Tranporting Game Meat

[MDWhitetail]

Hello

I am planning a Oryx hunt this month in another state and will processing the meat when I get back to my home state (Cali). I was wondering if anyone knew of the best way to transport my game meat. It will be at least 24 hrs before I will get to my butcher. Will dry ice work? Keep the meat in game cloth? Use plastic to keep meat from ice or water. I have a large cooler and the high temps in NM will in the 50's.

 

[eelgrass]

Welcome MDWhitetail. I've had great success bringing animals back to CA from Nevada, Utah, and even Wyoming.

I bone it out and cool it down in meat sacks. When I'm ready to head for home I double or triple bag the meat in plastic bags (to avoid any possibility of water getting to the meat) and stack them around block ice in my cooler.

If it takes very long to get home you can drain some melted ice off and add more ice. I've never had any sort of problem with meat spoiling.

Good luck on your hunt.

Eel

Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

 

[chasendeer]

What hunt do you have? With the colder weather in January it should not be much of an issue I just wrap them up in my sleeping bag. I also will be going to HM from CA for an oryx up in 2 weeks.
Jay

 

[knthartter]

I have brought meat back from Wy and Mt. I try to bone it out, but have also brought it back in quarters, the most important thing is to thoroughly cool it. I use large heavy cotton game bags to keep the meat from drying out too much and place them in a cooler with a plastic bag on top and then a little dry ice. If your cooler lid doesn't close tightly ducktap the lid seam to keep the dry ice working longer. I have never had a any problems keeping the meat cool for 2-3 days even in 100 plus weather.

 

[kilowatt]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-06-10 AT 01:56PM (MST)[p]I only once butchered my game meat AFTER I got home from hunting, never did it again after that one time. Been hunting out of CALI too for over 35 years and always get mine cut, wrapped (twice) and frozen before headed home. Been using Dry Ice in Ice Chest all this time and even converted 6 others to the method back in 2000 when we hunted Utah for the first time.

If works for thousands of hunters over the years and will continue to work if done right. Unless YOU enjoy cutting, wrapping your game why bother, it is not that expensive in the western states to have it done.

NEVER have had any gone bad in all this time, that is my opinion on this subject....too each his own I guess.

Brian

 

[Wiszard]

I agree with Kilowatt on this one. When we hunt WY we always have our meat done by a processor and make sure it is frozen by the time we leave for home. Most of the time that works out. Sometimes there's not enough time to get it frozen. We put the meat in 100 qt coolers with 10-12 lbs of dry ice over or in cardboard. It takes us two days to get home and there is always a tiny bit of dry ice left when we get home. If it is frozen prior to us leaving, it has always stayed frozen. I like dry ice...well worth the $1 a pound.

Steve

 

[tesmitty]

I'm not really sure why nobody has mentioned the actual type of ice chest. The ice chest makes all the difference along with cooling the game down asap. We always bone out all of the meat, make sure that it is cooled properly, double bag it in heavy duty trash bags, line the bottom of the ice chest with block ice, fill in the cracks between the bags with crushed ice. I would recommend using the Coleman Extreme 100 Quart ice chests, once they are properly cooled down the will hold ice for days with very little melt down even with warm daily temperatures.

 

[Califelkslayer]

The reason I bring mines back is so it can hang!!!!

I useta cut mines myself and even here in the mountains, I couldn't age it enough due to warm temps. I may get 100 folks arguein the point but IT IS BETTER!!!

I actually enjoyed cuttin my own and removed every scrap of grisle, fat, bloodshot, etc but locker hung meat is tenderer. The butcher I use even told me to age after thawin in the frig for a week but who plans meals a week out, not me. I tried havin him age it and will never go back.

The original question. Have the quarters hung at a butcher shop to cool if it's too warm in NM. Quarters are in big, heavy, homemade game bags. I lay a couple of saddle blankets in my tackroom, wrap the meat in horse blankets and lay more saddle blankets on top. Have even got home late Sat. and the butcher shop didn't open til Mon. Left them in the trailer, in the shade through 60+ weather and the meat was cold to the touch Mon. You could do the same with some old bedding or comforters. Personally I don't like ice chests for meat as I like my meat to breathe.

Good luck!!!!

 

[RELH]

I use a local custom butcher for most of my meat and he told me the same that the meat is far better if hung for 14 days.
I made a plywood meat box that has 1-1/2 inch foam insulation on all sides and lid. It will just fit into my pickup bed, 4'X 6' 22" high. I have used it several times to bring bison back from S.Dakota and Montana. I have a locker back there quarter and cool the bison. Put it in the meat box with a small coleman cooler containing dry ice and leave the lid open on the coleman cooler inside the meat box.
It has kept the meat cold for 3-4 days until I can get it to my butcher for hanging another 10-12 days. The quarters are very cold when I remove them from the meat box.
We have brought back a lot of deer and antelope in that meat box also from Wyoming and never had any meat go sour on us.

RELH

 

[Califelkslayer]

RELH, great idea/set-up!!! BUT with all the crap I take I don't have room for a 2"X 4" box!!!

Yea, I meant inches, not feet.

 

[MDWhitetail]

LOL

Thanks everyone!