Davidmil Just got the ol' buckmaster noggin concerned...

[buckmaster]

If you see a green tint when you pull off the hide I'd worry. But really, it should be fine. The one thing you did exactly wrong was to wash the thing out. Unless you cut the gut or broke the urine sack you should NOT wash a deer out. Moisture is a big no no. It aids in the growth of bacteria and germs. Never wash unless you can immediately dry and slap it in a nice cold walkin cooler.

I always wash my deer after I skin them... to get excess blood, hair, etc... basically to clean the meat... I'm not asking if Davidmil is wrong, but what do you guys do??

[2 Lunger]

I agree with David. Water invites bacteria big time!

[StrikeTrue]

Ive always rinsed mine out, im interested to hear opinions on this!

[MN/Kyle]

No water. Never.

If I do a bad job skinning, and there is hair...I torch it.

[IAhuntr]

I absolutely rinse it out. You know what invites bacteria more than water? Blood and tissue fluids. When you use your knife to make the inital cut into the hide and around the 'nads, you then introduce tons of bateria into the body cavity as you continue dressing with that knife. You use your hand to hold the leg aside that he's been peeing down the last few weeks, then hang onto his 'unit' to make your intial cuts, and then use those hands inside the cavity. Yuk![:'(] It needs thoroughly rinsed and hung to drip dry. And who lets a deer sit around for any length of time that isn't in walk-in cooler type temps?

[buckmaster]

ORIGINAL: IAhuntr

I absolutely rinse it out. You know what invites bacteria more than water? Blood and tissue fluids. When you use your knife to make the inital cut into the hide and around the 'nads, you then introduce tons of bateria into the body cavity as you continue dressing with that knife. You use your hand to hold the leg aside that he's been peeing down the last few weeks, then hang onto his 'unit' to make your intial cuts, and then use those hands inside the cavity. Yuk![:'(] It needs thoroughly rinsed and hung to drip dry. And who lets a deer sit around for any length of time that isn't in walk-in cooler type temps?

I like this answer.Even My butcher rinses them out... but after he does they do immediatley go into the cooler.

[TEmbry]

I dont think bacteria is an issue if you have the meat on ice or in a freezer hours after rinsing off, especially in November weather.

Ive always rinsed mine too.

[_Dan]

Water will never touch my meat.

[Rob/PA Bowyer]

ORIGINAL: _Dan

Water will never touch my meat.

Agreed. The best advice I've ever seen is to wipe them down with a rag soaked in vinegar.

I never wash mine down until I'm deboning and putting the meat in a bag for freezing to await the delivery to my butcher for bologna around March. Even then, rarely does water touch the meat.

[davidmil]

Excerpt from an article on venison care. Same thing is taught in hunter safety etc etc etc

The meat should be kept clean and dry throughout field dressing, cold storage and aging processes. Soiling and excessive moisture increase the likelihood of spoilage.

ANother
[*]

[*]Wipe out excess blood in gutted cavity with a paper towel or clean cloth and clean water. Use as little water as possible, because damp meat spoils faster than dry meat. [*]