Coolers. . .

[EMSFlyer]

Just curious, how many coolers do you guys take with you and what sizes do you have--say for 1 to 2 hogs? And do you guys use bagged or dry ice.

Personally I take 2 coolers: a 100qt and a 70qt. I like to use dry ice when I can get them.

 

[Lurediver]

AS, what size do we use 162 qts?

 

[Shot]

I take two 70qt coolers. I fill them up with camping gear until I need them for the meat. I just use regular ice because the cooler is so well made, its the Xtreme series by Colman. I have had ice in there for five days in 80 degree weather.

In addition, I try to stay with 70qt size coolers because once filled with meat its a pain to carry or move by yourself.

 

[500+grns]

I got a 150 -I call it my hog coffin.
Fits a 200+ pounder no problem(carcass)

 

[BDB]

I usually take a 150qt for the meat and a 50 qt for food and a small one for refreshments on a weekend trip. Like 500+ said the 150qt works great on whole hogs though I found I have to do a little cutting and prying to close the lid on anything in the 150# and up range. I lay ice blocks on the bottom and have a piece of 1/4" plywood with holes cut all through it for ventilation that sits on the blocks and the meat on that so the meat is up off the water in the bottom. Quartered you can easily get 2 in it.

 

[Arrowslinger]

Yep, it's either 150 or 162...either way, it works pretty damn good....the next one i buy will have a larger lid that provides a couple more inches of room.

 

[Rancho Loco]

150 QT for the pig. Anything much larger than 150 lbs. might need some slicing and dicing. A smaller one for the beer, food and beer.

Instead of ice I use frozen 1 and 1/2 gallon bottles of water. A few of those inside and on top of the pig do the trick nicely, without the melted ice/water problem.

 

[upper]

Ilike to quarter them and stickem in a 100 qt..fill with ice to the top . Drain after an hour then add more ice and some real lemon juice.I,ve done this for a couple days draining the water and keeping full of ice and lemon.It will also make a bad one more usable.I know I might hear about the water on meat deal,Urban legond.Upper

 

[Redneck75]

I take a 150qt cooler that I've used on my last 3 pigs. I got a 175 in there and buried it in ice for two days. I prop the cooler up at an angle and leave the drain plug open for the first several hours until the initial melt is done and the water drains off. Yeah, I've heard about not using water on meat and I usually agree. The first one I got had a couple holes in the paunch and was a real mess. We used a garden hose to clean it off (it was necessary). At that point, I didn't figure it mattered much if it was in ice or not. I dropped it off at Tip-Top Meats in Carlsbad and the first thing I asked the butcher is if I had hurt anything with the ice. He said that's exactly what he does with them and actually complimented me on the care of the meat. Can't beat that.

The other thing we always take with us is a chest freezer I got free off Craig's List awhile back. It's one hell of a cooler...imagine what you'd pay for a cooler with that kind of size and insulation. It's got a drain plug and everything so water build-up ain't an issue. It made for a great cooler that we had no trouble getting 4 whole pigs into. The one I got actually works so we plugged it in while we were skinning the pigs and it was good and cold when we loaded them in. Unplugged it and put a dozen blocks of ice in with the meat. If you don't need that big of a cooler, it makes for great dry-storage in camp and in the back of the truck for the drive up. Just make sure you load the damn thing while it's sitting in your truck...it's a bit heavy to be moving around when it's full.

 

[SDHNTR]

You want one of the big dogs that are 160qt plus and that have the larger lid. This will allow you to put all but the biggest hogs in whole. The extra room in the lid really helps with being able to get the whole thing in there and closed up tight. Otherwise the ends of the quarters get in the way of the flat lids and you can't shut it.

 

[Jean]

I bought one of the igloo costco 160 qt coolers. The hinges cracked when I looked at it cross-eyed so I reinforced them with oiled leather pads.

I keep my small cooler inside the big one with the gallon ice jugs until I get my pig.

 

[fdkay]

We use a 160 and a 100, and a 72 we fill the 100 and the 72 with about 200 lbs of ice, put the first porker in the 160 and ice it down with the ice from the 100, then we fill the 100 and ice it down with the ice from the 72. Those Coleman extremes are nice, but a bit pricey. We use the marine coolers (the white ones), for some reason they keep ice much better than the regular variety. I think it has to do with the seal around the lid.

 

[Speckmisser]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jean @ Feb 23 2007, 09:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I bought one of the igloo costco 160 qt coolers. The hinges cracked when I looked at it cross-eyed so I reinforced them with oiled leather pads.

I keep my small cooler inside the big one with the gallon ice jugs until I get my pig.[/b]

If you can spring for the extra bucks, a marine grade cooler is definitely worth the cost. They're designed to take a pretty good beating, and they keep cold a lot longer than the $59 WalMart special. My last one held up for almost 10 years of almost non-stop outdoors exposure (sun, rain, and cold), including five years as a boat seat for people like my 280lb "little" brother. If that thing could hold up under that while bouncing across the Atlantic, it'll put up with the sliding and jarring in the back of a pickup truck.

Like a lot of other folks on here, I generally use a 150qt for a hog. I can fit two good meat hogs in the cooler with plenty of ice if I do a little whittlin' first.

 

[snoopdogg]

I have a 150 quart cooler--for my beer.... ;-)

 

[SDHNTR]

If you want the primo bitchin cooler take a look at Icy-Tek. They are the shizzle's shizzle. I go through a big 160 qt a year through dozens of hunting and fishing trips. They just don't hold up. I can live with the hinges and latches busting, but what kills me is when the interior plastic cracks and the insulation gets saturated with stink water. Then it's trash. If I were smart, I'd just bite the bullet and buy one Icy Tek to last me forever.

 

[EMSFlyer]

Thanks guys!

Y'all make a good point about buying sturdy coolers from the git go. The cheapie plastics just don't hold up for too long before you gotta replace 'em.

Always thought water was taboo with meat, but after reading some of the responses I guess I don't have to be too paranoid. I'll probabably still try to bag the ice, but I won't worry too much about the water that collects. I also use frozen bottles of water but they're only ok and tend to be bulky.

 

[Jagermeister]

I buy 3 20 pound ice blocks here in town and put them in the bottom of a 160 quart cooler. The blocks thaw very slowly. The carcass fits on top of the blocks without getting wet. I just keep the drain slightly open on the way home, so no water collects. It is okay to have the meat in contact with the ice, but you don't want any standing water. The inside of the cooler has meat locker temperature, there is no need to put ice on top of the carcass.

I roast domestic pigs on parties a few times a year. When I get the pig from the butcher, it goes into my cooler with the same ice block set up. I marinate it for two days before it is roasted.

Now I am hungry ... Good Luck,

George

 

[upper]

Rember,ice cools nothing unless it melts.The faster it melts the faster it is transfering it's temp.to something else. Upper

 

[Tonopah01]

I've use a combination of lemon juice and vinegar on the carcass in the cooler (lots of ice). The vinegar was recommended by the butcher I use. Too much vinegar can begin to turn the meat blue but that doesn't hurt the meat if it happens. Vinegar prevents bacteria, I understand.