meat chillers for game meat

[remyltr]

anyone got their own?
what temperature do you maintain yours at?

i have a sliding door General cooler with fan http://generalrefrigeration.ca/Coolers_Reach_In_files/sliding-glass-door-coolers-specs.pdf
and my temp is a constant 6c.i have 2 thermometers one 1/3 down and
one near the bottom
i have read numerous internet pages and they claim 4c is ok.
i really dont want my meat to spoil.its been in there since thursday and still feels fine
and smells like meat.

am i just paranoid

the beast was shot wednesday,gutted,skinned and washed down that evening.
hung outside by tractor lol until thursday 9am and the overnight temp was 2c

 

[FLHTCUI]

I doubt your temperature is going to be an issue.
Meat lockers run from 0deg to 7 degrees when in storage.
Deer/Wild Game loose moisture as it ages as does beef...up to 1/3 depending on age of animal and type of animal.
The hardened casing formed around the carcass is removed upon cutting.
I doubt your going to leave your hanging for 28 days as the commercial meat cutters do for beef.
Rob

 

[GMC403]

OP, you'll be fine.

I used to use a similar setup as you are (2 door slider cooler). I always ran it between 2-4C and would age the meat 5-7 days. Some will say no aging is required, but I disagree. Temperature is one thing to watch but humidity is a big factor when it comes to the final product. Keeping the temp higher wil help keep your humidity level higher too.

 

[remyltr]

I doubt your temperature is going to be an issue.
Meat lockers run from 0deg to 7 degrees when in storage.
Deer/Wild Game loose moisture as it ages as does beef...up to 1/3 depending on age of animal and type of animal.
The hardened casing formed around the carcass is removed upon cutting.
I doubt your going to leave your hanging for 28 days as the commercial meat cutters do for beef.
Rob

was hoping to leave the back straps and rear legs for 2 weeks atleast

OP, you'll be fine.

I used to use a similar setup as you are (2 door slider cooler). I always ran it between 2-4C and would age the meat 5-7 days. Some will say no aging is required, but I disagree. Temperature is one thing to watch but humidity is a big factor when it comes to the final product. Keeping the temp higher wil help keep your humidity level higher too.

ok thanks
i cant get mine down to 4c,were i would like it,hence my paranoia lol
my unit has a fan which draws out the humidity(well i think thats what its doing)

 

[billdick]

I keep my beef hanging at -1C as it doesn't really freeze until -3C and aging should be done by weight with beef. At school I learned 50lbs per day for hanging. If it hangs out at 500lbs ten days is plenty. A good beef is good in ten days and a bad one is still bad in 21. I've been a meat cutter for several years and cut a lot of wild game and the same applies to them, a good one is good in a short time and a bad one is still bad no matter how long it hangs. A really big mule deer is less than 200lbs so four days would be max and after that you just start losing meat due to shrinkage and mold. In your case warmer is ok but keep an eye on it an cleanliness is key.

 

[remyltr]

I keep my beef hanging at -1C as it doesn't really freeze until -3C and aging should be done by weight with beef. At school I learned 50lbs per day for hanging. If it hangs out at 500lbs ten days is plenty. A good beef is good in ten days and a bad one is still bad in 21. I've been a meat cutter for several years and cut a lot of wild game and the same applies to them, a good one is good in a short time and a bad one is still bad no matter how long it hangs. A really big mule deer is less than 200lbs so four days would be max and after that you just start losing meat due to shrinkage and mold. In your case warmer is ok but keep an eye on it an cleanliness is key.

ok thanks

its a 400lb elk quartered up
two shoulders
two rib cages
two rear legs
and the whole of the backstrap back bone/ribs attached (ribs being short)

 

[GMC403]

ok thanks
i cant get mine down to 4c,were i would like it,hence my paranoia lol
my unit has a fan which draws out the humidity(well i think thats what its doing)

A cooler like the one you've shown should get down to 2C with little effort. There may be an issue with the temp controller or the refrigerant charge if 6C is as low as you can go. A fan assisted coil will increase your ability to remove moisture from the space/meat. Increasing or reducing airflow (different pitch blade) allows you to play with box humidity.

I've been a refrigeration mechanic for 17 years now....... (ugh.... 17 years).

 

[jogforfun]

Get it down to 4 c if you can.

 

[remyltr]

A cooler like the one you've shown should get down to 2C with little effort. There may be an issue with the temp controller or the refrigerant charge if 6C is as low as you can go. A fan assisted coil will increase your ability to remove moisture from the space/meat. Increasing or reducing airflow (different pitch blade) allows you to play with box humidity.

I've been a refrigeration mechanic for 17 years now....... (ugh.... 17 years).

you sir are a star.
i just spoke with a plumber in work about re charging the unit,just in case its low.
but he said did a clean off the coils when i picked up the unit,as i had this from a school,so NO i havent cleaned them off
as this is most probably the issue since this unit has stood in the hallway for how many years.

note to myself
clean the outside as well as the chocolate milk from the inside

EDIT
ripped the front panel off and the fins were clogged up with fuzz balls
temp now at 4c after cleaning them

thanks for everyones replies and advice,appreciating it

 

[billdick]

If its 400 lbs eight days should be enough for the enzymes to do their work. If you use the 50lbs per day rule the enzymes should have done close to 90% of the tenderizing they are going to do. After that the rate of tenderizing slows down so much its not worth worrying about.