hanging a deer

If thats all that is available.....shade and wind, so try and find an area that will funnel the wind to the hanging meat then get it on ice ASAP
 
If you have to hang it in that kind of temp. make sure it is in a cheese cloth covering to keep the flies off and get it to a cooler as soon as you can.
 
don't worry about draining the meat (there will be very little if any blood dripping after a few minutes of hanging it) and don't be one of those guys that cuts the throat on a dead animal....keep it at just a few degrees above freezing if you want to age it....the best eating game will be the animals you field dress promptly and most importantly the (young) ones harvested furthest from the rut.
 
bow season opens on the 25th out here.... that weekend i plan on filling my 2 tags... gonna go for a nice young buck and a nice fat doe.... then try and find the 2 big bruins running around my huntinag area....
 
Your game will spoil in short order in that temperature.
Get it to town and hung properly.
We were always concerned about 10 degree temperatures.
 
Cheese Cloth? Make a bag out of an old sheet. Blow flies will actually blow their eggs through cheese cloth, and they really like warm weather.
Sinking a carcass in cold water is a last resort. Cold and dry is the best generally found at the butchers. At 20 degrees, spoilage occurs considerably quicker.
 
kamlooky said:
Your game will spoil in short order in that temperature.
Get it to town and hung properly.
We were always concerned about 10 degree temperatures.
Click to expand...

I agree, get it out and to a butcher ASAP. Get the guts out of it, then get the coat off right away. I dunk mine in a lake if available, but only a good clean one (bear in mind this is fall in Ontario when the lakes are cold). This helps to cool the meat quickly. You can pack ice in the body cavity and that may buy you a kittle extra time. Prop sticks in the body cavity, and put something under it to promote air circulation when it's being transported.

But the bottom line is get it in to a proper cooler when it's 20 C out. And in regards to hanging I butcher mine as soon as possible. Deer is like lamb in that it does not need to be aged like moose and beef. I know a lot of guys insist on aging, but I dont believe it's necessary. Ask a good butcher, this is what they will tell you.
 
At 20C, the meat won't cool properly. The outside may feel cool to the touch but the inside will take a long time. Too long and you get bone sour. You will know when this happens. When you cut into the hip, you will get a smell that you won't foget. Don't try to cook meat that has this smell in the house. The dog will get the bed and you'll get the front porch. On venison, I like to hang it for a week before boning and freezing.
 
Hmm. So I guess its best to shoot, field dress, hang, skin and then de bone all the meat and toss that in a cooler right away
 
When it is that warm the best thing to do is debone it and put it in the fridge or freezer.

The first place it will start to rot will be in the neck especaly around the wind pipe.
If you do hang it cut the wind pipe out and monitor this area for funk.
 
So...based on 40 years experience, most of what has been said prior is BS. Guy who said shade and wind had it right - done this a lot in the Sask ML season.
You want to get the hide off right away and get the meat cooling in the shade. You wrap meat in game cloth to keep the flies off it and keep it clean ! can't overemphasize clean !
Cool overnight, cause it always cools a lot at night. Head for home early in the AM with the cooled carcass and cut the meat right away, put it in the freezer.
You will not be disappointed with the taste or the tenderness of the meat.

You certainly do not want to keep meat any great length of time at a temperature above 7 deg. C but it does not spoil instantly either. I am not a great fan of hanging deer for long periods because the thin cross section of meat dries out more quickly than a moose or a cow.
If you have access to a local butcher's cold room fine, but it is not necessary if you take all reasonable and prompt care of your meat.
 
Meat requires a temperature of 3-7*C to age properly.

When it's warn out we always shoot, skin on the ground, debone meat, and then get it cool ASAP (whether in a cooler full of ice, a fridge, etc). Skip the field dressing.
 
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