How to Tell If Meat Spoiled

[treillw]

Wish the world was perfect, but it's not.

Shot a cow at 1:00 pm yesterday. Tracked her, bumped here twice, decided to leave her overnight. Found her today at about 11:00 am. Had her quartered and packed in snow by 1:00pm.

She was still very warm when I found her. Who knows when she died. It was 20 degrees out last night and maybe 35 or 40 this afternoon.

I'm not certain if the meat is spoiled or not, but I've never seen it look like this - never had this happen.

The meat and hide had this crazy vascularity when I was quartering her (see first few photos). What is that about? Beginnings of spoilage?

It's all packed out and hanging in the garage now. It looks very odd - all quarters are pink . Some of the meat still has the dark red color, but most is pink.

It doesn't really smell bad, but the color is way off. I brought out the bionic nose (pregnant wife) and she thought the hind quarters smelled a little funny at places, but the back straps and fronts seem to be good - despite the fronts being pink. My wife can smell the spoiled milk leaking from the utter onto the hinds - crazy.

Check out the photos below. Think it's spoiled? What's up with the pink? Is there anything special I should do to it to preserve it better if it is still good?

Thank you.

 

[willfrye027]

It *looks* ok to me. I’ve only had one deer spoil on me and it started looking green on the meat near the femur on the hind quarter. It may not end up tasting the best..but I don’t think you will get sick from trying it. Personally I’d probably try some and if it tastes a little funky make sausage.

 

[JREG19]

I usually just smell it and if it smells bad I get rid of it. At those Temps, I would imagine it's still good to go.
I don't know anything about the color but is it that color all the way through?

 

[treillw]

I usually just smell it and if it smells bad I get rid of it. At those Temps, I would imagine it's still good to go.
I don't know anything about the color but is it that color all the way through?

Haven't cut into it yet.

 

[butcherboy]

Bright pink meat is usually a sign that it was on the fast track of spoiling. Next color will be green along the bones spreading into the muscles. Looks like you may have saved it from the worst of it. You said she was still warm when you found her, correct? Spoiling can still occur even if they are still warm especially on the side they are laying on. The best indicator if it doesn’t turn green is to smell it. Especially along the bones, socket joint, underside of the shoulder blade, and the backstrap on the underside. You will know if it is because it will have a really funky odor. Bad thing about the smell test is that it gets in your nose and now every piece will smell like that. The spoiling occurs because the hide was on for too long or the guts.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Bright pink meat is usually a sign that it was on the fast track of spoiling. Next color will be green along the bones spreading into the muscles. Looks like you may have saved it from the worst of it. You said she was still warm when you found her, correct? Spoiling can still occur even if they are still warm especially on the side they are laying on. The best indicator if it doesn’t turn green is to smell it. Especially along the bones, socket joint, underside of the shoulder blade, and the backstrap on the underside. You will know if it is because it will have a really funky odor. Bad thing about the smell test is that it gets in your nose and now every piece will smell like that. The spoiling occurs because the hide was on for too long or the guts.

I just threw up in my mouth…

 

[butcherboy]

Yep, it’s pretty bad sometimes. We would have about a dozen or so every year with bone sour like this. A lot more with sour in the neck and hind legs around the ball joint. Around 7 elk were completely thrown away every year on the average. I’ve said it dozens of times but I sure don’t miss it at all. Lol

 

[Where's Bruce?]

When in doubt, throw it out.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Any update on this? Have you tried any of the meat yet?

 

[Pony Soldier]

Wash it down and dry it. Clean out the areas where the big veins are (hind quarters) . I usually find the front quarters sour along the spine first. Trim as you need. Follow your nose.

I had a similar situation a long time ago in a young bull. When I got back to him, the paunch was starting to break down . I got him gutted and quartered and packed to the house. I washed him with white vinegar and water. I trimmed him and followed my nose. I think my total loss was about 5 lbs. once in a while I would find a sour zone along the bone but could trim it out.

Forget about ageing. Break it down by muscle groups and cut it up. Trim with your nose.

 

[CRJR45]

Invite the inlaws over for dinner , let them try it and you eat beef . If they're ok the next day , it should be good , LOL

 

[treillw]

Any update on this? Have you tried any of the meat yet?

I haven't gotten to it yet. Newborn baby, now holiday.

It has turned a deeper red now and less pink.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

Looks fine to me

 

[Ike Carlson]

They will rot in a real hurry if the guts are busted. If the guts werent busted, you have a bit more time, but not much. I can see the difference when I can get them cleaned and chilled asap, compared to it taking a few hours. The faster you get them "on ice" the better. Getting the guts out is the most important thing, then you have to get the hide off and chill the meat.

 

[treillw]

Bright pink meat is usually a sign that it was on the fast track of spoiling. Next color will be green along the bones spreading into the muscles. Looks like you may have saved it from the worst of it. You said she was still warm when you found her, correct? Spoiling can still occur even if they are still warm especially on the side they are laying on. The best indicator if it doesn’t turn green is to smell it. Especially along the bones, socket joint, underside of the shoulder blade, and the backstrap on the underside. You will know if it is because it will have a really funky odor. Bad thing about the smell test is that it gets in your nose and now every piece will smell like that. The spoiling occurs because the hide was on for too long or the guts.

So if I wait a little longer, spots that are potentially nasty will turn green?

 

[butcherboy]

Yes, they can. Keeping the meat cool will slow it down but if some spots are bad, that happened before you even field dressed your elk. The green color will slow down but left long enough it will start to become noticeable. Getting it field dressed and cooled down asap is your friend. If it’s not green then it will have a strange off pink color and it will smell funky. If the color is good then you will need to smell it to be certain. It will taste bad as well. You may be just fine and found her just in time and saved it all. Won’t know for sure until you start processing and start removing muscles from the bone. Good luck and I really hope it turns out good. Cows usually can be saved a lot easier than big bulls. Their hides are not as thick and the muscles are not as large and thick. The pics I showed above were from a big bull that was left overnight unskinned but it was gutted.

 

[MJB]

Debone is key

 

[Pony Soldier]

Trim to smell

 

[Larry Bartlett]

cut the legs open and smell the femur joint. Probably started to spoil from autolysis which usually initiates as bone sour and spreads from the marrow outward through the meat.

odor should a better indicator than appearance at this stage.

 

[keller]

I seen 1 elk with bone sour I've heard it called.yellowish fluid in the femur sockets ,under Backstrap and in neck as mentioned earlier and an unpleasant odor.