hot weather/ big game/ ruined meat solutions ????

kennisondan · Post by **kennisondan** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:51 pm

what steps do you hunters or guides take to protect the meat when you harvest big game to avoid spoilage of the meat ? nice if you have ice or a cooler realy quick close by.. but what if you have to hike in or out and a cooler is farther away ?
is salt a viable solution ?
is smoke the answer ?
is cutting it into smaller peices to cool it more quickly tha answer ?
I got to wondering from remarks on another thread.

I read about some salting and wrapping and some smoking techniques in an elmer keith book but .. I want to know what you guys know or think.
thanks
dan kennison

DARTONATOR · Post by **DARTONATOR** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:12 pm

Some guys I know debone the meat and throw it in a large coleman cooler and fill it ip with water until the water runs out of the cooler clear. They then put 2 cups of salt, 1 cup baking soda and another cup of vinegar in and mix. Put a block or two of ice in with the mixture and let sit overnight. Stick hose into solution and run until mixture runs clear again. Repeat mixtures of salt, baking soda, vinegar and ice each day. After three days, you will have the tenderest meat you will ever experience. No knives needed ! Hope you enjoy.

vixenmaster · Post by **vixenmaster** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:36 pm

his way is as good as any. i usually hunt in the morning in the 50's or low 60's. i just field dress and bring in on 3 wheeler. then i bone it out and put in freezer. this year we plan on canning alot of it in qt. jars boned out

DARTONATOR · Post by **DARTONATOR** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:45 pm

Smokepole ! Can you explain how you go about canning your meat. Thanks !

kennisondan · Post by **kennisondan** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:27 pm

Smokepolehall : please do explain the canning thing... I cannot imagine there is so much I need to still learn..
I thought if it was about eating or preparing I would already know it. LOL
obviously not. thanks in advance...
dk

lscha · Post by **lscha** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:34 pm

I very seldom shoot deer in warm weather but if I do, I field dress it and stuff the cavity with bagged ice, wrap it in a tarp and bring it home to process. This year we are converting a small shed into a temporary emergency cooler by insulating it and putting an air conditioner in it. I used to have a used florists cooler that really came in handy for storing parts till I could get to them.

We also can venison and salmon in mason jars.

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:21 am

I would like some information on canning venison allso.

groundpounder · Post by **groundpounder** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:59 am

For deer hunting I quarter the deer and put it in a cooler as quick as I can then get ice at the first store I get to. When we go out west elk hunting we have a chest freezer on our trailer that doesn't run but is our "big cooler" that we stop and add block ice to before we even start our hunt. The block ise will last way longer than the chips.

skamaniac · Post by **skamaniac** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 6:53 am

Game animals harvested in warm weather should be skinned immediately and hung to cool over night. Using a gamebag loosely fit around the animal will keep the bugs off the meat. We always used a screen tent as our meat tent for hanging and processing. The animal should then be processed the next before day time temps begin to rise. The meat is then placed in a cooler with ice to keep it cool but make sure to keep it out of any water by draining it regularly. I don't care for water logged steaks.

Putting a freshly killed animal in a freezer can actually cause a problem with the cooling of the meat. The outside of the meat will freeze which will actually insulate it and has been know to spoil the meat. The same as packing the cavity with snow. It will actually insulate it and keep it from cooling.

bluemoon · Post by **bluemoon** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:13 am

We are fortunate in Kentucky that we don't have to show a dressed but otherwise intact carcass to check in. I call mine into the telecheck system immediately, provided the phone is getting a signal. I then bone out the animal on the spot, putting the meat in old, clean pillowcases. Not too much in one bag, so the meat can start cooling immediately. On a remote hunt, I'll have a cooler with ice waiting back at camp.

If you're curious about learning to bone out the meat on the spot, google "gutless quartering method", "field butchering" or somesuch. Bowsite.com used to have a nice tutorial on it as well. No field dressing required, though I do make small incisions to reach in for the tenderloins & sometimes the heart. But it's done after boning the other meat.

Bottom line, it's the fastest way to get the hide & bones away from the meat, allowing for faster cooling.

BTW, the limb tips of a Excalibur crossbow make great places to tie off your meat bags, making for easier packing

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:14 am

DARTONATOR wrote:Smokepole ! Can you explain how you go about canning your meat. Thanks !

No need to make 'Smoke go through all that!

Here's a link to an article on it:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay105.html

Read Jackie's article before you do anything else.

Then, get a canner, jars, the proper accessories, a Ball Blue Book, and a deer ... and you're ready to go!

By the way:

Backwoods Home magazine, and their website, is an invaluable resource for those who haven't yet learned how to do many useful things.

vixenmaster · Post by **vixenmaster** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:04 pm

thanks Grizzly Adam fer the link as this will be our 1st to can meat. we have our canner and some jars on standby right now!