Cardboard box for shipping meat: Thoughts

[Weldor]

Like Wrench said, waxed cardboard works wonders. You could also line them with foam. I hauled 3 Bison (processed and froze in waxed boxes)across the desert 100 degree plus temps . The meat was still frozen 6 hrs later only covered with a canvas tarp in the bed of my truck.

 

[Beendare]

I've carried on meat in my backpack.

I wouldn't hesitate to check in meat on a plane in a couple food grade bags and inside a cardboard box. The baggage area stays cold at 20,000' plus.

Food grade bags I've used from Amazon HERE

 

[Trimbandit]

I have put meat in my carry on many times. Its hard to get more than 30-40 lbs in there, they must be frozen and will be checked by security.

I check two insulated boxes and avoid the third by using carry on.

 

[Rich M]

The Alaskan fish processors ship fish in cardboard boxes all the time.

Shipping meat home is expensive but flying with it isn't too bad. I've brought coolers with me and even done carry on with soft-sided backpack style full of an antelope.

Okay, now for the fun stuff - we shoot deer and quarter them into a cooler, put ice on em and age them for a week or 10 days. A box full of meat will not all thaw in 12 hours or even 24. Would be fine to put in freezer and re-freeze without it going bad.

 

[Kilboars]

Thanks all,

I emailed the outfitter and told him the tale. He didn't seem to happy and I guess it's a new processor.
On there web site they advertise $40 cooler available which was not the case.

Suppose to talk with one of the owner on the phone soon. What's done is done but from a small business owner view, I just think many processors are leaving a lot of money on the table not selling coolers. I don't think I've ever been able to buy a cooler from the processor.

 

[Thinkingman]

I also did something similar when I had to bring home an extra deer. I got a box from a local grocery store and bought a 4X8 sheet of 1/2" foam insulation and lined the box with it. Worked great on the cheap.

I buy foam insulation sheets at HD for this and other packaging challenges.
Use it all the time.

 

[Fowl Play]

Thanks all,

I emailed the outfitter and told him the tale. He didn't seem to happy and I guess it's a new processor.
On there web site they advertise $40 cooler available which was not the case.

Suppose to talk with one of the owner on the phone soon. What's done is done but from a small business owner view, I just think many processors are leaving a lot of money on the table not selling coolers. I don't think I've ever been able to buy a cooler from the processor.

To be fair, I would never drop off an animal expecting it to be prepared to ship when I picked it up. Unless I had discussed that with them on drop off. A 30 second convo at drop off would have likely prevented the situation. Or given you a day or two to go buy a cooler or cooler box.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Last year I had about 15 lbs of meat I could not fit in my soft side coolers on the way back from MO. I bought one of these cheap lined bag things at the grocery store and crammed it all in there and surrounded it with clothes in my carry on. TSA never even checked it. About 8 hours from filling it to home here in WA and all of it was still frozen. Sometimes you just need to get creative.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Dang wish I had kept my box that I shipped tuna steaks and mahi back in
They flash froze them and put them in the airplane safe box
All was still frozen after the flight and drive home
100lbs per person was the most we could bring home

 

[Kilboars]

To be fair, I would never drop off an animal expecting it to be prepared to ship when I picked it up. Unless I had discussed that with them on drop off. A 30 second convo at drop off would have likely prevented the situation. Or given you a day or two to go buy a cooler or cooler box.

It was discussed with the outfitter and spelled out on the web site. But they are not onsite and they agree Processor dropped the ball.

 

[Boarmaster]

For years My cousin and I sent a box of meat to each other. It was a styrofoam box we put inside a cardboard box with newspaper or styrofoam popcorn filler. He would come down south to hunt hogs and I would hunt deer up north with him. We had to replace the cardboard box several times but the styrofoam box lasted over a decade. We used second day air and made sure the box was fully packed with frozen meat. When it arrived it would be still fully frozen. Once in a while the very top layer of meat would just be slightly thawing but not enough to have any effects. Not cheap to ship meat but we did it successfully every time. I never shipped anything internationally.

 

[Macintosh]

Its not the transit time that gets you, it’s the unplanned 6 hours on a 95* runway in DFW or Atlanta waiting for a delayed flight that gets you.
REGARDLESS, if the meat was put in the box unfrozen, and then froze solid, it’ll take several days to thaw. Think about how long it takes to thaw a 20lb thanksgiving turkey at room temperature, its days. I know guys that routinely fly home with frozen meat in just a box. An unplanned overnight on a runway would be an issue, but they never had a problem. That said, a contractor bag around the box, a sheet of home depot hard foam to insulate it, then into a second cardboard box, is as good as most coolers, and lighter weight to help avoid excess fees. No dry ice needed unless maybe its just for the overnight before an early flight.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I probably have a half a dozen or more styrofoam insulated, cardboard box coolers that I've used for years. Occasionally, after multiple trips/flights, I'll have to replace one, but I can usually get multiple roundtrip flights before they start breaking down. If I'm carrying fish back to the east coast in the late summer I'll leave extra space for bubble wrap (or something similar), then just pack them full. The closest I've come to having fish thaw out is maybe some of the fillets on the top start to get just a tad bit soft. This has only happened when flying in the hotter summer months, and it taking 12-14 hours in route, but usually everything remains frozen solid. I've never used any kind of ice.

These will hold about 40 lbs. or so.

 

[HuntHarder]

I've flown with meat 3 times, (twice from AK to Az) with no issues. On my caribou hunt, I was not able to freeze the meat. Quick bush ride out and only had a few hours before my flight out of Anchorage. Still cant believe we made that plane. LOL. We packed 2 fish boxes full of cold meat. Meat was slightly frozen, but not all the way. Upon arrival to Phx, it was still really cold and good. 1 trip from Nd I bought a cheap ice chest and taped it closed with meat and ice packs. Again no issues. I used an expediter on my moose hunt and that was much easier, but cost a decent amount of $$. Was nice to not have to worry about my meat getting to my house tho.