Deer Storage Question

[TX_Kevin]

I have never quite figured this out.

Once you've killed your deer, chilled it, skinned it, quartered it, and it's time to stick it in the ice chest for transport home.

Do you put it in plastic bags and then on the ice, or right in the ice which will inevitably turn to ice water thus soaking the meat?

I've heard it both ways, but I kind of like it right in the ice. Seems to get some of the gamey taste out of it.

[DrenalinJunkie]

directly on the ice and under ice. Pull the plug and let it drain. that will end the soaking problem.

[Breezy]

i put it in the ice chest then cover it with ice. drain the water every day or so and add more ice if needed. keep it like that for 4-6 days. i got a buck on ice that i killed last wed. evening and he has been on ice since Thur. around 5 pm. i will take it out tues or weds. and de-bone it and freeze it until we make sausage sometime in Feb.

[Russ79]

I always just throw it in the cooler with ice and keep draining the bloody water out while keeping ice on the meat. I have left the meat as long as two weeks without any problems. If you debone the meat and continue the process the meat will end up very light pink before it's over with.

[texag93]

Ice chest, deer in first, cover in ice, pull plug. Helps get the blood out of the meat. Will keep for days that way.

[Peta-hata]

Icing the meat is actually good for it. Keep adding ice for as long as you need to get it home or until you are ready to butcher it. I always ice mine for about four days. The meat isn't so blood while cooking or butchering.

[Target-panic]

Yeah, what they said.

[TXJon]

I'm going to disagree. Water logged meat is nasty. Heavy duty bags for each quarter, ice under, around and on top of each bag, make sure the tops are above the ice. One day I'll have a fridge just for holding deer quarters, rigged up with hooks and a drip pan. Hang it like you mean it!

If you don't want your meat to taste like game, buy chicken!

[Peta-hata]

Keep the plug open and it won't be waterlogged. IMO

[glen]

I leave it in an ice chest with the plug out for about a week. it keep it cold and the water off.

[bowhuntertex]

Exactly what they all said.

[Higee]

My deer stays with me for about a week. I put the unwrapped deer in the cooler and top off with ice.

When I'm skinning my deer I'll pull the entire hide down to the neck and then sever the head from the spine and also snap the front legs off at the joint. This helps me keep the hair off of the meat.

Over the next 4-8 days I'll drain daily and refill with ice.

[TX_Kevin]

I'm going to disagree. Water logged meat is nasty. Heavy duty bags for each quarter, ice under, around and on top of each bag, make sure the tops are above the ice. One day I'll have a fridge just for holding deer quarters, rigged up with hooks and a drip pan. Hang it like you mean it!

If you don't want your meat to taste like game, buy chicken!

I like for meat to taste like meat. I guess, technically, chicken is meat, but it seems a little weak. I like real meat (red meat) grilled or deep fried (and I can prove it!).

I just happen to be one of those guys who can't get it together. All I have to do is bring a box of heavy duty trash bags and I won't see deer one. Leave it at home and I will have an ice chest full of meat.

See Jon, we all are always wanting to create something to get rich. Man, build that refrigerated ice chest that can hang meat, and fit in the back of the truck, at a price we can all afford and you can retire! I'll buy one!

[jpbruni]

I personally try not to let a drop of water hit the meat until I am rinsing it off to season it right before I cook it. I've noticed that the meat that sits in water or is aged on ice (like described above) ends up freezer burning easier. Ice crystals form almost immediately when you freeze it.

I like to cut the meat off the carcass, put it directly into ziplocks or lg trash bags and then cover with bags of ice. I don't let any standing water accumulate in the cooler so the meat never gets wet.

IMHO, the meat just smells fresher and ends up freezing better.

J.P.

[Tex_Cattleman]

Sometimes I wonder if the folks concerned about water on meat bone out their own deer. Like many others, I leave mine in a cooler (tipped 45 degrees with plug pulled) and covered with ice for 3-7 days. The good Lord was good enough to cover hams and shoulders with a thick layer of silver skin that prevents water (in moderation) from even touching the meat.