Question on Elk meat storage

[Norm]

I'ts a big problem with elk in the summer. At tempatures above 55F the meat will not cool fast enough to keep it around more than a day. Much longer than that and your dog will want to roll on it. Boning it out into smaller peices will help cool down the meat faster and give you a little more time before it spoils. I always skin, quarter, pack, and head for the closest meat locker or start cutting and packaging. IMO, 5 days in a 34F meat locker makes it easier to cut and gives it better flavor.

[ 08-19-2003, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: Norm ]

[tailchaser]

The best possible thing to do is get them to a nearby cooler as soon as you can. Speed is definitely the key during bow season. Get the animal opened up and cooling ASAP. Especially in the early season to start. Depending how long it's going to be to get the animal back to camp you may have to start skinning right away. If there's a creek or anything nearby that usually helps for shade and temperature.

A couple of tricks I use if it's unusually warm and you won't be able to pack the animal out quickly is to dunk the quarter in the creek for 15-20 minutes. This will cool the internal temperature of the meat and will give you more time. Then hang it in the coolest place you can find until you get back to air out a little.

A second problem is bugs. Especially flies and yellowjackets. I always bring a gallon jug of vinegar at my disposal for taking care of this problem. When you're cleaning the quarter or a hanging animal, wipe it down with it, and use a lot on a rag when doing it. What this will do is turn off any bugs that want to come jump on it and it'll help clean the blood off the meat. When it dries it'll create a nice layer of protection for the meat and doesn't affect the taste at all.

One thing to remember, an elk will last overnight if properly taken care for in the field. It won't last during the day.

Good luck.

tc

[ 08-19-2003, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: tailchaser ]

[nitrobass]

During the day wrap the quarters up in a blue tarp, then at night take off the tarp so it cools nicely. But it cant be in the sun during the day. A creek, shady thicket, something to keep it cool. Some breeze helps too.

Also cut up a chunk of liver or other scrap meat and hang it nearby for the bees.

[nitrobass]

Or shoot them in the snow..........

and make Tailchaser pack it out!!!

[Gun Rod Bow]

Some cheep cheese cloth type meat bags are easy to carry and light.

Too many people will leave a whole or just gutted elk on the ground without taking care of it and lose meat.

I carry a pillow case and the cheesecloth bags in my pack or very nearby.

Once an elk is down, no matter what time of day or night it is, in my opinion, you should never walk away from it until it is swinging in the wind.

All you need is a hunting knife to; gut, skin, cut off hind quarters at the hip joints, peel off front quarters then bone out the backstraps, neck meat, bone the flanks and ribs, and don't forget the tenderloins on the inside. The pillow case is for all the cut meat. With some 1/4" cord you can find a shady cool place to hang off the ground so the wind can move around it. Even in 80 degree temp the meat will cool if hanging this way. It may be necessary to stir the meat in the bag.

This can be done all by yourself in less than an hour if need be. You leave behind a lot of bone, but really no meat.

The new regs are gonna make this method tougher, but you can leave a testy attached to the hinds after skinning.

By skinning one side then removing the quarters, then carfully rolling the balance onto the skin, one guy can dismantle an elk and keep it clean. The heaviest thing you have to lift is the hind quarters. Realistically no more than 100# each.

You will have about a day to get it out of the woods.

I personally hate seeing these shows where game is shot in the evening, and no attempt is made to recover because it's dark. We lost some meat off a bull that was not leaving much of a trail and we knew it was not struck well. We found it at 7:00 am the next morning and it had started to turn.

If you have a good blood trail, it actually shows up very well by flashlight.

Even when rifle hunting in the snow, you can loose meat if it doesn't cool properly. Most people will gut then leave the animal on it's back propped open. I leave the hide on if it is in the 30's, but, I've been taught and found that if (after gutting) you roll them belly down
and get some branches or rocks up under them and split the hide open from the back of the neck down to between the shoulders, they cool better. This is the most insulated part of the animal, and usually the first area to spoil, even in the snow.

I left the hide on an elk in New Mexico 2 years ago during archery season, split in half, hide on, neck and shoulders laid open, hanging about 4' off the ground because it was in the high 30's at night. Hauled it to town the next day in 95 degree temp and it was cool to the touch.

Do your best to make a good shot, don't give up on a pursuit. Remember, the hunting starts after the arrow strikes.

Sorry to be so wordy, but hope it helps someone save some meat.

Good luck.

[tailchaser]

I see how you are, I was even nice enough to call one in for you the following year and scare it off in the same evening. I didn't mind your pack though, 1/4 mile to the road if that on flat ground. You should've been there for last years fun in the sun. 14 hours of packing buddy through the entire night. Sucked the big ones, I knew it was you lurking on here though. Now I'll have to claim the bs on a eugene guy talking about the outdoors!! :grin:

tc

[gofishoregon]

What you need to do to preserve the quality of your meat on a hot day depends on when you shoot it. If you shoot your animal in the evening you can skin it and quarter it and hang it till morning, unless it is extremely hot and not cooling down at night. Most nights, even on the hottest days will cool down, especially at the higher elevations. You might need to make a cut down the length of the long leg bones to speed up the cooling process.

If you shoot your animal in the morning I would suggest either dunking it in the creek and/or boning it out and getting it into large coolers with ice. I prefer to not put my animal in the creek but on a really hot 80-90 plus day I have done it.

Be sure to keep the meat dry in the cooler, put the ice on the bottom and some type of plastic between the ice and the meat. Keep the drain plugs open so the water can drain out.

Boning out the meat is key. The bone retains a lot of heat. Without removing the meat from the bone it will take a lot longer to cool it down.

Keep your food and drinks in a separate cooloer and use your big fish coolers with a few blocks of ice in them for your boned out elk meat, keep them empty and ready so when you get your animal boned out you can quickly get it in the cooler without spoiling all your other camp food or even worse, letting your beer get warm.

[ 08-19-2003, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: gofishoregon ]

[Fish Slapper]

I was wondering if anyone knew what the safe temperature range is for hanging elk meat in camp? The reason I ask is because this is my first year bowhunting for them and it will probable be very hot. I normally hunt with a rifle and have never had a problem with meat spoilage because it is normally cooler. I would appreciate any tips or help I can get.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

[ 08-19-2003, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: Fish Slapper ]

[James in Idaho]

I would advise if at all possible, not to bone the meat until AFTER rigor has set and relaxed (usually 8 to 12 hours after death). If you bone the meat before rigor, you run the risk of "cold shorting" the meat. It will be tough meat if it cold shorts. Skin it, break it into quarters, and let it cool/rigor/relax on the bone. If you can get it to a locker, then let it age on the bone, every cut you make while boning introduces bacteria to the meat, which can really spoil the meat. If you have to bone it immediately, get it wrapped and frozen asap, aging will result in spoilage. Ideally you can get the temp of the meat into the mid 40's (not always possible in September)in the first few hours. Don't worry about washing the meat if you have somewhat clean water, ever been around a slaughter house, they use millions of gallons of water washing fresh kills.

Gee, the things you learn when you hunt with a guy that has a PhD in meat science (actually is the chair of a food science dept at USU). Now ask me about CWD!!!