Keeping meat?

[loneranger]

Greetings Hunters! This question probably has been addressed already, if so, forgive me,,but, if you kill a deer, and quarter it,put it in coolers,on ice, how long is safe to keep it this way? Where I hunt ,I camp, with no elect. How long safe to keep meat, before cutting up and freezing. Thank you all so much.

 

[Danno]

If you keep it at 40 or under you can keep it for 2 or 3 weeks. I like to put it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. It will age just like hanging in the cooler. Most of your beef is aged, vacuum packed in refrigeration today.

 

[rbulicek]

Hey Loneranger,
When I harvest a deer and cant get it to the locker or processed myself in time then what i do is put a bag of ice in the chest cavity and lay it in the snow or quarter it and put it on ice and i have never had any problems.

 

[KansasHeadHunter]

If you ice down meat try to keep the meat dry. Keep you're ice in sealed bags so as it thaws it doesn't soak the meat. Its not good for any red meat to soak in water. Water will speed spoiling. Our local butcher even told me that it is better to wipe away blood with towls rather than washing with water.