Good meat gone bad

[Hal]

Does anyone know the temperature for hanging meat at camp. When to take it to a cooler or leave it hanging at camp? It usually seems to be an educated guess than anything else.Does anyone bring a thermometer to camp.Just curious .

[mntman]

Meat should hang from 1-5 degrees, you want to remove the jacket as soon as poss to bring down the core temp, there are a number of thermos you can by to get core temp. You only hang till you start to see a shine on the meat this will tell you that is time to get to the cutter.

[Caveman]

If you take some care in the meat you should have no problems. The only way I check my meat is with my hand. If it is cool to the touch you are fine. This year I shot a moose @ 3pm and it was 18c out. We took it to camp and hung it up. We did not skin it at this time. The body temp of the moose is higher than the air temp so there is no problem. Over night it went down to -4 and the moose had cooled down nicely. It got back up to 14c -16c for the next five days so we had a small, smokey fire under the moose during the day to keep the flies away with the smoke. On the fifth evening we skinned the moose because we were heading home the next day. Loaded it up that morning and transported it for six hours in a trailer with no problems at all. I perfer not to skin the animal until it is going to the butcher for two reasons, it keeps it clean without forming that second skin and like cheese cloth it doesn't allow the flies to get to the meat except at the point where there is exposed flesh. That is the only reason for the smoke. Once the sun gets low the flies disappear so you can head out for a afternoon hunt. I have also done this for up to 7 days.8-)

[ellellbee]

Skinning as soon as you get the moose hung is the fastest way to cool the meat. I can't imagine leaving the hide on as it retains the heat which is the opposite of what you are wanting to do. Once the meat is out and hung there should be no problem keeping it clean. As far as the flies go, that's what game bags are for. Buy some old sheets and sew them into a huge bag with a drawstring at the end. Okay I know, guys don't sew. So sweet-talk your wives into it or go to a mending place and ask. Or wrap it with cheesecloth.

When you have to travel to the butcher, lay it rib side down on a tarp in the bed of the truck. If you have to travel on gravel roads, cover it with the tarp. Dust is less of a concern to the meat than being slow to cool it down.

A butcher also told us that on a large animal, to cool it quicker cut the front leg at the shoulder to separate it a bit from the body and prop it open with a stick so the large body mass in the front end cools quicker.

[Caveman]

The first day is only the really crucial time, like i said earlier the mooses body temp is already higher than the air temp so it won't spoil in the first 12-24 hrs anyways. Once it has cooled the hide also will insolate it so the hot weather won't re-warm it. I know there are lots of guys who might disagree with this but unless you've tried it.... I've done this several times now, never a problem. But keep in mind you have to pay attention to the meat if you are going to spend some time in the bush with it hanging, and be able to reconize the sweet smell when it starts to turn bad. This will pretty much always be in the neck area. Even the guys I hunted with this year were not sure about it, as well as passersby, but if you talked to them now you'd hear differently I'm sure. A good option if you don't have bags or sheets to protect it in warmer weather.

[Fisher-Dude]

"Good meat gone bad" sounds like the title of a porno movie! :mrgreen:

I just feel the quarters to see what the temperature is...and I also smell them too. Remember that the cleaner and drier that you keep the meat, the better your chances are of keeping bacteria from growing. Instead of cracking open a bottle of whiskey to celebrate your kill, spend a few hours picking and trimming the meat. It will pay off in the long run.

I remember a few years back on an elk hunt in the Koots where some guys shot a dandy 350 class elk at dusk, dragged it out 3 km with their quads, and threw it whole in the back of their truck. The weather was hot as hell. We stopped by their camp the next day around noon, and they were just waking up from an all night pisser. The elk was bunched up in the truck whole, with the hide still on, covered in flies and dirt, with steam blowing out of a shot-up front quarter. It was a disgusting waste of an animal on inconsiderate slobs.

[3kills]

leaving the hide on is a good idea if its cold enough to allow it....another way to coot it fast is put a bag of ice or two in the chest cavity....another way to keep flies off ur meat rub black pepper on it...it works great....

[Jagermeister]

I'm with Ellellbee on this one. I'm also of the opinion that leaving the hide on premeates unfavourable flavor into the meat. The quicker the flesh forms that harder outer layer, the less likely the flies are going to be a problem. Air circulation around the entirely skinned carcass or quarters allows for a lower ambient air temperature through the wind chill factor.

[Hal]

I bought a game prossessing video that was made in Texas,where you have little margin for error in that kind of heat.What he did was freeze a couple of gallon milk jugs and place them in the body cavity of a deer, then wrap the deer in a breathable fabric. If it works in Texas it should for an early season hunt in B.C.

[sawmill]

I bought a game prossessing video that was made in Texas,where you have little margin for error in that kind of heat.What he did was freeze a couple of gallon milk jugs and place them in the body cavity of a deer, then wrap the deer in a breathable fabric. If it works in Texas it should for an early season hunt in B.C.

I`ve done that here and it works well,you have to split the hips and plastic one litre pop bottles are good for tight spots like that.Shroud the meat to keep flies off and pepper is a damn good idea.Course,that only works in town.In the bush you should just go on a straight meat diet and don`t be afraid to eat till you puke .If it`s a moose,maybe build a little cabin and stay till it`s gone:lol:

[ellellbee]

I guess the best idea is to ask a few butchers that do game processing what they recommend. They see it all. Their opinion would be based on many experiences, more than any of us individuals would have.

[mntman]

after working with a cutter up north for many years, the best way to handle meat is to right after the shot has been taken let the animal lay down and bleed out, chasing the animal will cause a "game flavour". then you must remove all internals leaving over time will spoil the meat. now skinning the animal now is up to choice pending on where the animal lays(dust,mud,etc) this helps at times to keep the meat clean, if you quarter the meat go from the second last rib the will give you the highest yield. now many will argue but hang the meat remove the jacket and bed sheet/cloth for flies with the hide still on does prevent the forming of the dry skin and keeps heat from leaving, a cooler is best to keep 1 degree temp if you have high heat and no cooler ice bags will work watch for freezing on the sides or you can form a tent from the pole and cool also, both work very well. when you go to transport your meat a clean area is required, so many times i have seen trucks with deer/moose right beside their gas cans. when you hang at your cutter there is no set time to hang the meat will get a gloss to it, this tells that it is time to cut, leaving longer will spoil the meat.

[timber]

If you take some care in the meat you should have no problems. The only way I check my meat is with my hand. If it is cool to the touch you are fine. This year I shot a moose @ 3pm and it was 18c out. We took it to camp and hung it up. We did not skin it at this time. The body temp of the moose is higher than the air temp so there is no problem. Over night it went down to -4 and the moose had cooled down nicely. It got back up to 14c -16c for the next five days so we had a small, smokey fire under the moose during the day to keep the flies away with the smoke. On the fifth evening we skinned the moose because we were heading home the next day. Loaded it up that morning and transported it for six hours in a trailer with no problems at all. I perfer not to skin the animal until it is going to the butcher for two reasons, it keeps it clean without forming that second skin and like cheese cloth it doesn't allow the flies to get to the meat except at the point where there is exposed flesh. That is the only reason for the smoke. Once the sun gets low the flies disappear so you can head out for a afternoon hunt. I have also done this for up to 7 days.8-) how that moose is not bone sour is beyond me?. gut it and get the wind pipe out .skin your meat as soon as possible, spilt the pelvic bone and the brisket asap. or you will be eating green eggs and moose.

[Caveman]

Timber Don't get me wrong the moose is gutted and pevis, Chest cavity wide open and all the windpipe etc removed the hide is only there as an alternitive to bags if you don't have them. The flies have next to no where to lay eggs and I have never lost a pound of meat using this method when I've chose to use it. Bone sour is more likely caused from an animal that is not retrieved soon enough and the animal isn't cleaned soon enough. If an animal is left over night un-gutted the you will experience bone sour. There has never been a strong or un palatable pound of moose meat in my freezer.

How many guys have knocked an animal down and had to retrieve the meat the next day. I'm sure they have all not been skinned. Not only that they are likely laying on the ground, unprotected from rain or anything else Not much different except hanging with the hide on the animal has air circulating around it drying and cooling.

[jaeger]

I am with straight & flat on this one. Ilike to leave the hide on for as long as possible.

[quadrakid]

i,ve always skinned as quick as possable but i,ve got to respect strait,n,flat, i don,t think he,d stick with his method too long if he was ending up with green meat. to each his own, more than one way to skin a cat and any other cliche,s that work.

[Caveman]

Geez, For a while there I thought I was by myself on this one. Thanks guys. Even when it is cool and I've got a deer hanging in the shop, I still leave the hide on right up to when I'm ready to butcher it up.

[Caveman]

Here's another little tip I've tried. I shot a buck about the 12th of Sept. one year and it was so hot, something like 25c, I hung the buck in my garage that was on the North East side of the house with a window mounted AC unit propped up on a apple box pointed at the chest cavity. Believe it or not I left the hide on again because of the flies but the AC unit cooled it down fast enough that they left it alone. In the morning about a dozen or more ticks were laying on the ground. They won't stay on the animal after the body temp. has cooled. I checked for and killed flies in the garage several times a day because the garage wasn't air tight of course. Great tasting early season buck

[pmj]

I concure with straight n flat. I also believe the other methods work just as well. I learned a lot from my parents who grew up with out having a fridge or freezer and butchered farm animals on a regular basis. Sometimes you must do with what you have. I have left the fur on with moose to protect the meat when dragging the quaters out. I prefer to hang the meat at camp since the temperature is always cooler there than at home. Sometime I have skinned at camp, otherwise skinned it at home a few days later. One trip shot a deer just before heading home. Bought blocks of ice and threw them in the chest cavity for the trip home. My mom always comes to poke at the hanging meat and with her "expert" opinion to say when it has dried enough (2nd skin) to be ready for cutting. I don't leave it too long with out the fur or you end up with too much dried meat.

[abbyfireguy]

When we get our moose, it is gutted and windpipe out asap(after a few pictures of course)...We go prepared with all the necessary tools and equipment to deal with a moose after you shoot it...Nothing worse than realizing you left half your cutting/skining stuff at home..
We get the moose back to camp asap...Use the winch and snatch block to haul the carcass up into a tree(we put a stout cross bar between two trees 10 or 12 feet up and attach the snatch block to that)...
Once you have the whole carcass hanging nicely its time for a quick lunch or dinner, and a cool reward if so inclined.
We will skin the carcass most times very soon after getting it hanging(usually that day).....
Often if we get a bull in the afternoon, we will skin it and if cold at night will leave it hanging skinless with head off,carcass propped wide open to cool down completely overnight...
Get up real early the next morning and cut in half the moose as it hangs(either chainsaw with veggie oil or armstrong saw),this is easy when the carcass is hung up vertical and still on the winch ,as you can raise and lower it as needed..
Cut into quarters, and hang the quarters from a lower crossbar..
We then carefully clean all the hair and dried blood off the quarters with clean linen rags(another thing to pre-pack) and a final wash down with a bit of vinegar..
The quarters are then bagged with huge game bags or linen sheets sewn to make super large bags,,and a light bit of black pepper sprinkled over the exterior of the quarters....
Make sure the location you hang the carcass and quarters is in shade at all times,and out of the rain(use a tarp to make an overhead tent if necessary)...
We have waited to skin the moose until the next morning when we have had temps around freezing in the early evenings,but,every time I was amazed how warm the spots around the neck,shoulders and rump were when we skinned the next morning(actually steaming)...
Doesn't seem to me to maximize the cooling time by keeping the winter parka on the critter any longer than necessary...
From day one of our hunting careers,my partner and I have always used these steps to bring the highest quality game meat home with very good results.....We've also seen many hunters loose portions of their kill due to hap-hazard post kill care of the meat and poor transport methods.
Generally we have one of the vehicles with a canopy which we utilize for the drive home....Don't cover the sacked quarters with much and I leave the side caopy windows closed till on the pavement to keep the dust off the quarters,then open them once on pavement and let the breeze keep fresh air circulating aroung the meat on the trip home..We load our camp stuff first and tarp over it before putting the quarters in the canopy.
Higher temps will ruin a moose pretty quickly if you are out during early season hunts,so, don't extend your hunt too long if you have an animal hanging in high temps...Get it to a local cooler or for run for home ..
By this time of year,flies and high temperature spoilage are not an issue usually..
Our butchers are always happy to see us,as we present our game in as good a way as they get most beef quarters from the slaughter house..Ready to cut after hanging for a week or so...
We always try and get our kills home amd butchered with no spoilage or wasteage that is under our control. So far(knock on wood;-) )we have been successful..Plan ahead for a good harvest and put together the necessary tools to do the job, and things will go way smoother...

[ASPEN]

Imo - below freezing-o.k. to leave hide on ,above freezing-remove hide a.s.a.p. to cool down-Also wrap in sheet bags-no holes for flies ,helps absorb moisture off animal and keeps dirt off.Always return travel during the night and flip meat every few hours( it is amazing how much heat from road and exhaust systems comes up through vehicle) Got two moose same day in august - one in the freezer and the other hanging under black tarp with fan blowing through one end, the one in the freezer retained a lot of moisture while the one with the fan cooled right down.What we ended up doing was rotate from freezer to fan.Fan draws very little power as well as the freezer and can be run off small generator or inverter.

[NEEHAMA]

I really can't enjoy myself when the meat's "iffy". i need it to be damn cold out or it's off to the cooler in town so i can relax and enjoy the rest of my trip.

[Deerwhacker]

Ive shot 5 deer and every one just about the same presedure.
if the animal was downed during the day and there is plenty of time befour sundown then the animal is gutted ,skinned and game baged asap. if it is at nighnt and the thought of skinning is too much then the animal is gutted and proped up eather on top of the trailer of in the roof box and i make sure to tie the legs down so the deer is spred wide open in maximum cooling mode. After skinning and bagging i steer away from the crowd as the only time the deer is ever hanging is during skinning.I keep some foam cut into a cooler in the trailer and plop the deer in there and pack it with ice. when it gets home its onto the dining room table and i get the freezer packing stuff together as well as sharpen up my knives as th REAL work begins. back to back kooteny early bow season hunts the whitetailes I whaped sat in the trailer 5 days . And yes of course , all the meat was intact .

[Hal]

Thanks for the great info guys. Bottom line if you can't get your game meat home in good shape whats the point.

[Caveman]

Just a side note for the doubters of the method i described. I picked my moose up from the butcher last night and told them how I hung it five days in the warm weather hide on. They said whatever I did worked great because the animal was absolutly beautiful. So there is more than one way to skin a cat as they say

[jade]

fresh meat must be skinned as soon as possible and hang to cool if cold outside, if temp around 15c, then you MUST open the quarters to the bone immediately to allow cooling and prevent bone rot. if temp above 20c with no sign of relief and lots of flies then you may have to throw the meat in the river and submerge it , not pretty but it works and the meat will be saved,

[lightmag]

shot an elk in the EK opening morning 4 years ago, had to pack it out and it was 28 degrees at camp by 1pm, luckly we had a super cold creek by camp threw all 4 quarters/hide on into the drink until evening, then hung them under the bridge, skinned them, cheese clothed them, and left them until noon the next day. We loaded them up, tarped them and drove 3 hours to town to the butcher, butcher said it was in great condition and using the creek was a good idea.

[wolverine]

I bought a game prossessing video that was made in Texas,where you have little margin for error in that kind of heat.What he did was freeze a couple of gallon milk jugs and place them in the body cavity of a deer, then wrap the deer in a breathable fabric. If it works in Texas it should for an early season hunt in B.C.



Last year I had to pack my deer in ice for a couple of days before they could get into the cutter. It worked just fine, the meat was in good shape. Get the hide off asap. It helps keep the animal warm in the winter, why wouldn't you remove it.

[Downwind]

Besides the cooling factor, taking the hide off as soon as you can makes the whole process that much easier. Peels off super quick and you can look after any blood shot areas right away instead of having it sit against the meat.

[Darksith]

Leaving the hide on is a good idea in cold temps. I know its an old post, but Im confused with someone saying
"the meat is hotter than the temp outside so its ok to leave the skin on."
Its always hotter than outside when freshly shot unless you got some freak heat wave pushin 100F.

2 Things will spoil your meat: first is the lungs and windpipe. The guts if not damaged won't do much to it, but the lungs and wind pipe will start to spoil meat rather quickly.
Second is bone sour which is caused by the meat not cooling quick enough, and the bone marrow dies and starts to transfer unwanted bacteria through the bones into the meat. Not getting the bones of the animal to cool quick enough will allow bacteria to grow rather quickly. If you quarter the animal you can safely leave the hide on usually. If you crack hips and open chests that will aid in the bones cooling which will avoid the bone sour problem. Get the inside bones cooling asap and you will never have a problem

[Hunterguy]

Just a question re leaving the hide on, how do you deal with the blood shot meat, clean shot yes no problem but we all know the damage a shell does and leaving the hide on would make me think that would be a huge problem?

[Jagermeister]

Just a question re leaving the hide on, how do you deal with the blood shot meat, clean shot yes no problem but we all know the damage a shell does and leaving the hide on would make me think that would be a huge problem?

Trim out the blood clotted area as best as you can. Leaving the hide on can lead quickly to deteriorating meat.

[hunter1947]

Putting the meat in a cold creek to cool it for 30 min is a good idea I have done this many of times with good success.

I like to do this when the hid is still on the animal ,then after 30 min in the cold creek I hang up the quarters and skin them out and cheese cloth them.
I then hang them under the bridge where the water is running to keep cool they will be good for a few days where they are hanging.