Meat Preparation
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
Meat Preparation
Fellow xbow hunters. I dont mean to sound naive, but can anyone tell me how they prepare their kill. I understand the shoot, skin and gut part, but are there any tips on meat preparation or preservation before it is ready to be consumed. Friends of mine have suggested hanging the carcus in a cotton bag in a cool environment for a few days, for the meat to "cure", what ever that means. Others have told me to put it into a fridge for a week or so, and others still, have said that the best thing is to cut it up into servable pieces, and then straight into the freeze until it is time to consume. I am unsure of what the best procedure is, so I would appreciate any imput available. Thanks!
You only live once!
Never ever hang wild game unless you are sure it is grain fed. Enzyme action is the reason for hanging any grain fed meat. However the practice I've used with success for more than 30 years is to paint the carcass with apple cider vinegar while out in the field. This is most important if the game is taken during the rut. As far as what you don't want to do is never let the meat get wet with water. Get the hide off for fast cool down. Buy a book on meat cutting so when you cut and wrap or vacuum bag you will be able to label the parts. This last will make you more welcome around the house. One rule my boss has is to bring no meat into the house for processing that has hair on it. WINCHESTER press years ago put out a great book on game processing and cooking. Somewhere in my library, this book is well worn and the recipes have worked there way into the bosses collection of recipes. Go to abebooks .com to look for books on the subject.
Well I hate to be the devils advocate but if the temp is right we always let our deer hang as long as we can. We only take the hide off around the wound area and really have never had any problems with using water to clean the carcass. We've been doing it this way for generations in our family and none of us have died yet. As I said we will skin them out if temp climbs over 50 and butcher it as fast as we can. Still prefer to hang it for at least one day to let it bleed. This is just my views but so many hunters in Ontario do this it can't be too bad.
Been my experience that the best care of game starts in the field. Get it opened and the intestines and internal organs removed ASAP! Be careful not to get fecal matter or urine on the meat! (don't cut the intestines or stomach, and don't bust the bladder) If you're lucky enough to have cold weather, or access to a cooler, get the game to a clean area where you can hang it. It is much easier to cut up if it is chilled to near freezing. Cut it into whatever you like for table fare, and freeze it. If you do get any stomach or intestine contents on the meat trim the contaminated meat off and get rid of it. I helped the local processor cut up a buck that had been gut shot and not cleaned or trimmed this week as I was waiting for my deer to be done. It had hung in the cooler for 24 hours (the processor wasn't aware of the contaminated meat as the hunter didn't mention it) and even the burger I ground stunk! I wouldn't have eaten it! The odor (and presumably the bacteria that causes it) had invaded almost every bit of the carcass.
My deer was next in line, and I had very carefully field dressed her (lung shot - so no contamination) being sure to remove all the internal organs without getting any contents on any meat. I then took her to be tagged and got her to the processor's walk-in cooler within the hour. Time from the shot to being hung in the cooler was about 2 hours. Since I wasn't sure when we could process her I left the hide on, but if I'm going to cut up the meat within 24 hours I would skin it when I had it hung in a clean environment.
She was in fine shape and no meat was lost from improper handling.
As far as aging the meat, it can be done to tenderize the meat somewhat, but I've always said, "it's a very fine line between well-aged and rotten!"
Freezing achieves similar results, so I don't worry about aging. If it hangs for a few days in a carefully maintained temperature just above freezing it is fine, but not necessary for good eating.
Probably more meat is ruined by the recipe used to cook it than by how it was processed (if it was kept clean and cool) in my opinion. If you take a cut of prime low-fat venison and cook it with your favorite method for beef it is going to be strong-tasting and tough in a lot of cases. If you use a method that keeps it moist & tender it will be fine eating!
My deer was next in line, and I had very carefully field dressed her (lung shot - so no contamination) being sure to remove all the internal organs without getting any contents on any meat. I then took her to be tagged and got her to the processor's walk-in cooler within the hour. Time from the shot to being hung in the cooler was about 2 hours. Since I wasn't sure when we could process her I left the hide on, but if I'm going to cut up the meat within 24 hours I would skin it when I had it hung in a clean environment.
She was in fine shape and no meat was lost from improper handling.
As far as aging the meat, it can be done to tenderize the meat somewhat, but I've always said, "it's a very fine line between well-aged and rotten!"
Freezing achieves similar results, so I don't worry about aging. If it hangs for a few days in a carefully maintained temperature just above freezing it is fine, but not necessary for good eating.
Probably more meat is ruined by the recipe used to cook it than by how it was processed (if it was kept clean and cool) in my opinion. If you take a cut of prime low-fat venison and cook it with your favorite method for beef it is going to be strong-tasting and tough in a lot of cases. If you use a method that keeps it moist & tender it will be fine eating!
wabi
Well I hate to disagree with alot of you, but hanging an animal is even recomended by many State MNR seb sites. BUt they also say that if it is a very young animal, it is not that necessary to hang.
Now here is how myself and my family have done it for many decades. I have even had people that hunt, rave about how good my meat is as well as people that dislike wild game tell me it is good. My response is that it is all in the prepreation of the meat. Not just the cooking, but right from the downing of the animal, to the table.
If the animal is gut shot or had the guts accidently cut, then wash it quickly. Open the gut cavity (some will split the brisket, but I do not) and hold it open with a stick or something like that to let air inside and help cool. Using water then is the lesser of the two evels. Drag it out and back home carefully as to not get it wet or muddy (do not drag it through a swamp or water home, go around it).
After it is home, I leave the hide on, protects from insects, skinning and putting inside cheese cloth (cotton bags, not the poly bags) well help, but you might need a vinigar solution (or others) to protect against insects. Now this next part is the hardest part, hang it as long as you dare. I leave it until if it was left any longer, it would become spoiled. Hanging the animal like this will (I have found it to anway) get rid of that strong wild taste that many do not like in wild meat. Hanging the meat in a proper temp cooler, will be hung for a minimum or 1 week, but if I can it would be clooser to two weeks, just like a beef is hung. Since I do not have a cooler, the weather will depend on how long I can hang it, but I will still try to hang it as long as I can. This part is the most critical part in preperation of wild game (the hanging) in my opinion.
As for cutting. You can get a book and follow their dirrections, but that is not needed. I debone all of my deer. I do not take the time to seperate all the muscle tissue into different cuts (roasts or steaks) but simply just cut into roasts and tie it back up (I will also apply some seasoning to the meat before rolling and tieing, but not always). The backstraps will be butterfly cuts into steaks (ummmmmmm good). What can't be roasts or steaks will get ground into berg or stew meat.
This topic is another just like what hunting head do you like. Everyone has their own opinion. Mine is to make sure it is hung as long as it can be.
Now here is how myself and my family have done it for many decades. I have even had people that hunt, rave about how good my meat is as well as people that dislike wild game tell me it is good. My response is that it is all in the prepreation of the meat. Not just the cooking, but right from the downing of the animal, to the table.
If the animal is gut shot or had the guts accidently cut, then wash it quickly. Open the gut cavity (some will split the brisket, but I do not) and hold it open with a stick or something like that to let air inside and help cool. Using water then is the lesser of the two evels. Drag it out and back home carefully as to not get it wet or muddy (do not drag it through a swamp or water home, go around it).
After it is home, I leave the hide on, protects from insects, skinning and putting inside cheese cloth (cotton bags, not the poly bags) well help, but you might need a vinigar solution (or others) to protect against insects. Now this next part is the hardest part, hang it as long as you dare. I leave it until if it was left any longer, it would become spoiled. Hanging the animal like this will (I have found it to anway) get rid of that strong wild taste that many do not like in wild meat. Hanging the meat in a proper temp cooler, will be hung for a minimum or 1 week, but if I can it would be clooser to two weeks, just like a beef is hung. Since I do not have a cooler, the weather will depend on how long I can hang it, but I will still try to hang it as long as I can. This part is the most critical part in preperation of wild game (the hanging) in my opinion.
As for cutting. You can get a book and follow their dirrections, but that is not needed. I debone all of my deer. I do not take the time to seperate all the muscle tissue into different cuts (roasts or steaks) but simply just cut into roasts and tie it back up (I will also apply some seasoning to the meat before rolling and tieing, but not always). The backstraps will be butterfly cuts into steaks (ummmmmmm good). What can't be roasts or steaks will get ground into berg or stew meat.
This topic is another just like what hunting head do you like. Everyone has their own opinion. Mine is to make sure it is hung as long as it can be.
Tom
[img]http://hometown.aol.com/wingbonecall/images/turkey.gif[/img]
[img]http://hometown.aol.com/wingbonecall/images/turkey.gif[/img]
You're right about the enzyme action but it has nothing to do with being grain fed. ALL meat should be hung for at least 24 hours, I do at least three days. Besides the natural enzyme action the weight of the meat hanging helps put and set the "grain" making butchering much easier.Never ever hang wild game unless you are sure it is grain fed. Enzyme action is the reason for hanging any grain fed meat.
I've done both "leaving the hide on" and "skinning right away" and personally I like skinning right away. The meat cools better and there is less of a gamey taste. You also loose a lot less hair which makes for cleaner skinning and butchering.
My wife and I love the gamey taste. If I wanted the gamey taste out of deer, I'd buy a cow 
. Mine is hung and opened up too cool for 4-6 hours, then skinned and butchered. Usually in the freezer within 24 hours of dropping it. That's just our personal preference.
I freezer bag the cuts and wrap in freezer paper. Still eating some from last year and it's just fine.
. Mine is hung and opened up too cool for 4-6 hours, then skinned and butchered. Usually in the freezer within 24 hours of dropping it. That's just our personal preference.I freezer bag the cuts and wrap in freezer paper. Still eating some from last year and it's just fine.
I hunt for memories, the meat's a bonus!
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Cedrus
Carcass Treatment
I always wash my game carcasses with fresh clean water following evisceration. Never, ever had a problem with tainted meat. 
Read the following regarding proper carcass treatment/preperation: 
http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/meatrese ... ention.pdf
Read the following regarding proper carcass treatment/preperation:
http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/meatrese ... ention.pdf
I fortunately have access to a walk in cooler. To properly hang deer or any meat it is supposed to be kept at something like 34 degrees. I can't leave mine outside if it's going to be 25 degrees at night and 60 the next day. I usually pack mine with ice and roll it up in a tarp if it's hot out and/or I have a long drive home with it. As for the water hose treatment, I use a damp rag and wipe the insides down.
Funny that you post a link and not bother to read the information contained in the link. Look at the temperatures of the water and what else they are cleaning the meat with. If you had read the link you will notice the use of vinegar. I do not cut this with water. I use only apple cider vinegar for the smell as the white makes me sick from the smell. You think you gain something by washing meat below the minimum temp of 160 deg.f ? The idea of cleaning a carcass using what you describe are not in keeping with your posted link! What effort do they go to, to dry the carcass after washing, did you read that?
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Cedrus
Thank you
Thanks to all the input by my fellow xbow hunters. I feel a little more confused by all the response than before. In Australia it is quite warm most days, with some days in the bush hitting over 40 degress celcius. I do agree with getting the meat cooled asap, and in my limited experience so far, removing the skin feels like the right thing to do, as it begins to stick within an hour or so. Could be due to the heat. All the same, thank you all for the info, it is greatly appreciated!
You only live once!