Post by: wt on August 08, 2012, 06:15:49 PM
Post by: mtndew on August 08, 2012, 06:20:37 PM
Post by: billythekidrock on August 08, 2012, 06:29:09 PM
As stated, get the plastic off and either butcher tonight or put it in the freezer.
Unless you have a cuber, there is not much sense in making steaks. Clean up the backstraps and wrap them whole for roasts. Cut the hams off and clean them up for roasts. Cut the neck meat up and clean it for roasts.....get the picture? Clean up the ribs and cut in half. The rest gets added to deer/elk burger or in sausage.
Post by: windygorge on August 08, 2012, 06:47:00 PM
Post by: DoubleJ on August 08, 2012, 06:50:04 PM
Post by: wt on August 08, 2012, 07:14:08 PM
Post by: DoubleJ on August 08, 2012, 07:17:37 PM
Post by: wt on August 08, 2012, 07:30:01 PM
Post by: dscubame on August 08, 2012, 07:32:37 PM
Post by: billythekidrock on August 08, 2012, 07:45:09 PM
I thought putting it in the fridge (initially unwrapped) and keeping it at 45degrees would be no different than hanging it in the walk in at the butcher. Can one of you that blew a gasket speak to that? ie windygorge and DoubleJ. Thank you for the processing tips billythekidrock and mtndew. I'll get the suit off it and freeze it ASAP. I hope it turns out well. Does bear meat never get aged like deer or elk?
I never "age" a bear. I try to get it cool to the bone over night and butcher the next day. If it is hot and we are camping then I will bone it and put it on ice right away and froze within a couple days.
Post by: Hunterman on August 08, 2012, 07:46:13 PM
Hunterman(Tony)
Post by: billythekidrock on August 08, 2012, 07:50:55 PM
I just worry about the fact that bear fat is not like deer or elk fat and will spoil much faster, even in the fridge, or so I'm told.
Try this little experiment:
Take a piece of beef fat and rub it between your fingers and notice how long it takes to melt. Do the same with deer or elk and then try it with bear fat.
Bear fat will melt almost immediately.
I have had well wrapped deer/elk roasts with a little fat that after 2 years were just fine, but 2 year old bear roasts wrapped the same was not very good. Obviously you want to remove as much fat as possible, but sometimes it is near impossible.
Post by: DoubleJ on August 08, 2012, 07:55:06 PM
DoubleJ, ok no blown gasket, I thought I was doing everything in my power to preserve this game(I don't take it lightly), but it sounds like I 'm gonna learn a lesson hear potentially. I think you are correct in letting it breath that's why I did it initially until the temperature was brought down to fridge temp. But it looks like you continue to let it breath (it looked like it would dry out so I covered it). So I'm hoping to learn something from the members here, I have always taken my game to the processor the same day or next day in the past. Any helpful guidance is welcome.
Here's what I do with my game. Some agree, some do it different.
1. Kill it (goes without saying)
2. Get it cool as soon as possible. Sometimes you're close enough to home to just gut it and get it in the fridge, sometimes you need skin it, bone it out and ice it down on the trip home. Just get it cool as quick as possible.
3. I age mine in the fridge. I think it's called wet aging. I normally get it home, skin it, bone it out, put into game bags and put in the fridge. I have 4 shelves in my "deer aging fridge" (just a fridge I kick the beer and soda out of to age an animal) and I put one bag on each shelf and spread the meat out as much as possible inside the bag
4. each bag gets flipped over once a day so the bottom doesn't sit in fluid more than a day. I do this 5-7 days. It's important to me to keep the meat at 36-38 degrees (As taught by my dad)
5. Between 5-7 days, you smell the meat. When it just starts to have that "twinge" of smell where you think it might be going bad, it's time to process and freeze within the next 24 hours.
6. Cut and wrap and freeze. If using vacuum seal bags, partially freeze your steaks, roasts, etc for 2 hours BEFORE bagging. Ever vacuum seal a chunk of meat and see the blood in the bag and then when you thaw it out the blood is everywhere? That's because the vacuum sealing sucks the blood out of the cells and then the meat sits in that spilled blood. Partially freeze the meat first and then vacuum seal and the vacuum won't suck the blood out of the meat.
7. As far as drying out, each piece of meat will have some dried meat on the outside of it. It doesn't go too deep in that amount of time. When you're cutting your meat into roasts and steaks, just trim that dried meat off and throw it in the burger pile. No harm. Your roasts are still big and the dried meat is fine in burger. You won't even notice it.
:twocents:
Post by: DoubleJ on August 08, 2012, 07:59:29 PM
Post by: billythekidrock on August 08, 2012, 08:01:26 PM
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.
Post by: windygorge on August 08, 2012, 08:05:06 PM
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.
Post by: KFhunter on August 08, 2012, 08:05:50 PM
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 :chuckle:
Post by: windygorge on August 08, 2012, 08:10:59 PM
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.
Post by: DoubleJ on August 08, 2012, 08:12:50 PM
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
Post by: DoubleJ on August 08, 2012, 08:21:33 PM
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 :chuckle:
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
Post by: ghostshell on August 09, 2012, 09:18:32 AM
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..agreed... wow man cant beleive there was no research prior... what a waste of a animal...
Hunterman(Tony)
Post by: Plainswalker on August 09, 2012, 10:05:02 AM
:llam:
Post by: wt on August 09, 2012, 10:09:06 AM
Post by: DoubleJ on August 09, 2012, 10:17:24 AM
Post by: JLS on August 09, 2012, 10:29:42 AM
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.
Post by: JLS on August 09, 2012, 10:35:11 AM
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!
Post by: DoubleJ on August 09, 2012, 10:42:16 AM
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.
Post by: JLS on August 09, 2012, 10:50:26 AM
Post by: DoubleJ on August 09, 2012, 10:57:52 AM
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.
Post by: wt on August 09, 2012, 02:53:51 PM
Post by: JLS on August 09, 2012, 03:58:55 PM
I think I misunderstood your original post. If you had the meat completely submerged in ice, it's okay to keep it in plastic for a while. Just don't do it for long periods. Bacteria needs moisture to grow, and keeping it in plastic provides the conditions it needs.
Post by: windygorge on August 09, 2012, 05:47:17 PM
Meat up date: It's in the freezer vacuum packed and I sampled each quarter. Yummy!!!! I'll. Still make some changes next time.
:tup:
Post by: WaltAlpine on October 10, 2012, 01:27:31 PM
Shot the deer at 8 AM Sunday.
Boned it out on the spot without gutting it. Spread it out on coats and extra shirts, etc to cool off.
Carried the meat down the hill, and had it in game bags and in the cooler by 12.
Drove home the next day, Monday and put it in the fridge.
Cleaned it up, what little cleaning there was to do, and cut it up Tuesday night.
No plastic, no hanging/aging on purpose, other than the two days to get home, but was always kept cool and dry.
It was all excellent. Roasts, steaks, ground for tacos, soup, etc. We just treated it like beef. We were with an experienced hunter and just followed instructions until we drove away from the campsite. We went with our guts the rest of the way.
If there is anything I am missing, let me know. Like , even what we may have sone right... It seems like we must have done the right thing.
Post by: DoubleJ on October 10, 2012, 02:27:45 PM
5. Between 5-7 days, you smell the meat. When it just starts to have that "twinge" of smell where you think it might be going bad, it's time to process and freeze within the next 24 hours.
LMFAO. First time reading this old thread. Eventually the "twinge" will turn into the death "twitch" if consumed prior to freezing.
I agree no aging needed. Get all animals cool ASAP which sounds like happened with this bear and cut em' up.
Been doing it for years with no issue. The bacteria that grows in and on meat kept under 40 degrees for a week isn't bad bacteria. No threat of illness. It's science and has been proven over and over. How do you think they age that 40 day beef people pay so much for at the restaraunts? Same way. It makes the meat much more tender and concentrates the flavor. Period. So, you can laugh your f'n ass off all you want. Doing it the way I described will do no damage to anyone. If you don't like it, don't do it that way
This is with deer though. I agree, I wouldn't age bear meat.
Post by: h20hunter on October 10, 2012, 02:37:40 PM
Post by: DoubleJ on October 10, 2012, 02:50:08 PM
Post by: DoubleJ on October 10, 2012, 03:05:01 PM