Hauling meat long distance

W

waudcutter

New member
Hopefully this fall I will bag a moose in Canada. If I do, I have a 36 hour drive home to get the meat back from western Canada to the midwest. I have a Dodge Durango I'll using.

What's the best way to get the meat back? I want to bring the meat home and process it here myself.

I can't figure out how to do this. I'm probably looking at two days return home minimum. Do I cut the critter in to manageable sizes and put it in styrofoam coolers with ice in the back of the Durango? I'll be driving solo so I probably have the room, but I'm probably going to be bring back 400 pounds of meat without it spoiling.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
If you are using a guide many times butchering is offered or "in the deal". However, if not:

If I have enough time I like to butcher and package everything out while in the area. This also helps when dealing with states that do not allow the importation of a carcass from elsewhere. If not, cutting it in to managable sizes is the only other option.

We get giant coolers and pack bags of ice on the meat. On a 36 hour drive home you will have to check several times throughout the trip to make sure you still have enough ice to maintain your temp. Adding bags of ice as you go will be required on such a long trip. If you can butcher it there and have access to a freezer the meat travels even better.

I have heard of dry ice being used but I have no idea where you would buy it or how much it costs.

JP
 
I'd go the cooler route but not styrofoam. instead I'd buy 2 or 3 large 192 qt coolers. They aren't cheap but will last many, many years if stored properly.

Why risk the meat (very tasty I might add) from the possible hunt of a lifetime by trying to save a hundred or 2. If it spoils you will be mad at yourself for years.
 
Probably just as, if not more important is what you do with the meat first. Not sure what kind of weather you will deal with but getting the animal hung, skinned, and cooled(preferably in a cooler), is vital. If it is properly cooled prior to deboning and packing in ice, the trip will be about 100% more successful and you won't be dealing w/ as much water and ice during the trip. On an animal such as a moose w/ 1/2in thick skin, even 40degree weather will allow the meat to spoil rather quickly. Meeses need the hide off quickly.
elkman06
 
We don't take coolers anymore....rather a small chest freezer and extension cords. Takes up the same amount of room coolers do and you can plug them in, freeze the meat solid before making the return trip home. Depending on how much meat, need about 12-24 hours to freeze it solid. We also attached a plastic cutting board to the top to aid in processing game.
 
You might want to check the regulations for importing meat from areas with mad cow disease into the USA. Last I checked, USDA was only allowing packaged, frozen meat processed by commercially licensed game processors to be brought back into the country from Canada. Skulls have to be clean and all nerve and brain tissue removed.
 
A small Honda generator and a $150 chest freezer from Walmart will do the job. Take your freezer paper and tape with you and package the meat at camp. With a 36 hour drive you will have to pull over and sleep somewhere, and the generator will power the freezer and keep things cool. Aside from ice blocks this is the best way to keep your meat from spoiling. If you have a trailer, you can even leave the generator running for part of the trip home. When spending the money on the hunt of a lifetime, the little things make it memorable. Make sure you bolt the generator down and lock both the freezer and generator to discourage thieves. If you stop to eat or use the facilities, park where you can see your rig and take turns watching so everybody can go.
 
TILT~~TILT~~TILT

What ever you do, do not put dry ice in coolers INSIDE YOUR Durango. NO NO NO

The dry ice is solid CO2. When it vaporizes, it fills your car with C02 and you become hypoxic.

How do I know? I was fishing Vancouver Island successfully several years ago. We packed dressed fish in coolers with dry ice for the trip back home (3 days). As I drove, I got sicker and sicker and weaker and weaker. The Dr. said I was lucky I did not die and wreck. Only that I am a pilot used to operating at high altitude did I survive.

If you use the coolers, put them on top of your car or on a hitch rack or on a small trailer, but not in your car, please. Chest freezers are available on craigslist in your area for often $25 or $50. The chest freezer on a small 2 wheeled trailer is the way to go. After we got gassed on CO2, we went the chest freezer route.

Good Luck
 
Meat

Process your meat there. It is the easiest way. The only thing you may have to give up is hanging time. So you may have a little more blood in your meat. But that is no big deal.

The small freezer is the way to go-with an extension cord-plug your freezer back in whenever you stop. A little electricity goes a long way in keeping your meat frozen. If it does not fit in your Durango, then pull a small trailer. A little inconvenience is no big deal when you taste that first moose steak.

I have done the cooler thing with ice, and I have done the dry ice thing. Both of these are a pain in the butt-and dry ice is unbelievably expensive. Buy a small freezer and you will have it for a lot of years. You will have dry ice for a day or two. Tom.
 
Taste

IMO Moose meat is the best wild game meat there is. I remember one time a friend of mine shot one in a swampy area. We had to quarter the beast right there. No way to get it out whole. When we cut out the back straps we started a fire and sliced off a piece of the back strap. We fried the steak in an iron skillet with a little bit of butter, and put the steak on two slices of bread. The sandwich was undoubtedly the best samdwich I have ever had in my life. That was 20 years ago and I can still taste it. Tom.
 
If you go the dry ice route also make sure the cooler is not totally sealed. Will blow up as the CO2 expands. Never seen it with a cooler, but I have an acquaintance who can not buy dry ice in three states...
 
Dry Ice

Every Wal Mart I have ever been in sells dry ice. When we used dry ice we taped the cooler so no air could get in. Never had a cooler blow up, but I do not doubt your word. That is also goode advice not putting the cooler inside your vehicle. Buy a small freezer and do not look back. Tom.
 
What ever you do, do not put dry ice in coolers INSIDE YOUR Durango. NO NO NO
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm surprised more people didn't catch the Durango part as well. Dry ice is a poor choice. I loaded a cooler down w/ ice w/ 40lbs of striper in Las Vegas, drove home to Wyo 36hrs later so 44hrs to home from a 120degree place and did fine w/ plain old ice. 120qt Coleman cooler. I kinda like the freezer and generator idea though.
elkman06
 
There are coolers that plug into your cigarette lighter.

The magic number you're looking for is 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Get your moose under that temp as soon as possible and keep it there for the duration of the trip.
Regular ice should do the job if you drain and re-ice every six hours or so.
The main thing is getting the meat cool in the first place.

Dry ice is not a good idea in a sealed environment. The roof rack idea was a good one if you choose to go that route.
 
I posted this earlier but it never showed up....

Last time we hunted, there was a meat packing house in town, we gave them the quarters, and they cut, wrapped and boxed and froze the meat, they then had it shipped to us via commercial reefer service which was amazingly cheap for the service, From Alberta to Minnesota, including processing, (pronounced prOOOOOOcessin' by the Canucks) It was less than 300 loonies. that was a bargain and they did a great job.
 
I've gotten antelope back home successfully on a 26 hour drive using the following method.

1. Buy a large plastic cooler.

2. Place a 10 or 20 pound block of dry ice in the cooler with the meat. For my 26 hour drive, I use 10 pounds and still have some left when I get home. For a 36 hour, I'd use 20 just to be sure.

3. Duct tape every seem around the cooler. This will help insulate the cooler.

4. Cover the cooler with your cool weather hunting clothing. This will further insulate the cooler.

5. Do not open the cooler to check on it. Leave it sealed.

That should get it home for you. In your case I might open it at 24 hours and replace the dry ice if needed. You shouldn't have any problems though. On my last western trip, I picked up my meat and part of it was frozen and part of it wasn't. By the time I made it home, the meat that wasn't frozen at the start of the trip was actually frozen solid.

Now - I've never heard of the dry ice causing the cooler to explode but I don't disagree that it isn't possible. We've always carried our coolers in the back of our SUV, but usually drive with the a window down as my hunting partner is a heavy smoker.
 
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