Cleaning grouse warm or cold ?

[new trigger]

I see a lot of photos of dead grouse hung in camp, on a tailgate, or laid out on the ground. When do these get cleaned? I was told, and have always cleaned my grouse right away and while warm. Doesn't seen to be the practice in others' cases. I have always stepped on the wings and pull the legs, maybe they need to be warm for that?
Any concerns with cleaning a stiff bird ? Is it done differently than I'm used to ?
Any advantage to hanging it prior to cleaning ?
I do like to keep the little legs and thighs, as well as the obvious breast meat. Grouse drums are a great dog treat after her dinner.

[solo]

We clean them right away, then into a ziplock and then into a cooler with ice. If we are hiking, they go into the day pack to cool down before we clean them.

[Rackem]

They stay warm for quite awhile, so plenty of time to stick em on a tailgate and take pics. If they are cooled, its just harder to skin them, it tears more. If it gets really cold, its just stiffer to work with. But as far as I know it doesn't affect the taste. I don't think you can do the step on the wings thing if they are cold, they would just rip.

[Abashai]

We usually tend to shoot them on the quad on the way up to our moose spot and don't have a cooler or something handy to throw them into. I've never had a problem cleaning them a few hours after killing them. They do get a little stiff though.

[Wackman]

I always try to skin them while still fresh,
it is way easier then after the grouse cools off.
I like to use the same method you use, stepping on wings
and giving a good pull. That doesn't work so good
when cooled down.

[835]

It is easier to deal with them when they are warm, but it doesnt matter if you dont. if you bring them back to camp for a picture then great!
its not like its "Hard" to clean a cold grouse, its just easier when they are warm. There is no negative effect to the meat...

English used to hang phesants till the guts fell out...

[Big Lew]

I clean them while they're still warm. I like to keep the whole bird intact in case it's going to be roasted. I just make a incision from the rib cage to the butt, hook everything out, tearing or cutting the butt off with everything else. I've found that if the guts are left in very long they will taint the meat (as can be seen by a green sheen or colouring on the bottom of the breasts and along the lower backbone etc.) I also pull out the crop at the same time. I do all this with any game birds including ducks and geese to avoid any gamey meat, especially if it's hot out.

[BuckNaked]

I'm interested in hanging/aging some grouse and see how the taste differs.

http://honest-food.net/2012/10/20/on-hanging-pheasants-2/

[ruger#1]

I clean them while they're still warm. I like to keep the whole bird intact in case it's going to be roasted. I just make a incision from the rib cage to the butt, hook everything out, tearing or cutting the butt off with everything else. I've found that if the guts are left in very long they will taint the meat (as can be seen by a green sheen or colouring on the bottom of the breasts and along the lower backbone etc.) I also pull out the crop at the same time. I do all this with any game birds including ducks and geese to avoid any gamey meat, especially if it's hot out.
OMG. You guys are keeping those things. I just toss them in the bushes.

[Singleshotneeded]

Step on the wings and pull on the legs when the grouse is freshly killed...quick and easy! Keep your feet tight to where the wings meet the torso for best results... :-)

[bearhunter338-06]

I shoot em, grab em by the wings and feet and pull. Way quicker then bending over and stepping on the wings to pull the legs.

[Singleshotneeded]

I shoot em, grab em by the wings and feet and pull. Way quicker then bending over and stepping on the wings to pull the legs.
....Ahem...and Burke, some of us are gettin' to the age where bending over ain't as much fun as it was! :-D

[ruger#1]

....Ahem...and Burke, some of us are gettin' to the age where bending over ain't as much fun as it was! :-D
What prison were you in, And soap on a rope is a great thing.

[new trigger]

Some good input here, thanks. Seems as though I'll continue on with our technique, clean em warm, and put them on ice.

[Gateholio]

If I'm keeping them whole I do as Big Lew does.

i wouldn't age any bird with the guts in if there were pellets hitting the body.

[Pioneerman]

I got to tell this story it was so funny. Years ago I was camped and hunting with a buddy and his 4 year old son, we were out on the atv's and I got a grouse with the 22 , put in on the rack and did not clean it right away, but I almost always do it instantly cause they pull apart easier warm.So a few hrs later back at camp I was going to take the bird out a bit and clean it, his kid asked if he could come watch so he came with me. I was explaining how you stand on the wings and pull the legs and they come apart, and he was amazed. Of course it was cold now and not as perfectly smooth as I would have liked, but done none the less. But I explained how they pull apart better warm.He was blown away and interested in the process. So later on we are riding to a spot again and a grouse is on the side of the trail. I shot it in the neck with the 22 and the kids says can I get it , so he ran up like my dog would to get it came running back with it still flapping a bit and asked if he could clean it. So we said sure. So he has his little feet holding down the still moving wings grabs the feet and starts pulling , and pulling and pulling. He pulled so much he was out of breath and turned to me and said it must be cold already lol I said no it might just be pulling back cause he is not dead and cause you are both the same size. :-D

[Sasquatch]

If I'm going to eat them right away I do the step on the wings method. If I'm going to eat them later and they are not shot up too bad, I hang then somewhere cool and dress them in a couple days. That's how I was taught by a chef in a fishing camp years ago - he said it tenderizes the meat.

Not sure I've ever noticed a difference in taste, but old habits die hard.

[phoenix]

I like to leave them whole till I get to camp so I can prove what I have if I get pulled over by a CO. Talking of cleaning things how does everybody clean rabbits?
Kim

[Pioneerman]

You only need one wing on the bird for proof. Rabbits I just grabbed the fir and tear the skin right off then I cut off the legs

[field marshal]

Blue grouse that have been feeding on Huck and Salal berries need to be gutted as soon as possible.
Pellets that have penetrated the intestines cause a very strong liquid bile that will permeate the meat!!Also adding to this bitter flavour is the buds of little dandelions that Hooters love to eat from the road side.
Trust me!! 60 plus years of shooting this wonderful game bird has taught me a lot!!:-D
Cheers---Field Marshal.

[phoenix]

You only need one wing on the bird for proof. Rabbits I just grabbed the fir and tear the skin right off then I cut off the legs
You don't have that wing if you are standing on them pulling on the legs, you get a breast and legs, no wings so I just clean them later and don't have to worry about it.
Kim

[TPK]

You don't have that wing if you are standing on them pulling on the legs, you get a breast and legs, no wings so I just clean them later and don't have to worry about it.
KimPhoenix, you have that backwards, you are left with the breast and BOTH wings attached, no legs. Think about it, you're pulling the legs, how can they be left behind???

[835]

Yup Phoenix,,, your wrong.
the wings stay on the breast,,,, the feet stay attached to the back.. that you have just pulled off..

unless you do it when the bird is cold,,, the wings can then just rip off

[phoenix]

Geez, I learn something new every day. Now I'm going to have to try it on a warm bird, I haven't cleaned one that way in years. I usually just take the cold bird and pinch either side of the breast skin and rip it open and pull off the breast, everything else is coyote bait.
Kim

[835]

Geez, I learn something new every day. Now I'm going to have to try it on a warm bird, I haven't cleaned one that way in years. I usually just take the cold bird and pinch either side of the breast skin and rip it open and pull off the breast, everything else is coyote bait.
Kim


lol do you make faces and groweling sounds as you rip the bird in half??? JK

[HarryToolips]

Lol I do it right away..plus cut the meat off the legs as well..love the sound when ya step on the wings and pull the feet, halarious

[phoenix]

lol do you make faces and groweling sounds as you rip the bird in half??? JK
No, it's way too easy that way too need to make any noises. I am afraid of the noises I might make if I bend over for the leg pull method though.:mrgreen:
Kim

[Singleshotneeded]

Yup, you definitely wind up with a breast and two wings, so I lop off one with my knife and toss it in a bag in my cooler. Hell buddy, you're not old enough to make that many groaning noises when you bend over to clean your grouse...but give it another ten years! :-)

[hare_assassin]

Talking of cleaning things how does everybody clean rabbits?
Kim

Start at the ankles, easily rip the skin down around the rear legs to the torso, then just continue like you are taking a sweater off the thing. Once you get to the head and front legs, grab the hind legs in one hand and wrap the pelt around the other hand and pull. More often than not, the head gets ripped off when the pelt lets loose and I let the whole works sail through the air into a snowbank (a side benefit of head/neck shots). Next, make a small incision near the sternum and use a blade or gut-hook to "unzip" the abdominal muscles. Then use a blade to cut through the pelvis and then "crack" it open a bit with your hands. Now hold the rabbit/hare by the front legs, reach up into the chest cavity and grab hold of the tough diaphragm tissue; rip that tissue away from the cavity wall and then continue to pull all the way down as all the guts fall to the ground. If the colon is still connected near the pelvis, jam a finger down through the crack in the pelvis and then rip the works out of there. You might get sh!t on your (rubber-gloved) finger once in a while, so keep some water handy. Typically no feces ends up on the meat.

The rest is obvious. If the head is still there, lob it off. Finally, cut off the paws at the ankles and wrists. I often just leave the paws on till I get home. I have a good collection of them now.

This all sounds like a lot of work, and to be sure the first few took some time. With practice, however, one can be done in less than 2 minutes.

Anyone who only takes the legs is missing out on the best part... the backstraps... mmmm...

Once you get them home, stick them in a basin of cold water with a fist full of sea salt in the fridge over night. Next day, debone them as I show in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620Jr024ICk

[phoenix]

Yup, you definitely wind up with a breast and two wings, so I lop off one with my knife and toss it in a bag in my cooler. Hell buddy, you're not old enough to make that many groaning noises when you bend over to clean your grouse...but give it another ten years! :-)
I'm 59 in a couple of weeks so I'm old enough to make any noise I want and quite a few I don't want, lol.
Kim

[phoenix]

Start at the ankles, easily rip the skin down around the rear legs to the torso, then just continue like you are taking a sweater off the thing. Once you get to the head and front legs, grab the hind legs in one hand and wrap the pelt around the other hand and pull. More often than not, the head gets ripped off when the pelt lets loose and I let the whole works sail through the air into a snowbank (a side benefit of head/neck shots). Next, make a small incision near the sternum and use a blade or gut-hook to "unzip" the abdominal muscles. Then use a blade to cut through the pelvis and then "crack" it open a bit with your hands. Now hold the rabbit/hare by the front legs, reach up into the chest cavity and grab hold of the tough diaphragm tissue; rip that tissue away from the cavity wall and then continue to pull all the way down as all the guts fall to the ground. If the colon is still connected near the pelvis, jam a finger down through the crack in the pelvis and then rip the works out of there. You might get sh!t on your (rubber-gloved) finger once in a while, so keep some water handy. Typically no feces ends up on the meat.

The rest is obvious. If the head is still there, lob it off. Finally, cut off the paws at the ankles and wrists. I often just leave the paws on till I get home. I have a good collection of them now.

This all sounds like a lot of work, and to be sure the first few took some time. With practice, however, one can be done in less than 2 minutes.

Anyone who only takes the legs is missing out on the best part... the backstraps... mmmm...

Once you get them home, stick them in a basin of cold water with a fist full of sea salt in the fridge over night. Next day, debone them as I show in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620Jr024ICk

Thanks h_a I will try this for sure. I have never seen as many rabbits as I have this year. I watched the brother in law try a different method where you whack all the guts out over your knees, looked good in the book we saw it in. It worked OK except all the guts shot out and over his back and landed on the back of his head as he was bent over. I loved it, him not so much:)
Kim

[HIGHRPM]

I choose to have it done while warm. For me it seems to seperate easier than cold.

[hare_assassin]

There's warm and then there's WARM.

Do it quick enough and the heart is still beating in the breast.

I've often been tempted to take a big bite... :D