Meat in cooler

maddog58 · Thursday at 8:44 AM

How long would you keep a deer on ice in a cooler ? I’ve never had meat on ice for more than two days . Would 5-7 days be too long before processing it ?

elkantlers · Thursday at 8:48 AM

As long as it stays cold it will be fine. I had a bull elk in a cooler for 7 days. I kept frozen milk jugs in it and it was fine. Don't let the meat sit on water.

Mallardsx2 · Thursday at 8:50 AM

I have kept it on ice for 10 days. It was still very good and actually it might have been better than normal.

maddog58 · Thursday at 8:53 AM

The temps look like 50 degrees in the daytime to 30 at night. I’m thinking that’s too hot to just hang it for very long that’s why I asked about the cooler

diablo · Thursday at 9:08 AM

“Ice aging” is a thing. I’ve kept meat on ice for two weeks.

CFMuley · Thursday at 10:45 AM

I killed 2 doe antelope in Wyoming the same year I had a Wyoming elk tag. I killed the does, put them in a cooler on ice in the bed of my truck and proceeded to start hunting elk. I hunted elk for at least a week, continuously draining off the water and adding more ice as needed, before processing the antelope. It was some of the best game meat I’ve ever had.

tailchasers · Thursday at 10:47 AM

I've iced meat for a couple weeks as well BUT keep the meat out of the water and I refrain from having the ice or ice container from direct contact with the meat.

Soccerdude · Thursday at 10:48 AM

I Dry age all my meat 5-7 days in a frig at 36 degrees if possible. Before the frig i used frozen 2 liters and rotated them in to keep cooler cold. All my game meat turns out great. My picky wife and in laws even eat it.

elkassassin · Thursday at 12:23 PM

Biggest Issue I've Seen With Many People Is They Think They Can throw WARM Meat In A Cooler!

WRONG!

It Needs to Be Cooled Down A Much As You Can Before Boxing It Up Airtight In A Cooler!

And Ya!

Keep The Meat Off The Water!

Buckfever34 · Thursday at 1:22 PM

elkassassin said:
Biggest Issue I've Seen With Many People Is They Think They Can throw WARM Meat In A Cooler!

WRONG!

It Needs to Be Cooled Down A Much As You Can Before Boxing It Up Airtight In A Cooler!

And Ya!

Keep The Meat Off The Water!

This is so important.....get it cooled down before stacking meat on top of meat.

I'm not so paranoid about ice touching the meat but I do pull the drain plugs so it doesn't soak in water. You have to make sure nothing obstructs the drain opening as chunks of meat or fat will find their way there. Just keep rotating ice in. I've had it this way for at least 10 days.

Nothing wrong with wet-aging (or dry-aging) wild game.