Taking Care Of Your Meat

Taking Care Of Your Meat

Tommy Allen
Tommy Allen
Hunters need to take extra care with meat during warm weather. You just shot your elk or deer and good for you. However, you went on your hunt with five other buddies who haven't been as lucky as you. So you are stuck with them until they are successful. Meanwhile, you have meat to think about.With many big-game hunts underway and warmer-than-usual weather in October, hunters should take other precautions to ensure game meat doesn't spoil. The keys to preserving a big-game carcass is to get it cooled as quickly as possible, and ideally, keep the meat between 34 and 40 degrees. I called avid hunter and former hunting and fishing journalist Roger Phillips and asked for his suggestion: "In a word, bring lots of ice and extra coolers." Getting it cooled below 40 degrees while in the field is especially challenging when nightly low temperatures are in the mid-40s and daytime highs are in the 70s and 80s, which has been the case throughout much of Idaho this month. Many hunters are very experienced in handling game carcasses and get the hide off quickly, break the carcass down and then get the carcass parts into a cooler or refrigerator area as soon as possible. But even experienced hunters need to understand that with temperatures in the 60s and 70s during the day and 40 to 45 at night, carcasses take longer to cool, especially if the hide is left on and the carcass hangs in a non-refrigerated location.

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