Meat care question

[DAQ80]

So after a few failed attempts last year at bagging my first hog on my own at VAFB I went ahead and scheduled a guided hunt for next month with Tom Willoughby. My question is what is the best way to transport the meat from the King City area back down to San Diego. I have a 165 QT cooler to put it in, but what is the best way to ice it? I've heard to keep the meat dry but I've also heard to make a brining solution.
Also I've heard that Tom has a cooler to hang the pig in, would i benefit from hanging around the area for an extra day or two to allow the meat to hang and dry if he was nice enough to let me do so? Any advice is greatly appreciated, and I'll be sure to post the results of the hunt, thanks guys.

 

[ltdann]

Depends. Are you going to butcher it yourself or take it to a butcher?

If your going to do it yourself, quarter it, put it games bags and put 5 lbs of dry ice in the cooler and tape it shut. It'll stay cold till you get it home.

If your taking it to a butcher, split it down the middle, along the spine ( if it fits in your cooler), wrap it in an old sheet. Take some stout garbage bags, double bag some ice and put it on top. The butcher will let it hang for a day or so in his own cooler to let it dry.

The idea is to keep cold and dry as possible.

 

[asaxon]

Options
#1. Tom does have a lovely walk in cooler. Just let it hang overnight in his cooler and then it will be chilled through. Overnight is plenty long enough to chill it. Then put it in your ice chest and take it home. If you want "extra insurance", put a 10 lb bag of ice or two inside the body cavity BUT BE SURE TO DOUBLE BAG IT with study plastic bags that will not leak. You do NOT want the melting ice water to get the meat wet of course. I have done this with Tom several time. He does live 20 min NW of King City so if you hunt closer to Paso with him which is possible, it does mean going a fair bit out of your way. But if you're going to take a day or two to visit the Pinnacles Nat. Monument or something else, it works out fine.

#2. If you don't want to hang around, just put the meat in a cloth carcass bag after you put one or two 10 lb bags of ice inside the body cavity BUT BE SURE TO DOUBLE BAG THE ICE with study plastic bags that will not leak. You do NOT want the melting ice water to get the meat wet. Throw that in the cooler and then put in a couple similar wrapped bags of ice on top in the cooler and you are good to go for days.

#3. No cooler necessary. If you don't want to hang around, just put the meat in a cloth carcus bag after you put one or two 10 lb bags of ice inside the body cavity BUT BE SURE TO DOUBLE BAG THEM with study plastic bags that will not leak. You do NOT want the melting ice water getting the meat wet. Just put than on a water proof tarp or something in the the truck of your car or even better back seat. Put a couple of similarly wrapped ice bags on top of it and over it with some old blankets (wool is best) or a bunch of old towels. If it is inside the car, and it is hot outside, use your air conditioning to keep the temp in the car reasonable. This works fine especally if you are coming home in the evening/dark. This is generally how I transport my hogs back to Santa Monica from the San Miguel/King City area. Never had a problem with this.

And I promise you, you will get a hog unless you have a bent rifle or your sights are off. FYI, Tom expects you to have your firearm sighted in when you arrive He does not have a "range" for you to sight in at so have your firearm ready to go. Have fun and say Hi to Tom for me. Andy S.

PS - I just saw Ltdann's post. Yes that would do it but getting dry ice is a pain. With what he has suggested, you would probably transport it across the country. Ltdann does not do things in 1/2 measure.

 

[DAQ80]

I'm still debating that. Will a butcher take the meat if it's already quartered? If so I may do some of it myself and take some to the butcher.

 

[DAQ80]

Lt Dan & asaxon - Thanks to both of you for the quick response and advice. I don't have very many posts on here (due to just getting back into hunting last year and not having had any success yet), but i've seen many of your posts and learned a lot from this site, especially Lt Dan and myfriendis410.

asaxon - I hope you're right about getting one with Tom and from what i've seen and heard from everyone that's hunted with him youre on the money. And the .308 is sighted in and ready to go with some 150gr Hornady GMX.

 

[Deleted member 33033]

Mine was quartered and placed in plastic trash bags inside the cooler, I laid the unopened ice bags on top of em. Worked just fine.

 

[DuckFever]

IMO brining will kill the lovely gaminess of the hog. I'd use dry ice to pack it, that you can buy for under $10.

 

[Bubblehide]

I do my own butchering, as such, I carry a bunch of the white heavy duty trash compactor bags. I quarter the animal, place the quarters inside a bag, put them in the cooler with ice; as long as I don't puncture the compactor bag(s), the meat stays dry. Lots of options can work, simply pick the best one for you.

By the way, best of luck!

 

[wtpops]

One thing i might add. Unless you plan on de-bonning the pig i would bring two 165 qt coolers or one bigger cooler. If you get a medeum size meat pig a 165 might work but if you luck into a good size hog a 165 will be to small even if you quarter it. I use a 210 add it has been to small a time or two.

 

[myfriendis410]

Just an FYI: I am always concerned about the lubricant used to manufacture trash bags. For all we know it's 30 weight Pennzoil. I'd sure hate to have that rubbing up against the meat. I prefer Dan's suggestion about using game bags and double bagging ice. That way you have clean cloth up against the carcass.

We like to age the meat for 5 to 7 days max before butchering as it dries the meat and makes for a better finished product. We also butcher ourselves--it's not hard to do and unless you want sausage you don't need any specialized tools. You might even find the butcher amenable to taking the pork you want to grind after you butcher it yourself. An added advantage to that is you know what's in your sausage.

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Let Tom hang it for you until you are about to leave. I would place the hog whole in your 165 qt ice chest. Fill the bottom of the ice chest with ice (Triple Bag it) . Throw hog in, fill the cavity, COMPLETELY with ice (Triple Bag it) and cover the top with ice as well... That hog will cool WAY down. You will be just fine. I've done that more times than I can count...GoodLuck...

 

[jerryt]

During these hot next few months all my pigs will be hung and skinned immediatley and then cut into quarters. I lay it in the ice chest on top of a garbage bag with the ice below. Can leave it like that a few days if needed just make sure I always drain the water out so the meat stays dry. I always take it to the buthcer shop to have it processed. I used to do all my own processing but when I discovered for $100 to $150 I can have everything done for me and smoked to boot, it was worth having the hours available that it took me to process the game to do other things that need my attention around the house.

 

[ltdann]

During these hot next few months all my pigs will be hung and skinned immediatley and then cut into quarters. I lay it in the ice chest on top of a garbage bag with the ice below. Can leave it like that a few days if needed just make sure I always drain the water out so the meat stays dry. I always take it to the buthcer shop to have it processed. I used to do all my own processing but when I discovered for $100 to $150 I can have everything done for me and smoked to boot, it was worth having the hours available that it took me to process the game to do other things that need my attention around the house.

Pigs are SOOOO easy to process. It's like nature's perfect little meat package, just built to help the butcher make his cuts. Everything's usable, from the rooter to the tooter. Just depends on you want.

The meatman has a great vid to help you along. http://www.askthemeatman.com/meat_cutting_videos.htm#pork%20processing%20dvd708

One of the these days, I'll get a nice meat cutting bandsaw to speed things up.

 

[Wild1]

Lots of different options here - most will work. One simple and inexpensive option I didn't see mentioned: before you leave home fill empty two-litre soda containers will water and freeze. Once you're pig is skinned, simply fill the body cavity with frozen two-liter plastic bottles and wrap in a tarp. Done. FYI: I process my own deer, but you'd need a band saw to do a real good job with a pig. My butcher charges me around $55.00 (give or take, depending on the size), and I get the best roasts, chops, , smoked ham and sausage you can imagine. Good luck.

 

[myfriendis410]

Quote from LtDann: Pigs are SOOOO easy to process. It's like nature's perfect little meat package, just built to help the butcher make his cuts. Everything's usable, from the rooter to the tooter. Just depends on you want.

I DON'T want your "tooter" recipe..........

 

[DAQ80]

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone. Can anyone recommend a good butcher in the San Diego area. I know there are a few but never had any personal experience with any of them. I think I'm going to butcher some myself and have the butcher do some sausage and smoked ham for me. Thanks again.

 

[ltdann]

Quote from LtDann: Pigs are SOOOO easy to process. It's like nature's perfect little meat package, just built to help the butcher make his cuts. Everything's usable, from the rooter to the tooter. Just depends on you want.

I DON'T want your "tooter" recipe..........

Ever hear the expression, "you DON'T want to see sausages being made?" LOL

It's best just not to know and enjoy the flavor.

 

[myfriendis410]

I will NEVER ask you for a sample of your wild pork sausage, dude. That's just wrong......

 

[ltdann]

I will NEVER ask you for a sample of your wild pork sausage, dude. That's just wrong......

Ahhh come on.....:hog chewing:natural hog casings are intestines!

They go alllllll the way to the tooter.

Its not like they leave the butt hole attached or anything.:sigh-geez: