SOME TIPS
AND INFORMATION ON WILD GAME MEAT HANDLING PROCEDURES
Be Prepared for the Hunt: Remember to bring a sharp hunting knife,
a small hatchet, a whetstone or steel, about 12 feet of light rope or nylon
cord, plastic bags, and clean cloths or paper towels. Other essentials include
proper clothing, binoculars, a canteen of fresh water, a compass, a map and
matches. In warm weather
you may want to bring a can of ground pepper and some cheesecloth. The carcass
may be sprinkled with pepper and covered with cheesecloth to repel flies.
Bleeding
the Animal: Bleed, dress and cool the carcass promptly. When animals
have been shot in the ribs, internal bleeding into the chest cavity may be enough.
Most other shots take additional bleeding. Some hunters use a hunting knife
to stick the carcass by severing the large blood vessel leading to the heart.
Proper bleeding improves keeping qualities and appearance of the meat.
If the animal
is a trophy buck that you plan to mount, do not sever its throat, because this
will cause problems during mounting.
Field
Dressing: There are three major rules to follow as soon as the animal
is dead. Remove the intestines, lungs, liver and heart as soon after the kill
as possible. Keep the carcass clean by getting it off the ground as quickly
as possible and by using clean utensils during dressing. Cool the carcass quickly
and keep it cool during processing and transport. When field dressing an animal,
plastic surgical gloves are recommended. Clean your hunting knife often with
clean water and a cloth to prevent contamination of the meat.
Place the animal on
its back with the front-end elevated and spread the hind legs. Support the carcass
in position by placing rocks or sticks on each side. Cut along the midline of
the belly from the breastbone to the anus. Avoid cutting into the paunch and
intestines by using the handle of the knife and the heel of your hand to crowd
the guts away. Cut around the anus, loosening the bung so it will come out with
the guts. Cut the diaphragm (the thin sheet of muscle and connective tissue
between the chest and the abdomen) free from the rib cage by cutting through
the white tissue near the rib cage. Reach forward to cut the windpipe, gullet
and blood vessels at the base of the throat. Pull the lungs, heart and guts
out of the animal. If you like variety meats, save the heart and liver in a
plastic bag and put on ice. Hanging to Drain and Clean: Put the carcass on logs
or rocks if it cannot be hung. Remove all foreign particles and loose hair.
Wipe out excess blood in gutted cavity with a paper towel or clean cloth and
clean water. Use as little water as possible, because damp meat spoils faster
than dry meat. Dry with paper towels or clean rags. Prop the cavity open with
sharpened sticks and hang the carcass in the shade until the cavity surface
is thoroughly dry. Be sure there is good air circulation. Do not use grass or
snow to wipe out the carcass, because this may contaminate the carcass.
Chilling: Improper temperature is meat’s worst enemy. The
surface of the carcass may be contaminated with bacteria that can spoil the
meat unless chilling stops the growth. During warm hunting seasons special care
should be taken to keep the carcass cool. It should be kept in the shade and
allowed as much air circulation as possible. Refrigerate the deer carcass as
soon as possible for best quality. If the weather is over 40 °F, it is strongly
recommended that the carcass be taken to a cooler the day of the kill. If the
air temperature is above 50 °F as it often is in South Carolina, the deer
carcass should be refrigerated within three to four hours after killing. Cool
the animal quickly. Cool the carcass by propping the chest open with a clean
stick and allowing air to circulate. Filling the cavity with bags of ice will
also enhance cooling. To aid cooling in warm weather, the animal may be skinned
if you have provisions to keep the carcass clean. Use ground pepper and cheesecloth
or light cotton bags to protect the skinned carcass from contamination by flies.
Do not use airtight gamebags or tarps that hold in heat and will cause meat
to spoil rapidly. In cool weather (28 to 35 °F), wrap the carcass or quarters
in a sheet and hang to chill in a ventilated shed. Do not allow the carcass
to freeze. Freezing may toughen the meat.
Keeping the carcass cool during transport: Do not tie a deer carcass
across the hood of the car or put it in the trunk when it is still warm. Be
sure to keep the carcass cool until it reaches the locker plant. Keep the carcass
out of direct sunlight and allow for adequate air circulation.
Aging Meat: Aging meat is the practice of holding carcasses or
cuts of meat at temperatures of 34 to 37 °F for 7 to 14 days to allow the
enzymes in the meat to break down some of the complex proteins in the carcass.
Aged meat is often more tender and flavorful. Do not age any game carcass if
it was shot during warm weather and not chilled rapidly, if the animal was severely
stressed prior to the kill, if gunshot areas are extensive, or if the animal
was under 1 year of age. Aging is not recommended for carcasses with little
or no fat covering because they may dry out during aging, and are more susceptible
to deterioration through microbial growth. If the meat will be ground into sausage,
aging is unnecessary.
Leave the hide
on and maintain the proper temperature when aging a carcass. Aging game that
has been skinned often results in drying and high weight loss. For this reason,
properly chilled game should be aged with the hide on unless it is to be aged
in a cooler where humidity is high. If you do not have the proper cooler space,
spoil-age or dehydration may result. Do not trim fat from game meat before it
is aged because the fat protects the meat. However, fat should be trimmed after
aging to avoid undesirable flavors associated with the fat. Limit aging to a
maximum of two weeks at 34 to 37 °F. At this point tenderization slows down,
and bacterial slime develops which then must be trimmed. Cold shortening, which
causes meat to be tough, occurs if the internal muscle temperature drops to
32 °F within 12 hours after the kill, such as if carcasses under 100 pounds
are slaughtered when the temperature is below freezing. Frozen carcasses should
be thawed and aged at 34 °F for 14 days.
Cutting: Many freezer locker stores have power saws and capable
meat cutters who cut and wrap meat. Some hunters cut their own roasts and have
steaks or chops cut by an expert meat cutter.
Cutting is
not a haphazard operation. For easy cutting, hang the carcass by the hocks or
hock tendons. Split lengthwise along the backbone from tail to neck, saw with
a meat or carpenter’s saw, or chop with a cleaver or hand ax. Keep halves
well spread while splitting. Cut between the last two ribs and through the backbone
to divide halves into quarters. The
simplest way to cut meat is to remove all flesh from bones following along natural
seams of muscles. Loins are removed from the back as they lie between the upright
vertebra and down-turned ribs. The long, sausage-shaped piece can then be trimmed
of loose tissue and cut into steak-sized pieces (similar to cutting a loaf of
bread). On smaller animals, a cut twice the desired size is made, then cut almost
in two again, leaving connective tissue enough to fold out the cuts to resemble
a butterfly.
Care
in the Kitchen: Wild game provides wholesome, nourishing food, but should
be preserved carefully to retain quality. Like domestic meat, wild meat is perishable,
so care is needed to maintain its quality. Freezing meat is the most accepted
way to maintain top quality. Keep raw meat and cooked meat separate to prevent
cross-contamination. Wash your knife, hands and cutting board often with warm,
soapy water. Trim fat and inedible parts from the carcass when it is cut. Mix
15% pork or beef fat with ground game and 35% pork fat with fresh game sausage.
To Store in Refrigerator for Immediate Use: Wrap the meat in moisture-proof
plastic wrap or place in a clean plastic storage bag. Store the meat in the
refrigerator and use within 2 or 3 days.
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