Proper Field Dress Info

[Shot]

You can wash your meat no problem, just get it on ice afterwards. If you get any kind of digestive tract juices on your meat you would want to wash it off asap. I have cleaned many hogs in rivers with no spoilage what so ever. One other problem is some hunters don't let the meat cool down before packing it away. I have seen this dozens of times, harm meat gets back away, once home and it smells like s!!t.

And about butchers. I have never taken any of my animals to one. It was difficult to learn how to get all the cuts down, but I learned the hard way. Besides I can't justify paying someone to cut and pack my meat for me. For me thats one of the most exciting parts, while butchering I usually have a cold one with my father and recap what happened on the hunt. Plus no worries of me losing meat to some butcher.

 

[Shot]

Originally posted by Speckmisser@Jun 9 2005, 12:30 PM
Bacteria grows BEST in warm temps, but it can grow right on down below freezing.  That's why you have worries about salmonella on chicken, and e-coli on beef, even after it's been frozen (often frozen more than once). 

Speck, not saying that your wrong (maybe I am) but this is what I have learned.

Salmonella and e-coli can not grow at low temperatures, near freezing. The reason why people are worried that chicken and beef might have it is becasue they were frozen with it. Freezing will not kill the bacteria, it only stops it from growing and spreading. The bacteria walls on these type of bacterias are too weak and freeze easily, thus they can't spread at low temps and easily killed by cooking.

 

[Bishop]

Originally posted by Rancho Loco@Jun 9 2005, 01:43 PM
And that FDA line he gave you is a bunch of crap. The USDA is the one in charge...In addition - both butchers I take it to wash the carcasses down immediately.

I gotta agree with that. The meat packer I use does ton's of meat for the cattle and hog ranchers in the area. First thing he does when you give him a carcass is hang it up and rinse it off with a water hose.

 

[Buck-eye]

He did say USDA, not FDA. That was my B.A.D.

 

[DukeMaster]

When I was in FFA we went to a slaughterhouse in Chino for a field trip. When the killed ,gutted and skinned a steer they hung it by the ACL and had a guy with a high pressure hose rinsing it down before it went into a walk-in cooler. My dad who was a butcher told me it was to leach as much of the blood out as possible.

 

[Speckmisser]

Shot, You're not wrong... I may have slightly misspoken. The bacteria may not grow below freezing, but it doesn't hurt them and they take off with a vengeance when the meat warms up again.

 

[bayedsolid]

Water doesn't hurt unless you wash it down and put it in the cooler wet. If you rinse it and then dry it off or let it hang and dry for a bit before you close it up in the cooler you'll be fine. I agree that many butchers just like to complain. They just want their job to be as easy as possible and if they have to pick out one single hair, you'll hear about it. I wouldn't worry about it. I do find it funny that there was a 40% loss. If something spoils....it spreads quick throughout. I'd be more apt to say he was being lazy, made the easy cuts, and came up with a story to give you as to why there is some missing. I also have personally known of butchers that were skimming a few packages off the top and selling it. I think it's best to cut it up yourself and just take the ham's to get smoked, if that's what you'd like, or something like that.

 

[Arrowslinger]

Good points by all....(Bayedsolid) usually when i put my pig in a cooler, there's already ice in it..so i would suspect putting a wet pig in a cold cooler wouldn't hurt...i'm assuming you're referring to putting a pig in a dry cooler (no ice).

 

[Live2hunt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

I cannot remember the reasoning, but I lost the ability to make chops and roasts. All I have is the straps, the hams, and a bunch of sausage.[/b]

Looks to me like your hog got a shoulder shot. Most of the time a bullet in the shoulder of a hog or a deer pretty much took away the meat on that shoulder or both if the bullet went straight through the whole animal. You won't get any chops if you get straps and both shoulder of your hog have bullet damage. As I understand chops are made from the shoulder or back bone cut with the straps on.



L2H

 

[bayedsolid]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

usually when i put my pig in a cooler, there's already ice in it..so i would suspect putting a wet pig in a cold cooler wouldn't hurt...i'm assuming you're referring to putting a pig in a dry cooler (no ice).[/b]

I was...thanks for clarifying. When I transport meat I hang it until it cools....even just hanging the meat on a boned out critter, and I wrap it inside a sleeping bag or two. Same difference as a cooler I suppose but without the water worries.

 

[BLASTMASTER]

I don't know, but ever since I was a kid, my grandfather showed me how to process our kill. I have never taken anything to a butcher, and only in the last few years have I used anything but a kitchen knife and hacksaw ( got a cheep meat slicer and old electric grinder now). It's not hard to do, and I think of it as a part of hunting. I usually have an animal in quarters and cold as fast as I can, after the kill. Then I have it sliced, portioned-out and in the freezer within just a few hours of that. I have never hung anything.
This last little hog was gutted in the dark, and didn't get skinned and quartered until the next morning, because of the late hour. It was cool enough after being open to air for about an hour, so I slipped it into two plastic bags, and stuffed it into an iced-down (big) cooler. After the next morning's hunt, I hung it in a tree. I skinned it, cut out shot damage, quartered it and split the ribcage. We rinsed all the pieces in bottled water, put them in a big plastic bag & the bag into the ice in the cooler. The bag sat in ice, in the cooler, from Sunday morning till tuesday afternoon, when I thoroughly washed all the pieces, cut, portioned, vacuum sealed, and froze them. That meat was pristine.
I believe there is an amount of bacteria that is unavoidable (unless you heat it to the right temp for the right amount of time to kill it, the seal it), but also that washing off the contaminants will get rid of most of it. I think it clings to the surface, and washing it reduces the quantity of bacteria ready to grow. Keeping bacteria from growing also keeps the quantity down. It grows faster with warmer temperatures, humidity, the presence of air, and under other environmental factors like ph (if you do canning, you would know about that). I think it's a balancing act among the different things you can do to remove as much as you can, and restrict the growth of what you can't remove.
The only thing wrong with a plastic bag, is that it supports humidity, but if you prevent humidity in other ways, like temperature, the plastic bag can be benificial in other ways, like protection from exposure to outside sources of bacteria. I certainly wouldn't put meat in a plastic bag when the temperature was such that the bag would create period of high humidity before having a chance to down. Air exposure isn't good for the meat either, but it is beneficial in dispersing humidity. If you think of it like the plants in the tropics, you'll see what I mean. Plants grow well there because of the humidity, not the rain or the heat independently. When they say to control the moisture or control the heat, or don't put it in a plastic bag and let it breath, what they're really doing is controlling the humidity. Humidity is a high-growth environment for bacteria. You can get the meat wet, as long as that moisture doesn't end up causing a humid environment. You can put it in a plastic bag too, as long as that moisture doesn't end up causing a humid environment. Heat is another story, though. The diferrence with heat is that moisture already exists in the meat and there is going to be a humid environment along the surface of the meat, as the moisture in the meat evaporates. So, to bring it on home...Jerky is safe only because bacteria growth was controlled by salt, during the high-growth environment while it's drying, and continues to be safe at room temperatures because of both the salt, and the lack of moisture (which reduces surface humidity). Canned fish is safe when it is processed for a time and temperature that kills the remaining bacteria, and is sealed from contamination by an outside source of bacteria.
1. Get rid of as much bateria infested contaminents as possible, and don't expose it to other outside sources of bacteria ( like washing it with creek water).
2. Use a combination of methods, based on the situation at hand, to control the humidity.
3. Above all, keep the temperature down, because it supports bacterial growth by joining in with other environmental factors that ARE BEYOND your control.

Following these guidelines, I have never lost a pound of meat, and no one has ever become ill! (30+ deer, several pigs, many turkeys pheasants and quail, and countless fish; fresh, frozen, and canned) (not to mention all the home-grown domestic meat i've processed)

I don't know if that processor is jackin' you or not, only those of you who have seen for yourselves could make that call, but it sounds a little funny to me. I suggest you give it a go, on the next one. Processing is not all that hard. Maybe just do a portion of each kill yourself, until you feel comfortable. I've been doing it since I was 12.

BTW, the sausage was outstanding!
(somehow I keep picturing that Seinfeld episode where George's dad flashes-back to his army cook days, when he served taited meat to all the soldiers)

 

[outdoorplay]

Originally posted by Buck-eye@Jun 9 2005, 12:40 PM
I took it to T H Meats in San Marcos.

thank you now I know were I won't ever go and if someone should ask.


Phil's is still my #1 pick

Ok, I out of here, going surfing at San Onofre for the weekend

 

[bjake21]

I have only shot 2 animals (besides a few rabbits and squirrels) in my 6 months of hunting, a turkey a couple months ago and a pig over the memorial day weekend. I was never exposed to hunting growing up (I'm 23 now

) and I wish I had been, I'm hooked now.

With that said I have never seen anyone gut, skin or butcher a large animal before my pig. When I got my pig a field dressed the animal, from what I've read in books, internet and talking to guys at the gun shop I knew I could do this part (besides there isn't much of an alternative). Since CR is less than 2 hours from my home I figured I would take it to a friend's to have him guide me in the skinning/butcher process. When I got it to the DFG window where they took my info and weighed it I got a few pointers and decided to skin it hanging from the nearby tree and it turned out pretty good.

When I got him home I still planned on taking it to my friend's to go through the butcher process but ended up doing at home. I put some plastic down over a table and went to work. Long story short, it was not half as difficult as I thought and I was able to do everything myself and ended up with only 2 1-gallon ziplock bags of scrap for sausage and very minimal waste. I have BBQ and eaten a portion from every part but the ribs (BBQ tomorrow

) and it has been GREAT.

Bottom line, it definately took me a little longer my first time but it is not difficult to do everything yourself. I definately consider everything after the kill just as much part of the hunt. Knowing that I did everything myself (learning as I went) I feel like I accomplished a lot from the whole process and was worth every minute of it.

(plus there is no worry about how much you will get back from a butcher) I am still looking for a place around Santa Barbara that will smoke the hams though.

 

[MikenSoCo]

I suggest removing the back straps and tenderlions before it goes to the butcher. I've also found washing the carcass down with red wine vinegar, then rubing it down with papertowels removes hard-to-get hairs and debris. A good pepper sprinkling helps deter bugs on those warmer days as well!

 

[Shot]

Forgot to mention this. One effective way to get rid of blood, hair, and dirt is to place the meat in a pot with some water and let it come to a boil. You will notice that as it is boiling lots of foam will build up, scoope the foam out, since this is mostly blood. While scooping the foam out you will also notice dirt and hair in the foam. It has worked great for me. The only thing is you do this process only when getting ready to cook.

 

[need2hunt]

I had a question about storing the meat in the frig. How does everyone store the meat in the frige? I had some meat that was in a plain plastic bag and when I took it out the meat had ice all around it. The meat was very tuff.

 

[tule elk]

Just a word of caution about plastic bags. I would not recommend using garbage bags to wrap meat/carcasses in. These bags are not food grade quality bags and can leach petroleum(or something along those lines) byproducts into the meat. This is what I was told and it makes sense to me.

Joe

 

[joe90605]

Just got done eating another batch of chops. Excellent! Bree's meats in Garden Grove did a great job turing my (approx) 90lb hog into 40lbs of chops, steaks, roasts, ribs and sausage. Total cost: $101 and change. I got my hog to the butcher by 10:00am after leaving Tejon at about 1:00am. This is my first hog and I'm sure looking forward to the next!

 

[JDC]

Buckeye-

In the off season, you may want to go check out the butcher in Alpine. I have heard a lot of good reports on him.

There is also one in Ramona that I have not heard bad things about. I think that one was call Ramona Meats.

This may under simplify things, but I figure my grandfather has been butchering meat for most of his 85 years.

He says to make sure it's clean of hair, dirt, and guts.

Then get it cool.

I'm a little curious about the concern of water on the carcass. Other than making it harder to cut up, what's the big issue with cold (ice water) getting to the meat??

 

[ooja]

It helps bacteria move. If the water is ice cold, the bacteria cannot reproduce in it, but it has the tendency to move bacteria from one area to a new and uncontaminated area. If the water warms up, the bacteria begin reproducing and lots more meat is contaminated. In the Guide to Hunting Wild Pigs in California put out by the CA DFG, it recommends to freeze the meat until it is hard and cook the meat until it hits 170 degrees core temperature. The freezing stops the bacteria from breeding, and the heat kills it. Don't forget when thawing, either keep the meat in very cold but not frozen water for a big piece for a day, or place a small piece in a ziplock, put it in warm water until thawed (20 minutes) and then hit the fire quick. The key is to keep the meat cold so the bacteria don't start reproducing, and as soon as thawed, to hit it with fire. All meat has some bacteria on it, but if frozen, the bacteria don't reproduce to serious levels. If you leave meat out to thaw for too long, the bacteria will grow and ruin an otherwise good piece of meat.

Also, some bacteria don't bother people, but their wastes do. It is possible to cook meat until it is well done, but if the bacteria had been living long enough and produced enough waste, the waste cannot be burned off and the meat will still be bad. This happens more often with seafood, probably because of the types of bacteria associated with animals of the sea.

Kill it. Cut it carefully, get it cold, keep it dry, freeze it soon, thaw it properly, and cook it completely. If all the steps are done right, there will be no problems. Even using water is not a problem if the meat is kept cold then processed and frozen in a reasonable amount of time, see previous posts by other members.