*** Meat care in backcountry***

[Manny_Silva]

I'm planing to take a one or two night backpacking trip. It will most likely take 8-10 hours to get to the clearing I want to hunt. Let's say I pick up a hog track on the way in spot and kill it before dawn. What do I do with the meat over night and how long will it last before I have to put it on ice. I would hate to haul out a quarterd hog only to get back to the cooler smelling ransid. If it helps, day time temps reach about 85 (50 night) with 30% humidity and a wind speed between 5-10mph.

Thanks

 

[BelchFire]

I've wondered, many time, how you guys do this. I hunt within 1000 yards of a game hoist and I worry about meat spoilage on days that the temp reaches the 80's. I can't imagine keeping meat for a day or two like that. Will be watching for the hard-cores to chime in.

 

[mochosla]

Great question. I've heard that salting the meat helps preserve it longer. A few things I've read:

Keep the meat clean while you are quartering it
If possible, let it cool down
Clean your knife regularly as to not spread bacteria around
Clean the guts cavity as much as possible and dry it out with clean cloths or paper towels
Trim excess fat or hanging meat
Avoid flies as much as possible
Bag it as soon as you can
Make sure you have an ice chest full of ice waiting for you

I'm sure other more experience hunters will have better advice than mine.

Good luck!

 

[jhill528]

I've hung deer for two days in 70 degree weather without any problems. Like others have mentioned, get the animal cool as quickly as possible. Gut it, skin it and split it down the back into two pieces (if you can't split it completely place a stick inside the chest cavity to spread it open to allow better air flow), then put the two halves inside cotton game bags or even cotton pillow cases and hang in the shade. Remember, even if its 80 degrees outside, in the shade it is usually much cooler. As for preventing flies, that's where the game bags come in handy, if you don't have game bags, You can use black pepper to cover the meat in and this will help to keep the insects away.

 

[baco]

Remember to bone it out as soon as you can also that will let a lot of the heat out as the bones for some reason keep heat in longer

 

[Manny_Silva]

I've read about bringing rubs and pink salt (sodium nitrate) to help cure the meat. I'm thinking a BLM peper, sea salt and pink salt rub. Hanging in meat cloth in the shade sound good. I know this is done a lot in Canada and Alaska. But with NorCal temps not sure if it's a good idea. I guess my concern is time. At what point even doing all the above is meat just not good anymore. I wonder what the natives in NorCal did to preserve meat. I'll see if I can find anything and re-post.

 

[JustGuy]

Cotton game bags , remember this. You can buy them at any hunting store or wallMart.
Quarter it, hang them overnight on tree branches in cotton game bags to dry externally and cool. It will hold 10-12 hour trip back to your car without any problems.
Done it many times.

 

[Beastmode]

Remember to bone it out as soon as you can also that will let a lot of the heat out as the bones for some reason keep heat in longer

Bingo. Meat will spoil from the inside out due to not getting cooled off internally. I use the gutless method when backpacking. It can be very easy to learn with YouTube. You shouldn't have any issues if you debone the meat and hang it over night in game bags with the conditions above. If you are near a cold stream you can place the meat bags in contractor trash bags and really get the meat cool quick. Heat and flies are going to be your worst enemy. Try to keep as much pig hair off the meat as well.

 

[JustGuy]

^^^^ Absolutely unnecessary. No meat is going to spoil in 2 hours until it reaches outside temperature. While you gut it, skin it and quarter it, it is already cool enough to keep it till you get to your track. Don't think that the meat spoils so fast or so easy. Done it many times. Brazilian and Argentinians keep meat at room temperature for days till it get green color. And they know what they do.
Just keep the flys out. Fly larvae is your enemy. Apparently even boiling not always kill them.

 

[Beastmode]

^^^^ Absolutely unnecessary. No meat is going to spoil in 2 hours until it reaches outside temperature. While you gut it, skin it and quarter it, it is already cool enough to keep it till you get to your track. Don't think that the meat spoils so fast or so easy. Done it many times. Brazilian and Argentinians keep meat at room temperature for days till it get green color. And they know what they do.
Just keep the flys out. Fly larvae is your enemy. Apparently even boiling not always kill them.

I agree meat will not spoil in 2 hours. I don't believe I ever said it would. I also stated that the he should be fine with the trip he had planned. I still don't understand 2hy people feel they need to gut an animal to pack it out. You get the same amount of meat without wasting any using the gutless method.

Bones are also a ton of weight that you don't need to pack. If the OP is correct about an 8 hour trip in you can almost double that coming out with an animal. No need to carry that extra weight and it also helps cool the meat.

 

[Sniper1]

I've hung deer for two days in 70 degree weather without any problems. Like others have mentioned, get the animal cool as quickly as possible. Gut it, skin it and split it down the back into two pieces (if you can't split it completely place a stick inside the chest cavity to spread it open to allow better air flow), then put the two halves inside cotton game bags or even cotton pillow cases and hang in the shade. Remember, even if its 80 degrees outside, in the shade it is usually much cooler. As for preventing flies, that's where the game bags come in handy, if you don't have game bags, You can use black pepper to cover the meat in and this will help to keep the insects away.

^^^^ This is correct, get some of those cotton big game bags at wally world, they help with cooling and also the flies. I had a deer hanging in a tree for 3 days with those before returning home, it was fine.

 

[jerryt]

I have no issues hangind a deer in 110 degree heat for a couple days in the shade as long as there is a slight breeze blowing every once in a while. The biggest key to deer and pigs is getting the hide off quickly after the kill on hot days. Getting the guts out should be done before you even take pictures. Pigs I let hang all day only if it is 70 degrees and below. If I killed a pig in the back country I would skin and quarter quickly if it is going to rise over 70 degrees at any point I'd head for the truck ASAP. I've litterally watchd the fat melt of a pig whenthe tempeature starts to get around 80 degrees.

 

[Bubblehide]

Lots of good suggestion here. But I also have a few suggestions that I can add. First and foremost, what spoils meat is a build-up of bacteria, almost always from the outside slowly working inwards. Obviously keeping the meat cool is paramount on the list of importance as is first cooling it as rapidly as possible. So, as others here, I would de-bone the meat ASAP.

Okay, we know that a build-up of bacteria is what causes spoilage, but how can you limit that build-up? salting is one way, as is using vinegar to wipe the meat with; if you have enough with you, you can wipe the meat with a vinegar soaked rag every couple hours, or as needed, or you could spray it on. Oxygen, or air also aids in the build-up of bacteria. When you hang meat in a game bag, the open exposure in cool/refrigerated climates kinda seals the meat, on the outside; this slows the build-up of bacteria, to a degree. But if heat is truly an issue, I would put the meat in plastic bags (I use heavy duty 3mil compactor bags). By putting the boned out meat in a bag, and then rolling it, getting out as much of the air as possible, you buy yourself time from the bacteria building up. I use white bags, so they do not absorb heat from exposure to light (the sun). Placing the meat in a creek of body of cool/cold water is a great idea, and you don't need to submerge it completely. But what do you do if there is no creek or body of water around? How about digging a hold, in a shaded area, and then placing the bags of meat in the hole and covering them, allowing the cool earth to help keep them cool.

I have taken up to 6-7 hours getting meat to an awaiting ice chest, from the time of harvest to placing the meat in the ice chest, in 100+ degree weather, with no problems. But lets say that you do have some doubts about the meat; you can always cut a layer off the meat from all sides. Yeah, I know it doesn't sound so appealing, and I would never do this to meat that smelled like it spoiled. But just look at the aging process of meat, they hang meat that has a thick layer of fat for 3 weeks or more, in a refrigerated room, until the fat layer has so much bacteria built up that the fat turns green throughout about 2" of the outside layer of fat. The fact is that supermarkets, in the days when actual butchers worked in the markets cutting and packaging the meat, used to take old meat that was on the shelf for sale, and trim it, trimming the bad parts off, and then repackage it for sale.

Lastly, I would leave every bit of fat on the meat, every bit that I could; it's a protective layer, and it can be cut off easily later.

 

[Manny_Silva]

glad I asked this question here. The info keeps coming and I hope it continues. From what I'm reading, I see that air is what is introducing bacteria. Heat alows the bacteria to multiply and moisture allows the bacteria to spread to other places. I feel a combination of quick,clean dressing, protect the meat using either butcher cloth, white heavy duty plastic, spices (salt/pepper) then storing in the coolest area possible. Hanging in shade of a tree, cool body of water or even a hole in the ground. With all this, there's still a considerable degree of risk and time is still the enimy. I feel a lot better about my specific trip and use all this valuable info. That is, of course, assuming I'll actually get my first kill lol. Thanks again!

 

[Bubblehide]

Manny, it sounds like you have a solid understanding of the situation. But keep in mind, that at least a minute amount of undesirable bacteria will already be on the meat, no matter what you do, or how you do it. What your trying to do is slow the bacterial growth as much as possible.

Best of luck with a successful trip!

 

[Manny_Silva]

Manny, it sounds like you have a solid understanding of the situation. But keep in mind, that at least a minute amount of undesirable bacteria will already be on the meat, no matter what you do, or how you do it. What your trying to do is slow the bacterial growth as much as possible.

Best of luck with a successful trip!

Thanks! I will definitely post pics if I get one

 

[CaliforniaKid]

You can also use citric acid on the meat. Ask a butcher and they will give you a good run down. It makes it tougher for flies to lay eggs and bacteria to spread. You want to keep the meat dry. Moisture will help bacteria spread. There are several websites that give some great tips on meat care.

I would only recommend using plastic bags if it is a must. You want the meat to breathe through the bag. Cloth bags (even a pillow case) work well. Cheesecloth can rip easily. I usually pick up some pillow cases, wash them in scent free soap, and keep then in my pack. Take up less space than others.

 

[Beastmode]

You can also use citric acid on the meat. Ask a butcher and they will give you a good run down. It makes it tougher for flies to lay eggs and bacteria to spread. You want to keep the meat dry. Moisture will help bacteria spread. There are several websites that give some great tips on meat care.

I would only recommend using plastic bags if it is a must. You want the meat to breathe through the bag. Cloth bags (even a pillow case) work well. Cheesecloth can rip easily. I usually pick up some pillow cases, wash them in scent free soap, and keep then in my pack. Take up less space than others.

I only use meat bags when I put meat in a creek or on the trip out. Otherwise you need meat to breath as much as possible. Pristine ventures makes some awesome game bags.

 

[jindydiver]

We collect wild meat all year around and the temperature doesn't matter as much as you might think. If you can get the meat off the animal as quickly and CLEANLY as possible and get it into meat bags and into a breezy spot to cool you can get away with a lot. The secret is to not make cuts into meat except where you can't avoid it. Meat has it's own protective cover (silver skin) and once you get the meat cooling in the breeze that tissue dries out and bacterial growth stops.
If you can field dress your animal as cleanly as possible (making sure you get all of the internals out from ears to tail) the only meat you will have exposed is at the neck where you cut it's head off and in the belly flaps where you cut it open to gut it.
Do not use plastic bags. The meat sweats in them and doesn't dry out, and the water just promotes bacterial growth.
We put all our meat into cotton bags and to pack them out we put them into nylon net bags. The net bags are about 3 foot long and expand to maybe 18" round or more. These can be tied or clipped to your pack so the meat is stable and still out in the open and getting the breeze.
a fallow buck bagged up and ready for the carry back....

A bunch of deer hanging ready to go. The ones in bags were shot in the morning and needed to be taken care of straight away, the ones just on the hooks were shot in the arvo and cooled down over night

 

[Manny_Silva]

Mick

Thanks for the post and pics. Love the cotton nylon combo. Makes sense. Sounds like dressing plays a big part in your success. I've watched videos on YouTube demonstrating field dressing. Do u have anything posted on YouTube. Ive seen both pig and dear done many different ways. I'd like to see your technique or one similar.

Thanks