I usually leave deer meat quartered or deboned in a cheap igloo 100 qt cooler for 1-2 weeks at a time. I put a healthy amount of ice and make sure to layer. Lightly salt the meat as well. I keep the cooler in the shade and drain every few days. Sometimes the temps are up into the 80s and may have to add a little ice. Otherwise no problems with the meat quality.
Driving Elk or Deer Meat Cross-Country
- Thread starter matechakeric
- Start date
Boarmaster
Well-known member
No need for expensive coolers if you have a steady access to ice or dry ice on your trip. I use the expensive rotomolded coolers pretty much for everything these days but really just because I find them more durable but for basic meat storage my old igloos did the job for me for 30 years. I always covered them with a few thick moving blankets to keep the sun off them.
KipCarson
Well-known member
Meat will hang in a cooler unfrozen for weeks before it’s butchered and then days more on a display cooler in a meat market unfrozen before it’s purchased, so why is having unfrozen meat in a cooler a problem for so many people?! Don’t fret too much about it. Dry ice, wet ice, however you do it, just keep it cooled well and freeze it once you get home. Over the years we have transported dozens of ice chests of meat unfrozen from Colorado to Louisiana and haven’t lost an ounce.
On the flip side, years ago we hade some deer processed and frozen in Colorado before we left and the slight thawing that took place on an 18 hour drive and subsequent leaking packages of butcher paper wrapped steaks turns into a much bigger mess and headache than unfrozen meat ever would.
On the flip side, years ago we hade some deer processed and frozen in Colorado before we left and the slight thawing that took place on an 18 hour drive and subsequent leaking packages of butcher paper wrapped steaks turns into a much bigger mess and headache than unfrozen meat ever would.
Similar threads
