Field processing myths

[TreeDux]

Having handled/aged/packaged meat under various circumstances using different methods I have developed my own preferences. That would be dry aging primarily. But the takeaway from this thread, and others like it is it doesn’t really matter that much. Don’t let it marinate in gut juice, roll it in dirt, or plain let it rot - and it’s going to be fine.

 

[NealMustard]

If you cut the quarter off such that the pelvis is bare bone, I'm not sure how this changes anything. Nothing was trimmed from the pelvis of this dink goat after the rear quarters were removed.

It's not about meat left in the field. It's about quality of trimming when it comes time to package or consume.

Often times the meat that attaches to the pelvis directly needs to be trimmed, tossed, or added to the grind pile. The oyster steak (gluteus medius) is the cut of meat that I'm most worried about being damaged by oxidation, or poor butchery in the field.

For one hunt this year I brought a 6" boning knife into the field for the field dressing and that improved the quality of the field dressing. There were more long cuts against the muscle grain, rather than the numerous small cuts that we so often employ when hacking quarters off. Regardless of which knife was used, all of the meat came out of the field. In the scenario where better care is taken in the field we we're able to use those cuts the way we desired, rather then relegating it all to the grind pile.

 

[NealMustard]

Aside from meat care, agree on any meat split prior. Shot a deer this year while hunting at my cabin. Two buddies were also up hunting from my cabin. One guy was with me when I shot it the other was off on his own. I was the only guy who shot one. Guy who was not even with us was texting me the other day asking when he "could come get his half."

Last year we did have one that we both put bullets in that we split but I was quite surprised to see this request. Especially "his half" if we were splitting meat between all hunters it would be 1/3.

Not something I am going to loose sleep over in this case but could see how this could turn into an issue.

That's frustrating, and a good way to not get invited back next year.

I guess there are two ways to interpret what I had said in the OP. Both are important.
There's something I read in college that has stuck with me: "all conflict comes from a misunderstanding about property rights"

1. Have an idea for how the product will be consumed e.g. the whole animal is going into the grind pile.

2. What a fair division of meat looks like after a party hunt, or getting help with a packout.

 

[SloppyJ]

I witnessed this for the first time when I shot my bull in CO this year. After gutting, the outfitter insisted on leaving the skin on, cutting the bull in half just in front of the 3rd rib up from the back, and then sawing each half down the spine to truly quarter it and then getting them into game bags to transport. Hang up at camp to skin and then place back in bags to hang.

The only reason I can see that this would be beneficial is that it kept the quarters from shifting around in the panniers on the mules since the ribs were attached.

It sounded like a bad idea to me on the meat care front and I hate to say it but I lost a lot of meat because of it. It would have been a much lighter load, cleaner, and I would have retained more meat if we would have skinned it out and quartered it up like a normal packout.

Is this a common occurrence when packing out on horses/mules?

 

[elsb0048]

That's frustrating, and a good way to not get invited back next year.

I guess there are two ways to interpret what I had said in the OP. Both are important.
There's something I read in college that has stuck with me: "all conflict comes from a misunderstanding about property rights"

1. Have an idea for how the product will be consumed e.g. the whole animal is going into the grind pile.

2. What a fair division of meat looks like after a party hunt, or getting help with a packout.

Beware of the guy with a velcro patch on his huntin' pack that says: "gas, grass, or ass nobody packs for free" eh?