BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Big game archery season has already started, and many hunters will be venturing out in the backcountry soon to harvest their early season antelope.
If high temperatures remain for the next few weeks, it may present a problem for those who drew early season tags. It is important for hunters to understand how to care for their meat after the hunt is over, to insure all of their time and money does not go to waste with improper meat care.
Big game hunting can be a source of top quality meat. Virtually all of the so-called "wild" or "gamey" taste in big game is because of poor processing by the hunter, not the intrinsic quality of the meat.
As soon as you kill a game animal, you must take proper steps to ensure that the meat does not spoil.
The four keys steps are:
1) COOL IT IMMEDIATELY
2) Keep it clean
3) Cool it further, and
4) Keep it cool
By cool, I don't mean just barely above freezing. That's seldom possible on many hunts. What I mean is to cool the meat from almost 100 degrees down to 70 or 80 degrees as quickly as possible, in the first hour for sure, and then to continue to cool the meat as much as possible.
That first hour is critical because if you don't get rid of the heat, bacteria will multiply rapidly in 90 to 100 degree temperatures. Even if you are hunting where the temperature is 90 degrees, you can take measures to reduce bacteria from spoiling your meat.
• First, recover the animal as quickly as possible. Take your photographs, and then get to work.
• Quickly skin and debone the animal and put the meat in a pillowcase or other cotton-type bag.
• Hang the meat bags in shade. A good place is the north side of a conifer tree, close to the trunk. If possible, hang the meat on a north or northeast-facing slope.
• If a cool stream is nearby, put the meat in a plastic bag and place it in the water. Be sure to secure it good to the bank.
• During the night, take the meat out and spread it out to cool (unless you have large predators in the area).
• In the morning, put the meat back in the meat sack, place it on a sleeping pad and then cover it with a sleeping bag.
• During the day, keep the meat inside a backpack tent or someplace where you won't have flies.
When you get home, you will have clean meat ready to cut into smaller pieces, such as steaks and roasts.
You may want to "age" the meat. The purpose of aging is to make meat more tender. If the entire carcass is to be processed into ground meat or stewing meat, there is no need to age it. Do not age the carcass longer than necessary, however, to eliminate excess carcass shrinkage and bacteria growth.
The following aging recommendations are at 40 degrees: antelope, 3 days; deer, 7 days; cow elk, 7 days; bull elk, 14 days. No research data are available to make specific recommendations for other big game species, although it seems logical that periods of one to two weeks would be acceptable.
Temperatures warmer than 40 degrees will shorten the recommended aging period. If the carcass is exposed to 60 or 70 degrees during the day, butcher and freeze in a few days. Always age a carcass in the shade. If the hide is removed, reduce the aging time to avoid drying out the carcass.
After aging, the carcass is ready for butchering and the freezer. If you plan on freezing your meat be sure to freeze meat while it is fresh and in top condition.
• Select proper freezer wrapping materials. To ensure quality, the wrapping material needs to be moisture/vapor resistant.
• Be sure to use packaging material designed for freezing.
• Wrap tightly; pressing out as much air as possible.
• Freeze and store at 0F or lower.
Avoid long storage periods. Most wild game will keep up to one year frozen without loss of quality. Vacuum packaging of meat before freezing will help maintain excellent quality of the meat.
In conclusion, get your meat cooled down fast and keep it cool while it's being processed. There are too many variables to give you exact upper temperatures and length of times that will be safe for your big game meat. Just do all you can to protect your hard-earned trophy from the moment it hits the ground until it is wrapped and frozen solid.
[[In-content Ad]]
