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Warm weather butchering...?

K

Kat

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I always let my deer hang at least overnight before butchering. I read once that hanging the deer stretches the muscles and makes it more tender and if you butcher it before the muscles are relaxed it will be tough. I know it’s important to cool the carcass as fast as possible, but if the weather stays warm it’s not that easy. What I’ve done before during warm spells is to put a bag of ice in the chest cavity and one over the hindquarters while it’s hanging. One other thing people say is to skin the deer right after you hang it to help cool the meat, but I've never done that because I’m afraid that the outer layer will get all dark and dehydrated (like the tenderloins do if you forget to take them out right away) and I’ll have to trim it off, in essence, skinning the deer twice. Is there a way to skin the deer right away and avoid the meat drying out while it cools off? If so that’s great because I’m sure they’re way easier to skin while they’re warm.
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I've wondered the same things.

I've yet to take a deer during warmer weather (like above 50 degrees).

Lately my line of thinking has me wanting to shoot one early and make sausage out of everything but the loins. I like skinning them out right away. But you could leave the skin on a little longer in warm weather as it won't be frozen on the next day!!!
 
If my daughter gets one this weekend, I am going to quarter it out, save the loins and get it in a cooler right away. This weekend should be a little more favorable with the high only around 70 but that's still pretty warm. Hate to have it spoil.
 
If the temp is above 50 the only safe thing to do is bone the deer out within 24 hours, unless you have a walk-in cooler. On a positive note it will skin much easier.
 
When I shoot one in this warm weather I get it home and skin and bone out immediately. I then bag the peices and put them in an extra fridge I have in the garage for a few days. This way I can cut up, grind, etc. at my leisure.
They do skin very easy when warm and I've never had a tough one doing it this way.
 
Warm weather does make it tuff. Idealy for the best venison it should be aged for 7 to 14 days at 40 degrees & it would be fit for a king. I've let some of mine age in conditions under 50 degrees for 6 days with the hide on. The meat does not dry out & gets real tender. In warmer weather I skin them as soon as possible then quarter them up, stick them in a plastice garbage bag & stick them in the spare refrigerator up to a week before cutting them up.
 
Kat,

When I lived in Wyoming I guided many non-resident antelope hunters.

As the weather was often warm during antelope season I would skin out the goat as soon as possible, wrap it in cheese cloth, and lightly spray it down with cold water. The cheese cloth keeps the blow flys away from the meat and also retains moisture thus the meat does not dry out.

Hang it over night, then cut it up and package it the next day. This procedure has worked very well for me. And the meat is much better after hanging over night.
 
I keep a spare refrigerator in the garage for just this purpose.We skin them out right awy and wrap them in one of those cheese cloth deer bags.
We try to butcher it within 3 days.If we can't get to it in 3 days we quarter it and freeze it whole.Then we thaw it out and butcher at a more convenient time.I was always concerned about freezing ,thawing and refreezing the meat but my dad is a retired butcher and told me it was ok.We have'nt seen any difference in the flavor of the meat.
OA
Gary
 
thats a pretty interesting article avid,
We always hang them for a couple of days in the shed if it's cold enough if not we quarter them out and stick them in the fridge until we can cut them.
 
From my experience I would avoid plastic bags at all cost while the meat is still warm. The cheese cloth covers will let the meat cool and breath. Keep the deer out of the sun and in a shaded location. I want the hide off as soon as I return from the timber. The hide will hold heat, as the hide and hair are naturally a great insulator. If the temperature is not favorable for hanging I will take it to a walk in cooler right away. I feel it is important to cool and age the meat prior to processing. Water on the meat at temperatures above 40 degree's is a sure way to sour the meat. Water breeds bacteria. I know a lot of people wash out the chest cavity with a garden hose but I would not recommend this when tempertures are not favorable.

Want some nasty meat.....shoot one and drag it around in the back of your truck with the hide on to show your buddies the rest of the day.
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Ghost, so do you skin them right away even when the temps are below 40? Does the dry cheesecloth stick to the meat when you go to pull it off?
 
Kat.....yes I skin the deer right away even if it is cold. During gun season I like to see the steam roll off of them when you skin. It is also such a quick job to do when they are still hot.

The cheese cloth bags can be put on after the meat is dry which prevents it from sticking. This won't take very long for the muscle membrane to dry.

Everyone has a little different take on what they consider proper care. I hunt by myself and am never waiting on anyone for help or for a group to re-assemble. I just want good table fare, and have found that the quicker to meat is cooled the better.

About twenty years ago I killed a buck with my bow and it was rainy and about 65 degrees. I threw the buck in my truck and went to show all my high school buddies my trophy. After all this, I quartered the meat, put it in plastic garbage bags and put it in a chest freezer until I had time to bone it out.....talk about nasty ripe stink'n meat!
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I learned the hard way!
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Thanks Ghost. I think I might try it like that even if it’s not warm out. It takes forever to skin when you’ve had a deer hanging for 5 or 6 days, especially when it’s 30 degrees outside. I don’t have as much experience as a lot of you guys, but I’ve butchered eight deer by myself so I’m not a newbie at it either. Like I said, I left the hide on every time and kept it cool, or butchered the next day when it was over 40, and even people who say they don’t like venison rave about mine. One more question: Does the cheesecloth really keep the meat from getting dark if its hanging for more than a day? Thanks.
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I have been butchering my own deer and others since I started hunting. I have done close to 50 now. I would say that the best meat I have ever ate was from deer that I shot, recovered in a few hours and had in the freezer the same day. For those that think that letting a deer hang for a few days is a good idea. Just think about this do you want to let fresh meat you buy sit in your fridge a week before eating it?? I don't. I have tried everything from hanging for a day to a week and the fresher the better in my opinion.
 
Bowhunt...the fresh meat you buy has already been hanging for 8 - 10 days before it is cut up. Then it sits in a meat counter at the store with an expiration date until you buy it. No, at this point I don't think I would want it to sit in my fridge another week!
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I need to clarify a previous thread I posted. skin out the animal as soon as possible, wrap it in cheese cloth, and lightly spray it down with cold water. Key word here is lightly spray the wrapped carcass with water! If you spray the cheese cloth with water to retain moisture and hang it over night, you do need to cut up the meat and package it the next day. As Ghost previously mentioned water does promote bacteria.
 
durring shot gun season, we skin our deer out as soon as we get them to the house. depending on the weather we normally butcher them the following weekend. one year it was too hot, so we started butchering right after season
 
I'm suprised nobody has mentioned using a fan.
Kat, I did the bag of ice in the chest and skinned back around the rump and put ice on it, but found the neck area to be as warm as the moment of death when I skinned it the next morning.
I've found that moving alot of air over the unskinned deer will do a better job of cooling it. I have a lg type fan that moves alot of air. I let it roar over night on the deer as ong as it get down into 50 or so.
I have an upright freezer that will hold a quartered deer. The meat won't freeze over night as long as I don't drink to many at the "deer-wake" and get up at early
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