How do you keep your meat cool?

[Elshooto]

i am going on an early season deer hunt in the begining of september this year up in the alpines in search of trophy sized bucks. the temp in this region is usually low to mid 20's but can reach 30+ degrees at this time of year. i was wondering how people keep there meat cool during early season hunts? this is a back pack trip so a generator with a freezer is out of the question. the trip is only for five nights and four days.

obviously i don't want the meat to spoil so if i have to hike it off the mtn then drive to town to a cooler i will, but it would be nice to stay in camp for the duration. i've been told that covering your meat in pepper then a game bag will help keep the flys off but i doubt this will keep the meat from spoiling. shade only provides alittle relieve from the heat. is the only option to cut the trip short and pak to town asap or is there another way?

[longstonec]

In keep it in my freezer. I also don't hunt when it's near that kind of temp. That what birds are for.

[bigslim]

At higher elevation, nights are generally cool. Meat cooled as fast as possible, cleaned up very well meaning no blood or guts on it and covered in a game bag hung in the shade IMO should be fine.

[BernDawg]

I put an ice pack in my shorts..... (some one had to ;-) )

[bigdaddy]

gut it,get it home as fast as possible.

[mark]

Debone, seperate the pieces asap too cool quickly, then place in meat bags or pillowcases, hang in a tree in a cool gulley on the north side of the mountain for the first night......If the next day is a cooker you could place it in a garbage bag and submerse under water for the day. Personally ive never had to do it, but I hear it works fine!

[bigdaddy]

i dont think submersing your meat in water is a very good idea.i would not recomend it

[Stone Sheep Steve]

i dont think submersing your meat in water is a very good idea.i would not recomend it

Works fine.

SSS

[bigdaddy]

Works fine.

SSS

do you put the meat straight in the water too get wet or is it wrapped up in something to keep the meat itself dry but cool..if your putting the meat directly in the water,that i wouldnt do

[Stone Sheep Steve]

do you put the meat straight in the water too get wet or is it wrapped up in something to keep the meat itself dry but cool..if your putting the meat directly in the water,that i wouldnt do

As mark said above...place in garbage bags first (double bag is better)then submerge. Needs to be taken out at night to allow to air dry(preferably)....especially in the first day or two.

SSS

[Elshooto]

well thanks all for your useful advice. if its really warm think i may just have to head to a butchers cooler asap.

[JR catering]

As a chef we are taught the 'four hour rule', do not let food remain in the food danger zone (5°C, 41°F to 57°C, 135°f) for cumulative four hours. Under ideal conditions bacteria can double every 15-30 min. One bacterium could become one million in less then 6 hours. They need: Food,Moisture, Temp, neutral ph, oxygen and time. When bacteria are introduced to a new environment, they need time to adjust, this is called lag phase. If other conditions are good lag phase could last one hour before bacteria start to grow. lag phase is what allows and gives us time to work with food for short periods of time without harm.

Submerging in cold water is a great idea as long as the meat is kept in an air tight package/container. The water would leech out flavor, colour and nutrients. If the water is 0°C to 5°C then that is the same as a fridge. No need to take it out of the water (as long as the meat is in an airtight package/container)

Maybe a bit more then you asked for. :mrgreen:

[Squire]

I like to find a snow/ice patch on the North side of a mountain and bury the meat in game bags under the snow. If I can't find snow, I use the garbage bags in a creek method with the top open and tied up out of the water to let the warm air out as the meat cools. . The bugs usually aren't bad near running water either.

[pork n beans]

an idea, not really serious but feedback welcome, cut it up and jerky the meat in the mountain breezes, then you only gotta pack about 15lbs down the hill.

[ianwuzhere]

ive put moose quarters in a clean creek for a lil while-few hrs, unwrapped.. was hot out- low 20's flies wanted to eat it..
was some great tasting moose,i would put in clean creek without a doubt if in jepordy of any meat spoiling.. one more idea to bring a few garbage bags with ya...

[Tuffcity]

My wife and I packed in to the high country north of Lillooet last Sept 01. Shot a deer on the 2nd. I quartered it, and filleted out the meat along the spine and neck and hung it in the shade in fly proof, breathable bags. The temps at night got low enough (2C: had a small thermometer) that the meat cooled to that temp over night while the day time temps hit nearly 20C. It stayed cool that way for another 2 days before I deboned it and we packed it out.

I did have a big cooler filled with ice back at the truck that it went into immediately when we got back to the truck- 11km pack out.

Meat is some of the best we've ever had and never lost an ounce to soilage. One of the biggest things is to keep an eye on it and if you even suspect it might be getting ready to turn then get it off the mountain.

RC

[Lozzie]

I've heard of guys hanging meat under bridges too. Never had to do it myself but if you've ever walked under a bridge in the middle of the summer you'll know that it almost qualifies as a refrigerator. There are typically a lot of bridges in the areas I hunt so I could see it being a viable option as long as you can keep it out of bears reach.

[hunterdon]

Here is my 2 cents worth. The bottom line is the control of bacteria. If you can keep bacteria to a minimum, meat will keep well for many days even under adverse conditions. Whoever mentioned to you about black pepper was a wise man. I have taken early season deer in warm temperatures. Day time highs approaching 30 C, and night time lows of only 5 or 6 degrees at best. Contrary to what most here will say, I keep the hide on. Oh I can here it all now. Take the hide off immediately or the meat will sour. Not true. In more than 30 years of successful hunting, I have always kept the hide on. The hide does several things.
1-Keeps dirt and flies off.(a really bad source of bacteria.)
2-Moderates the meat temperature. Yes it takes longer for the meat to cool, but it also keeps the meat from warming up fast during the day.
3helps to prevent the meat from excessive drying which can make that steak tough to chew.
So, here is what I do
1-Keep hide on.
2-Field dress as soon as possible.
3-Wash inside chest cavity and any exposed meat with vinegar/water solution. Say 1 part vinegar 2 part clean water. Remember BACTERIA control is a must.
4-Hang meat in the SHADE. Never in sun.
5-Most importantly, apply LIBERALLY black pepper throughout the chest cavity and head area(nasal mouth ears etc.) anywhere flies can enter, and over the entire animal, including the hide initially, as there will probably be blood on it.
6-Once a day and every day, I quickly wipe out again the chest cavity with vinegar solution followed with a fresh peppering. Remember, you guessed it , bacteria control.

The use of LOTS of black pepper deters the flies and also greatly disguises the smell of blood.(Another good reason for the use of pepper.)
Anyways that's what I do and have always had great venison over the years, no matter how hot it gets.
Good hunting!

[Fosey]

Great thread. I have shot sheep on August 1st and it was windy at night amd cooler. I hung the sheep up at night and it cooled and formed that leathery layer on the outside. Then during the day I wrapped it up good and put it in the shade. That worked great but my top priority was the meat so moving around to hunt more was hard.

[Elshooto]

hmm, very interesting hunterdon. i also leave the hide on when i hang my deer but i usually don't start hunting, seriously until early november. by then its cool enough to hang outside with no worries. i find it reduces meat loss from all the casing that is formed when exposed meat is drying. early season i would've/will take it off and wrap in cheese cloth.

lots of interesting tips here, i have learned alot and will impliment alot of the advice giving to me. thanks for all the comments and hopefully i'll be successful.

[mr_verbatim]

Here is my 2 cents worth. The bottom line is the control of bacteria. If you can keep bacteria to a minimum, meat will keep well for many days even under adverse conditions. Whoever mentioned to you about black pepper was a wise man. I have taken early season deer in warm temperatures. Day time highs approaching 30 C, and night time lows of only 5 or 6 degrees at best. Contrary to what most here will say, I keep the hide on. Oh I can here it all now. Take the hide off immediately or the meat will sour. Not true. In more than 30 years of successful hunting, I have always kept the hide on. The hide does several things.
1-Keeps dirt and flies off.(a really bad source of bacteria.)
2-Moderates the meat temperature. Yes it takes longer for the meat to cool, but it also keeps the meat from warming up fast during the day.
3helps to prevent the meat from excessive drying which can make that steak tough to chew.
So, here is what I do
1-Keep hide on.
2-Field dress as soon as possible.
3-Wash inside chest cavity and any exposed meat with vinegar/water solution. Say 1 part vinegar 2 part clean water. Remember BACTERIA control is a must.
4-Hang meat in the SHADE. Never in sun.
5-Most importantly, apply LIBERALLY black pepper throughout the chest cavity and head area(nasal mouth ears etc.) anywhere flies can enter, and over the entire animal, including the hide initially, as there will probably be blood on it.
6-Once a day and every day, I quickly wipe out again the chest cavity with vinegar solution followed with a fresh peppering. Remember, you guessed it , bacteria control.

The use of LOTS of black pepper deters the flies and also greatly disguises the smell of blood.(Another good reason for the use of pepper.)
Anyways that's what I do and have always had great venison over the years, no matter how hot it gets.
Good hunting!



+1 on keeping the hide on and field dressing as fast as possible.....

DO NOT use black plastic garbage bags at any time because the meat will spoil in minutes, use clear, inert plastics only. Do NOT let the meat get wet, obviously.

Bring a few gallons of the water and vinegar with you or just bring vinegar powder and use sterilized (boiled or filtered) spring/river/glacial water if available.

- Leave the hide on and don't quarter if you can help it.
- Hang under a heavy conifer, prune a space of you need to
- Prop open the chest cavity
- wash out the cavity
- Pepper any orifice
- Further shade with large conifer brooms if you need to
- lite small, smoky fires/smolders around the perimeter (I go about 3 meters in a circle to account for wind shift) of the carcass and keep them lit. Use small green conifer brooms for smoke. Be sure to clear the ground of vegetation before making the fires and be aware of other fire safety issues before you use smoke. Use rocks if you feel it necessary and the smolders should have ZERO fliers. If you have little embers flying around it's WAY to hot, you don't need a hell of a lot of smoke. You could even go as far as digging holes for the smolders. ***Keeps EVERYTHING away from your animal and you can leave it for a few hrs at a time.

Works great!

That'll give you two days/nights in typical southern interior BC temps from what I've seen so far......

Dan

[moosinaround]

So, If it is HOT, I would de-bone and cool off asap! I wouldn't leave any hide on, cept for proof of species. Used good quality game bags or pillow cases and lay the meat out boned out as thin and small of pieces as possible. Find a cool North facing draw, or creek and hang it there, in timber if you can, shade will be your friend! I agree, keep it AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE!!! If there is snow use it. If there is a creek, put the COOLED OFF MEAT into the bags and put it in the water. Heat/moisture needs some place to go, so if the meat is still at the body temp, putting it in bags will speed up spoilage! Get it to a cooler as soon as you can! Buck the hide off ASAP!!! Moosin