Elk transport (vehicle): heavy-duty storage container and dry ice?

[sont5413]

All,

1) Do you know if a heavy duty, home depot storage container (Home Depot Plastic Container) packed with dry ice can keep elk meat (in game bags) cold enough for 3 days?

2) I was thinking of putting dry ice on the bottom (perhaps on top of cardboard, or some type of barrier, then putting another barrier between the meat and the dry ice.

3) How long does dry ice last for? How often do you need to replace it?

4) I imagine that ventilation would be necessary so I would cut a little hole at the bottom or side for that purpose.

 

[rayporter]

dry ice wrapped in news paper and put under the meat lasts about 2 and a half days.j but it does depend on the size of the piece you wrap. if you wrap a 25 lb piece it will last 3 days.

all i have ever used is dry ice under the meat and packed gear on top of the meat to get from colorado to Ohio or Arkansas. the meat will be frozen by the time i get to Oklahoma to spend the night. and there will still be dry ice. by the time i get to Arkansas there will still be dry ice.

it is usually mighty hot crossing new Mexico and Oklahoma three five lb pieces will get me safely to arkansas or ohio but not much will be frozen. the bigger pieces last longer but we usually used several small pieces.

your idea should work fine. line the container with old sleeping pads and cover it will sleeping bags. you can get dry ice in Oklahoma city and in the mountains it is fairly common. during duck season wally world sometimes has it in Arkansas.
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[sont5413]

dry ice wrapped in news paper and put under the meat lasts about 2 and a half days.j but it does depend on the size of the piece you wrap. if you wrap a 25 lb piece it will last 3 days.

all i have ever used is dry ice under the meat and packed gear on top of the meat to get from colorado to Ohio or Arkansas. the meat will be frozen by the time i get to Oklahoma to spend the night. and there will still be dry ice. by the time i get to Arkansas there will still be dry ice.

it is usually mighty hot crossing new Mexico and Oklahoma three five lb pieces will get me safely to arkansas or ohio but not much will be frozen. the bigger pieces last longer but we usually used several small pieces.

your idea should work fine. line the container with old sleeping pads and cover it will sleeping bags. you can get dry ice in Oklahoma city and in the mountains it is fairly common. during duck season wally world sometimes has it in Arkansas.
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Thanks Ray. Ideally, I would keep the meat parts cold, but not frozen, for those 3 days until I get it to a processor. Do you think that dry ice in the container could potentially freeze the meat?

 

[JLane330]

I can't help you with respect to dry ice, but I'll share what I've done for the last three elk I've killed (1X mid-Sept and 2X Early-Oct). It might give you some ideas. I lay out a cheap blue tarp in the back of my van (rubber floor) and then stack the meat on it. The meat has already cooled overnight and is in caribou gamebags. I then put several bags of ice over the top and wrap it up like a big burrito. This method has worked great for the several days it takes me to get home and get it processed myself. I unfold the tarp and drain the bloody water out the back door, grab a quarter, then rewrap while I go cut the quarter I pulled. You can put insulation (sleeping bag, jackets, moving blankets, etc) over the top if you want to, but I haven't found the need.
One time I piled all the meat in my bathtub and stacked ice over it, then covered with towels, sleeping bags, etc while I went back up the mountain to help my buddy finish the hunt for a few days. I left the drain open so there was no standing water. That worked great too.
Yeah, these are redneck ways to do it, but when faced with not enough cooler space, it works great. A kiddy pool could work too if you want to collect the water better. Or, your plastic bin could also work. Dry ice might make it a little cleaner, but you'll still likely have blood to contend with.
One thing I should point out, I cut the meat as little as possible when quartering, and keep as much raw meat out of any water as possible (backstraps, tenderloins, rib meat, etc). When covered in silver skin, the quarters are unaffected by the water. Raw meat on the other hand doesn't look great and gets trimmed a bit.

 

[sont5413]

I can't help you with respect to dry ice, but I'll share what I've done for the last three elk I've killed (1X mid-Sept and 2X Early-Oct). It might give you some ideas. I lay out a cheap blue tarp in the back of my van (rubber floor) and then stack the meat on it. The meat has already cooled overnight and is in caribou gamebags. I then put several bags of ice over the top and wrap it up like a big burrito. This method has worked great for the several days it takes me to get home and get it processed myself. I unfold the tarp and drain the bloody water out the back door, grab a quarter, then rewrap while I go cut the quarter I pulled. You can put insulation (sleeping bag, jackets, moving blankets, etc) over the top if you want to, but I haven't found the need.
One time I piled all the meat in my bathtub and stacked ice over it, then covered with towels, sleeping bags, etc while I went back up the mountain to help my buddy finish the hunt for a few days. I left the drain open so there was no standing water. That worked great too.
Yeah, these are redneck ways to do it, but when faced with not enough cooler space, it works great. A kiddy pool could work too if you want to collect the water better. Or, your plastic bin could also work. Dry ice might make it a little cleaner, but you'll still likely have blood to contend with.
One thing I should point out, I cut the meat as little as possible when quartering, and keep as much raw meat out of any water as possible (backstraps, tenderloins, rib meat, etc). When covered in silver skin, the quarters are unaffected by the water. Raw meat on the other hand doesn't look great and gets trimmed a bit.

Love the anecdote man. Preciate it! Yes, water-logged raw meat results in a grey, unappetizing product, to be sure.

Based on your findings, it sounds like my container and dry ice method would work. Sound like potentially even just Frozen Milk Jugs would work as well. Part of my fear with the dry ice is that it will freeze and potentially freezer burn the meat if too close contact. Guess I can just make sure the barrier is doing it's job.

 

[JLane330]

Burning the meat with dry ice would be my concern as well. Frozen water bottles or milk jugs would probably be the best method. I can tell you that I haven't had any issues with water logged meat. I usually put the hind quarters on the bottom, and that gets everything else up high and away from any sitting water. They are protected with the silver skin that's left after skinning. Once the meat is cooled thru, it stays cold a long time due to the mass.

Oh, I should point out that this is all bone in. As mentioned before, I do as little cutting as possible in the field and save it for a clean workspace at home. If I was boning out everything, I'd do things a little differently to keep water off the raw meat.

 

[rayporter]

i used to leave it bone in but was required to leave the bones a few years ago. no difference.

most of it is going to freeze and it wont hurt a thing. leave the game bags on and wrap the ice in several layers of paper. i have probably done a dozen like that. a few just with plain ice like JLane330.

the burrito trick works well in a van or trailer.

if you are paranoid about freezing put a small piece of Styrofoam on top of the dry ice.

you might glue some Styrofoam to the lid of the box. if you really feel froggy glue some all the way around the inside.

i bought several old army surplus sleeping pads that are about a half in thick and
use them for stuff like this.

i have a 4 ft plastic tool box that i have used for putting 4 deer in with bagged ice. usually it is cool weather when i do this so it dont matter much, and i have never taken it west.

i will say this. one year i did not build the kiddy pool floor with tarps and in a hurry we used plain ice.

it takes a special soap to get the smell out. you can get it at any meat cutter or butcher.
good luck and my you over load your springs

 

[CoffeeGoat]

I've built a quarter aging meat locker using 2x4 and sheets of styrofoam insulation from home depot, cheap, and you can use dry ice to keep it cool. It works pretty well, but don't use ice because the moisture might make mold grow.

 

[PA Hunter]

Easier just buying two 150 qt coolers them cheap plastic tubs dont hold cold temps very well and not sure if dry ice may make it more brittle? I used them tubs many years ago for elk and the truck bed floor heated up from driveshaft and melted ice real fast.

I use two igloo or other coolers sometimes with dry ice mixed with regular ice driving from Wyoming to Pa. Always just about frozen. Just regular ice is fine also. Im not a fan of them thin tubs they flex & shift and lids just dont seal good plus too thin. I since invested in a large Cabelas Alaskan guide cooler and sportsman's guide roto molded cooler with big gasket seals and about 2 inches thick which are sweet when i bring moose back.

 

[Dust Rider]

Why not just buy a used small chest freezer, throw it in the back of the truck and run a small Honda generator. No ice, no mess. My friends do this with a large chest freezer when hunting moose up in northern Alberta. Granted it is set up in a 12' enclosed trailer. Just sharing ideas

 

[EdP]

The dry ice will not freeze burn your meat if you wrap the slabs in news paper, cardboard, or even spare clothing. Just keep the dry ice from making direct contact with the meat. However, the dry ice will freeze the meat (it froze my elk on the 3 day drive home), and dry ice is a lot more expensive than regular ice. I have found regular ice to be a better option if I can keep the melt water drained out.