Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: EMPyre on October 04, 2007, 10:02:58 AM
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Ok, I'm looking for a bit of advice from the veterans outthere. i'm new to big game (second season) and hoping to bring something home this year. My question has to do with what to do with an animal after it has be dispatched, and field dressed. Primarily I'm concerned with storing the animal in the warmer weather that we'll likely see during the day. I've seen plety of people hanging deer but I'm concerned about spoilage. Should I be quatering and/or butchering down that deer ASAP and getting packed on ice? What is everyones thought, advice, techniques with after shot care/prep. Thanks.
Erich
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skin off asap...stored in shade, then quartered at least and on ice asap. ours is hung in a garage usually only overnight then processed and iced down in a cooler.
we usually hunt out of the house though, so i'm curious to see what happens at deer camp.
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At elk camp this year, dealing with eastern wa heat in September we gutted the animal (lets just say, flys and yellowjackets find bodies way too fast), skinned, quartered it and took misc meat (helped in the pack out too, obviously), put in game bags, packed it back to camp. Then we deboned the quarters and put them in coolers with ice, wrapped in plastic bags. Next day (since it was late in the day both times we bagged an elk) we took the meat down to the butchers. Seemed to work just peachy. I would expect a person could do the same with deer, no problem.
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For Deer: We field dress the animal. Then get it back to camp and hang it in a tree. From there we get the skin off. Then its time to remove the loins, next the front shoulders and then we cut off all the misc meat. Now time to hit the Hint quarters, I start by cutting around the pelvic and seperate the hip joint. repeat for the other.
As all the meat is coming off it is going into a cooler with ice. The deboning on the front and hind quarters happens as soon as I get home (sometimes the day after, depending on the time I get home). Then It's time to cut and wrap.
For Elk: I hope to find out in Nov. but will follow most of this.
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Let the temp and weather decide on your hang time. Colder the weather longer hang time. Ive read 42 degrees and lower up to 10 days. For the most part it's 3 on average for me. Just make sure it's clean from hair and other spoilers and you'll be good ;)
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Over here in Maryland because it doesn't get cold as soon as it does back there I will usually bone the deer out the same day if I shoot it early in the morning, if I tag one late evening I will let it hang over night wrapped in agame bag with fans blowing on it if the temp drops down into the 40s if not then I am boning it out and wrapping it in plastic and placing in the fridge until the next morning and then it is into the grinder and into game bags and inthe freezer, I would like to build or buy a walk in cooler to let the game hang for at least a week if not a little longer to let the meat age, the longer you let it age the better it will be.
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CAn meat "age" after being cut and processed into steaks and such? Seems like a Yes. Is it the air that lets it age and dry or can it "age" after it's bagged up? I'd like to bone the meat, wash it, dry it (somehow.?.) and pack it all on ice until I get home. Just want to hunker down and have it labeled and done. Anyone do something like that?
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bear with me as I only have about 20 deer under my belt. first off, the temp is what is going to determine your actions. I would not stress if daytime temps are 60 or less, and it gets into the low 40'-30's at night. I used to skin nothing as far as deer go till I cut it, which is typically 7-10 days after the kill @ 40-50* daytime temps (45* meat temp) now I skin right away. it has more to do with cutting out the bloodshot meat than anything else for me, get it out quick and it stinks much less. I can't even imaging boning out a deer in october for fear of spoiling, UNLESS, I wsa looking at a long car ride home. I can hose my deer off with water when I skin it and it gets all the hair that fell on it off. I then just hang it and wait. after a few days you can "feel" the meat and get an idea of its setup. when it is at the desired tenderness.....cut, wrap, and enjoy!
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Cold air will allow the meat to air dry almost like how salami is made. The longer it ages the more tender it will be. If it the meat is cold down to between 34 and 43 degree it can age for several weeks, do not freeze the meat as it will stop the ageing process and do not let the meat warm up above 43 as it will start to rot.
Before I cut the meat up I will wash it with a mixture of vinager and water this will help kill any bacteri that may have got on the meat. Also ground black pepper will work to keep flies or any other bugs off the meat.
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Before I cut the meat up I will wash it with a mixture of vinager and water this will help kill any bacteri that may have got on the meat
We do this right after skinning and cleaning. I don't like to add any moisture before cutting.
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Before I cut the meat up I will wash it with a mixture of vinager and water this will help kill any bacteri that may have got on the meat
We do this right after skinning and cleaning. I don't like to add any moisture before cutting.
Agree.
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so with evening temps of 35-40, daytime temps of 50-60(hopefully) and the animals hung inside a barn that manages to stay pretty cool...am i good for a couple days hanging assuming the animal is skinned?
i usually only leave them hang for a day, 2 at the most because i'm freaking out about the daytime temps.
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my dilemma would be to take a deer late (3rd day of a 3day hunt)and have to head back past Seattle where it will be reasonably warm during the day over the next few weeks. Does a clean/empty fridge calibrated a 38 degrees count as a good environment for hanging quarters maybe? Regulated temp seems cool. Good size tray in the bottom. what about ventilation? Refrigerators breath don't they?
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stop freaking out. kill it, skin it, bag it and hang it and continue on with filling you're buddies tags. your meat will be just fine, assuming you do all the before mentioned in a timely mannor, save the whiskey for after the hard part is done.
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I think you should hang Deer/Elk quartered or not for at least 3 days, I like up to 5 days if its cool below 45Deg. . Field dress, skin, blood spoiled meet out, hang, when you start to get just a touch of mold on the fatty layer, its time to process. If you take meat to early it will be gamey, and stringy.
As far as bacteria goes, your going to cook it right, dont worry about it unless you get a lot of hair, urine/gut fluids on the meat. Just be safe in preparation, 150 deg.+ when you cook.
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EMPyre,, You have just been flooded with some sound, and proven advice..I have killed well over 100 deer, and lost only ONE to spoilage by being cheap.. Here is what I look at when I hang a deer..
1) If the day time temps are over 45* take the deer to a butcher to hang..It will cost you a few bucks to just hang it if your going to cut it up yourself, or you can just let them cut it..If you worried about getting your deer back, most meat cutters will let you watch, and sometimes help wrap burger..
2)If the nightime temps goes down into freezing temps (32* and less) then warms up to the 40's get your deer to the butchers..Temp changes like this will spoil your deer in a hurry..
So might I suggest a little rule of thumb that works for me.. If you kill a deer (and I hope you do) this time of year,, gut it, get it home, hang it skin it, wash it down with the garden hose(to clean off any blood, and hair) and get it to the butcher by the next day.. The quicker you get the meat cool,,the better the meat will taste..
Hunterman(tony)
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Thanks everyone for the input so far...pretty much what I was expecting.
Clean it out, hang it over night, quarter and/or butcher asap.
I'm hoping to do the disassembly myself, but we'll see. Might just get it to the butchers on the drive home and pay for the convience. Thanks again for all the input. Steady aim, and good luck to everyone this weekend!
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Should have made the post a little better to read, after I wash it down I will let it dry and then I will cut it up. Don't want the meat tasting like vinager.
