Bagging a deer in warm weather? (venison question)

[jdime]

I am going to be bow hunting for the first time this fall. If one gets a deer in November it's a great time to hang the deer for a couple days and age the meat.

What if you get one early and it's 85 degrees outside? Do you butcher it up right away?

[Scoot]

I sure do. I field dress it using the gutless method (google it) and I remove the meat from the quarters and put it in game bags. Then, I get the game bags in a cooler on ice ASAP. I like to get ice above, below, and on the sides of the meat. I always carry two empty coolers with me, so it doesn't take long to get the meat in there and on ice. I take care of all of my own meat, so this is a big time saver when it comes time to do my meat processing too...

[jdime]

Thanks for the info. I have only butchered one deer (in 2010) so I'll have to do some googling for sure. I guess another option is to drop it off at a butcher if there's one nearby.

Does the meat shorten or taste different if you butcher right away? Do you age it in the coolers? I would hate to compromise the meat.

[Scoot]

I hear some people say that it's not as good, but after doing at least a dozen of the like that, I don't believe there's any difference at all. I also hear "curing" them by hanging them in the later Fall will help the taste of the venison. I'm not sure I believe this is true either. I love the way the venison has tasted and I've taken care of some of them as soon as 20 minutes after they were shot. Just my opinion- others may feel like it tastes different or not as good.

[DonBo]

I'm with Scoot on this one. I do not believe that butchering one right away affects the meat at all. I will often take a deer shot in early season and quarter it as soon as possible and leave the quarters in my fridge for a day or two. Of coarse this is MY garage fridge and not the one I have to share with my family up in the kitchen.

When on an out of state trip, with no fridge, again like Scoot said, bring an extra cooler or two. I freeze milk cartons with ice and pack the extra coolers with these so there's no problem getting the meat cooled ASAP.

[jeffreyd]

we have an early elk bull tag here in az. it is in august. so you could easily have temps around 100 everyday. the biggest thing if you do not quarter it out is to make sure you get as much of the windpipe and throat out as possible as it is the first thing to spoil. we get the hide off quickly after gutting and pack them with ice packs and then to the butcher. try not to get too much water on the meat as it will leach the blood out and can lead to a gamer taste (my thought). Deer might not be as bad for that as elk. Good luck.

[harvey lee]

I totally agree with Scoot and Donbo.

I have hung deer to age for a few days to 4 and also many times butchered them right away due to heat or a lack of time.

I have never tasted any difference in the meat.

[reinhard1]

one comment on the ice pack. if you buy ice to cool down your deer or elk or any wild game, make sure you keep the ice in the bags they come in. if there is a leak or hole in that bag, put another bag around it. it's very important to keep water from the meat. it enhances spoilage [bacteria]. same for fish also. take plenty of coolers like some have said and keep the meat as cold as possible but keep the moisture at a minimum as much as possible until you get home and get in the fridge for proper temps and ready for proccessing and freezing it. good luck.

[TooTallTom]

Another note about quartering deer right away: In MN, the head has to remain attached to one quarter until the animal is registered. (Or at least it did up until last year. I haven't read the regs yet this year.)

[goblueM]

one comment on the ice pack. if you buy ice to cool down your deer or elk or any wild game, make sure you keep the ice in the bags they come in. if there is a leak or hole in that bag, put another bag around it. it's very important to keep water from the meat. it enhances spoilage [bacteria]. same for fish also. take plenty of coolers like some have said and keep the meat as cold as possible but keep the moisture at a minimum as much as possible until you get home and get in the fridge for proper temps and ready for proccessing and freezing it. good luck.

you know, i've tried telling that to my buddy from Arkansas, but he purposely soaks all his meat (waterfowl and deer) in icewater for several days

[reinhard1]

well, all i can say i hope and pray it works out for him. it's just not a good idea. i think you gave him some good advice. good luck.

[mabr]

well, all i can say i hope and pray it works out for him. it's just not a good idea. i think you gave him some good advice. good luck.

Sorry RH but i'm like goblues buddy (must be a southern thing). I'm not intentionally wanting it wet. I drain the water out of coolers daily or as often as i'm near it. Never had any issues in the almost 30 years of practicing this method. Just to darn hard cooling the meat thorough with frozen bottles when your hunting in warm weather.

[Jack Stasney]

After letting deer hang my entire life I had my deer butchered immediately after shooting it last year. I was in the same scenario where it was warm out. I can tell you the meat tastes much better. I talked with a butcher and asked what his opinion was. This is what he said... "What's the best part of a deer?" I replied "The tenderloins." He replied "When do you eat them?" I replied "Right away...." There is science behind it too. He also told me that deer don't have tallow like a cow does, so aging it doesn't work.

[deerminator]

I believe the issue is warmth + moisture. As long as you keep that water cold, you're good. The problem is, will you be able to keep the water cold? I freeze fish in ice water to help preserve it better and longer in the freezer, but when I thaw it out, I cook it right afterward.

[Archerysniper]

I get them skinned out and cut up as fast as possible, some times that means being up a little late but that's the price to pay. I actually aged some for 5 days during muzzleloader season last year and did not like it at all. The faster I can get it cut and wrapped the better.

[Archerysniper]

I forgot to add my buddy owns a meat locker and I have a key so I can skin them and hang them over night and pick them up on my way home from work too butcher them.

[jdime]

Thanks all for the info. I am more than willing to immediately butcher up the deer. I'll be out in the bush for several days so I may have to run to town (up to an hour from camp) for all the ice. Maybe I can get the meat lopped off and in game bags, then run to town for the ice.

I have one cooler but I think I need another.

I do feel I should keep the water off the meat. When beef gets too wet it turns grey. Maybe just a visual thing, but I want the meat red.

I am really grateful you folks are able to give me this info. I am still a rookie.

[Archerysniper]

If you cant make it to town hang it in the shade in game bags were it can dry and sprinkle pepper on the game bags to keep the fly's off.

[Archerysniper]

You can also get dry ice from some stores I know Waynes in wyoming sells it. Put it in a cooler stuffed with newspaper and it will keep a long time just make sure you seperate it from the meat with something I use old towels.

[reinhard1]

i guess you do what works best for you. over the years remembering back when i was a kid living in duluth my dad used to hang the deer for a week before butchering it in a cool room in the basement. we survived. i remember all the meat that was exposed was all black and a lot had to be cut off. as far as the cold water thing i still would not recommend it only because of what i have seen and learned in the many years in the meat buisness.

for greater cooling results while out in the field and good rule to follow is to reduce the volume or mass of the item that needs to be cooled. for example instead of trying to cool down a whole front quarter or the round portion of the hind quarter, try cutting down into smaller pieces and then apply the ice bags, keeping the parts seperate as much as possible. make sure you drain excess liquid from the meat.

you start to run into problems when the temperature of the meat gets above 40 degrees. at that point pathogenic microorganisms are able to multiply rapidly. as they grow and multiply, food becomes unsafe. moisture just increases this process.

i realize that keeping meat in ice water for a short period of time doesn't hurt the meat other than discolor it somewhat. however over a period of time leaving it in water vs in an ice pac condition is the less safe option. however in the field you do what you can at the time to bring that venison home in the best shape you can.

i guess all i can say is to be prepared. bring more coolers. have a couple of coolers packed full of ice blocks or cubes. seal the coolers with duct tape around the lids to maintain a better temp control. have a couple of old blankets or towels handy. keep the coolers with the ice in the shady area during the day and make your towels or blankets wet and cover the coolers with those during the day and night and do not open the coolers till you need the ice.

we used to do this while fishing in canada for a week in remote areas and it kept our ice supply longer. good luck.

[snapcrackpop]

I'm pretty sure "hanging meat" has to do with tenderizing the meat, not the flavor.

Everyone seems to forget that meat and BLOOD is sterile for most purposes. Keep the meat clean, dry and cool, butchers do that for a reason...

Now if you butcher with the same knife you skin and gut the deer you should take extra precautions.

[Cheetah]

What if you get one early and it's 85 degrees outside? Do you butcher it up right away?

Work fast! I have shot a few deer around opener in September when temps were 80-90+. I basically deboned the deer asap and got it on ice or in the fridge, had it packed and frozen within 24 hours. You can also let it age in a fridge for a while if you like.

If you have to keep the deer whole to haul home over night or something, pack the cavity with bags and/or jugs of ice. Wrap the whole deer in a big tarp so it doesn't drain all over. You can also peel back the hide on the rear quarters to help cool that since the meat by the bone there will stay warm quite a long time.

[Finlander]

When it's warm and I am quartering a deer, I bring some Suran Cling Rap and wrap the hind quarters and shoulders with this stuff as this keeps the air and moisture off the meat and stops the outside of the meat from turning black. Then after I get home I just put the meat in the fridge and butcher whenever.

[bigbucks]

I guess I'm the strange one, but I've shot quite a few September & early October deer & I think I've only butchered one the same day. If it gets down to 40-50 at night & you hang it in the shade they're fine.

I also have made it a habit of soaking trimmings, chops, & tenderloins in ice cream pails of water in the garage fridge. To me it always seems better with most of the blood leeched out.

No I'm not saying this just to be a Devil's advocate, nor am I making it up.

I've heard stories of the Hudson Bay duck hunters nailing their birds to the cabin wall & when the guts fell out they cleaned them. I wouldn't go quite that far, but what I'm saying is it doesn't break down that fast. I think our society has just gotten germaphobic.

[TruthWalleyes]

Days in the 60's, nights in the 40's i'll let it hang...That said, i've only done that once.

Typically whether it is warm or cold, I skin right away, butcher and freeze. Seldom will i quarter and put in fridge for a few days. I just like to get the deer butchered as fast as possible and packed away for safe keeping and when deer season is over, then it is time to decide on how to eat and process the meat.

For the real hot times:

The fur will keep in a lot of the heat, skin the deer immediately and pack ice in the cavity. Wrap the deer in a cloth to keep clean.

Muzzloading offers the exact opposite problem, preventing the deer from freezing before you can butcher it. I found that putting a deer in a snow bank works great for a day or two to age the meat and keep it at that perfect butchering temperature.