Proper care of killed Deer
- Thread starter billykaldrich
- Start date
rickyjames
New member
venison is either delicious or tastes like crap. the difference is how you care for it immediatly after it is killed.
don't do like the "hunting shows" where they kill the animal, stand around for hours and take pictures and then drag it to the truck like a bag of garbage and then take some more pictures. thats lesson number one.
if you want good meat take a few pics and then get down to the hard work they never show on tv. start gutting the animal. get a couple of good tools, a good skinning knife maybe a knife with a gut hook. don't take it for granted you are born with the proper skills to gut and skin an animal. do a little reading learn about intestines, bowels, kidneys and anus. the better you are at gutting the animal the better the meat will be. lesson two.
skin the animal asap. the cooler the meat the better the taste. get the animal in a cooler asap, remember heat is the enemy. lesson three.
i remember 1 hunting camp, opening day i saw 3 deer come into camp. a couple of good old boys got 2 of them. they gutted them and hung them in a tree stood around the camp fire drinking and admiring their trophys. it might have gotten done to 65 degrees that night. the other deer was shot by a young guy and girl. they gutted it where it was shot. as soon as they got the deer to camp they skinned it. they had a saw and some knives and quartered the deer, deboned some of it, placed the meat in big plastic bags and put in big ice chests topped with ice of course. guess who really enjoyed their meat and who complained it was gamey or the deer must have had a poor diet?
deer is good eating if you know how to take care of it and do it quickly.
don't do like the "hunting shows" where they kill the animal, stand around for hours and take pictures and then drag it to the truck like a bag of garbage and then take some more pictures. thats lesson number one.
if you want good meat take a few pics and then get down to the hard work they never show on tv. start gutting the animal. get a couple of good tools, a good skinning knife maybe a knife with a gut hook. don't take it for granted you are born with the proper skills to gut and skin an animal. do a little reading learn about intestines, bowels, kidneys and anus. the better you are at gutting the animal the better the meat will be. lesson two.
skin the animal asap. the cooler the meat the better the taste. get the animal in a cooler asap, remember heat is the enemy. lesson three.
i remember 1 hunting camp, opening day i saw 3 deer come into camp. a couple of good old boys got 2 of them. they gutted them and hung them in a tree stood around the camp fire drinking and admiring their trophys. it might have gotten done to 65 degrees that night. the other deer was shot by a young guy and girl. they gutted it where it was shot. as soon as they got the deer to camp they skinned it. they had a saw and some knives and quartered the deer, deboned some of it, placed the meat in big plastic bags and put in big ice chests topped with ice of course. guess who really enjoyed their meat and who complained it was gamey or the deer must have had a poor diet?
deer is good eating if you know how to take care of it and do it quickly.
mnshortdraw
New member
If you are days away from a processer, skin, and quarter the deer as soon as possible. Bag the meat in heavy plastic and put into coolers with ice. I try to avoid getting the meat wet. It will keep like this for days. Another problem I run into processing is when people gut their deer and put them in the back of a pickup or in the garage for a few days. The meat needs air to circulate to cool it properly. I once bought two bison from a ranch in North Dakota. We shot them, gutted them, and winched them into a refridgerated trailer (36 degrees). We then drove them back to the butcher shop in northern Minnesota. After 16 hours in a 36 degree trailer, the meat was still steaming, and we lost a lot of meat to spoilage. I would hang quarters next time up off the floor.
22-rimfire
New member
I have always wondered if cooling it hanging with the gut wedged open versus skinning it immediately was preferable. My gutted deer are generally at the processer within 5 hours max and I didn't think this an issue even with fairly warm temps (50's and 60's).
22-rimfire
All I can do is repeat that In a commercial kitchen I have 4 hours to bring the temp of meat to below 45 Degrees F.
I know that this isn't possible to do that in the field most of the time. Still it is a very good idea to get that carcass cold asap.
One thing that people might consider is wiping or rinsing out the carcass with a strong vinegar solution.
All I can do is repeat that In a commercial kitchen I have 4 hours to bring the temp of meat to below 45 Degrees F.
I know that this isn't possible to do that in the field most of the time. Still it is a very good idea to get that carcass cold asap.
One thing that people might consider is wiping or rinsing out the carcass with a strong vinegar solution.
banditt007
New member
what does the vinegar solution do?
Also IMO for max cooling if possible getting the skin off helps a lot. Remember that skin and fur is the same thing that keeps the animal warm. aka keeping cold out and heat in. It still is trying to do its job when its dead too! Though when i hunt i skin when i get home (2hrs after dragging it out of the woods) right before i butcher it. but its fully encased in ice wrapped in a tarp on the way down, sans guts of course. I think if i was able to skin it, it opens it up way too much for contamination. since its sitting in some melting ice, has residue from any guts still there ect ect.
Also IMO for max cooling if possible getting the skin off helps a lot. Remember that skin and fur is the same thing that keeps the animal warm. aka keeping cold out and heat in. It still is trying to do its job when its dead too! Though when i hunt i skin when i get home (2hrs after dragging it out of the woods) right before i butcher it. but its fully encased in ice wrapped in a tarp on the way down, sans guts of course. I think if i was able to skin it, it opens it up way too much for contamination. since its sitting in some melting ice, has residue from any guts still there ect ect.
goldfacade
New member
This website http://www.askthemeatman.com/deer.htmhas tons of info. Its a butcher shop with a few things to sell, but a lot of good info. Hanging seems to confuse people some, you either do it and swear by it, or you don't and swear by that. The FDA recommends that individuals don't do it but there are guidelines for commercial outfits on how to do it. 36-40 degrees, from 2-16 days. There was a post on here about deer not having enzymes. I have a link on my work PC tat I will post tomorrow that shows that the enzymes are the same as the beef enzymes, so aging does work.
If you don't have a place to hang your dear whole you can quarter it and place it in a cooler with ice (careful, hard to regulate temp) or do like I do; quarter it and place it in the garage refridgerator set to 38 deg. In 2 weeks cut away all the dried ugly meat, debone and separate muscles and viola perfect deer.
ps: you don't need to do this to the tenderloins or the back strap. Those should be eaten right away; blackened with garlic string beans, mashed red potato's and yeast rolls.
If you don't have a place to hang your dear whole you can quarter it and place it in a cooler with ice (careful, hard to regulate temp) or do like I do; quarter it and place it in the garage refridgerator set to 38 deg. In 2 weeks cut away all the dried ugly meat, debone and separate muscles and viola perfect deer.
ps: you don't need to do this to the tenderloins or the back strap. Those should be eaten right away; blackened with garlic string beans, mashed red potato's and yeast rolls.
jammin1237
New member
i would say the best way to post process any game meat would be to get it down below 40 degrees as quickly as possible... a well known form of bacteria bio-toxin called Botulism, (short for the toxins produced from the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria) basically only need 2 conditions to thrive... a temp of 40-120 degrees Fahrenheit and a lack of oxygen...
if you are going age it, plenty of fresh air and cool temps are the best(33-38 degrees)... aging does allow the basic cell structure to break down, moisture to escape, and allows the game to fully "bleed out"...giving you a more tender and flavor concentrated meat(ask any top notch steak house)...
my mouth is starting to water
cheers
if you are going age it, plenty of fresh air and cool temps are the best(33-38 degrees)... aging does allow the basic cell structure to break down, moisture to escape, and allows the game to fully "bleed out"...giving you a more tender and flavor concentrated meat(ask any top notch steak house)...
my mouth is starting to water
cheers
Get it cool, quick!
Depending on which season and species I'm hunting, the temperatures can vary significantly, from below freezing to mid 80's. I've long been told by a very wise man (Dad) that it's important to get the carcass cooled as quickly as possible. After the kill, immediately gut the animal. The hide is only left on long enough to get the animal back to camp as clean as possible, and then removed. If it's cool enough, we hang the carcass in the shade, typically overnight when Colorado temps drop significantly. Then it's time to pack up the critter and get it into refrigeration, and then only as long as it takes to get the animal processed, either by a pro or by yourself. As mentioned above, heat is the enemy, and if a nice thick elk or deer hide keeps the animal warm when they're alive, it will certainly keep them warm when they're dead.
Good luck!
Glen
Depending on which season and species I'm hunting, the temperatures can vary significantly, from below freezing to mid 80's. I've long been told by a very wise man (Dad) that it's important to get the carcass cooled as quickly as possible. After the kill, immediately gut the animal. The hide is only left on long enough to get the animal back to camp as clean as possible, and then removed. If it's cool enough, we hang the carcass in the shade, typically overnight when Colorado temps drop significantly. Then it's time to pack up the critter and get it into refrigeration, and then only as long as it takes to get the animal processed, either by a pro or by yourself. As mentioned above, heat is the enemy, and if a nice thick elk or deer hide keeps the animal warm when they're alive, it will certainly keep them warm when they're dead.
Good luck!
Glen
So beef is broken down by enzymes, and venison by bacteria. That what you're saying?
Guess that muddles the contention that as soon as an animal dies, bacteria begin the decomposition process which tenderizes the meat and ages it--up to a point, at least, since the decomposition doesn't stop there.
Uncle Buck
New member
It seems the main theme here, regardless of the enzyme issue, is getting the meat cooled down quickly.
I may be wrong on the enzyme issue, but I know that ever since we have hung the deer for three days, it has tasted much better and I want to get out and get another deer that much quicker.
I may be wrong on the enzyme issue, but I know that ever since we have hung the deer for three days, it has tasted much better and I want to get out and get another deer that much quicker.
Vinegar is an anti-bacterial agent. It helps retard the growth of or kill bacteria such as ecoli that might still be in the body cavity and might grow on exposed tissue.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/foodnut/09369.html
FrontSight
New member
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that no matter how gamey it may taste, cooking with lots of onions will completely kill any gaminess and make it an excellent tasting meat.
Shoot a rutting buck poorly, leapfrog it for 2 hours, shoot it again, drag it for miles, take pictures with it, don't age it, and don't worry about it, because onions will make it taste fine.
Obviously, onions won't improve your hunting skills or ethics, but they will improve your dinner.
This knowledge came to me from an old (1800's) trapping book that I read. I wish I had read it 20 years earlier, because I would have enjoyed a lot more venison meals than I did in all those years!
Shoot a rutting buck poorly, leapfrog it for 2 hours, shoot it again, drag it for miles, take pictures with it, don't age it, and don't worry about it, because onions will make it taste fine.
Obviously, onions won't improve your hunting skills or ethics, but they will improve your dinner.
This knowledge came to me from an old (1800's) trapping book that I read. I wish I had read it 20 years earlier, because I would have enjoyed a lot more venison meals than I did in all those years!
22-rimfire
New member
The majority seem to support the quick field dressing, quick trip back to vehicle or camp, then skinning and cooling the meat as soon as possible unless you take it to a processor whcih should happen within 4 hours of the kill. If skin, the carcus or quarters need to be placed on ice.
I don't know about you all, but I have never tasted venision that did not taste like venision. Even the hamburger tastes like venison when blended with pork fat. My wife won't even cook the stuff. Most of the meat is given away after it is processed. Is the venison taste necessarily bad? No, but there is a favor different from beef that you have to at least tolerate.
I don't know about you all, but I have never tasted venision that did not taste like venision. Even the hamburger tastes like venison when blended with pork fat. My wife won't even cook the stuff. Most of the meat is given away after it is processed. Is the venison taste necessarily bad? No, but there is a favor different from beef that you have to at least tolerate.