I generally age game on ice for several days, that allows travel time.

Deer or pigs get quartered and put in a good Ice chest with the plug open. Some people will bag the quarters, but I just keep ice under them so they don't sit in water.

If you freeze everything, that means thawing out to process. IMO, pre-frozen meat just doesn't handle as well.


We clean everything head down.

Skin, pull the backstraps, cut the front quarters off, whittle out the tenderloins, pull the guts into the body cavity, cut the spine at the pelvis and chunk the whole thing like an old suitcase, split the pelvis and done.