Even a deer killed on an inexpensive resident license out the hunter's back door is worth more than any store-bought beef, as there's no way to put a price tag on the satisfaction of providing a family with clean, natural meat.
Once you consider many us travel out-of-state to hunt and often invest in the latest, greatest gear, the real cost becomes virtually uncountable. Preserving that investment is of the utmost importance. Hunters who shoot several deer each season, or tag an elk or moose every year, end up with no small amount of meat to freeze for future use.
But just how far in the future can that cache last? Great question, and one that's not so easy to answer as there are a lot of variables when it comes to ensuring your game meat tastes fresh right out of the freezer. Before meat makes it to the deep freeze, it faces the threat of bacteria. The growth of these pathogens slows at temperatures below 40 degrees and all but stop below freezing. To get the best possible taste at the table, it's important to cool your game quickly.
Once the animal is field dressed, the internal temperature needs to start dropping as soon as possible. A walk-in freezer is a luxury most hunters don't have, but birds and small game can go in a cooler or fridge. Big-game should be hung in cool, breezy place, or quartered and placed in cooler of ice. The next step, aging, is lengthy discussion altogether, so let's save that for another time and go right to the packing part of the process. At this point, it's surprisingly easy to ruin good game meat.
The term haste makes waste comes to mind here as a hurried and harried hunter is apt to speed through the processing job. Same goes for a paid processer facing the meat of the season and stack of critters to cut in a short amount of time. In both situations, a bad packaging job - either wrapped or vacuum sealed - starts an almost instant deterioration in the quality of the cut inside. In the freezer, the number one enemy of meat is cold air.
We've all heard the term freezer burn, and it's easy to think "how can something in the freezer get burned? It's actually dehydrated and oxidized, as the water molecules within the meat find their way to the surface where they form ice crystals. Even if there aren't actual frost crystals visible, freezer burn is still obvious. You'll notice it right away by the patchy whitish-gray areas on an otherwise fine-looking cut of meat.
The farther the temperate drops below 32 degrees the drier the air becomes. Cold, dry air dehydrates meat and the longer it stays in contact with it, the more the meat deteriorates. One of the best ways to prevent exposure to cold, dry air is by vacuuming all the air out of the storage package and sealing out the elements.
The best vacuum sealers, like the Cabela's Commercial-Grade models and the Weston Pro Series, not only remove the air from the bag, but also create a reliable seal.
If you can afford it, a chamber vacuum sealer works best, eliminating more than 90 percent of the air. In freezing elk meat, you should also know how to handle it properly. While elk meat can last long in the freezer, these conditions vary on whether the meat is raw or cooked. Keep reading to learn how to thaw elk meat and how to determine if it's still good to consume. The USDA recommends keeping raw meat in the freezer for 4 to 12 months at 0 degrees Fahrenheit for best quality.
Freezing meat slows down the movement of microbes that cause food spoilage. And so, you can still consume elk meat even when stored for a lengthy period but keeping it at a maximum of 12 months is better for safety purposes. The shelf life of elk meat changes when it is ground or cooked. At most, in these states, the meat is safe for 3 to 4 months in the freezer. Flavor and texture changes may occur with a longer freezing time. Properly packaging elk meat before storing it in the freezer preserves its best condition.
Follow these steps below:. Meat is usually consumable as long as it stays at a consistent temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder without interferences. Below are a few tips to help keep elk meat under these conditions:. The simplest way to defrost elk meat is by placing it in the refrigerator. Doing so will allow you to refreeze any portions that will not be used or consumed.
However, defrosting meat in the fridge can take a day or two. Avoid defrosting meat in the sink or on the counter to prevent it from spoiling quickly during preparation.
In the refrigerator, meat defrosts evenly and safely because the shift in temperature is not drastic. For store-bought or packaged elk meat, submerge it in cold water. Fill a tub or basin with cold water and leave the frozen meat inside to melt the ice. Change the water every 30 minutes or so to speed up the process.
Before you place frozen meat in the water, make sure the packaging is airtight or leak-proof to avoid having water get in contact with the meat directly. It will take about 4 to 6 hours for elk meat to defrost, depending on the quantity. After just 20 minutes, a calf can stand on its own. After 16 days the calf will join the herd and complete weaning by 60 days of age, according to the ADW.
Elk are ready to mate around 16 months of age. They tend to live around eight to 12 years, though they sometimes live to more than 20 years. Can you eat deer meat right after you kill it?
You can eat it right after you kill it! I like to clean the animal right away, skin it,cut into major pieces and then put it in a fridge for a few days up to a week. This cold aging helps tenderize it. I then finish butchering it up and package for the freezer.
Will a gut shot ruin deer meat? If you recover a gut shot deer, do not fret, some of the meat can definitely be salvaged. But be warned, you may not end up with as much meat as usual and the tenderloins almost always can't be eaten.
Try your best to keep fur and dirt away from the meat. How long after you shoot a deer should you gut it? Obviously a gunshot wound is far different from exposed meat, but the principle is the same - get the meat cold as soon as possible. The skin is going to act as packaging for the meat, but you don't want to leave it out all day.
Should you wash deer meat before freezing? Freezing the carcass before rigor may toughen the meat. If you are using the meat for sausage, aging is not necessary. During processing, frequently clean your knife between cuts to avoid contaminating the meat. Wash your knife, hands, and cutting boards often with warm, soapy water. How do you preserve deer meat without refrigeration?
Smoking is one of the oldest methods of preserving meat.
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