Dumb Mistake - Thoughts?

[teej89]

My wife and I moved across the country, my truck was shipped and we had her little SUV for the trek. My bull from this fall I ended up giving away a good portion of the meat to friends and family before leaving and I only kept a bit to drive across the country. We installed a hitch receiver and got a rack for it, loaded the meat in the cooler and stocked it with dry ice.

Long story short, (it took me a while to come to terms with this as I was pretty upset), we didn't check the cooler(because I never do once it has dry ice and is sealed) and it wasn't until day 2 that I noticed the exhaust burnt a hole in the bottom corner of the cooler..... fortunately due to cold temps and the ice we managed to save 75% of what was in the cooler as it was still rock solid but it was only butcher paper wrapped....

My concern is I took a piece out Saturday and when I unwrapped it I still had the smell of "smoke" initially when I took a sniff. Then I thawed it in a zip lock bag in cold water and it still had a faint smell of the smoke after it was thawed but after it sat in the fridge as of last night there wasn't any noticeable smell.

Think this is safe to eat? Or as I planned should I cut a piece off, grill it and see if it tastes funny? I'd hate to lose this meat and I'm glad I gave the majority of it away or else I'd be even more upset about losing an entire bull.

 

[Irrelevant]

I use my nose for all those decisions. If my nose says no. I say no.

 

[Tiredofthebickering]

I say eat the piece you thawed and go from there. If I couldn't taste, I wouldn't worry about.

 

[teej89]

I use my nose for all those decisions. If my nose says no. I say no.

That's what I planned on but the scent dissipated so it threw me for a loop. It had a smell when I initially unwrapped it ( when it was frozen solid) but then when it thawed there's nothing noticeable.

 

[wyoboypt]

Rinse and dry it then smell. The blood always stinks after leaving it in the fridge but after it’s rinsed you can accurately smell if it’s spoiled or not.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Well that really sucks. Hopefully you'll be able to rectify your game meat situation this fall.

 

[KipCarson]

It definitely won’t hurt you, it may taste bad but a few bites won’t hurt you! I agree with grilling up some of it giving it to taste test and going from there.

 

[Hunting Wife]

If it was frozen solid, I would guess any smell is mostly on the surface. Give it a rinse after you thaw it and pat it dry, then see what you think. As far as safety goes, I think it’s fine.

 

[mtmuley]

The stuff that stayed frozen is definitely ok. Bet the exhaust smell will go away. Chug some Busch Light with it. mtmuley

 

[teej89]

Thanks guys! I'm going to give it a shot tonight on the backstrap I thawed. Fingers crossed!

 

[mtmuley]

Thanks guys! I'm going to give it a shot tonight on the backstrap I thawed. Fingers crossed!

Let us know. Hope it works out. mtmuley

 

[Pucky Freak]

not sure how different vehicle exhaust is from grilling meat over propane. I say eat

 

[teej89]

not sure how different vehicle exhaust is from grilling meat over propane. I say eat

My only thought is it was exposed to it for a long time with little ventilation. Good point though.

 

[EYJONAS!]

So you added a little smokey flavor...... cook that shit in some Hennessy or bourbon that'll kill whatever is going on. Where's the big move to..... hopefully to the land of more bulls!

 

[teej89]

So you added a little smokey flavor...... cook that shit in some Hennessy or bourbon that'll kill whatever is going on. Where's the big move to..... hopefully to the land of more bulls!

A helluva lot closer to elk than PA but I wouldn't say prime elk hunting. We're out here in WA.

 

[teej89]

Ended up cooking it, ugh I couldn't tell. The edges were seared so I was not sure if it was that I was tasting or the CO. I'm going to broil it tonight to avoid a sear.

 

[rjthehunter]

I'm sure it's fine. As long as it stayed frozen. No different than smoking meat in a smoker. But you smoked it with exhaust. Dangerous thing about exhaust is the CO2, so you should be just fine to eat it!

 

[ImBillT]

I'm sure it's fine. As long as it stayed frozen. No different than smoking meat in a smoker. But you smoked it with exhaust. Dangerous thing about exhaust is the CO2, so you should be just fine to eat it!

It’s the CO, not he CO2. CO2 doesn’t hurt anything(including the “environment”). You breath it out and so does every other living thing except plants...which exhale oxygen.

 

[ImBillT]

I was leaning toward a hard “no” until I read the propane remark. While it’s true that your exhaust MIGHT have a FEW icky things in it that a propane grill would not, I’m not so sure that CO2, H2O, and the HINT of unburned hydrocarbons that escape your your catalyst would be any less safe or distinguishable from a propane grill except for the possibility of a higher concentration of CO, and that would be meaningless in meat that you cooked. Thinking about it, burning wood ina grill probably produces far more toxins/carcinogens/mutagens/unknowns etc. than anything that comes out your tailpipe. Not to mention, we breath it all day long, is eating a little gonna be that much worse?