Care of meat in warm temps?

We hunted the early coastal "A Zone" in California which opened in early August, always hot and often with daytime temps exceeding 100 degrees. Hide off and gutted right away, into a first quality deer bag, and hang in the shade for 30 minutes or so. We used "ice jugs", gallon milk jugs, filled with water and frozen. Four or so ice jugs, in garbage bags so they won't leak, in the cavity. Whole thing wrapped in a tarp and stuffed into an old sleeping bag. When I got a bit older and had the funds, the sleeping bag and tarp were replaced with a mega ice chest. Now these coastal bucks are quite small, usually under 100 pounds so they cooled a lot quicker than that 200 pound whitetail. But we never lost one to spoilage. A butcher who specialized in processing game told me I had a max of 6 hours to get the meat cooled to the core to avoid the onset of spoilage.

I am in SC born here and will die here, been here 62 years. I have been killin deer for 52 years, and everything else. our deer season opens aug 15 and ends jan 1 yea we have the longest deer season in the world I think. we kill plenty of deer in the heat, I have killed them in 100 degrees and not butchered them for an hour to two hours later, with no problems at all. and in the south there is no such thing as "field dressing" we do it all at home or a processer. I shot a deer a couple of years ago or so one evening in late September and my light quit, I had to go home. I went back the next morning, the temp. that night was cool, not cold at all. I found the deer, cleaned him and he was fine.

We will be looking for cow elk next month in an area that is about an hour drive from the house. Last fall I shot a doe on a warm evening, gutted her, hauled the carcass back to the truck, stuck a few frozen gallon jugs of water in the carcass, and hauled for the house post haste. Skinned and quatered and the bone-in meat went into my cooler, a large chest freezer rigged up to be a fridge in the mid 30s. If we do the same with a cow elk, I am hoping for good meat quality. Will putting quarters in the cooler work, or will it take too long to cool down due to the greater size of the animal? The alternative is to dunk the quarters in a large tub of ice water.

I have found that getting the skin off soon on elk is the best way to cool meat. That thick skin of theirs holds in the heat really well.

Ok didn't read all the replies so maybe this has been gone over but, you can't just saw quarter an elk in mild weather.



It is not a deer there is TOO much mass, the center of these quarters are in danger of spoil in fall weather. Get that rib cage off the front shoulders, it is a large mass holding heat deep in the joint and can be taken off with a few sweeps of the knife. There is NO reason not to get it farther broken down. I would rather hump out awkward loads of good meat then 4 tidy bundles of meat that is going green in the middle.

Remember to get that neck meat cleaned, the windpipe seems to advance spoil so get it out asap. Also spoil promotes spoil, If you do find a spot has started to turn, cut out the bad and isolate the rest from the other meat. If I had a shoulder I was concerned about, I would do everything I could to not have it sloshing around in the cooler with the rest of the meat, IE buy a 2nd cooler and not let them ever come together.

Get it off the ground! You want shade and a breeze if at all possible. 24 hour shady spot with a breeze is the ideal place to hang meat, if no ice or refrigeration is available. Try to find that near your camp before you start hunting. Every year it seems I see meat hung in the sun because "Those two trees were perfect to run a pole between" Out in the sun, next to the road dust, no breeze. . . .yep perfect

Rope and a few Tree stand steps in your pack will let you hang meat at the point of the kill if there are trees.

I usually hunt with my knives along. Elk in WA are usually found down in the nastiest shrub laden areas. The only thing I want to pack out is meat, although the law says I have to bring the head out also and I do use the antlers. an elk head is really heavy! That's the last trip, just to avoid any pilfering. Bone it out. I do the same with deer although there's often a road near by.

Meat in warm temperatures needs prompt attention. Back in the days before the "European invasion" and as hunting parties had to range further and further from the village to secure meat, I have wondered if Native Americans perhaps turned the deer into jerky right at the hunting camp and then transported the much lighter dried meat back wrapped up in the hide...

As a couple folks said, up in Alaska we use citric acid (sold at sporting good stores as "game saver"). But, you can buy in grocery stores for much less (or online). Its a powder. Mix with water and wet down meat. Keeps flies n bees off. Does nothing to flavor of meat. But 1st as stated, on big animals to start cooling, get off that hide ASAP. I've skinned and quartered a moose at -5 and 2 hours later could still warm my hands on the hind quarters. As for boning, it works... to a point. If you just stack it in a bag and leave it, it will not cool off well. There are some hunts up here that you're not allowed to bone due to history of large amounts of meat loss. A quarter is easy to hang for cooling. Does make for fun hiking out 500 pounds of meat.