Driving Elk or Deer Meat Cross-Country

[matechakeric]

If I were to put unfrozen (left to chill at least 1 day in game bags) elk or deer meat/quarters in a cooler with regular or dry ice, would that meat fare well on a drive from Wyoming to the midwest? I've been watching videos on youtube where guys are insisting you need to have your meat frozen solid prior to putting it in a cooler.

For anyone experienced with long-distance meat transportation, any thoughts?

 

[buckbull]

Those guys dont know what they are talking about. Stop at walmart on the way out of town and get dry ice and throw in cooler. Your meat will be almost frozen by the time you get home, even if you dont drive straight thru.

 

[cahunter805]

You will be fine. Another tip is to pre chill your cooler the day before your going to leave with some bags of ice. Also you can cover the cooler with a blanket to keep it out of the sun.

 

[matechakeric]

You will be fine. Another tip is to pre chill your cooler the day before your going to leave with some bags of ice. Also you can cover the cooler with a blanket to keep it out of the sun.

i figure just leave the coolers open and out in the cold the whole night should suffice

 

[cahunter805]

i figure just leave the coolers open and out in the cold the whole night should suffice

That works well also especially if the weather is cold. If it’s cold enough the hanging quarters will be pretty cold even partially frozen for the ride home also. Wasn’t sure what time of year you will be hunting Wyoming. Good luck

 

[D_Walt]

Most nights in elk country will be plenty cool to chill your meat. We have no problems with chilled elk meat on ice hauling it 16-20 hours back to south Texas even when the temps are in the 80’s or 90’s down here.

 

[Addicting]

Those guys dont know what they are talking about. Stop at walmart on the way out of town and get dry ice and throw in cooler. Your meat will be almost frozen by the time you get home, even if you dont drive straight thru.

X2. I would add get some old cardboard boxes from them as well. Dry ice is so cold it will burn your meat if it touches it. Separating it with cardboard solves that problem.

 

[Corn king 60]

I’ve brought unprocessed meat in coolers back to pa from Wyoming,Colorado,New Mexico with a little dry ice wrapped in paper to keep it off the meat with no problem. I’ve also brought fully processed (cut,wrapped, and frozen) in coolers with dry ice with no problem. Keep the coolers covered and stay the hell out of them. And I’m not talking about yeti coolers I’m to cheap for those

 

[matechakeric]

I’ve brought unprocessed meat in coolers back to pa from Wyoming,Colorado,New Mexico with a little dry ice wrapped in paper to keep it off the meat with no problem. I’ve also brought fully processed (cut,wrapped, and frozen) in coolers with dry ice with no problem. Keep the coolers covered and stay the hell out of them. And I’m not talking about yeti coolers I’m to cheap for those

yea I'm not spending $600+ for a cooler. I'm spending $120 max on a cooler

 

[gwhunter]

I shot an elk in the Gila (1st archery), hung it in a tree overnight( lows around 45-50 degrees), got dry ice the next day in Albequerque, and drove to Michigan. Got home at 4am. Slept until noon and went out to the coolers to start unpacking and the quarters were frozen solid. I don't remember how much dry ice I got but it wasn't a ton (maybe 5 pounds?). It was in an Igloo Super Tough STX 150 quart cooler that I bought for $120 on Amazon a few years back. The bottles of gatorade that I froze before I left a week earlier still had ice chunks floating in them in my 120 quart because we cover them with moving blankets when they aren't open. You don't need a yeti, and your meat will be fine for the cross country trip with a couple bucks worth of dry ice. Like other have said, bring some thicker cardboard (not thin stuff like beer boxes, rather a couple of good Amazon boxes) to prevent the dry ice from directly touching the meat.

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I drive from SC to all across the west every year for elk/mule deer/or whatever tag. I take a 160qt, 120qt and a 50-60 qt when I go elk hunting. All 3 are igloo or coleman coolers. The 160 and 120 are for meat and the 60 is for a cape if things go really really well, lol. I freeze different size jugs in my chest freezer before leaving. Primarily 1/2 gallon milk jugs, but there are some gatorade bottles and other random jugs (some big, some small). I then fill up the 160qt cooler with these jugs the morning/day I leave. I pour loose ice over the top of all the jugs and fill the entire cooler until its packed full. I then lay a towel inside the cooler over the top of the ice and tuck it in all the way around as an insulator. The ice and jugs will all freeze together. I put the cooler in the back of the truck under the camper shell or in the backseat so its not in the sun. If it has to go in the back of the truck wrap a couple blankets around it or something like that so it's not in the sun. Don't open the cooler until you have meat to put in it even to check the ice level. Keep it closed. Tape it if you have to. Use a different cooler for drinks and food on the ride out there. There will still be plenty of ice whenever you kill your elk. Some ice will melt, but a plenty will still be frozen even 10 or 12 days after packing the cooler even on warm days. I always keep the cooler in the shade if all possible. After I get my bull I split the meat up between the 2 coolers and pack all the milk jugs around it. I'll check it once or twice on the drive home and stop at gas stations for a couple bags of ice to put on top as needed. Once you open the cooler and put the meat in the frozen jugs will melt alot faster, but stopping a couple times during a 25-28hr drive home isn't a big deal. When I get home the meat is always very cold to the touch and Ive never lost an ounce of meat or had a cape spoil (hair slip).

 

[matechakeric]

I drive from SC to all across the west every year for elk/mule deer/or whatever tag. I take a 160qt, 120qt and a 50-60 qt when I go elk hunting. All 3 are igloo or coleman coolers. The 160 and 120 are for meat and the 60 is for a cape if things go really really well, lol. I freeze different size jugs in my chest freezer before leaving. Primarily 1/2 gallon milk jugs, but there are some gatorade bottles and other random jugs (some big, some small). I then fill up the 160qt cooler with these jugs the morning/day I leave. I pour loose ice over the top of all the jugs and fill the entire cooler until its packed full. I then lay a towel inside the cooler over the top of the ice and tuck it in all the way around as an insulator. The ice and jugs will all freeze together. I put the cooler in the back of the truck under the camper shell or in the backseat so its not in the sun. If it has to go in the back of the truck wrap a couple blankets around it or something like that so it's not in the sun. Don't open the cooler until you have meat to put in it even to check the ice level. Keep it closed. Tape it if you have to. Use a different cooler for drinks and food on the ride out there. There will still be plenty of ice whenever you kill your elk. Some ice will melt, but a plenty will still be frozen even 10 or 12 days after packing the cooler even on warm days. I always keep the cooler in the shade if all possible. After I get my bull I split the meat up between the 2 coolers and pack all the milk jugs around it. I'll check it once or twice on the drive home and stop at gas stations for a couple bags of ice to put on top as needed. Once you open the cooler and put the meat in the frozen jugs will melt alot faster, but stopping a couple times during a 25-28hr drive home isn't a big deal. When I get home the meat is always very cold to the touch and Ive never lost an ounce of meat or had a cape spoil (hair slip).

So you'd recommend bringing your own frozen jugs vs just buying some dry ice once you have an animal down?

 

[matechakeric]

In Wyoming (October), if I keep meat hanging in shaded cool spot, can it hang for more than 1 day? I'd love to let rigor run it's course and meat to get a little aged before I put it an a cooler full of ice and effectively semi-freeze/freeze it

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

So you'd recommend bringing your own frozen jugs vs just buying some dry ice once you have an animal down?

I’ve never bought dry ice. I know it’s an option. It’s just not how I’ve done it. I don’t think there is right or wrong answer. You just have to figure out what works for you.

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

In Wyoming (October), if I keep meat hanging in shaded cool spot, can it hang for more than 1 day? I'd love to let rigor run it's course and meat to get a little aged before I put it an a cooler full of ice and effectively semi-freeze/freeze it

Depends on the temp. Every year is different.

 

[matechakeric]

How do you feel about thawing chilled/semi-frozen/frozen transported meat to butcher at home and refreezing? Does that cause any issues?

 

[gwhunter]

So you'd recommend bringing your own frozen jugs vs just buying some dry ice once you have an animal down?

It all depends on your access to dry ice. I like dry ice because it doesn't leave a wet mess. Besides the normal condensation from it being cold, it stays pretty dry if you are able to use it exclusively.

But my first year hunting out west I relied entirely on dry ice and drove around for hours with warm antelope in a cooler trying to track down some dry ice on a Sunday afternoon in Wyoming.

Now I do what @SCliving Outdoors does and freeze cases of water bottles, Gatorade, and gallon jugs and leave them in the 150 quart wrapped in moving blankets until we get an animal. This allows me to get the meat cold as soon as I get back to camp/truck.

The reason I like the dry ice is because of how dry everything stays. It's just a personal preference, but I try to avoid dumping bagged ice in with the meat. Even the frozen water jugs creat a lot of condensation. So I just try to get dry ice is as soon as is feasible. But I also don't have to worry if the closest dry ice is a 3 hour drive away because I have all my frozen jugs.

 

[gwhunter]

How do you feel about thawing chilled/semi-frozen/frozen transported meat to butcher at home and refreezing? Does that cause any issues?

I think meateater did a short video on this and how there wasn't a real big difference between eating meat that had been thawed once vs thawed twice. But I could be remembering it wrong.

 

[shannerdrake]

To echo what has already been said, everyone overthinks this. It's not complicated. I bought a piece of fish the other day at Costco that said something like "use or freeze by ___" and the date was 5 days later. If a piece of cod can last in a refrigerator for 5 days, well chilled elk meat can make it a couple days cross-country.

Further, a LOT of meat that we get in the midwest has been "previously frozen." All that happens during the freezing process is water molecules in the meat freeze and expand. This can damage cell walls that hold moisture in the meat. When it defrosts, some of this liquid falls out of suspension in the meat and ends up on the plate. The more times you do this, the more liquid you lose. Mind you, this is a small amount of moisture loss and really doesn't amount to much. Shoot a lot of my wild game meat is too wet and makes it hard to get a good sear, so I don't mind some moisture loss. If you've ever had a super nice 120 day dry-aged steak, you paid $75 a pound for about 35% moisture loss.

Also remember that cold air falls so dry ice at the top of a cooler can/will freeze meat. Dry ice on the bottom of a cooler tends to just keep things super cold. Dry ice is also expensive and can be a real pain to mess with. I only use it when I am hauling processed and frozen meat and don't want any thawing to happen. Not because it hurts the meat, but because I don't want to bloody up my nice pretty looking white butcher paper wrapped bars of gold

Just put your meat in a cooler and put a lot of ice in there and you are fine. I have "wet aged" whitetail quarters for 1-2 weeks many times. I just drain the melt every day or so and top with fresh ice.

 

[Steiny]

Do it almost every year, never had a problem. Quarter things up and put them in the cooler on ice. Occasionally drain the water and add a little ice if necessary. As long as a week on ice wouldn't worry me.