How do I keep grouse and other small game fresh in the field?

[Big Lew]

Since I spend most of my time in the bush backpacking I'd rather go cooler-less. Would you agree that it's okay to skin and eviscerate them and keep them in a cloth bag for a day or two without them going bad?

I leave the feathers and skin on after gutting and removing the crop. If you skin them the outer flesh will become dried out and hard. Cloth bag is good. Even a plastic bag is ok once the bird is cooled and still has it's feathers.

[ehtea]

Thanks for all the advice - I had a great weekend out with my old man and now have a few more birds in the freezer!

[adriaticum]

Newspapers are a very good insulator.
If you can clean the grouse and cool them in a creek or over night. You can wrap them in newspapers.
I haven't tried this with grouse but I use that method to keep water cold for longer periods.

[buck nash]

I've always hated the rule about leaving a wing attached. If it was up to me I'd separate the meat from the rest of the carcass and put in a zip lock bag to cool in a cooler of ice. But with filthy feathers attached it's hard to keep the meat clean and cool without being unhygienic.

[adriaticum]

I've always hated the rule about leaving a wing attached. If it was up to me I'd separate the meat from the rest of the carcass and put in a zip lock bag to cool in a cooler of ice. But with filthy feathers attached it's hard to keep the meat clean and cool without being unhygienic.

Don't worry, there is nothing dirty in the bush that can taint the meat.
City dirt is the one you want to worry about.

[Pangaea]

x2 to what adriaticum said. Animals keep themselves remarkably clean, and if you're breasting them, you're efficiently removing the convenient hygenic wrapper they come in. More to worry about from the germs on your hands...

[buck nash]

Don't worry, there is nothing dirty in the bush that can taint the meat.
City dirt is the one you want to worry about.

Nothing? I mean c'mon. They roll around on dusty rds where cows have been shitting! Or for that matter where they've been shitting.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not neurotic about hygiene, I'm no Howard Hues but there most definitely IS stuff on them that can contaminate the meat.

I'm still gonna eat it but I wish we didn't have to leave feathers attached. To get around this I just pluck the feathers up to the first joint and slip a bag over the meat and wrap an elastic around the plucked portion of the wing. This leaves enough feathers to satisfy the cos that I've had to show my grouse. As soon as I get back to camp the wings come off and the breast are prepped for cooking.

[Big Lew]

I personally can't see how a gutted and de-cropped bird with it's skin and feathers left on can become
contaminated. Both the skin and feathers probably keep the meat cleaner and safer than removing it
until back at camp or home.

[russm]

I generally eat grouse as I get them lol, there's usually only 1 or 2 that make it home.

[Sofa King]

I usually eat my grouse that day I kill them.
I wouldn't really want to be carrying them around for too long without a cooler or something similar to properly store them in.