the blur

and if it goes to the processor immediately, they all lay on the freezer floor for a week before he gets to my deer. Not much difference in the woods. And if the processor is busy, they get stacked on top of each other.
He cuts deer only once a week.

And how often do you hear about people aging their deer in the woods.......

NebBuckHunter

Keyword:freezer. Not a rainy front yard.

the blur

Freezer is the wrong word. The butcher can't freeze your deer before butchering. He probably keeps it around 38 degrees. Which is no different than keeping it outside.

Valentine

there are probably more hunters than butchers, gutters of deer, preparers of meat, and chefs doing the cooking.

As I learned years ago, meat goes bad. And the less processes we handle, the less we know.

SteveK

I highly encourage anyone that hunts to process their own game. With a little reading or web searching it is easy to learn the basics. While you learn just remember that the worst that can happen is that you end up with a little more hamburg/stew meat than necessary. I use nothing fancy or expensive, a 6" and 9" filet knife and a sawzall is all I usually use. My biggest tip would be that the more fat you get off the better it will taste.

big rockpile

I just use few Knives to Debone and Electric Grinder.I don't cut through any Bone.For one thing Bone Marrow will give an off Taste and less worry of CWD.

big rockpile

SteveK

I only use the saw to take the head/hoofs off, and to split the hind quarters. Also to cut up the carcass when done.

MZS

Sitting in water could do this. Frankly, I am not even a fan of washing out the deer, but will do so (if needed) with small amounts of cold water if it is hanging and I can dry it out quickly. My philosophy is that if the temp is over 45, I immediately quarter the deer after skinning, placing the large pieces in the freezer to chill. Then the next day I de-bone before it all freezes. If the temp is 40 or below, I let it hang and cool - and hang in the cool wind is even better. (From 40-45 I use judgement and the overnight forecast to decide) I de-bone, placing the de-boned meat back in the freezer to chill to near freezing, and wrap or take to a (trustworthy) processor. Use clean hands and tools too! My deer meat always turns out nice. Spoilage comes from heat + bacteria. If the deer is hanging, only the outside is exposed to bacteria and this outside is the coolest. If the deer soaks, then bacteria can go inside to the warmer areas. So leaving the deer soaking on the ground brings bacteria to the warmer inside areas and also prevents cooling.

Gangly

i gut and quarter mine within an hour of being shot and will bleed it out in ice/water for atleast 5-7 days. Never had bad meat doing it that way. Before I started bleeding it out for that long, the meat would sometimes come out tasting metalic though. Not bad tasting, just strong metalic taste that I'm guessing was from the blood in the meat. Also, I dont know why, but when I let it bleed out for 5-7 days, the meat seems to be SOOOOOOO much more tender.

Wilcam47

Sounds like you need a different processor...... Laying them on the floor is not good IMO...and stacking them is also not good....no processor should stack deer...if your deer was on the bottom of the pile theres a likelihood of not cooling fast enough and the blood/bacteria causing the problems you stated....Ive only had one deer that was bad tasting and that was because of where the doe was taken...she ate lots of sagebrush and the meat tasted horrible/also it didn't get hung up like it was supposed to.

If you gut it, hang it, and cool it...and let it hang for a couple days minimum either at the processor or at home if temperature is below 38...the deer should be fine. You can also gut it and quarter it and put it in a fridge to let it age a couple days if its too warm outside..