Supposed to be 65 on Saturday .. how to cool meat down

[luberhill]

If I get lucky and the butcher is closed .... ???

[Kmartinson]

Debone and fridge as long as possible for me.

[wolc123]

If you don't already have one, check craigslist for a spare refrigerator. I have one out on the garage, from which I have removed all the racks. 

In warm conditions, I skin the fresh killed carcass and cut off the rear.  I hang the rear, from the top of the fridge with hooks thru the tendons, and rest the front section on the neck on the bottom.

My deer fridge is an old non frost-free model from the late 1950's or early 1960's. The humidity and temperature is perfect in there for aging red meat. I will leave a 3.5 year deer in for 10 days, and younger ones about a week.  The temperature stays at 36 degrees.

The spare fridge also works good for beverages when you have a big party.  I dont know of the new ones are as dependable, but my old GE fridge can sit two years unplugged and always runs like new when I plug it in for a deer. 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by wolc123

[Robhuntandfish]

I have a large cooler for that reason. Sometimes if a deer is shot in the evening might not be able to get it to a processor, I have a large cooler that I can get a quartered deer into. 

You can also pack it in a tarp with ice and ice the cavity if you need to.  

Edited November 2, 2020 by Robhuntandfish

[sbuff]

I'm hoping the forecast changes...

[wolc123]

8 minutes ago, sbuff said:

I'm hoping the forecast changes...

I don't mind 65 degrees, that will make for a more comfortable all day sit.  If it stays there, I might plug in the deer fridge, before I head out in the morning. 

Last crossbow season, I scored big in the first hour.  It was good and cool then, so I just hung it in the garage and went back out for the afternoon sit.

It only takes a little longer to skin one, cut in half, and stick it in the deer fridge.  There is only room for one big one in there.  If I got a second one on Saturday afternoon, I would hang it skin-on overnight (it is always cooler after dark), and run it to a processor Sunday morning.  They never get too busy until opening day of gun season.

[cdbing]

Gut deer as soon as you recover it. I have put ice in the cavity and between the legs if I cannot process quickly or have a long ride home. I have also quartered and removed back straps and tenderloins, etc, put the meat and quarters in a game bag and placed the game bag on top of ice in a cooler.

In FL and GA, we've wet aged venison in coolers with ice in the bottom, draining the water periodically as the ice melts.

If you have a spare fridge that you can dry age the meat and quarters in that's preferable, but I don't. While not ideal, the above has worked for me and lots of others who hunt hot climates.

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[cdbing]

Also, you can freeze water in plastic containers, such as water or milk jugs and use those instead of bagged ice. That reduces the amount of water that gets introduced into the cavity from melting ice. You can also double bag the ice in clean trash bags. Anything to reduce water in the cavity, but keep temps low is a good thing in my opinion.

 

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[GreeneHunter]

Saturday will be my first shot at hunting (I'm not a bow hunter) and just wondering how the hell to dress !

[fasteddie]

If you have a long drive after getting a deer , stop at a gas station or store and buy a couple bags of ice to put in the chest cavity .

As for spare fridges , don't get too new of a model . The newer ones are computerized and if it gets quite cold in the garage , they will shut down and won't work . An appliance dealer told me that instead of selling me a new fridge . Bought an older fridge through Graig's List .

[Hock3y24]

Stuff with ice, hang and get it deboned and in ziplocs on ice. It’s pretty simple!