Washing game meat

[Ucsdryder]

I butcher quite a few animals. The only time I rinse is if there’s guts on the meat. I also ice age and often the meat is swimming in the water. So I’m not worried about a little water.

 

[SmokeNFeathers]

It depends.

I only "wash" big game if there's unintentional gut bacteria on something. I've hosed out a carcass (or two..) before after having a knife slip during the gutting process, but generally, no other rinsing or washing. It dies, gets skinned and hung up (whole or in pieces) and then when I cut it, it's clean and in the package just from trimming. Once it's out of the package, it just gets patted dry, or prepped for whatever it's getting turned into.

I've seen places that take carcasses in like beef and they get the blowtorch treatment before going in the locker... I've never done that with a deer, but I don't see how it hurts anything.

Birds, on the other hand, almost all get brined. So, if that counts as "washed" to get rid of excess bloodshot or feathers, then yes. And a pretty plucked bird always gets the blowtorch before being cleaned up in the sink. Birds see much more water in the cleaning/prep process than any big game critter at my house.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I have in the past. Experience tells me not to anymore.

I like the gutless and quarter method on everything, even if I’m close to the truck or road. It cools the animal quicker and makes it more convenient for transportation. If I can hang the animal 12-24 hours right after the kill, I find this to be the best method to get your aging crust on the meat. Who cares if there’s some dirt and hair on the crust, you’re going to shave that off processing anyways. Obviously, I try to keep the meat as clean as possible though.

When I get the meat home I’ll hang it again until it’s aged to my liking.

Since I’ve gone this route. I’ve only had fantastic results.

Side note: I try to leave my quarters bone-in if I can get away with it. Depends on the pack out. I like the structure of the bone for the pack out and you’ll have less meat waste come processing time.

 

[Predator_SD]

Nah rinsing the blood out of meat is stupid. Skin, butcher, age in fridge a week, pack, freeze, done.

Some people are just weird. I have a close friend who is a huge hunter AND grew up cutting up deer for profit with his old man. He is oddly disgusted with ANY redness in a venison steak and will grill them until they are like shoe leather. Always gives me a hard time when i’m eating mine bloody rare. He’s a good friend, but weird.

 

[WoodDuck]

Lots of good opinions and info in here. Curious to hear more on how folks are handling game birds, as it sounds like those are getting the wash treatment more often based on comments so far.

Growing up, we would wash all birds (ducks, pheasants, etc) and throw them in a bowl in the fridge without patting dry until it was time to cook. I remember that meat getting pretty watery.

I treat my game birds the same as big game now, and do not rinse with water unless absolutely necessary. I’ll pick off as many feathers as I can and trim anything too shot up, but have overall gotten less picky about a few feathers making it into the fry pan. So far so good, but I’m always open to new ideas and techniques.

 

[butcherboy]

Washing big game is not necessary. It won’t push dirt deeper in the muscle but it will spread it around more and get into places that were clean. Best way is to let it get a dry crust on it then trim all that off while processing. I trim it off before the animal is deboned. It’s much easier to trim a whole quarter than a lot of smaller pieces and individual muscles. Even aging in a cooler with ice I will skin off the whole outside layer before deboning. The only washing I would do is if the carcass is still fresh and wet and if it had some gut matter on it somewhere. Even then you need to be careful because it can just spread it elsewhere.

We do wash all the domestic carcasses when they are fresh before they go in the cooler. This is done after they are trimmed of any little hairs left on the carcass. Beef are generally dry aged for 3 weeks. Pigs, lambs, and goats are generally cut within a week to a week and half.

I would avoid aging meat in a cooler with ice if it’s a fairly dirty carcass. The water will spread all that dirt and bacteria around. Trim it first before putting it in the ice and it will be fine. Building a rack in your cooler to keep the meat out of the water and ice is another really good option.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I usually rinse out the body cavity before hanging. I do it even if no guts were nicked. I think its just habit at this point. I take my time on skinning and don't rinse anything else.

Same here.
I put a healthy handful or two of salt in a medium saucepan and dissolve it. I saturate a few big wads of paper towels and wipe out the body cavity very well. That gets followed by a few more big dry wads to make sure everything is dry and clean.
After skinning, I go over the entire exterior of the carcass lightly, with a propane torch to blow off, or singe off, the few stray hairs that might remain.

 

[highcountrymuley]

I wash and dry quarters when I get home. Scrub with wash rag in sink. Really dry with multiple bath towels . It is hair and dirt and clots/ bruised meat that I am trying to clean off. I dry and wrap in dry towels then toss back in cooler - ice blocks in half gallon bottles and a rack to keep off bottom. I dry while butchering and before wrapping in freezer paper.

So, lots of washing and lots of drying! No complaints.

 

[Boarmaster]

If its clean no. If its dirty or boned out in a nasty place yes. I hunt out of a permanent camp. Our cleaning station is used all season. It can get pretty nasty if it warms up and a lot of deer are cut up there. I dont lay my meat where anyone else has been. I use a sterilized cutting board on my tailgate of my truck or SXS. When I process I might rinse and pat dry if its got hair or anything else I don't want to be in the package. So my answer is when warranted I rinse.

 

[JFK]

It depends. If it’s cool and especially if there is a breeze and you can rinse the meat and hang it immediately afterwards, then it dries within minutes. Same for if it’s going into a walk in. If you kept everything clean while skinning there isn’t a great reason to wash the outside but the gut cavity I will spray out. I never wash processed meat off.

 

[Legend]

Lots of good opinions and info in here. Curious to hear more on how folks are handling game birds, as it sounds like those are getting the wash treatment more often based on comments so far.

Growing up, we would wash all birds (ducks, pheasants, etc) and throw them in a bowl in the fridge without patting dry until it was time to cook. I remember that meat getting pretty watery.

I treat my game birds the same as big game now, and do not rinse with water unless absolutely necessary. I’ll pick off as many feathers as I can and trim anything too shot up, but have overall gotten less picky about a few feathers making it into the fry pan. So far so good, but I’m always open to new ideas and techniques.

EXO podcast has an interview with a real Meat Science expert. She addresses the question of washing meat. Summary....it is a terrible idea.

 

[Desert_Muley]

EXO podcast has an interview with a real Meat Science expert. She addresses the question of washing meat. Summary....it is a terrible idea.

Interesting podcast. Here is a link.

Hunt Backcountry Podcast 508 | A “Meat Scientist” on Wild Game Care & Preparation

Sierra Jepsen is a Meat Scientist and owner of Butcher Solutions, LLC. She joins us to discuss how big game hunters can effectively care for and prepare wild game meat. Sierra shares advice for processing big game in the field, caring for meat until it is frozen, and preparing meat for the best...

exomtngear.com

Didn't know Meat Scientist was a thing.