Meat handling question

[Koschenk]

Got a buck tonight, brought him home and obviously it is to warm to hang. My thought is to freeze whole, then when cooler temps prevail pull it out to hang then butcher.

Are there any problems with this method? And if i go ahead with it, does it need to be skinned before freezing?

Alternatively it goes to the butcher in the morning, hopefully just to rent fridge space as I dont wish to pay someone else to cut my venison.

[Xiph0id]

Got a buck tonight, brought him home and obviously it is to warm to hang. My thought is to freeze whole, then when cooler temps prevail pull it out to hang then butcher.

Are there any problems with this method? And if i go ahead with it, does it need to be skinned before freezing?

Alternatively it goes to the butcher in the morning, hopefully just to rent fridge space as I dont wish to pay someone else to cut my venison.

Stick in the freezer whole, pull out next morning.
You'll be surprised how not frozen it is.

Repeat as necessary.

[colour86]

i would hang overnight and cut tomorrow, i rarely hang anything more then a day and it all comes out great. i dont think I would want to deal with a whole frozen deer defrosting and hanging later, just sounds like a pile of work.

[mgvande]

Skin, buck it up into quarters put in freezer or whatever. The hide will hold heat big time. If it's close to 5c or so for the night low I wouldnt worry about it put it outside it will cool. I was concerned opening this thread with such a dubious title.

[Xiph0id]

i would hang overnight and cut tomorrow, i rarely hang anything more then a day and it all comes out great. i dont think I would want to deal with a whole frozen deer defrosting and hanging later, just sounds like a pile of work.

I shot a buck in 511 last year at 8am. Zero degrees outside.

Drive home to Leduc. Garage was about 10c. Put it while in the freezer overnight and at 8 am the next day only the ribs were frozen.

Takes a lot to freeze a whole deer.

[EZM]

I've never frozen an entire carcass but it's much easier to skin it now, clean it off and even quarter it up.

I'd have to image the hair all over everything in your freezer for the next 5 years.

[Red Bullets]

I would just take the skin off it and half or quarter it. You can put it in the freezer to chill and tomorrow deliver it to the butcher. He can hang it in his cooler for a few days.

[El Carnicero]

As a butcher myself I would advise against throwing the hot/warm carcass in the freezer.
Though the theory of cooling it down quick is great, the actual practice is generally the opposite.

As the outside of the carcass begins to freeze, the deeper muscle tissue has no where for the heat to go other than be trapped in the meat. This actually causes more spoilage due to the heat staying internally and having no way to escape and then you end up with bone sour.

Clearly your carcass will not freeze solid in one night of sitting in the freezer, but it is better to sin it out, hang it overnight in a coolish garage/shed, and then cut it the next day as soon as possible.

My own habit is to cut the carcass the same day and not let it cool at all. (personal preference). Bring it home, skin it out and away I go. Yes the roast and such are warm when they go into the freezer but with the size of roasts and steaks being cut down form the whole muscle I have never had an issue, even with freezer burn.
I have Elk and deer from 2 years ago still brown wrapped in my freezer that don't exhibit the least bit of freezer burn or ice crystals form cutting and freezing hot.

Remember, the difference between a carcass and a roast in freezing methods is size.

[Koschenk]

Thanks fellas, looks like the freezer I planned to use crapped out on me. I hung the deer last night, skinned and quartered it this morning and have it in the non functional freezer, raised off of the bottom and stuffed with ice. Guess I'll be cutting it either tonight or Saturday.

[Bonescreek]

Another possible option is to use a 2nd back up refrigerator or empty
the shelves and crisper drawers in kitchen fridge (load up the door) then take the shelves out. Not enough space for an elk but can work for a deer.
Very small deer in the pic. but you can see there is enough space for a
good sized one.

[Xiph0id]

I've never frozen an entire carcass but it's much easier to skin it now, clean it off and even quarter it up.

I'd have to image the hair all over everything in your freezer for the next 5 years.

I skin it before putting it in the freezer.

[Bonescreek]

Pulling the hide off you will feel a lot of heat coming off.
It's on the outside of the carcus but it's insulated like a down sleeping bag.
So yea get the hide off SAP on early season hunts.
Plus pulling the hide off is a hell of lot easier if it's still warm.

Just have to take care to keep the meat clean if you do.

[mulecrazy]

As a butcher myself I would advise against throwing the hot/warm carcass in the freezer.
Though the theory of cooling it down quick is great, the actual practice is generally the opposite.

As the outside of the carcass begins to freeze, the deeper muscle tissue has no where for the heat to go other than be trapped in the meat. This actually causes more spoilage due to the heat staying internally and having no way to escape and then you end up with bone sour.Clearly your carcass will not freeze solid in one night of sitting in the freezer, but it is better to sin it out, hang it overnight in a coolish garage/shed, and then cut it the next day as soon as possible.

My own habit is to cut the carcass the same day and not let it cool at all. (personal preference). Bring it home, skin it out and away I go. Yes the roast and such are warm when they go into the freezer but with the size of roasts and steaks being cut down form the whole muscle I have never had an issue, even with freezer burn.
I have Elk and deer from 2 years ago still brown wrapped in my freezer that don't exhibit the least bit of freezer burn or ice crystals form cutting and freezing hot.

Remember, the difference between a carcass and a roast in freezing methods is size.

This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. As someone who has studied and calculated rates of heat transfer, I can guarantee you 100% this thinking is wrong. Heat will always move from high to low, moving through a solid or liquid such as meat and blood will be faster than transferring through air. Seeing as though the air pockets in insulation are what gives your insulating ability, this goes to show that cooling the outside of the meat faster will draw that heat right out.

[wbshunt]

Through my limited experience I have found the longer I leave the skin/hide on an animal the more gamie tasting the meat is, so I prefer to skin as soon as possible. Can anyone else with more experience confirm this theory?

[Big Grey Wolf]

Cooling the meat quick is one of the most important issues in good quality meat. Leaving the hide on is major mistake as already mentioned like wrapping a animal in down sleeping bag. If you want to keep meat clean wrap it in a $8 tarp.

[58thecat]

Pull hide off, hang it, cut and wrap next day.

Got any pics of your buck?

[CanuckShooter]

As a butcher myself I would advise against throwing the hot/warm carcass in the freezer.
Though the theory of cooling it down quick is great, the actual practice is generally the opposite.

As the outside of the carcass begins to freeze, the deeper muscle tissue has no where for the heat to go other than be trapped in the meat. This actually causes more spoilage due to the heat staying internally and having no way to escape and then you end up with bone sour.

Clearly your carcass will not freeze solid in one night of sitting in the freezer, but it is better to sin it out, hang it overnight in a coolish garage/shed, and then cut it the next day as soon as possible.

My own habit is to cut the carcass the same day and not let it cool at all. (personal preference). Bring it home, skin it out and away I go. Yes the roast and such are warm when they go into the freezer but with the size of roasts and steaks being cut down form the whole muscle I have never had an issue, even with freezer burn.
I have Elk and deer from 2 years ago still brown wrapped in my freezer that don't exhibit the least bit of freezer burn or ice crystals form cutting and freezing hot.

Remember, the difference between a carcass and a roast in freezing methods is size.

I've hung lots of skinned mule deer in November, they freeze solid and never any sign of bone sour. FYI

[Koschenk]

Thanks everyone. So the deer was killed and hung Thursday night, skinned Friday morning and kept cold on ice blocks in the freezer. Cut it up this afternoon, meat looks and tastes great. I'll post a picture of the buck in the archery harvest thread once I get around to it.

[Xiph0id]

Thanks everyone. So the deer was killed and hung Thursday night, skinned Friday morning and kept cold on ice blocks in the freezer. Cut it up this afternoon, meat looks and tastes great. I'll post a picture of the buck in the archery harvest thread once I get around to it.

Should have skinned on Thursday as well.

If it's real cold out, I'll leave it on so meat doesn't freeze but with these temps, I think you should have skinned it when you got home.

I'm glad it worked out either way!

[El Carnicero]

wrong quote

[El Carnicero]

I've hung lots of skinned mule deer in November, they freeze solid and never any sign of bone sour. FYI


I should have clarified. As I have done the same, though I prefer not to.

My experience in seeing my above referred comment comes from having seen beef carcasses be placed in industrial blast freezers of lower than -18 celsius to try and bring the internal temps down faster then a standard meat cooler.
Sadly most times I have seen this done the outsides of the carcass freeze so fast that the inside never gets to proper temps and stays hot or warmer than it should.

I realize we are talking about game carcasses here, not professionally slaughtered beef, and that game carcasses are generally much smaller, so the idea of not getting proper interior cooling is considerable less of a concern.

When I think of putting animals in a freezer to cool them faster I immediately think of beef carcasses and industrial blast freezers, not home freezers and game carcasses.

SO to clarify, yes, putting a skinned game carcass in a freezer at home will drop the temp down considerably faster, but it isn't a method I like to do.

[KegRiver]

When I worked as a guide we often hung game without refrigeration for more then two days without issues.

We even hung meat for five days in +10 to +15 temps without significant spoilage. However, I would not recommend doing that. We did have minor spoilage and could have easily lost most of the meat. We only did it because of circumstances beyond our control.

But for sure, get the hide off if the weather is above freezing.

I've heard of bone sour but never saw it. I don't know of anyone here that would deliberately partially freeze any part of a game animal.

I do know from extensive experience that bone sour is possible and that partial freezing can at least promote it. Water conducts heat, ice not so much.

If ice was as good at conducting heat most of our rivers and lakes would freeze to the bottom every winter. At least up here they would.

This might be of interest. Keep in mind, lean meat takes longer to spoil. Wild game is typically the leanest meat available.

Aging beef

Beef should be aged a few days before cutting. The amount of aging will depend on the amount of fat covering, desired flavor and temperature.
Carcasses that have only a thin fat covering should be aged three to five days; those with more fat, five to seven days. Very little tenderization occurs after seven days. Longer aging may result in off flavors and odors due to microbial growth. Only carcasses with fat covering the entire outside should be aged longer than 10 days.
If the temperature of the carcass rises above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the time required for aging is reduced. Also, chances of spoilage are increased.
The sides of the carcass are quartered by cutting between the 12th and 13th rib (Figure 1). The 13th rib is left on the hindquarter to allow air to circulate over the kidney knob and to prevent bacterial growth if additional aging time is desired.

[skidderman]

In my experience leaving the hide on could leave the meat to taste gamey. It is perfect temp for hanging as long as it is quartered properly. I've let meat hang 3 to 4 days in this kind of weather and zero problem. If you freeze it asap the meat will be tough.

[Smokinyotes]

I dont care if its minus 20. The hide comes off as soon as its hanging. On large game like elk and moose they need to be split as soon as the hide is off so they can cool properly.
My son shot his bull moose this year on oct 1 at 10:30 am. By 2:00pm it was on the meat pole skinned and halfed. It hung like that in the shade for 4 days at moose camp. We were planning on staying in camp till oct 6 but the forecast was for 23 degree weather so we packed up a day early as we knew we had to get the meat in a cooler. Took it to a butcher where it hung for another 10 days before it was cut and wrapped. This is probably one of the best moose we have had.