Safe handling/processing of game meat.

[howl]

You don't want your meat in contact with water after you wash it down the first time. Bacteria can live in ice water. Dry aging is the way to go. That is how they do expensive beef. If you can't hang it at less than 40 degrees for a few days, just use a cooler and keep the water drained out. There are different colors of meat on a deer. If it is bad it will smell rotten. If you don't like the taste of wild game or are sensitive to the liver-ish taste of dark red meat, soak it in buttermilk and fry it.

If you keep the meat clean, get if cooled down within two hours of the shot and age it at least a few days it will come out good. You don't have to worry about disease. I've eaten a pile of medium rare backstrap steaks. Free-range, organic filet mignon has got to be better for you than that drugged up stuff they sell at the grocery store.

 

[Trout Slayer]

I agree with "aging" the meat for a few days. I've used two methods 1) in a cooler on ice and making sure it is drained and 2) in the fridge in a plastic container with holes in it that fits in another plastic container to catch any fluids that drain out (which is then drained and cleaned daily). Now I do both.
When I process the deer I make a decision of what cuts I want. Then for the steaks and smaller cuts I'll go ahead and trim them down and put them in the plastic containers to "age". The big cuts or quarters stay in the big cooler making sure that there is enough air space in the cooler to keep as much moister off the exposed meat as possible. Again I drain the cooler at least twice a day and add ice as needed.

This year I've considered trying the critic acid method to get a dry crust on the outside of the meat while it "ages" in the cooler or the fridge. I'm planning an Alaska hunt and if we take an animal early in the trip we will have to follow that procedure so it is more for practice than just to do it.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[darrenmd]

When I quarter mine up I keep them on ice in a ice chest 3-4 days or longer, draining the water daily and adding more ice as necessary. Butcher wrap and freeze whenever I have time but no more than 1 week after the kill with no problems.

3 day minimum..... I have heard people putting vinegar in with it... .I haven't tried that yet....

 

[rnfarley]

Thanks, lots of good tips here.

 

[fuelman1]

I feel safer eating the deer meat that I've processed. I know where it came from and how it was processed. I'm with the others on aging. I quarter and pack on ice for several days. I try to not to have it soaking in water as this tends to make the outside of the meat gray. I keep the backstraps whole, grind the shoulders and trimmings, and debone the hindquarters and leave them as roasts. Slow cooking a hindquarter roast in an onion/beef boullion stock for about 4 hours is hard to beat. The meat is super moist and just falls apart.

 

[MacTavish]

As The_Great_White said, "be sure to sterilize your cooler thoroughly before and after each use". And be sure to do the same to your knives and other processing utensils.

 

[rnfarley]

For those of you guys using the coolers...what is your draining process. I'm thinking running a hose out of the cooler (mine has a threaded drain plug) and downhill so that there's no water collecting in the cooler at all. Would that allow for flies/yellow jackets/etc to get into the cooler?

 

[Trout Slayer]

My coolers all have a pop open drain at the bottom and I have a driveway that has a good downhill slant to the road. I just pop it open in the morning and then in the evening and let it drain down the driveway. Probably the ONLY nice thing I do for the stupid neighborhood cats that crap under my porch. Then I check ice levels and add if needed.
I'd probably avoid running the hose just because of the chance of contamination. Even if it is slight I'd avoid it. I'd hate to come home, open my cooler, and see some cold tolerant ants all over my deer.

 

[the_great_white]

I just drain the cooler a couple time per day.....really could get by with once per day because my cooler keeps ice so well........its going to depend on how well your cooler keeps ice as to how often you will have to drain it.

 

[rnfarley]

good point