cold shorting meat

[swampratt]

Subject was brought up on early season deer and temps.. I did not want to get off the other posters topic.
so here is a new one.

I used to get my deer and other meat on the cold super quick then I read about cold shorting meat.
I read from other well seasoned hunters of big game meat and farm raised meat that you are best served to butcher after the muscles have relaxed.
So after rigor mortis has left.
I still clean out the gut cavity and cool any internals I wish to keep..Bacteria growth can's happen without oxygen... so if the hide is left in place there is not much chance for spoilage.

Now do not get me wrong.. I will not leave the meat in the sun to cook..
I do like a cool shaded area.. but if the deer is still in Rigor Mortis stage I feel I have plenty of time before the ice hits it.

To take that oxygen and spoilage farther.
I was hunting Love Valley WMA and walking up to the river bank I watched a buzzard launch up into the air from a mound of grass below the river bank.

I thought. That was odd what was that bird doing there...I went to see ...there was a dead deer a small one maybe 65 lbs if it was gutted.
It was not gutted so to say but the coyotes have eaten on it and most guts are gone..It had been sprinkling for a few days and the hide was wet. had some smell to it. Definitely ripe.

I had my fishing poles and figured maybe a chunk of meat off of it would make for some catfish bait..I have used deer before there to get dinner out of the river.

I opened up the back of the neck with busted bottle and cut a nice chunk of meat out of there..Yes a glass bottle. It stunk to the point I did not want my knife to be contaminated. The hair would pull free from the hide also, so it was there for a spell.
The meat was free of the dark red color( bled out) and was very pink and quite tender..The shocker was that it had NO smell.

I mean this meat did not stink at all.. my hands smelled bad from touching the hide.. but the meat was free of any odor.

No odor no blood ,, no fish.. That is how it happened..There were many fish working the water and nothing took the meat.
Just something to think about.

 

[spooncg33]

Good info. I guess my follow up question for anyone would be have you ever had spoiled deer meat? If so, how did it get spoiled, as in did you not field dress it for a day or something?

I have never had bad meat, but have always cleaned the deer ASAP.

 

[ByrdC130]

The idea of hanging meat for aging is to let the enzymes break down the meat fibers which makes it more tender. In effect, it's spoiling a bit, but not too the point of becoming rancid.

 

[swampratt]

I got some deer steaks from a guy that had his deer processed.
My other buddy got some too. He brought some to work the next day that he sliced thin and made into fajita meet.
He told me to try it. I did and I spit it out.. I was like WTF!! that meat is horribly.. tastes rotten.. he said he thought so also but wanted a
second opinion.

We tossed it all in the garbage.. The guy that gave it to us stated he always has his deer processed at the same place.. He thought it was fine.

I hung deer for more days than I want to say.. and I even tried salting it to preserve it.. complete submersion in salt.

I kept that salt meat for over 6 months outside in the salt and in an ice chest.. well into summer... the meat never spoiled but it was like eating a salt block.
Do not do it unless you love eating raw salt.. I should have kept it and used it for fishing.. I bet the salt would bring them in.



I

 

[makeithappen]

I try to get mine gutted and quartered asap. I then leave the quarters in a cooler for about 3-4 days with ice, draining the water regularly, to pull as much blood out of the meat as I can. After the 3-4 days, I'll debone and freeze the meat. Once I started doing this, it became very rare to find anything gamey, the meat is much more tender and my wife will actually cook, and eat, the deer meat.

 

[Deer Slayer]

MIH - This is exactly what I do and have never had a problem.

 

[makeithappen]

It makes a world of difference in the taste. My wife actually told me to shoot the first deer I see this year and quit being so picky as she wants more roasts for the crockpot. lol

 

[swampratt]

makeithappen you should leave the front shoulder whole with the meat on it.. then cook/smoke over wood or charcoal for 2 hours then add some of your favorite sauce wrap it in foil and and cook at 200 f for a couple more hours.

The meat will fall off the bone.. and you have saved time trying to get the last bit of meat off of it.

I have done that to almost every shoulder.
I do the same for roasts.

 

[makeithappen]

Interesting idea. My wife has mentioned wanting me to get a smoker...maybe I should give in and get one so I can try it.

 

[retrieverman]

In most cases, my venison is still "quivering" while I'm deboning it, and then, I'll let it soak on ice for about a week. I leave the "seasoning" to when I'm preparing to cook it.