Hang Elk quarters in Upright Freezer

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Interesting topic, and I realize that location temperatures are critical but growing up in southern New Mexico one of our jobs as a kid after a hunt was hanging meat out off the facia of our barn after sun went down and then before sun up we would take it down and pack it in tarps in a wooden box that was in a spot where the sun couldn't hit it. Then same thing next night.........we didn't know a walk in freezer existed  

That fridge idea looks doable!!!!

[kfallsrob]

Check out the Koola Buck portable meat locker units. I have the junior model and can fit a couple of deer or a quartered elk. It's small enough to put in the back of my truck and setup at camp. I have used it during early archery season and it worked great. It's not cheap, but it is sure nice getting everything cooled in the field for multiple day hunts. Solves both the in field cooling and the hanging at home locker for aging and processing.

[trphyhntr]

seems like a lot of work to hang a few animals a year. 

[Curtis Reed]

4 hours ago, trphyhntr said:

seems like a lot of work to hang a few animals a year. 

We grow lots of veggies, make cheese, etc. So boxes of veggies, aging cheese and other stuff will go in there year round.  Not to mention i went in on a beef share this year and will be getting lots of beef in March.  Basically why I decided on this instead of just hanging in fridge or freezer  

 I could have used it today… 85 brats and 25 lbs of venison snack sticks ready to smoke. I need the cooler to put this in. Won’t fit in fridge. 

[trphyhntr]

I am jealous 

[Curtis Reed]

Just a progress update in case anyone in future does a similar project

[yotebuster]

Looks pretty awesome!  We have a walk in cooler at the farm and I love the ability to cool animals in cold weather etc.  I’m not a big fan of hanging wild game for long periods of time.  I’ve found that so much of it drys out and needs to be trimmed you aren’t left with much.  I will say it works OK with elk but with deer and antelope when you lose 1/2” all the way around the outside you end up with only 1/2 the meat.  The other thing that wild game don’t have the advantage on over aging like beef does is being able to control the killing of the critter.  Anytime you open up the stomach cavity of the animal you are getting bacteria on your meat.  While aging is somewhat slowed rotting, it’s much more controlled with a beef killed in a slaughter facility and you don’t have to worry about the stomach contents (read sh1t) getting on your meat.  I like to let my critters go through the proper chemical changes that happen in the first 12-24 hours after death while getting them as cool as possible as quick as possible and then get them cut and wrapped ASAP and the quality of the meat we end up with has gone up substantially from when we were “aging” game.  

[PRDATR]

4 hours ago, yotebuster said:

Looks pretty awesome!  We have a walk in cooler at the farm and I love the ability to cool animals in cold weather etc.  I’m not a big fan of hanging wild game for long periods of time.  I’ve found that so much of it drys out and needs to be trimmed you aren’t left with much.  I will say it works OK with elk but with deer and antelope when you lose 1/2” all the way around the outside you end up with only 1/2 the meat.  The other thing that wild game don’t have the advantage on over aging like beef does is being able to control the killing of the critter.  Anytime you open up the stomach cavity of the animal you are getting bacteria on your meat.  While aging is somewhat slowed rotting, it’s much more controlled with a beef killed in a slaughter facility and you don’t have to worry about the stomach contents (read sh1t) getting on your meat.  I like to let my critters go through the proper chemical changes that happen in the first 12-24 hours after death while getting them as cool as possible as quick as possible and then get them cut and wrapped ASAP and the quality of the meat we end up with has gone up substantially from when we were “aging” game.  

Probably 20 years ago a College in Wyoming did an extensive test on aging game meat and used the same USDA standards for checking tenderness and determined that aging game didn't really have much of an affect and put out a paper on it.

It could probably be found with some internet searches since IIRC it was in PDF format.

[Curtis Reed]

I have been aging midwest whitetail for the past 20 years. To me,  it make a big difference in tenderness and i like the aged flavors. But to each their own!

I grilled up a few of the Venison brats for lunch today and had a couple snack sticks. They turned out great!

[Curtis Reed]

All done except for outside corner moulding and foil tape on inside seams. Dropped to 36° in less than 10 min. 

[Explorer]

On 11/21/2021 at 2:17 PM, GreyGhost85 said:

I have a buddy that got an old ice freezer like the ones out in front of gas stations. He put some kind of controller on it so it doesn’t freeze and fashioned a rod that will hold quarters on meat hooks. Probably the slickest set up I’ve seen other than an actual walk in. It‘ll hold 2 elk i believe

Same set up I have. 20 bucks for a adjustable temp controller.  We got home at 1am one time and put my brothers whole cow elk in it. Hide head and hooves intact. Could fit 3-4 elk stacked that way. Best part was I got it for free from a church camp I work at occasionally.

[Jcubed]

On 11/21/2021 at 3:40 PM, Couescrazy33 said:

This is a cow elk hanging in my fridge i converted

Listen to this guy

[Curtis Reed]

I have 31 venison kielbasa hanging in the cooler overnight. they’ll be in the smoker tomorrow.