butchering basics

[Benthos]

i've butchered a few smaller animlas like deer and bear. i've always taken moose to the buctcher. to save a few bucks this year, i'd like to do it myself. after shooting a moose this weekend, i have it skinned and hanging in my un-heated garage. pg is supposed to vary between -5 and +8 this week. are these temps okay to leave it at? i'd like to leave it for about a week before i start carving

[cainer]

I used to be a butcher at IGA...although we rarely got whole animals, we did have a lot of meat on hand. The cooler would be kept a few degrees above zero, although some mornings you wouldn't thinks so. I'd say you'd be fine at those temperatures for a week. As long as it doesn't stay in the minus for the entire time. 8 degrees is plenty cold on the plus side of things-if your worried about it being too warm. Happy Cuttin'

[Benthos]

thanks! yup, i was worried about it being too warm

[Mr. Dean]

Watch the temp inside the garage. The trick here is to get the meat below 40 F. asap, then maintaining it there. If it's warming up during the day, try opening a window at night for a few hours then closing it again before the temp starts rising - Be carefull not to frost the animal. Aging won't happen, if it does.

I *think* you should be fine...

[hunter1947]

Excellent temp to hang your meat.

[cinnabear]

use your nose after a few days, and watch for mold

[PGK]

Use a fan.

[Allen50]

wow here this all the time, well you can do this but it's not a good way to hang meat, the meat has to be cooled, and become dry to hang proper, if it does not cool proper you will get bone sour, and then the meat it rotting, you have to have a fan to help the meat cool proper, moving the air around helps take away the dampness, to dry the meat, being in closed with out a fan the meat will not cool proper, dampness will set in and sour the meat, it would be better if you could hang it in a cooler first off then take it home to cut,,, just though i would add this, hanging with out air movement is not good, /
in case your woundering, i'm a certified butcher since Jan 91, and still doing it on the side at home in my small shop, at the moment i'm cutting Buffalo, and the 1/4's are running around 175 lbs each, so it's a bit of cutting, i'll add some pic at a later date, /
well good luck, and hope this works for you,,keep it dry, no dampness, this is not good for it,, GOOD LUCK..

[bigmike]

wow here this all the time, well you can do this but it's not a good way to hang meat, the meat has to be cooled, and become dry to hang proper, if it does not cool proper you will get bone sour, and then the meat it rotting, you have to have a fan to help the meat cool proper, moving the air around helps take away the dampness, to dry the meat, being in closed with out a fan the meat will not cool proper, dampness will set in and sour the meat, it would be better if you could hang it in a cooler first off then take it home to cut,,, just though i would add this, hanging with out air movement is not good, /
in case your woundering, i'm a certified butcher since Jan 91, and still doing it on the side at home in my small shop, at the moment i'm cutting Buffalo, and the 1/4's are running around 175 lbs each, so it's a bit of cutting, i'll add some pic at a later date, /
well good luck, and hope this works for you,,keep it dry, no dampness, this is not good for it,, GOOD LUCK..
very well said