Best would be to quarter and pack into a cooler with ice or an old fridge until you can get that all cut up. If not the next best thing is to hang from the rear in a garage or barn out of the sun, pack the chest with ice and wrap it with a big tarp. The tarp will help hold that coldness in well into the next day if necessary. My buddy and I have talked about making our own coolers in our garages. Take a corner and box it in and insulate it well. Then install a window air conditioner. Of course have some sort of gambrel hoist set up to get it hung as well. Just haven't done it yet.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
140 quart cooler, a knife, and home made ice blocks. You should be able to skin and quarter in less than one hour. That's my camp method.
At home I quarter and place in my spare frig and can work on it at my leasure during the week.
At home I quarter and place in my spare frig and can work on it at my leasure during the week.
As far as packing ice in the chest cavity. These 2 deer road around in the back of the car for a day at 65 degrees with ice in the chest while I was waiting for the processor to open. The guy was doing it on the side at the time and worked a day job so I couldn't get them to him till 6:30. It didn't seem to go bad and Luke never said anything about the meat.
bigten05
*Supporting Member*
i always enjoy cuttin my own deer up.. but when the weather is warm i call my budy he has his own procesing place at his house has a walk in cooler and everything in his garage.
Listening to Mike Avery's radio show this morning off of I-tunes and they are talking about this. The processor he talks to recommends filling 2 liter bottles or milk jugs with water and freeze them to use in the deer's cavity. Says it's the best way to keep the mess down that normal bags of ice create. Great idea!! Mentioned it to my buddy and he said should cover them with bags so you can peel the bag off and re-freeze when you are done to avoid having to clean the jugs or make a mess in your freezer. Another great idea!!
rgecko23
*Supporting Member*
This is pretty much exactly how I handle the situation, too... Except for the kitchenaid mixer/grinder... I've got a cabelas grinder. Skinning and quartering a deer is quick and easy, especially when they're still relatively warm. The ones that are a real bitch to skin are the ones that have been hanging for several days in a row.
I've done the chest cavity with ice thing before, but I'm not a big fan of it. It's a last resort measure for me. Think of it this way... How much meat do you obtain from that deer that is directly surrounding the chest cavity? Not very much. Putting ice in the chest cavity isn't very effective at cooling off the hindquarters, and that's where a big portion of the meat comes from. Also, I'm not a fan of leaving the hide on as it hangs. The hide is a natural insulator... designed to KEEP COLD OUT OF THE BODY. The meat cools down slower if the hide is left on the deer.
If you don't have a big refridgerator to store the quarters in, a large cooler works well too. Freeze up some gallon jugs of water, place them in the bottom of a cooler, then put a layer of cardboard over top of them. Lay the deer quarters on top of the cardboard. They cool off quick, without laying in the bottom getting all blood-soaked and slimy.
What are ya wrapping the quarters in? I dropped a doe, got her cut up and getting ready to put em in the cooler....was thinking newspaper or surran wrap.....wax paper?
Huckleberry Finn
Senior Member
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Cha!
2 bags in their bags and 1 jug under......1/2 bag open on top
Thanks for all your help guys. I think the first time went well, got a few things to do to make it better next..........snowing yet?
2 bags in their bags and 1 jug under......1/2 bag open on top
Thanks for all your help guys. I think the first time went well, got a few things to do to make it better next..........snowing yet?
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