In the week before the season officially gets underway I thought I would start a thread soliciting tips for care and preservation of the tasty venison many of us hope to fill our freezers with in the coming months? What are your tips for care from the field to the freezer? Do you hang deer in a cooler for a few days? Skin on or skin off? Or do you bone out the mean and put it in the fridge or on ice? Does anyone soak in a brine, saltwater with ice, milk, etc? Anyone have any special ritual of eating liver or heart the evening of the kill? Any good tips for storage or prepping meat prior to storage to make for easier cooking later? Let us know.

Normally I field dress in field, splitting pelvic bone and removing everything in one shot. I know some of you guys do not split pelvic bone in field, but I do not want to cut intestines off and have that leaking on my meat. I then take it home, hang and skin and quarter. Loins go straight to salt water for 24 hours, changing water once. I leave the quarters in my basement fridge that I bought just for this purpose for at least a few days, up to a week, then de-boned and that gets a 24 hours in saltwater as well changing water once. All fat and silver membrane removed from meat, this is time consuming but makes a big difference in taste.

I field dress in field, sometimes I split the pelvis sometimes I don't. It depends on how far I have to drag the deer. As for clearing out all of the intestines either way works as long as you cut around the anus well. Also, if you split the pelvis, stand on legs and lift on tail it will almost turn its pelvis inside out. You can really clean it out then. I then skin, quarter and put it all in the fridge. I don't soak in brine though know many that do. I like the taste of venison and don't need to remove its taste. I also debone and remove as much fat and silver as I can. It does make a difference in taste. We vacuum pack most of the meat though we have started to can more and more. Canned meat lasts for years and doesn't require refrigeration. If our grid fails or we have extended power outage it could pay big dividends.

Vic

I have canned as well. For some reason canned meat has extra/different flavor. I like it.

I find the canned meat makes the best stews, taste and texture are outstanding.

Vic