Allowing deer carcass to hang

jimbo 22

I hope to be stalking deer this year come september

so im preparing some basic requirements

How long is it reccomended that you hang the carcass for before butchering

Ive been told to to get a refrigerator (coca cola glass type) and use that to to hang the deer to keep the meat clean and flesh

any comments and suggestions before i get a refrigerator?

I happen to work for a Refrigeration Eng Company so i have a good choice of machines to choose from...

Thanks in advance

kerryman12

hi jimbo

I have a DVD that goes throught he gutting/skinning and butchering process for wild deer. This recommends to hang for 3 days per hunderweight of the carcuss. Another critical point is to stay below 5C. 5C is defined by the FDA as the temperature when micro organisms that to multiply rapidly.

In reality I think guys then to hang for a bit longer depending on breed/age and sex.

The last vension I ate was great. It was from a Stag that had been hung for 15~16 days if memory serves.

In realtion to the storage a coca cola style fridge is fine that is what I am using. However the big question is when to build the cold room!!!

regards

Sika_Stalker

jimbo 22 wrote: »

How long is it reccomended that you hang the carcass for before butchering

Ive been told to to get a refrigerator (coca cola glass type) and use that to to hang the deer to keep the meat clean and flesh

I've been using one of them for a couple of years now and the signs for when to start butchering the carcass is when the meats starts to dry, i usually leave it a week for a hind and 2 weeks for a stag.
Be careful to wipe the chest cavaity with a dry towel because mold will start to grow in there.

Jonty

If you can get a few of those coca cola fridges in work, be sure to put them in the "for sale" section

Vegeta

Jonty wrote: »

If you can get a few of those coca cola fridges in work, be sure to put them in the "for sale" section

If they're not to deer (see what I did there) I'd be interested

jimbo 22

Thanks for the info

We do coldrooms aswell but i dont think ill be culling a heard of them first time out...

Is there any other style of refrigetor works well

Coldrooms are'nt cheap we sell them...

I was looking at an 10ft Dairywall out the back yesterday

(For those not familar its the one that you pick your milk and butter from)

I would imaine that you could fit 6 carcass into one of these...

But there is no glass on the front of these

Would that matter?


Ill put the word out for ye and let ye know what i come back with...


Jimbo

jwshooter

Sika_Stalker wrote: »

I've been using one of them for a couple of years now and the signs for when to start butchering the carcass is when the meats starts to dry, i usually leave it a week for a hind and 2 weeks for a stag.
Be careful to wipe the chest cavaity with a dry towel because mold will start to grow in there.

the reason the mold is growing is not enough chilled air througt the cold room .once you have removed the ass hole and pluck wash out the chest before skinning after skinning do not put water on it and leave to dry for a while also a gamble is best to hang them from it keeps the legs from touching .i only will hang a calf skinned for 4 o 5 days a young hind skinned a week and no more the flavor gets stronger the longer it hangs ,stags no thanks

Grizzly 45

GEESH! You lads like your meat well gamey then!!! 5 days to 15 days:eek:.
Maybe me ,but being brought up with the German hunting methods.Gut ,butcherd and in the chest freezer in no longer than 72 hours.

BTW AKAH and Frankonia do a custom freezer for game.If you are short a Coke freezer.

Jonty

jimbo 22 wrote: »

Thanks for the info

We do coldrooms aswell but i dont think ill be culling a heard of them first time out...

Is there any other style of refrigetor works well

Coldrooms are'nt cheap we sell them...

I was looking at an 10ft Dairywall out the back yesterday

(For those not familar its the one that you pick your milk and butter from)

I would imaine that you could fit 6 carcass into one of these...

But there is no glass on the front of these

Would that matter?


Ill put the word out for ye and let ye know what i come back with...


Jimbo

You'd still get fly strikes. It'd be best to have the carcass enclosed

kerryman12

Guys I dont know - I was advised to leave a older stag for up to 15 days. All I can say is that from my experiance - limited as it maybe the flavour was not gamey at all.

Many men have Many minds I guess:D

Jonty

kerryman12 wrote: »

Guys I dont know - I was advised to leave a older stag for up to 15 days. All I can say is that from my experiance - limited as it maybe the flavour was not gamey at all.

Many men have Many minds I guess:D

Stags are more gamey around the rut as well.

BryanL

i've butchered carcasses 24-48 hours after hanging,depends on the age and sex of the animal and the time of year,can't leave them too long if it's warm and damp.Tenderness for me has more to do with the animal rather than lenght it's been hanging for.
Bryan

ivanthehunter

Drinks styled coolers are great for a single carcass but what about times when you have two or three deer to hang and break
Hows about buying an old wreck of a meat wagon(refrigerated lorry) and using the back box as a walk in cold room. Good idea if you have acres of space around the house and the neighbours don't mind staring at an old wreck with Ballyfree Chickens pasted up on the side of it:D.

Or perhaps a study on the U-values of Kingspan sheets might allow hunters to calc' the size of refrigeration unit required to counter the heat gained by a home made cold room.


Kingspan High density foil coated insulation:
On the building sites, these sheets come in sheets of 8' x 4' and cost about €20 (i think?). Plumbers Foil Tape 3" or 4" wide might be suitable for sealing up the joints after they are glued together with a bead of expanding foam or silicon gel.
The whole thing could be held together with a backing of 12mm ply or just a timber frame made out of 2"x1".
I should really look into this as i have studied insulation of buildings blah blah blah.....

But where might a resourceful beach comber scrounge around for a cheap as chips Heavy duty refrigeration unit to run off a domestic single phase electricity supply??????:rolleyes:

kerryman12

Ivan

I was wondering if it would not be possible to combine some of ideas you listed. I was working on a plan some time back to combine the refridgeration unit from a truck to a room. So build a a room within a room, say a shead. slab it out and insulate accordingly. Tile wall and floor, alternatively use those plasticy sheets from shower unit. Then fix on a unit from a old refridgerated truck - assume 12 V so you need a transformer. Fix a suitable door that will be tight. I am nor sure what would be needed in terms of ventilations or if the room needs to be air tight.


Easy as that really:rolleyes:

ivanthehunter

In relation to ventilation i seriously doubt it but as I'm no expert i wont dismiss it point blank. I know the mess that fresh air makes of the freezer at home especially when its laden with moisture.

I will drop the dimensions of a typical shed in to a software program i have for evaluation of home for the energy ratings this will give a indication as to the rate of heat gain when the inside temperature is maintained at a steady 4 degrees Celsius and hence it will provide a direct correlation as to the refrigeration capacity required to keep the system above equilibrium and avoid spoiling the hard earned fair:D.

I can see difficulty in forming a serviceable door which is able to with stand repetitive usage, but if i was to copy modern designs i would incorporate the use of magnets and a tin/steel frame. Chances are i'd bastardize an existing fridge door and make it fit my needs. The whole thing might end up looking like a spaceship but what the hell, its only going to be in use for 20 odd days a year:rolleyes::rolleyes:

kerryman12

that info would be interesting Ivan, I might get a mad fit and start into it!!!

Regarding the door, if you made up a good frame work you could take a door -side or back from one of thsoe truck bodies perhaps?

Tackleberry.

i'd be fond of the fawn for good meet and hang for three days with no fridge ,but keep a good eye on it ,also you can hang it covered in a muslim sock you may of seen this some times as butcher moved whole pigs into a butcher it stops flys from laying eggs inside carcus but also you can get fly cover from www.bushwear.co.uk/

RichieRich

kerryman12 wrote: »

hi jimbo

I have a DVD that goes throught he gutting/skinning and butchering process for wild deer. This recommends to hang for 3 days per hunderweight of the carcuss. Another critical point is to stay below 5C. 5C is defined by the FDA as the temperature when micro organisms that to multiply rapidly.

In reality I think guys then to hang for a bit longer depending on breed/age and sex.

The last vension I ate was great. It was from a Stag that had been hung for 15~16 days if memory serves.

In realtion to the storage a coca cola style fridge is fine that is what I am using. However the big question is when to build the cold room!!!

regards

hi kerryman, i've just acquired a coca cola fridge, how does one hang the animal inside? how should i modify it? should i drill holes in the sides and pass a bar through and weld a hook on? what have you done?

Jonty

if you go drilling holes remember to seal them up as warm air will enter and the fridge motor will run constant and burn out. What I did with mine was to measure the inside of it and make up a frame out of inch box, then i got it galvanised - no rust. you can lift the frame in and out very handy.


Remember If you go making a frame do get it galvanised, your fabricator should sort this out for you also use the lightest box sections available as galvansing is charged for by weight.

Mellor

ivanthehunter wrote: »

In relation to ventilation i seriously doubt it but as I'm no expert i wont dismiss it point blank. I know the mess that fresh air makes of the freezer at home especially when its laden with moisture.

I will drop the dimensions of a typical shed in to a software program i have for evaluation of home for the energy ratings this will give a indication as to the rate of heat gain when the inside temperature is maintained at a steady 4 degrees Celsius and hence it will provide a direct correlation as to the refrigeration capacity required to keep the system above equilibrium and avoid spoiling the hard earned fair:D.

I can see difficulty in forming a serviceable door which is able to with stand repetitive usage, but if i was to copy modern designs i would incorporate the use of magnets and a tin/steel frame. Chances are i'd bastardize an existing fridge door and make it fit my needs. The whole thing might end up looking like a spaceship but what the hell, its only going to be in use for 20 odd days a year:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Did you ever make that fridge Ivan?
To be honest, you really made it more complicated than it needed to be.
Once you know the U-value and the average outside temp, you have the heat gain, then its off to size a cooling unit (which runs on a thermostat, so would be no harm to oversize slightly)

ivanthehunter

I made a cooler box! Small one. 2'x2'x6' high.
Theres no refrigeration unit attached just a fan and an extractor. I used some blocks of ice (mold bucket) that i placed on the floor in a steel tray. the whole thing is painted white and lined with tin foil. It is definitely cooler than surrounding air in shed.
I Still have a few bits to add.
Extractor Pipe or Duct required so as warm air will be vented outside via filter
Light to be added, low heat output i.e. energysaver.
Whole thing to be clad in kingspan
And thermometer to be added.
Anyway i do a bit when the humour takes me.

PS used 1'x1' timber and 5mm ply and TBH its very robust.
All can say is thank god for screw guns:rolleyes:

jimbo 22

Ivan

A word of advice position your device in a cool place - garage or somewhere outdoors which has no direct sunlight

you will be lucky to bring down the temp by any considerable amount without refrigeration . Fans will just move air

so if youir outside temp is +18 it wont be much cooler inside

Make sure nothing can get in you would be suprised how flies can get into very small gaps

Any chances of posting a pic:)?

kakashka

Kingspan insulated roof sheeting would be ideal,available with up to 120mm poly u,and lots or off cuts and odd bits on Autotrader
Lid fron old chest freezer for door
Fridge compressor could be used,not sure where you would get an intercooler,coke fridge setup would be ideal but i guess if you had the fridge you wouldnt need cold room!!!unless size was an issue

lordarpad

the ideal solution would be to move your home to heatpump heating and simply connect the clod room to the col side of the heat pump

arrowloopboy

I got the back of an old milk lorry,shes 10x6 and 6 foot high.She can go down to -15 and would hold 20 animals.She cost 250 yoyos ,beat that.

Jonty

arrowloopboy wrote: »

I got the back of an old milk lorry,shes 10x6 and 6 foot high.She can go down to -15 and would hold 20 animals.She cost 250 yoyos ,beat that.

Thats a mighty set up!!

jimbo 22

Jonty wrote: »

Thats a mighty set up!!

Is this set up running off a diesel engine?

Could be costly running that little puppy

On the + side You could use it as a freezer also if you can get -15;)

arrowloopboy

jimbo 22 wrote: »

Is this set up running off a diesel engine?

Could be costly running that little puppy

On the + side You could use it as a freezer also if you can get -15;)

Single phase electric,run it through the buisness:D:D

Cernunnos3

arrowloopboy wrote: »

I got the back of an old milk lorry,shes 10x6 and 6 foot high.She can go down to -15 and would hold 20 animals.She cost 250 yoyos ,beat that.

Where did you manage to get it from? Thanks,
Cernunnos3

arrowloopboy

Cernunnos3 wrote: »

Where did you manage to get it from? Thanks,
Cernunnos3

Just spotted in a yard and asked the owner,
These little lorry units have to be upto standard for health and safety bull****,so when they go by that stage their more or less usless,ask your milkman,he might be able to help.