Camp Cooking and Game Processing Trade recipes and other tricks of the trade for cooking wild game.

Newbie with a newbie question

Old 08-04-2014, 02:36 PM
  #11  
Nontypical Buck
 
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Originally Posted by Shooter88
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum, and new to hunting as well. I just moved out to Maryland from California, and decided to try it out when deer season starts here in September. I do have a question though. After the shot is taken and the deer is down, about how much time do you have to field dress the deer, and get it on ice before the meat spoils? I have been told only about an hour, but I wanted to get some other opinions. For those of you that go on weekend hunting trips, do you just take a big ice chest with you and cut the meat up yourself? What are the different ways of ensuring the meat stays fresh, and the deer does not become a waste? Thanks for any input.
get the guts out immediately and start the cooling process, they don't spoil very quick, I've shot them in july on damage permits and never had one spoil.
RR
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Old 08-04-2014, 04:04 PM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by Oldtimr
The bottom line is, get the deer field dressed as soon as you can. I do mine as soon as the tag is attached. The get the lide off as soon as possible because the sooner the deer is cooled down, the better the meat will be whether you butcher yourself of get the deer to a butcher shop. My butcher skins the deer as soon as I bring it to him which is probably two hours, then he hangs it in a cooler for a week before it is cut to order. I have had people who swore they didn;t like venison go for 2nds and 3rds on the venison I cooked. Gamey flavor is not from eating game, it is because meat was poorly handled after the animal was killed. I have not bought commercial pork in 4 years, I have been eating wild hogs which is far superior to domestic pork, if you care for it after the kill. The dad truth is, many hunters do not know hoe to properly care for wild game after the kill.
Perfectly Stated!
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Old 08-04-2014, 04:10 PM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by alleyyooper

Washing a deer's cavity out in a stream I feel is just asking for trouble. I can't think of any place in the lower 48 with a streams water clean enough you can use it as potable water.

Al
There are many streams that are safe enough to use for this but the main point is to drop the core temp quickly and then move to final processing. It wont take long for that to happen in a cold mountain stream typically 15-30 min so even if your source is less than desirable you still have a low risk involved with limited exposure

Running water is something we all look for while scouting for the next hunt. I take it a step further and look for clean, potable sources. This is more essential while hunting the west than the Midwest but a good practice to get into none the less should you find yourself stranded somewhere over night.
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Old 08-05-2014, 09:54 AM
  #14  
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I don't field dress any more. I now use the gutless method and bone them where they fall. That way I get all the edible meat and it has three major benefits.

1) The meat cools quicker because it is in smaller pieces and it stays cooler since I can put it on ice in an igloo cooler.

2) The meat stays cleaner since I don't have to worry about stomach content etc...

3) The meat is easier to pack out since the hide, head and bones stay in the field. Most hoofed animals only have about 42% of their entire weight in edible meat. Why take out more weight than you need to?
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Old 08-05-2014, 03:37 PM
  #15  
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That is fine and dandy, if you are hunting in a state where you can do that. In PA you must bring out the head and hide with the head attached. In many states you must have proof of sex. The fact of the matter is, a deer is not all that much of a problem to get out of the field, it isn't an elk or moose.
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Old 08-13-2014, 11:49 PM
  #16  
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Sorry you ended up in MD- the gun laws suck! ASAP field dressing, carcass cleaning is 1st priority. Then cooling. Gut it, hang it in a cooler. I hunt in AL an we hang our deer 14 days+ in a cooler/almost freezer per our butcher member. He sells great beef, so we believe him.
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Old 08-21-2014, 03:20 PM
  #17  
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[QUOTEI don't field dress any more. I now use the gutless method and bone them where they fall. That way I get all the edible meat][/QUOTE]
How do you get the tenderloins out without gutting?
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Old 08-26-2014, 03:47 PM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by jerseyhunter
If bow hunting wait the appropriate amount of time depending where hit. Gut tag and back at the truck toss a couple frozen gallon ice bottles into the chest cavity. Gunn season it's colder and could wait. Do you butcher your own or taking it to someone?
Hanging Time

65-70 degrees 24-36 hours
50 degrees 3-4 days
35-40 degrees 7-10 days

I took these from a hunting and butchering book. I’ve been following these guidelines for over 15 years as I do all my own butchering.
That guideline seems way wrong to me.......like rotting meat wrong.
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Old 08-26-2014, 04:45 PM
  #19  
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What you want to do is get the meat below 40 as soon as you can and hold it between freezing and 40 at least until the meat relaxes and preferably until the meat loses its elasticity.

It really depends on how far you want to go.

The faster you get it below 40 the better its good to go then but will be tougher if you don't wait for the meat to relax. If you want to go even further you can dry age which is a process of dehydrating some of the moisture/blood in the meat. This blood(I can't remember what its called) is what causes "gamey taste".

Once the excess moisture escapes the meat will break down and tenderize. When that happens the meat will no longer bounce back when you apply pressure and you are ready to butcher.

A lot of people soak the meat which actually works against you.

You can actually dry age in a regular refrigerator as long as you leave the meat in big pieces. Just put it on fridge racks uncovered until the meat loses elasticity.
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Old 09-01-2014, 04:15 PM
  #20  
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I have been told that running water is a no no. Even clean water, I have seen people spray them out with a hose after they hang them up. I was told ( on this forum I think) that the water will cause more problems then it will do good, bacteria issues.

Like everyone else said the sooner the better, I know people who have shot deer and not gone back to look for them for many hours, or even the next morning and the meat is fine. Again if it was 90 degrees outside I would not let one set a full day, but during our gun season in Indiana it is usually pretty cold by mid to late November.
Did you mention, are you gun hunting or bow hunting, when does the season start?

I gut mine as soon as I get to them and hang them in the garage. If it is above 50 degrees I buy a couple large bags of ice and put them directly into the cavity. If it is below 50 degrees I don't mess with the ice. It temps are near or at freezing I will leave one hang for a couple days. Even in the 20's it usually doesn't freeze the carcass in my un insulated garage. One time I hung one in the evening and we had an unexpected cold snap come through, I had to work the next day and the highs were only in the teens. By the time I got off of work that next night the deer was solid as a rock. A pain in the A$$ to skin and I ended up using a battery powered "sawz all" and cut the entire thing into sausage meat. I will never let one freeze solid again.
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