Wilderness Meat Care Thread

[realunlucky]

You have to get the blood out of the velvet or it wouldn't keep.

 

[Daniel_M]

Citric acid won't sop a hide from turning and slipping, only proper turning and fleshing and salt will stop that.

As far as velvet, you get 24-48 hours in the field with velvet. Then it starts to break down and must be treated.

I have considered packing a kit for treating velvet in the field.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

The hide and velvet have to be treated differently, since it's not bacteria alone that causes hair to slip or velvet to strip or rot. Hide hair will slip when the proteins in the follicles turn. Salt is the best approach, since this accelerates osmosis (fluid exchange) from the follicles. Once the fluid is drawn from the hide, the proteins bind the follicles and hair is kept intact. Citric acid will only help keep maggots out of the nostrils and sinus cavities.

 

[Nick Muche]

Where do you buy Larry's game bags at?

 

[todd kelly]

Where do you buy Larry's game bags at?

http://www.pristineventures.com/products/game-bags.html

Best bag out there!

 

[ridgefire]

we have hung elk many times for up to a week in central Idaho during sept and have never lost an ounce of meat doing it. we hang the meat in the shade right next to the creek, main concern is keeping the pine martins out. I have never tried larrys game bags but the caribou game bags work like a champ.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

one easy trick for those pesky pine martens, besides a .22 cal long rifle, is moth balls. For some reason, pikas, squirrels, marten, and other rodents don't care for the odor or chemical in the stuff. Keeps most bears away, too. Just a hand full in a plastic bottle or ziploc and you've got yourself a good deterent for those little chewers. Bacon on a rat trap works great too, but requires extra pack-in.

larry

 

[rumlor]

On our caribou hunt last fall we injected the velvet with denatured alcohol. We were able to save 3 out of the 4 caribou racks. I think the one we lost was just too far along. We injected the alcohol about every 1/4 inch then worked the blood out of the veins as much as we could. On a side note we used Larrys TAG bags and they are the best game bags I have ever used, hands down. light weight and dry 50 times quicker than the old cotton ones. Anyone looking for a good dvd about meat care? Check out Larrys "project blood trail"

 

[Coyote Commander]

I havent had to cut a whole lot of animals in the bush, but ive done a fair number and have yet to loose any meat. But, I havent had to do it in extremely warm environments yet.

I think the biggest mistake guys make is not getting the meat cooled to ambient temp as soon as possible. Decomposition starts at the moment of death (I knew meat science classes would come in handy someday).

I bone everything, and will even break large quarters (especially on something the size of an Elk) down into the muscle groups. I carry a small 4'x4' piece of tyvek (multiple uses) with me and lay the meat out on that in the shade if possible. Even if its still 90 degrees out, thats better than 100+ degrees. Get as much fat and tallow off as you can, and remove blood as best you can. Those chunks of coagulated blood hold a lot of moisture. These smaller chunks cool a LOT faster. If your game bags are big and full, its a good idea to spread that meat out again in the early, coldest part of the morning to further chill back down. Good, tight knit bags help for flies. Those cheap cheese cloth ones dont. Airflow helps too. Develop that crust, dry out the surface.

If your nighttime temps are dropping to 50 or below (which is pretty common in the North during September) and you hang in a smart place during the day, youd be surprised how long meat will keep, even if daytime temps are hot.

We kept an elk for 7 days once (some lucky SOB tagged out the first day) without ice in this manner with daytime temps averaging mid 70's but with cool nights.

Lost an antelope cape once though. Darn thing was in the deep freeze within 6 hours of dyeing. The other one (killed eariler even), was just fine. Riddle me that.

 

[Moose Drool]

Just got my game bags from pristine adventures, super fast shipping. Can't wait to put them to use.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

sweet, brother. Glad they made it quickly.

For blood stain removal:

soak your TAG Bags in a cup of Oxi-Clean for a few hours in cold water before you wash them. A 1/4-cup of bleach in the wash and they should be pearly white on the flip side.

Hang dry or machine dry on warm.

To clean them in the field:

Soak in water (creek, stream, river, lake) for a few hours, and scour your stubborn blood stains with fine sand or your hands by rubbing the material together. dip and ring, dip and ring, etc...until they look clean. Hang dry in the wind and you're ready to reload the meat.

Good luck this season everyone.

Larry

http://www.pristineventures.com/products/game-bags.html

 

[Shoot straight]

To keep our meat cool we hang it up in a tree from the pick up and make sure they don't touch. We don't bone out our meat either. Keeping it in the bone seems to keep it cool longer during the day. And it saves time which it seems like you need.

 

[cmeier117]

A lot of good info guys! I would have never thought about condensation forming in trash bags if the meat is not cooled first, before submerssion. Do any of you worry about putting cooled meat in a Kifaru Meat baggie for pack outs?

 

[cmeier117]

Also do you guys find it better to use 4-5 smaller games bags to keep the meat in smaller portions to cool better? Or 2-3 bigger bags? I know if the Kifaru Kill kit they have 2 of the 24X44 TAG bags stuffed full of meat?

 

[big10hunter]

So do most of you take a tarp to debone out the meat? If not, what are you doing?

 

[Matt Cashell]

So do most of you take a tarp to debone out the meat? If not, what are you doing?

I use the hide as a tarp, hair side down of course.

Often thought about taking a piece of Tyvek for that use though.

 

[Becca]

So do most of you take a tarp to debone out the meat? If not, what are you doing?

I have deboned quarters on top of a clean game bag or compactor bag on several occasions. You have to take care not to cut holes in the game bags, but its nice to be able to use something you are already carrying as opposed to bringing something extra for that purpose.

 

[Whisky]

So do most of you take a tarp to debone out the meat? If not, what are you doing?

I've used tyvek as well as a cheap plastic drop cloth in the past. I might bite the bullet and buy a piece of cuben for my kill kit going forward. With a piece of Tyvek/plastic/whatever, if there is a tree near by you can set that out under it and move the meat to shade as you take it off the animal.

 

[ohhiitznik]

I carry tyvek for deboning. You can even use your garbage bag that most of you bring along for this purpose. Also, when I debone an animal's hind quarter (deer/elk would be the same) I take the bone out with 1 cut. I leave all the meat in tact and just remove the bone so it looks like a quarter without the bone in it. I've found its easier for me (I have lots of deer butchering experience) to find the choice cuts and its easier to manage as well.

 

[Darren Best]

Did the video demonstrating the three bag method for elk get posted and I missed it?