would put your ice in the bottom of the cooler, lay plastic between meat and ice, and allow some air space around the meat on top.  Drain your water as needed.

Not sure if you boned the quarters initially, but this will help cool the meat much faster.  Souring always takes place along the bones first, usually the femur (big leg bone) because there is so much muscle mass to trap in heat.

Cooling in a refrigerator for five days will not hurt a thing.  In a controlled temp environment like that I would not hesitate to leave it for a week or more if I needed to.  The University of Wyoming has done a lot of research on wild game meat care.

Glad it turned out good, and congrats on the bear!

[DoubleJ]

Uh, I don't agree with letting a piece of meat rotate in "fluid" for 5-7 days. That is a good way to promote bacterial growth.

You would be better off hanging it overnight somewhere a tad warmer, BUT dry. We mix 50/50 water and vinegar to rub down the animal. Then use a clean towel to dry it off. Then put it back in the fridge.

The standard for bacteria is that life begins at 40.

That's what I learned.  Keeping my meat at 36 degrees for a week is fine and works for me.  Always has with no problems.  To each their own.

[JLS]

If it's cleaned well and wrapped in a clean game bag or something to prevent excessive drying, you could leave it for two weeks and it wouldn't hurt a thing.  I would trim away any excessive bloodshot meat if you do this.

[DoubleJ]

If it's cleaned well and wrapped in a clean game bag or something to prevent excessive drying, you could leave it for two weeks and it wouldn't hurt a thing.  I would trim away any excessive bloodshot meat if you do this.

Blood shot meat goes into the dog snack bag.  Never eat that stuff.  I keep a dog snack bag where the fat, bloodshot meat, and bones go.

[wt]

Thanks for the info jls. It sounds like you have some experience and science behind your advice. I don't  know it all About food handling but once upon a time I did have a food handlers permit and there is a safety zone for preserving food, a properly operating fridge should keep you in it is what I thought . Besides meat is kept in display cases routinely for a week at a time. Billytkr had some great bear processing advice also, Like I said n my previous post I sampled the meat from each quarter and said it was yummy..... I wasn't kidding , it was delicious!  I had heard of bear being potentially not so good but this was great even with out seasoning. I may never hunt for big bears. But who doesn't like a big pumpkin head! Thanks again for the constructive advice please continue to post fyi next time.