washing out your deer?

[schwinger]

I am curious to know how many of you wash out the inside of the deer carcass with water? I have now been told by a couple butchers that say it is the worst thing you can do. Supposedly it spreads bacteria and really just makes a good breeding ground for the bacteria to have excess water in the carcass. I am not sure what to think but I did not wash mine out this year as the group I was hunting with say it is a bad idea. I know we used to always hose out the inside of the deer with a hose (when available).

Any thoughts?

[Go Big Red!]

I have never washed out a deer.  I do leave it lay belly down to remove any remaining blood as long as the ground isn't a dirt pile or full of leaves.  Also hang it with the head down, something with the brain fluid that Auggie was mentioning in another post.

[Cody Gruchow]

i do wash mine out. dont see anything wrong with it as long as your hanging it up right away and it isnt holding any water inside.

[mnnate]

We don't hose our deer but once we get them hung we trim/clean the cavity real good and wipe any blood/dirt that may have got in the with a damp towel.

[Realtree]

I think the big thing with not rinsing out the chest cavity is to not use warm or hot water as this will spread bacteria...i did read or hear somewhere that it was recommended to only rinse the cavity if there is excess blood or gut shot to expel that mess from meat area and to use cool water from a stream/river/snow when available.

We don't rinse ours out unless there is an unusual mess inside, we just prop them up to drain out as good as possible until we register them and hang them in the garage to butcher. You can also have a couple guys grab an end and stand them up on all 4 for a couple minutes to let excess fluids/etc drain out before propping them up for extended time prior to hanging.

Like Go Big Red mentioned also we hang our deer head down normally also for brain fluid and also a little easier to cape this way I think.

[22lex]

Like Scott said it is probably best to do it with cold water. I do it on occasion, but only if there's a big old mess.

On a different note I use a torch to get the excess hair of the animal when skinning it and getting it ready to butcher. I don't really know why I do it, maybe 'cause the hair gets all over and it's easier then picking it all off, not sure but I remember long ago seeing a friend do it and it seemed like the easiest thing to do.

[Randy Kaar]

We always hang em head up..  dont know why. Never rinse em out unless it is a gut shot.

randy

[HUNTER2]

We never wash them and just hang them either way, but we always put a stick in them to make sure they cool off as quick as possible.

[deadeye]

I read some place that you shouldn't wash them out.  The dried blood creates a seal to the meat preventing drying and bacteria.

[schwinger]

thanks for the input, it seems most agree not to wash them out. I can't really find much info on it on-line but I think I will refrain from washing them out.

[JohnWester]

i would never wash them out.  I did once just to run cold water over it after skinning to cool the whole things down. it was early anterless last year and it was warm.  I was trying to cool it off fast with cold water from the hose outside.  had it all cut up and in the freezer by night fall anyway, so not sure if it was needed.

a side question, if it is warm out... how long can you have the meat out before it should be at least quartered and cooled in a refrigerator?

[HD]

John,
If it's really warm out, we have had the meat get tainted with in an hour of harvesting the animal. In these cases, we have dry ice (or at least bags of ice) to pack the cavity. When in doubt, cool the animal as quick as possible. Every year, we get deer in, that we process that have been mis-handled and most of the animal is thrown out. People tend to get pissy when they only get a portion of their meat back, but it all starts with the handling of the animal.

On the other subject, I have hosed them out with cold, cold water. But, they were hanging already, and well ventilated. (Can't stress that enough...WELL ventilated) What I mean is, the cavity is wide open and proped with a stick of some sort. These have been, just the gut shot deer. You need to get the bile from the guts off of the meat as soon as possible, or it will taint the meat. And, they need to be dried soon after this is complete. (If not, then the bacteria can form) And, as John has already said, best to cut up soon afterwards.

And, all of our deer, is hung head down........

Hunter

[HUNTER2]

Ok, someone tell me how far the brain juices can travel in the meat? We don't use the meat all the way to the head any way. I've never tasted any difference in the meat. We like to hang the deer by the head when we gut them. We have the convenience of driving right to the deer to pick them up with the tractor. Saves on the back.

[JohnWester]

i always hang head down...

[HD]

I'm not sure on how far it will travel, but have noticed that the meat does taste more game'ier (if that's a word)

I don't think hurts anything hanging from the head or the legs.  But, for ventilation purposes and cooling the meat faster, hanging from one leg rear works better. This way the cavity is spread wide open and allows the air to get in there better, while still letting it drain of any fluid.

[Realtree]

On a different note I use a torch to get the excess hair of the animal when skinning it and getting it ready to butcher. I don't really know why I do it, maybe 'cause the hair gets all over and it's easier then picking it all off, not sure but I remember long ago seeing a friend do it and it seemed like the easiest thing to do.

We singe the stray hair off the meat after caping our deer also. Dad taught me to do that when we first started butchering our own deer and I've always continued it.

We hang on a gambrel from the rear leg joint with head down.

We always cut the brisket open as wide as possible and spread the ribcage/brisket area with a rib spreader, wood block once in the garage or a fairly clean stick while in the woods to ventilate.

Lots of great points being brought up in this thread!

[Moving2thecountry]

The one doe I shot I did not wash out.  But it was a clean field dressing.  I've a video that recommends against washing.

[Joe]

Once we hang the deer we splash a little water in the chest cavity, but we don't really "wash" it out. We just want to make sure there isn't any leaves or dirt in there.

[jnyman]

Huntersdown do you process your own deer or are you saying you work at a butcher such as bakkens???? where you process and this is the way in which you do it?

[HD]

Both....I process my own deer and work at a butcher shop during hunting season, part time.

But, we don't do it at the shop...cause by the time the deer come in, they are already dry or frozen.

[Moving2thecountry]

Huntersdown do you process your own deer or are you saying you work at a butcher such as bakkens???? where you process and this is the way in which you do it?

I process my own deer.  It is simple, I learned how from this outstanding video:  Deer Processing From Field to Freezer

[youtube]0p2t6AXeWxQ[/youtube]