Hair on the meat!!!

[RightPlace-RightTime]

Years of always thinking hair on the meat was a bad thing when taking to the butcher.
Within reason on amount.  Little to little amount. Just cant get it all.
Talked with a friend of mine who is head butcher at B&E meats in desmoines.  He said it's a myth.

What are all your thoughts?

[92xj]

Hair has pee and poop and gland secretion on it. I don't like to eat pee or poop or gland ooze. I take care to not have hair on my meat. Not because of the hygiene part of the stuff above, but I feel that hair on gives meat that "gamey" flavor you get some of the times.  I've had a few elk pieces that taste exactly like they smell when you walk up to them, which I feel it's hair ground with the meat.

[Igor]

The processor we take ours to will not accept deer or elk if there is hair present on the meat.  There is a very simple way to clean the hair off of a hanging carcass.  You can buy stainless steel sponges on Amazon or other sites which work like magic.  You just hang the animal to cool, and when it is dry use the sponges to wipe the hair off that is left on the meat after skinning.  The sponges are cheap........I buy them in packs of 12.  Just make sure to get the kind that do not have soap in them !!

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Scrubbing-Scouring-scrubber-Kitchens/dp/B07CTHPJYK/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=stainless+steel+pads&qid=1570416100&sr=8-4

[kisfish]

I can not begin to count all the deer and elk we cut at the shop in Colorado. There will always be some hair on the meat. What worked great for us was a gas torch. Just go over it and 99% would be gone. Of course you see some very clean animals come in and we always appreciated that, made it a point to tell the hunters as such

[Jimmer]

Cold water and a rag.. wipe down right after you skin. Simple

[asmith]

I have always made sure to clean all the hair from the meat.  Gives it a bad taste when biting into hairs and if vac sealed and frozed, can and will make the meat inedible.  Personal experience on that one, with a neighbor helping me and i didnt watch over him.  Every package that he cut up and vac sealed went bad.  This was a deer that we didnt let hang, just skinned and butchered.

[j_h_nimrod]

I have never been worried about the hygiene of hair, if hair has touched the meat the bacteria or whatever was transferred. It is not the pee, poop, gland secretion, or whatever it really does not matter, I just hate having hair on my meat!  My mom was adamant about skinning carefully and getting it all when we were packaging and I am the same way.  If there is so much I can’t get it off with a paper towel or a something similar then there is too much and I will trim the area.

Something about the guys using a torch to get hair off just disgusts me, I have never done it but feel it has to impart a flavor and something about it just sets my teeth on edge. With few exceptions, I have never had enough hair to make that even seem like a good idea. I think if you take your time n handle a knife smartly then there should be little to no hair on a boned or field quartered animal and there is no reason to have more than a few errant hairs if you are skinning a hanging animal.

[RightPlace-RightTime]

Good to hear responses
Thank you

[ctwiggs1]

I think you might want to be kind to your friend and edit out the name of his company... because I’m pretty confident a lot of folks on here just discovered a butcher they won’t use in the future. 

[X-Force]

The processor we take ours to will not accept deer or elk if there is hair present on the meat.  There is a very simple way to clean the hair off of a hanging carcass.  You can buy stainless steel sponges on Amazon or other sites which work like magic.  You just hang the animal to cool, and when it is dry use the sponges to wipe the hair off that is left on the meat after skinning.  The sponges are cheap........I buy them in packs of 12.  Just make sure to get the kind that do not have soap in them !!

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Scrubbing-Scouring-scrubber-Kitchens/dp/B07CTHPJYK/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=stainless+steel+pads&qid=1570416100&sr=8-4

 

[Tinmaniac]

I think you might want to be kind to your friend and edit out the name of his company... because I’m pretty confident a lot of folks on here just discovered a butcher they won’t use in the future. 

The butchers job is to cut and process meat.They might pick out a couple obvious hairs but they don't spend a bunch of time cleaning what should already be clean.They cut what you bring them.

[ctwiggs1]

All of the butchers around me also do slaughter.  If any of them ever told me they felt hair on meat was acceptable, they would lose business from multiple beef growers around here (including us).

[Bango skank]

I don't like to eat pee or poop or gland ooze.

You dont know what youre missin! 

[Alchase]

One of the easiest ways to keep most hair off the meat I have found is to hang it head up while skinning. The hair naturally lays down towards the rear. Jest roll back the skin as you cut, and most of the hair falls away from where you are skinning.

[92xj]

I don't like to eat pee or poop or gland ooze.

You dont know what youre missin! 

Extra vitamins and minerals. Who needs one a day pills when you can eat elk wallow hair.

[boneaddict]

“It’s a myth” is a reason I never take my animal to a meat processor. 

[Jpmiller]

I've never had a real hard time keeping the meat relatively clean and then never had a hard time getting the last little bit of hair off. Why would anyone not take the couple extra minutes to just keep their meat clean?

[dvolmer]

I do a gutless de-boning of all of my animals were they lie after being shot.  I leave the kill site with two bags of meat only (no bones) and the head (Deer and antelope size animals.  Elk will be a couple of bags more).  When I get home I take the meat out in the back yard on a piece of ply-wood and there is always some hair on the meat.  I take my hose and a pressure nozzle and spray off all of the meat and brush it as I am spraying with a hand brush with stiff bristles.  that cleans the meat up nicely before trimming off all excess fat and processing.  This way you don't have to deal with guts, bones, and a carcass that you have to take somewhere for dumping.

[syoungs]

I don't like to eat pee or poop or gland ooze.

You dont know what youre missin! 

Extra vitamins and minerals. Who needs one a day pills when you can eat elk wallow hair.

you know now a days elk wallow hair pills may be a marketable product with a certain crowd.  Think of all the natural health benefits!

[scrapperdude]

I process all my own meat, once in a while run across a hair that made it through somehow but have never had spoiled meat or ? from hair, I take great pride in having meat that looks perfect when I am cutting it up though too.

[Doublelunger]

Hair on your meat and other complacencies during the processing of a game animal is the main reason their are people out there who say "I don't like deer or elk, it's too gamey"

[fbennett12]

Use a weed burning torch and lightly singe all of the outside of the meat after skinning. This burns away 99% of the hair.

[pashok23]

Buy a small torch, thats how i get rid of hair on my meat. My uncle told me that trick.

[Karl Blanchard]

I am by no means perfect and hair on your meat is inevitable but what are you guys doing to your game where there is enough hair that it requires fire, hoses, and brushes to get all the hair off? I just pick the few stragglers off with my fingers

[Naches Sportsman]

I am by no means perfect and hair on your meat is inevitable but what are you guys doing to your game where there is enough hair that it requires fire, hoses, and brushes to get all the hair off? I just pick the few stragglers off with my fingers

I thought you are supposed to burn the hide off 


 

[92xj]

And exit

[bhawley76]

A lil hair on you're meat never hurt anyone

[NOCK NOCK]

I process all my own meat, once in a while run across a hair that made it through somehow but have never had spoiled meat or ? from hair, I take great pride in having meat that looks perfect when I am cutting it up though too.

X100

[Stein]

A few get through now and then, I keep it as clean as reasonably possible in the field and then catch the rest when processing it.  Honestly, it's less of an issue than dirt and guts most of the time, those are the ones that really make the process more difficult than it needs to be.

[WildlifeAssassin]

Hair on the meat is one source of “gamey” flavors, the other big one I rarely see mentioned is your hands after touching the hide. A change of gloves or keeping one hand off the hide makes a big difference between skinning and quartering. Food handling on the ground in the woods adds challenges but the nature of bacteria is the same in the woods as in the kitchen. When you get past the guts and hide clean your hands or swap gloves and clean or swap knife as well, into clean gamebags and it’s the best meat there is.

[outdooraddict]

I prefer no hair on the meat, but I'm the younger generation, dads generation, they preferred it the other way... oh wait.. nevermid, wrong forum

[RightPlace-RightTime]

All he was saying was one or two hairs wont spoil meat.  Good read on all other inputs tho

[RightPlace-RightTime]

Post above mine.
Good one lol

[littlemac]

I can not begin to count all the deer and elk we cut at the shop in Colorado. There will always be some hair on the meat. What worked great for us was a gas torch. Just go over it and 99% would be gone. Of course you see some very clean animals come in and we always appreciated that, made it a point to tell the hunters as such

Our elk gets processed in New Mexico where upwards of 500 head process annually.  They always used the torch method to get the odd hair.  Usually the animal has hung and has the dried outer layer that is skinned off when processed so it doesn’t damage any meat. Just a light swipe near the hair and it’s gone.


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[Tbob]

Hair on the meat is one source of “gamey” flavors, the other big one I rarely see mentioned is your hands after touching the hide. A change of gloves or keeping one hand off the hide makes a big difference between skinning and quartering. Food handling on the ground in the woods adds challenges but the nature of bacteria is the same in the woods as in the kitchen. When you get past the guts and hide clean your hands or swap gloves and clean or swap knife as well, into clean gamebags and it’s the best meat there is.

THIS!!!

[Backstrap]

Cold water and a rag.. wipe down right after you skin. Simple

I wipe everything, inside and out, with vinegar. The acid will kill a lot of undesirable issues...

[dilleytech]

Butchers I have known personally won’t clean meat that you bring in. Dirt, hair glands or whatever gets thrown in the grind. Process your own meat folks it’s not hard.

[Mudman]

News flash to all...  Butchers aren't cleaners.  Most will remove clean/cut out bad stuff but do not get particular removing every strand of hair.  Don't bad mouth em, it is our job not theirs.  Expect this all times.  If they cleaned thoroughly every time all hair your meat would take em all day and charges would be 4x's what it is now.  I worked at Meat market high school so...

[HntnFsh]

Cold water and a rag.. wipe down right after you skin. Simple

I wipe everything, inside and out, with vinegar. The acid will kill a lot of undesirable issues...

Ive always done the same thing with a vinegar, water mix. helps keep the flies and bees down too.

[kisfish]

News flash to all...  Butchers aren't cleaners.  Most will remove clean/cut out bad stuff but do not get particular removing every strand of hair.  Don't bad mouth em, it is our job not theirs.  Expect this all times.  If they cleaned thoroughly every time all hair your meat would take em all day and charges would be 4x's what it is now.  I worked at Meat market high school so...

I have cut more wild game animals than I care to remember when I worked a shop in Colorado. I always laugh when people bitch about the meat they get back. Cracks me up when the joker thinks he shot a 1000 lb elk on the rail and didn't get all his meat back. Then there is the one who only shot his 5 times. Hit at every corner and blood shot all over. I wouldn't eat 1/2 the garbage hunters brought in. Most don't take of the animal at all.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

I do a gutless de-boning of all of my animals were they lie after being shot.  I leave the kill site with two bags of meat only (no bones) and the head (Deer and antelope size animals.  Elk will be a couple of bags more).  When I get home I take the meat out in the back yard on a piece of ply-wood and there is always some hair on the meat.  I take my hose and a pressure nozzle and spray off all of the meat and brush it as I am spraying with a hand brush with stiff bristles.  that cleans the meat up nicely before trimming off all excess fat and processing.  This way you don't have to deal with guts, bones, and a carcass that you have to take somewhere for dumping.

Do you know that the more you cut up meat in the field, the more chances are that you introduce it to bacteria which can cause mold, cause meat to spoil,  cause meat to smell, etc? This is partly caused by more surface area being exposed.

Here's a good source about meat care.   https://pristineventures.com/why-use-citric-acid-on-game-meat/

[j_h_nimrod]

I have used citric acid and really like it. I don’t pretreat my bags because I don’t like the possibility of acid unintentionally  getting on items (in my pack or kit) I don’t want, essentially anything corrosive or reactive to acids. I prefer to pack a bag of pure powder and mix it into water, typically in a disposable water bottle with a few small holes in the lid that spray nicely on the meat or game bag. The citric acid really dries out and “skins” the meat nicely. I don’t bother to try and rinse down the meat before going in a bag because I am slow and take my time to make sure the meat goes in a game bag very clean.

Not necessarily on the hair topic, but...

[Rob]

The processor we take ours to will not accept deer or elk if there is hair present on the meat.  There is a very simple way to clean the hair off of a hanging carcass.  You can buy stainless steel sponges on Amazon or other sites which work like magic.  You just hang the animal to cool, and when it is dry use the sponges to wipe the hair off that is left on the meat after skinning.  The sponges are cheap........I buy them in packs of 12.  Just make sure to get the kind that do not have soap in them !!

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Scrubbing-Scouring-scrubber-Kitchens/dp/B07CTHPJYK/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=stainless+steel+pads&qid=1570416100&sr=8-4

Tried a brillo pad this year based on this recommendation.  worked GREAT.

Thanks!