Big game - temps vs meat spoilage?

[mainbutter]

It's looking like we're not going to get truly cold weather any time soon, and last year I was hunting strictly in below-40s for the daily highs. A shaded spot that's nice and cold gave me somewhere to hang my first deer for a couple days to finish my hunt before heading to a local guy to process it for me.

I'm thinking I might drop the hammer this weekend on a doe if I get lucky again, but with daily highs in the 50s, what kind of timeframe am I looking at for meat spoilage?

My plan of action is to field dress, hang, and let drain long enough so that transporting is not a bloody mess. What kind of timeframe do you usually like to let a deer hang and drain, if given temps aren't low?

[Scott K]

I dont get to scared away until temps are in the 70's. I guess I am more concerned with flies, then the temps.

[hockeybc69]

Do you plan to skin it?

Leaving the skin on slows the cooling process tremendously.....

[mainbutter]

So taking one in the morning and not transporting until, say, the next morning.. just fine with highs ~55?

And I guess one question related to good care of the carcass - other than removing the organs, are there any other steps I could take to ensure my meat is the best quality that I'm capable of providing? How about washing out with cold water? I could see it being either a good or a bad idea, but no middle ground.

[bigbucks]

+1 I've shot bow deer when the daytime highs hit the 70's & it was still okay a couple of days as long as it gets down to around 50 at night & you keep it in the shade. I wouldn't go any longer than that if it's that warm. The main things is to get it cooled out. Laying on it's back outside over night spread open good will cool it out pretty nicely. I usually do that in the back of a pickup with the tailgate up to discourage stray cats or whatever from trimming it for me.

[Archerysniper]

If you sprinkle black pepper on the meat it will keep the flies away. I hang and skin them out to get them cooled down as fast as possiable. Stretch game bags or cheese cloth over the meat and sprinkle it with black pepper to keep the flies away. I do not wash the meat off that spreads any bacteria through the carcass the best thing is to allow it to dry.

[nbadger23]

Get the hide off as soon as you can to help the cooling process as hockey said. As long as you're hanging it in the shade and you got it gutted out well, temps in the 50's shouldn't be an issue for a day or so. Remember that it will cool down quite a bit at night.

I do tend to wash the inside of my deer out with damp paper toweling, mostly to remove any debris from the drag out and any extraneous "yuck" left over and I do think that helps things a bit.

[96trigger]

I would not be concerned about highs in the 50's. I would shoot, skin, and hang over night. Its cooling down to almost freezing at night, that will chill it and get it plenty cold. I would try and get it cut up within 48 hours. I would not be concerned about it at all. I get concerned when the temps are in the 70's and 80's and they don't cool down at night. Where are you going to hang it?

[Black_Bay]

Get the hide off as soon as you can to help the cooling process as hockey said. As long as you're hanging it in the shade and you got it gutted out well, temps in the 50's shouldn't be an issue for a day or so. Remember that it will cool down quite a bit at night.

I do tend to wash the inside of my deer out with damp paper toweling, mostly to remove any debris from the drag out and any extraneous "yuck" left over and I do think that helps things a bit.

I do the same if I nick the guts or bladder while field dressing, but then follow up with paper towels and wipe down the cavity to dry it as best as I can.

[CANOPY SAM]

If you're planning to bring the animal to someone for processing give em' a call and see if he's got cold storage available.

To get a great quality, aged product, you should have a cleanly field dressed, caped animal, washed thoroughly inside and out with cold water, and hung at temps less then 45 degrees for 3-4 days before final processing.

The individual or locker plant you plan to use might be able to do all of this for you?

Personally, if the temps are in the low 50's, I'd cape em', wash em', and hang em' in the garage with the doors and windows shut for only a couple days. Overnight temps will be much lower, so open the windows at night, and close em' again during the day. Your garage will likely be 5-10 degrees colder inside than outside.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Personally, if the temps are going to average 45-50 or above I'd get it in the cooler ASAP. Bacteria grows exceptionally fast at temps above 40 degrees, and that is something I don't like to mess with.

[Scott K]

I have a couple hanging in my garage from Saturday afternoon, I plan on cleaning them tonight. I am not worried in the least about the meat. It is nice and cold to the touch. I rinsed them out when after I removed the guts, and again before I hung them, to get any leaves, dirt etc.. out of them. The hides are still on them as well. I usually prefer to keep the hides on to keep the meat cleaner, and to keep bugs off of it. I have done it this way for many years, I havent died, or gotten sick from any of the meat yet. As long as the temps stay below 70 in the days, and cool off at night, I dont worry about it. If temps get hotter then that, I will either clean them right away if I can, or throw a couple bags of ice into the chest cavity, and wrap them with blankets, until I can clean them.

[deerminator]

I asked something similar a couple weeks back when I got my buck at last light. It was nearly 80 that day and dropped just below 60 that night. In that case, I got to it immediately, field dressed. I do hose out and then dry thoroughly inside with paper towels. Then I had sent my wife to town to get 3 20lb bags of ice. One in the body cavity and two over the hams. And wrapped it up tight in a tarp. I had put each ice bag in a couple of contractor garbage bags so the water wouldn't leak and pool but most of the ice was still there in the morning.

The better thing to have done was to skin, quarter and cool. I checked out the "gutless" method of field dressing Scoot suggested online and may have to give that a try next year since I seem to like to shoot early.

[not_nuf_time]

When It's warm out, I hang mine for a day (skinned), then bone it or quarter it depending on how much time I have, then put it in plastic trash bags in my big cooler and ice it down for a few days till have time to complete final process. If it's real warm say near 80 I would jsut quarter it asap and put in trash bags then into iced cooler. No issues.

[CANOPY SAM]

Another idea to consider. Something I learned from a veteran deer hunter and good friend a few years back.

Field dress, cape, and wash your animal. Hang it wherever you can, quarter it up, and simply take off the large muscle groups right away. Cut these into "roast sized" chunks, and bag em' up in 1 gallon ziplock freezer bags. Do this with all remaining meat.

You can then put these bags into the refrig, or freezer, and process them as you have time.

This works pretty slick, it cuts your initial processing time in half, and it's kind of nice to take out manageable cuts of meat to use in different products as you choose to use them.

Or, I suppose, if you don't make products yourself one could simply take these bags of meat, in a rubbermaid tub, along with your tags to the meat processor, after it's all cooled down accordingly.

[CANOPY SAM]

Not that it's wrong (if it works for you), but I prefer not to use trash bags on any meat I'm working with. It might just be my imagination, but I think a trash bag's plastic is not really designed for this purpose, and it tends to lend an "off" flavor to the meat.

[deerminator]

I used trash bags to keep the ice bags in when cooling down after field dressing but only overnight if warm. The processor I take my deer to specifically advises against using trash bags to store meat in its brochure saying the oil within most bags affects the taste of the meat.

[CANOPY SAM]

OIC. I kinda thought there was something questionable about trash bags. I still know lotsa guys that use them. Evidently they can't tell the difference.

Anyway, back to the original question. If daytime temps aren't above 45 degrees, I'm confident, if the carcass is well washed and dried, it can hang for at least 3 days before you see any bacterial damage. In this time the protein in the meat will begin to break down, and connective tissues get less tough.

My rule of thumb is that when I can take a sliver of meat from the carcass, and it squishes gently between my fingers, it's ready for final processing, or freezing. This generally takes 3-4 days of temps between 32-45 degrees. If it's still tough and elastic, it's not ready.

If temps are above 45 for any extended period of time I think it's best to get the animal semi-butchered, and into some type of cold storage.

When venison, or any other big game meat is handled appropriately, and aged to perfection, it's absolutely at it's best. It's really no wonder the European's, and Native American's have prized venison for a couple thousand years!

[hockeybc69]

Did a simple google search on the garbage bag use. From the Mississippi DNR web page on proper handling of game:

•Use food quality plastic bags or buckets to store cut meats. Do not use dark-colored garbage bags; they may contain toxic resins and are not intended for food.

[deerminator]

Here are the "steps" the processor I use offers in its deer processing brochure:

1. Properly field dress your vension.

2. Get cavity cleaned out with fresh water. Don't use leaves, grass or lake water - they all contain bacterias that will speed the spoilage of your deer.

3. Cool the carcass as fast as possible.

4. Bring the deer to the processor as soon as possible. Vension is unlike beef and does not need to be aged. Aging only dries your meat and makes it older.

They also have instructions for brining in trimmings to be ground into sausage, etc., and there they advise against the garbage bags as noted and suggest ice cream pails or food safe bags.