Hello! This year I did not have time to go hunting but a neighbor gave me the antelope that he shot. It was gutted right away and hanging in my shop at about 40 deg with in 3 hours. I skinned, quartered, and deboned him the following day and refrigerated the meat right away. I was able to process 2 quarters the next day. Thanks to school and work the other 2 quarters have been in the fridge for 6 days now. This is way longer than I have ever delayed processing and freezing so I am wondering if the meat is still safe to process and eat? Thanks everyone!

I'd say the first two quarters are fine.

The other two are more questionable, but unless they look and/or smell funky, I'd personally go ahead and eat them. Now, if you got gut offal on it, I would be very suspicious of it.

I'd had a deer that one hind quarter had gotten some funk on it and was discolored by the time I got to it. I cut out and tossed the funky-looking part and packaged the rest of that quarter. It was perfectly fine and tasted no different than the rest of the meat.

in the 70's and even 80's for generations. If you were a chef you'd be able to smell the good from the bad.
Maybe the lack of chefs in the hunting population will decrease hunting. A thought.

6 days in the fridge is not going to hurt your meat. I hang my deer in a cooler for 6 to 7 days before it is cut and frozen. If anything, you made the meat better. Unless that goat was running and had adrenaline going through its system when it waqs killed the meat should be just fine.

I agree the meat will be fine.

Al

Awesome! Thank you all so much! I got it all done yesterday evening and there was just a little bit of discoloration on the outsides of some of the pieces but it smelled fine. He didn't run before or after he was shot, he was grazing and just dropped where he stood. I had never left meat sit that long before freezing so I was a bit worried. Thanks ya'll!

No problem, enjoy.

In the words of weird Al Yankovic......

EAT IT.....



laffin









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I quarter my deer and put it in a cooler on ice with drain plug open for 3 days. While packaging, I got 3/4 of it done and got to the last hind quarter, deboned it and beginning to cut into thirds when there was a lime green oooz between the muscle where there is cartilage. There was no sign of a wound while skinning nor a bad smell skinning or packaging. Like to send you a couple photos to help others.