Until It Gets Colder

The PGC released this:

WARM-WEATHER VENISON CARE

Improperly field-dressing a deer carcass and warm weather can impact the quality of venison quickly if a harvested deer isn’t handled properly.

Hunters – wearing latex gloves – should remove the entrails immediately after they place their harvest tag on a deer. Great care should be taken to remove entrails without rupturing them and hunters should drain excess blood remaining in the cavity. Do not wash out the deer in a creek. Wipe down the cavity with a dry cloth.

Once dressed, the deer should be removed from the field and cooled down as soon as possible. In warm weather, the cool-down process begins when you field-dress the deer. It increases when you skin the deer and hang the carcass in the shade, refrigerate it or place a bag of ice in the body cavity. Never place a deer carcass – with or without the hide on it – in direct sunlight.

If you plan to process the deer yourself, the next step is to remove the hide. It comes off easier when you cut off the front legs at the wrists, and the rear legs just below the knee joint, with a saw. Use a knife to cut the hide from where each leg was cut back to the body trunk. Cutting the rear legs at the joint also makes it easier to hang a carcass on a gambrel or meat hooks. Hang the carcass by the large tendons on the back legs.

Next, the hide is pulled from the carcass, starting at the rear end and working downward toward the head. Peal it from the hind-quarters first, then cut the tailbone and pull it down to the shoulders. Work the hide over the shoulders and pull it away from the legs. Finally, pull the hide down the neck as close to the base of the skull as possible and cut the carcass free from the head with a clean saw. Remove the trachea.

The remaining hide-free carcass should be wiped off immediately. If you use water to clean the cavity or carcass, dry the meat immediately. Wet or damp meat spoils more quickly and is more prone to cultivate and nurture bacteria. Rinsing meat with water also can hasten the spread of bacteria. Any blood clotting and hair should be removed. It’s also a good idea to remove large fatty deposits to improve the quality of your meat. It helps lessen that “game taste” many people dislike about venison.

Following these steps will prepare your carcass for hanging in a meat processor’s refrigerator or quartering and placing it in your refrigerator. If the air temperature is above 50 degrees, hunters should get their carcass refrigerated as soon as possible, according to Dr. Bhushan Jayarao, Pennsylvania State University extension veterinarian.

“Deer harvested in warm weather have a higher bacterial load, so it’s important to dress the deer as soon as possible, transport it from the field and remove the hide, and refrigerate the carcass,” Jayarao said. “Cooling the carcass will prevent bacterial growth.”

Hunters who are interested in becoming more self-sufficient also can de-bone the carcass. The cuts are relatively simple and can be made while the deer is hanging or from a plastic sheet-covered table. Use a plastic fluorescent light cover for an inexpensive cutting board. They can be purchased at any home supplies store. First, remove the front shoulders with a filleting knife. This can be done without cutting a bone by cutting behind the shoulder-blade. Next, remove the meat from the shoulder with a filleting knife.

Hindquarters can be removed from the carcass next by using a saw. If you plan to have steaks or jerky made from them, don’t make any cuts. Leave them intact.

Inside the body cavity, against the backbone, are the tenderloins, considered the best cut of meat on a deer. Use your hand, and a knife when necessary, to pull them free. Outside the cavity, along the backbone, are the loin muscles or back-straps, which also are outstanding cuts. Using a filleting knife, slide the blade along the spine to separate each back-strap and then finish each piece by cutting in along the top of the ribs and under the muscle to the first cut you’ve made.

The remainder of the carcass can be de-boned with a filleting knife. Try to trim fat from meat where you can and wipe off blood whenever it is encountered. De-boning can be done relatively quickly, but remember, every ounce of meat you remove increases your trimmings for sausage, bologna, meat sticks or other products. De-boned meat can be taken to a meat processor immediately, or frozen and taken later. Hindquarters may be frozen for processing later as jerky or dried venison. Steaks should be cut fresh.

“It’s always a good idea to become self-sufficient as a hunter, because of the satisfaction you’ll derive from processing a deer all by yourself and the extra care and quality control you’ll provide,” noted Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Vern Ross. “It also broadens your hunting experience and makes you more conscious of where you need to place the crosshairs when you shoot.”

The Game Commission offers two free brochures on venison care and field-dressing deer. The first, To Field Dress a Deer, offers step-by-step instructions – with illustrations – on how to field-dress a deer. The second, Venison Needn’t Be Pot Luck, offers field-dressing instructions and cooking tips. Additional information on field-dressing deer is available through Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, which offers informative and downloadable brochures titled Field Dressing Deer Pocket Guide and Proper Field-Dressing and Handling of Wild Game and Fish through the university’s website at www.cas.psu.edu.

Also, the Game Commission is offering a six-tape “Wild Harvest Videos” series that is designed to help hunters get the most from their wild game harvests. Produced by Jerry Chiappetta and featuring Certified Master Chef Milos Cihelka, these videos show step-by-step the best care for game animals from the field to the table. The videos are available from “The Outdoor Shop” on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us). Go to “The Outdoor Shop,” click on “Merchandise,” choose “Videos,” and then scroll down to the video you are interested in and complete the order form. Each video costs $9.95 ($13.50 including tax and shipping/handling).

And finally, if you’re looking for recipes that will make venison tastier, consider buying the Game Commission’s “Pennsylvania Game Cookbook” for $4.71 plus tax and a $1.25 for shipping and handling. The book and aforementioned free brochures are available by writing: Pennsylvania Game Commission, Dept. MS, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.