# Iceing Down deer meat in Ice Chest Question



## Blue.dog (May 8, 2005)

I see from time to time hunters bringing deer meat into processors in Ice Chests that are filled with Ice and the deer meat sort of floating around in all of this ice.

My place is located some 45 minutes to a processor - one way. This makes for a long evening after dark in warm weather.

What are your opinions about skinning and quartering deer; then iceing them down bigtime in an ice chest. Most of my deer meat goes into sausage.

I've recently learned how to make 'wraps' with the backstraps and tenderloins., so I will at least pull them out prior to icing them down.

My wife wants me to build a walk-in-cooler at my place. Yes, I can; but is it necessary?

Does the water have any effect on the quality of the processed meat?


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## SEA PRO 210 (Jun 11, 2004)

*Ice*

I usually keep mine in a cooler packed in ice for 3 days. You can go as long as 5 days. The key to it is make sure the meat is well drained. Do not let it sit in ice water as this will toughen the meat. I have found that leaving it packed in ice will draw most of the blood out of the meat minimizing the "gamey" taste.


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## RC's Mom (Jun 6, 2008)

SEA PRO 210 said:


> I usually keep mine in a cooler packed in ice for 3 days. You can go as long as 5 days. The key to it is make sure the meat is well drained. Do not let it sit in ice water as this will toughen the meat. I have found that leaving it packed in ice will draw most of the blood out of the meat minimizing the "gamey" taste.


X2 on ice/3 days...deer and hogs both.

Darlene


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## activescrape (Jan 8, 2006)

I have always preferred the dry aging method. If it's not cold enough to hang outside, you can pay a processor to hang it for however long you want(5-7 days seems ideal). Then process it yourself, that's what I do. I like it red, dry and tender. I also quarter it sometimes and bag it and ice it down that way, I just don't want it soaked in water, even cold, icy water.


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## elkhunter49 (Jun 7, 2004)

I like to put mine on ice for several days prior to cutting 
it up for freezing. I will not let my venison set in water . Water 
will begain breaking the meat down. Bag your meat in a
water tight package and chill it for several days prior to 
freezing. I prefer to vacuum seal and bag. I'm able to keep 
it fresh longer. Later Baker


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## Team X-TREME (Jun 28, 2009)

Put meat in ice cold, slushy icewater. Drain and re-ice/water every 24 hours. Just keep it cold. Will last 4-5 days if you keep it icy cold.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

I do deer and hogs quartered up and leave them in the ice chest for several days topping off with ice. Sometimes I drain it and sometimes I let them soak in the ice slurry, never could tell a difference in them either way. If it's a slurry though I do drain it at least once a day.


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## Etexhunter (May 11, 2008)

justletmein said:


> I do deer and hogs quartered up and leave them in the ice chest for several days topping off with ice. Sometimes I drain it and sometimes I let them soak in the ice slurry, never could tell a difference in them either way. If it's a slurry though I do drain it at least once a day.


X 2..


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## huntr4life (Apr 30, 2007)

We always let it bleed out in an ice chests.


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## phil k (May 8, 2007)

take it to a cold storage place that hangs game let it hang for 5-7 days and let it age..marvel red meat ...the cooler temps are steady at 33-35 deg.it dries out the tendions and ligaments makes it alot tender

phil


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

I put mine on ice for a week before butchering it.........always have.
And I never drain off all the water, just enough to add more ice...


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## dwilliams35 (Oct 8, 2006)

we keep ice on it, never close the drain until it goes on the truck to go home... You can sure see a lot of blood coming out of that drain over the first few hours when the warm meat is cooling down...


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## activescrape (Jan 8, 2006)

I've hunted around a little and this seems like something particular to the gulf coast and south. Ne ver ran into anyone in Iowa, Kansas or Colorado that aged their deer, elk, etc, in ice or ice water. The blood doesn't bother me in the least, slow cooling meat is a bad deal though. It's probably more about temperature than anything.


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## dwilliams35 (Oct 8, 2006)

activescrape said:


> I've hunted around a little and this seems like something particular to the gulf coast and south. Ne ver ran into anyone in Iowa, Kansas or Colorado that aged their deer, elk, etc, in ice or ice water. The blood doesn't bother me in the least, slow cooling meat is a bad deal though. It's probably more about temperature than anything.


 Those guys don't hunt when it's in the 80's, do they??


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## activescrape (Jan 8, 2006)

dwilliams35 said:


> Those guys don't hunt when it's in the 80's, do they??


 No, and that is precisely the point.


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## Swampus (Sep 1, 2005)

Salt Brine all meat in ice and drain water --add Ice and more salt 1/2 of a reg. table salt--rock salt will freeze it--stays cold as heck and brines/tenderizes the meat--talked to a few "Processors" and they said same thing--even up to 3 weeks. I do it for 5-7 days--process all my own game since I was a little boy.--Good Eats!

Cain't believe nobody said anything about salt!----Dang good stuff!--Pass the Backstrap Please!

If I have a walk in cooler--Like our family ranch--sure--I shoot as early as possible and let her hang till I leave the ranch.--I'm always the last to leave.


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## deke (Oct 5, 2004)

activescrape said:


> I've hunted around a little and this seems like something particular to the gulf coast and south. Ne ver ran into anyone in Iowa, Kansas or Colorado that aged their deer, elk, etc, in ice or ice water. The blood doesn't bother me in the least, slow cooling meat is a bad deal though. It's probably more about temperature than anything.


My last hunt in Iowa the deer froze solid hanging in the barn! lol

Plus the deer there taste a hell of alot better than they do down here, like the old saying goes, "you are what you eat".


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## LongRodMaster (Mar 5, 2005)

Redfishr said:


> I put mine on ice for a week before butchering it.........always have.
> And I never drain off all the water, just enough to add more ice...


X2 takes the gamey taste out of it not that i mind but the Family preffers it that way.


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## KillaHookset (Jan 6, 2005)

Same as Swampus mentioned. in cooler with meat suspeneded in ice not laying on bottom or sides or stacked in a pile. Drain daily add new ice as needed add salt to keep it cold. Rinse meat with fresh water before processing. Will keep for several weeks using this method since the temps are just above freezing.


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## Tommy2000 (Mar 23, 2008)

In a cooler, meat on the bottom, ice on the top and drain plug open, for traveling. Up here, we throw them in the pickup and hang them in the yard, butcher them after work.


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## Blue.dog (May 8, 2005)

*Ice or Ice Water*

Well, here is the score:

Hang em - 2
Packed in Ice no water - 8
Loose in Ice water - 6

When weather warmer than 45 deg F
Deer shot in the morning: 
Take to town : hang in cooler in town; or give to processor in town

Deer shot in the evening:
Skin/quarter and pack in ice chest keeping water drained

When weather colder than 45 deg F
Hang em in camp and take to town to cooler or processor at my convience.

Most of my deer meat goes into link sausage or slim jims;so, ice -water or no water - will probably work.

Thanks for you input. More replys will be appreciated.
blue.dog


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

hang em -3 now

If it isn't cool enough to let one hang for a few days I'll put them on ice but I never let the meat soak in water. I don't like gray looking meat.


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## wacker (Mar 22, 2006)

Hang them x4 now! I would throw it to the dog if it got wet. Red and rare is how we like it.

If it is really hot and I am at a "away game" I will 1/4 and put on top of ice in a chest till I get home but never let it get wet. Proper dry aging will take out game taste and make it tender. Aging is all about breaking down the tendon and muscle which cant happen if too cold. 

Is this the same tread as last year and the year before that??


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## rotti (May 12, 2006)

I've always quartered my deer and packed them in ice for 3-5 days. I drain any excess water off at least once a day and add new ice as needed. I'll start cutting them up btw days 3-5 a qtr or two a day (my back kills me if I debone all 4 quarters/straps in one sitting.)

I once hunted w/ a group of guys that would always add 1/2-1 cup of vinegar to the cooler as well (especially w/ hogs). I usually do this now but cant say it makes a huge difference removing any gamey flavor.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

get a very large cooler , pack the meat in plenty of ice, open the drain plug and place a prop under the opposite end of the cooler plug. add ice as needed .


make sure cooler is in the shade all day

3 days is plenty.........


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## activescrape (Jan 8, 2006)

Can I ask a question for the ice down and slurry proponents. Would you still do it this way if you lived up north? Would you bring it into the garage to keep it from freezing and age and bleed it out this way?


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## nhampton (Aug 8, 2007)

Have seen some great ideas here, I think if you can afford it and have the long term security, a walk in cooler is the best bet. If that won't work out the way I like to do it is to clean, skin, and quarter asap trimming and throwing away anything questionable. Ice chest large enough to hold deer and ice and still close (ever notice those half open 48 qts coming home on Sunday) sanitize ice chest with 1 part liquid bleach 7 parts water and a good squirt of liquid soap. Rinse thoroughly and put down ice layer, front shoulders, ice, backstrap & tenderloin, ice, ribs, neck, ice, hams and ice to top off. This reflects the way I quarter, but the idea is to get the meat cooled rapidly and uniformly (I've had shoulders go bad because they were at the bottom of the box and the ice couldn't get the underside cool). I don't leave the drain completely open (I've had blowflies get in through the open drain) but I'll unscrew the cap until it drips (just remember to close it tight before putting it inside a vehicle, it gets plum ugly). I'll check daily and add ice or clear drain as necessary. As long as I do all this I can go for up to a week. I've never tried salt, but it will reduce the freezing point (i.e. ice cream making) and hold the meat at a lower temp which should be good. One thing to consider about salt, it will go into the meat and you may want to cook a small batch and try it before adding your regular amount of salt to your recipe.


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## rlw (May 21, 2004)

We had a hanging cooler which we hung them quartered and had a chest type freezer which we kept 5 gallon buckets frozen in. When we headed home broke up the ice and let it set for several days before taking it in to the packing house, the cool meat wouldn't melt the ice either. So I guess this could go either way. LOL


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## AirbornXpress (Sep 27, 2006)

*Hang or ice*



wacker said:


> Hang them x4 now! I would throw it to the dog if it got wet. Red and rare is how we like it.
> 
> If it is really hot and I am at a "away game" I will 1/4 and put on top of ice in a chest till I get home but never let it get wet. Proper dry aging will take out game taste and make it tender. Aging is all about breaking down the tendon and muscle which cant happen if too cold.
> 
> Is this the same tread as last year and the year before that??


 Hang them if you can or ice them the meat turns red after taken out of the water and always tender


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## LongRodMaster (Mar 5, 2005)

activescrape said:


> Can I ask a question for the ice down and slurry proponents. Would you still do it this way if you lived up north? Would you bring it into the garage to keep it from freezing and age and bleed it out this way?


 I have done both hung the meat in a cooler and the ice methods and would continue to ice down regaurdless of location or temperature.


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## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

Haute Pursuit said:


> hang em -3 now
> 
> My choice.
> 
> If it isn't cool enough to let one hang for a few days I'll put them on ice but I never let the meat soak in water. I don't like gray looking meat.


 The only issue with hanging, is that somewhere between two - three days, if it's a 'little too low' my dog and I develop a disagreement as to who it belongs to. He's trained me to 'hang 'em high'.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

activescrape said:


> Can I ask a question for the ice down and slurry proponents. Would you still do it this way if you lived up north? Would you bring it into the garage to keep it from freezing and age and bleed it out this way?


If the temperature is consistent enough I'd hang it. Not being from up North though I'm not sure how easy it would be say if the temp goes below freezing and your deer freezes whole or the sun comes out and warms it a bit too much even though the ambient air temp is agreeable. So, I may just go ahead and quarter/ice them and leave the chest in the garage anyway.


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

clean and quarter as quick as possible. Place in cooler with ice. let sit 3 days draining water and adding ice as necessary. Slice off membranes and discolored meat while processing. Debone all meat. I try to cut off all unsightly meat and discard even for sausage. Most people do not realize there is a musk gland in each hindquarter.


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## spiwonka (Jan 29, 2009)

I've always let it sit in icewater and just pull the plug once a day and drain it. Keep it packed in ice. It gets the blood out of the meat. I've also seen articles where it says it does no good to age deer, because the deer don't have the fat like a cow does so aging process does not happen, like it does with livestock. Always kept in cooler from 3-6 days!!


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## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

spiwonka said:


> I've always let it sit in icewater and just pull the plug once a day and drain it. Keep it packed in ice. It gets the blood out of the meat. I've also seen articles where it says it does no good to age deer, because the deer don't have the fat like a cow does so *aging process does not happen*, like it does with livestock. Always kept in cooler from 3-6 days!!




OF course it ages. Yeah, not like beef, it's very different meat. 

But, careful aging (deteriorates and breaks down the cellular structure) can leave venison as soft and tender as warm butter. My wife does the cooking, and about 95% of what I process can be fork cut.


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## activescrape (Jan 8, 2006)

What is the aversion to blood? Most everyone I know wants their red meat rare to meduim rare. That means juicy and bloody. What's wrong with blood in red meat?


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