Venison in Cooler?
 

I live in the south and do not have a walk in cooler, nor is it cold enough to hang a deer. I have been putting my deer meat in a cooler with ice for years leaving in there for maybe a week, just ice and meat. For some reason this idea just dawned on me and I want to ask and see if anyone else has done this method. So while placing meat in cooler, has anyone used salt while icing and layering meat? I would think the salt added to the ice would be a good thing while its aging in the cooler. Any input would be great. Also, is there a difference between keeping the meat on the bone and not on the bone while in the cooler?? I have always de boned the meat so there are never any bones in the cooler while its on ice.

Thanks.

I never have. I have used water and salt to soak squirrels in. Not even sure if that's necessary. Seems to pull the blood out.

When I've had meat packed in coolers I make sure to keep the water drained off.

I've done a couple longer drives with meat packed. Three days once. Meat did fine. But have to keep it drained.

Interested to hear if anybody else uses salt.

-Jake

I've been ice aging my venison in coolers for years. I put the quarters in the bottom of the cooler and throw a couple bags of ice on top of the meat. Put the cooler in a shaded place, prop one side up and open the drain so when the ice melts the water drains out. Depending on the temps you may need to add more ice to the cooler. As the ice melts it'll run the blood out of the meat. When you go to cutting it up it'll look like pork. Never have used salt on my venison but I do on pheasant, dove, quail and geese.

Is there a benefit to keep the meat on bone or it doesn't really matter? I have really never left meat on bone while doing this process.

The benefit would be a time thing. It's quicker to quarter it up and put it in a cooler then debone and butcher when you're ready to.

But if you have time, deboning it first helps cool it down quicker. Allot of people don't like cutting on warm meat. It handles and cuts more easily when it's cold.

-Jake

Do you have an extra fridge? I use Rubbermade busing trays that are food safe and have lids. Bone them out and into the fridge. On or off the bone doesn't matter, except off stores smaller.

Yeah, Their are several ways to use a good cooler, I break the deer down hanging from a tree and the quarters go in the cooler bone and all. I was told the bone makes the meat less dense and easier to cool, so it's not one solid chunk of meat. The trim meat and back straps go in ziploc bags and all of that gets iced down. I do use the cooler to age the deer at home until I can get it wrapped and frozen, it buys me time to cut a little up after work for a few days so I don't have to do it all at once. I add salt to the ice water slurry and change the water often. The salt is good so it's about the same salt content that's in the meat, osmosis from chemistry in school.
Dry ice tricks, If you have a good cooler you can do some tricks with dry ice for longer term transport and actually freeze or keep frozen in the cooler. For example, you can butcher the deer and use dry ice to freeze it in the cooler so it's frozen when you get home. Or if you can find a butcher to flash freeze it then you can keep in frozen for a week in the cooler with the use of dry ice, but again the cooler has to be a good one that does not leak much.

archeryrob, I'd be curious to hear more about that method. It sounds like you're able to home butcher with a minimum of added expenses. Used Fridges aren't that expensive. :D

We have always had extra fridges for extra beer, place for Easter, thanksgiving and Christmas meal storage. Plus not butchering, thawing to make meals and products like Summer sausage, sausage and snacks sticks. I am not sure I could live without it.

We do not really "age" deer. We have hung them for a week and then slowly butcher them over 4 to 5 days and I, my daughter or my friend can't tell any difference in the meat. We tend to kill one day and break it down the next into meat lugs for the fridge. One for shanks meat, boned out shoulders and neck and scarp. The second gets inner loin, back strap and hind muscles. We used these Rubbermaid meat lugs. Two will normally hold one deer. The last eight point I shot completely filled both. I have three now. They stacks one on top another with the lids. I bone the deer out like grant woods .

We also have a deer cooler we made. It's my buddies, he paid for it, but I designed it. I like to chill the deer the day killed and butcher the next.

You slowly acquire the tools, but I like knowing all my meat, if they meat I shot and cared for. Butchers mix stuff and some hunters don't care for their deer. I have a LEM Big bite 12, 25# mixer, 5# stuffer, game bags and bag sealer.

We process the last bucket first. The two inner loins sealed together for one meal. Back straps flipped on a large cutting board and I fillet the silver skin of with the silver skin against the cutting board. Cut it in thirds and vac seal for meals. Leg roasts are some times staked and football roast almost always. Every once in a while if I got a lot, some are jerky and sometime hams. Depending on the use I trim all the membranes off. Steaks, maybe not, whole roast yeah.

Not sure "how much" info you want before I ramble on forever. You want any more info I'll gladly type it out. Follow one of the links and my blog shows most of it. Butchering not really. If that is useful I make a post and a video.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this. I've been hunting for yogi. I've always used a butcher but his prices are going up. Another buddy wants to start butchering and wrapping our own. Quartering an animal and transporting it home in a cooler with some kind of ice blocks has a certain kind of simplicity and appeal. I really like your setup of storing the meat in tubs in a garage refrigerator and cutting and sealing it over several days. I like the idea of better quality control and rolling my own so to speak.