Below zero meat management

[jakeohe]

Hey All,
I can't seem to find a thread that talks about cold weather (below freezing) meat management. I'm going elk hunting in January and the average temps are around -16C during the day.
I'm looking for some information on how guys have dealt with meat during their hunts. I will have a cooler, but not enough for an entire elk. There will be ample space to hang meat. Do you keep the cape on? Game bags? Can it freeze once quartered and hung?
Please be specific with what has worked, and what you would avoid in the future.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Marble]

At those temps, it doesn't really matter what you do to the meat, as long as it doesn't get dirty. I would keep it out of the sun and covered during the day so birds don't mess with it.

Other than that...relax..hair on, hair off, it doesn't matter.

I wouldn't bag it if the hair was on, and the only reason I would leave hair on it is if I didn't have a bag to put on it. Sometimes, the skin on the out edge can be pretty tough to get through after several days of drying.

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[WKR]

When its that cold out, alot of times I dont even bring a cooler. The natural environment is your cooler. A few weeks ago I took a buck when it was 20 degrees out. Quartered him, put the quarters in game bags in the back of the truck and drove home.

Really the only thing that could go wrong in those temperatures is if you left the guts in for a long time. Internal body heat is not your friend.

 

[Arcola]

Just like @WKR said. Quarter it and into game bags to keep it clean. Cold weather meat management is so much easier than warm temps.

 

[Elkdreamer]

Make sure you break the animal down and get the meat in the size, shapes you want to pack out. It will freeze solid and make it hard to do later. Don`t ask me how I know. LOL

Good luck.

 

[mt100gr.]

Make sure you break the animal down and get the meat in the size, shapes you want to pack out. It will freeze solid and make it hard to do later. Don`t ask me how I know. LOL

Good luck.

This!! Base your bag/quarter/load size on space that you know will be available to thaw these pieces later! They take a bit to soften up. A solid frozen whole deer across the washer/dryer for a couple days is not as interesting as it sounds.

 

[TaperPin]

If the animal is kept whole, it’s a skill to pose them while pliable, so they can be stood up for photos. I’ve seen some that look fairly lifelike - the person must have had too much time on their hands to pose it, adjust ears, eyelids and brush it so no hair is out of place or funny looking. Even Elmer Keith has a photo with a frozen deer that was fairly well done.

 

[bpietila]

Skin on can delay freezing by a surprising amount of time. Conversely it delays thawing by quite a bit of time.

 

[johnnycake]

You actually don't want it to freeze while still in rigor mortis, as that can cause cold shortening and result in very tough cuts.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Quarter, bag, hang, and let it freeze. Thaw the quarters at home when you’re ready to process.

 

[cnelk]

Pro tip:

Do not place the quarters where they can freeze together.
Even in game bags they can be a real bitch to get apart.