? about deer meat?????

[ColinR]

Ok guys I shot a deer this past Sunday evening. I've had it on ice draining since then. Usually on the 5th day, today, I would debone and either freeze to process later or process at that time. I am going to do my processing on monday. So, do u think it would be better to 1 debone and put in freezer and then thaw to process on Monday, 2 debone and put in refrigerator till Monday, or 3 just leave on ice till Monday. If 3 that would be 8 days on ice would that be too long?

[yazoomike]

leave on ice

[doghouse]

leave on ice

Yep.

[Smart]

leave...but make sure ice is good and heavy

[TheCracker]

I would think its time to freeze. 8 days on ice is way longer than I would do. I usually leave it I. The cooler do 3-4 days, cube it up and put I in the fridge on the 4-5th day. Cubed up in the fridge overnight drains A LOT of blood. Then put it in the freezer 2-3 hours b4 grinding so it's nice and firm.

I'm sure others may disagree but I wouldn't eat some store bought burger that had been siting in the fridge 8 days.

[Trapper Keeper]

nothin a good immune system cant take care of

[DaveS903]

nothin a good immune system cant take care of

That made me chuckle!

[Smart]

I'm sure others may disagree but I wouldn't eat some store bought burger that had been siting in the fridge 8 days.

I've been told that when they kill a cow that the average time from the slaughterhouse to the store is about 7 days. That would 15 day old hamburger meat in your fridge so I might not eat it either. Deer on the other hand, I've kept 7-9 days with no problem on ice and frozen to be used later for sausage or burger. Then we thaw it out....grind it up and refreeze again..

[glpoe1]

As long as you have kept it cool it should be good. I don't see any difference in keeping it on ice and keeping it in the refrigerator. Cold is Cold. Look up aging meat on the internet, you will be surprised at how long you can hang meat.

[ColinR]

Thanks for the replys! I think I will just add more ice and let it stay in the cooler. I would think packed in ice would be just above freezing, colder than in refrigerator. And if I freeze it I would have to start to thaw it out tomorrow night or first thing Sunday morning. Don't see much difference than just leaving on ice.

[native_texan]

I understand the concerns for leaving animals on ice more than a few days. Whether people get sick or not depends on how they handle the process before the kill and after. In other words, there are certain steps to take before putting the animal on ice and after taking it out of the ice to process and put into the freezer.

While no process of sterilization can be completely guaranteed to be bacteria free, it does pay to take as many precautions as possible to minimize contamination of the meat so people are not sickened by food-borne pathogens. While there are reputable processors out there, I believe that my product is clean, plus I have the satisfaction of doing it myself from field to table. I save lots of money too.

I leave my quartered animals on ice, heavily iced daily. I leave the drain plug open and drain for 10 days or more, depending on the deer: young does less, older bucks a little more. No flies or bugs have ever gotten in the cooler. I have done this for over 30 years. I started processing my own about 10 years ago when I saw that my well-cared deer were mixed with other animals at the processor. I really believe that I did not get MY deer back but the equivalent weight I brought of a mixture of different deer.

After de-boning the meat, I process it that same day. I clean the meat, cube it, grind it, make steaks, and vacuum pack. We have never had any issues with food-borne illnesses. Though a bit involved, these are my steps:

1. Cooler for quartered deer was pre-washed with soap and water.
2. Cooler pre-sterilized with clorox/water mix and rinsed well; cooler air-dried.
3. Meat kept ice-cold while processing.
4. Processing room kept cold as possible.
5, Processing sink, counter, cutting boards, knives, all pre-sterilized with clorox/water mix.
6. Cleaned and cubed meat is returned to zip lock bags in the ice.
7. Grinder and grinding parts are pre-sterilized with clorox/water mix and rinsed well.
8. Ice-cold cubed meat ground and vacuum packed; bags placed in the fridge at 38 degrees.
9. Meat bags from the fridge are transferred to the freezer.

Hope this helps some. perhaps some of the newbies will try to process their own. It really is a blessing. God bless.

[deerplanter]

What ever is easiest on you I have left mine on ice for 7 to 8 days before just keep it drained and iced good.

[Shooter]

I've been leaving mine on ice an average of two weeks for many years with great results.

[Txbhunter1]

Back in Wi, if it was cold enough, we let them hang the entire week of the gun season which is 9 days long. Most of the time, by the end of the season, it is froze. Get it home, thaw it a bit to skin and then hang another couple of days. Debone and do what you need to with it. I have even thawed some after it was processed, and had to refreeze it. All was good man.

[Bowanta]

When you drain or add ice look at the meat. The color should begin to lighten up as the blood is drawn out of the meat. If you start to see tinges of Green on the meat you need to act FAST. The green tint is the bacteria that is growing. Once it starts, the meat will soon spoil.
As long as you have had good ice on it and keeping it drained, you should be good till Monday. Keep the cooler out of the sunlight and make sure the ice is good..
Just my 2 cents..