Seeking advice on processing deer at home without access to a chiller

Hi all,

I've recently been fortunate to gain access to a local forestry block to help control deer numbers. This block has a fallow deer problem and also holds the odd red (and poachers, but they're not a game animal...).

Until now I've almost exclusively hunted on public land where I've only shot animals so sporadicly that taking them straight to the butcher was a cheap and easy enough solution.

However going forward I need a more economical solution for processing deer myself. My mate who I hunt with has a good grinder, sausage stuffer and vacuum bag sealer and we know enough basic butchery to get by. We just don't have a chiller which limits how long we can hang deer for.

So for everyone else who doesn't have a chiller, how do you do it? Let it hang in the garage for a day or 2 then process? Quarter and chuck it in the fridge? I've considered buying a second hand commercial fridge although understand the idea of a chiller is that air can circulate whereas a fridge seals it in. I'm just north of Auckland and this time of year the high is about 16°C and low about 9°C.

Cheers

In cooler weather,the garage is fine if can keep flies out..the automatic phissst things are gold...
bone out meat and do the double bucket thing in fridge is just the ducks nuts...two of the larger buckets and drill 10-dozen holes in bum of one bucket,put the holey one inside non holey one and meat inside that....the blood can drain through holes and be tipped out dailey when giving meat a bit of a stir..lasts a good week in domestic fridge and meat is much better for it.can fit a good sized red in two buckets and a fallow easy in one.

Thanks MD, do you normally worry about hanging the deer for a day or so before boning out or just get straight to it?

Personally i butcher my animals on the spot where i shoot them, Makes for alot less mess & means im only carrying out what im going to actually eat. I take all the meat, double bag it in sealed bags so water cant get in and stash it in a creek as quickly as i can after its shot to cool it. Once home i do the double bucket trick as micky has mentioned above. Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days then process. Still tastes just as good to me, cant tell the difference vs an animal thats been hung for a few days before butchering.

When hanging deer in shed turn a fan on it makes the meat set really good & hepls keep the flys away but bone out in a next days & I put in a canvas bag & put in the fridge on shelf & then any blood can drip through to bottom off fridge

I'm the same as 6.5 CRD, I butcher them ( roughly ) where they fall. I take the best cuts first and as much of the rest as I can carry with my skinny little legs.
I don't see the point in wasting energy carrying bone , skin only to throw away later.
Once home the meat goes into a fridge for a couple of days. I am lucky as for some strange reason my wife loves helping with the final butchery where the large muscle groups are broken down and bagged into meals. All done on the kitchen bench and large chopping boards, clean and simply.
She's even brought herself a little mincer for the offcuts . Neither of us really know what we are doing but it's fun and despite our very very average butchery skills the meat tastes great.

Hang in the shade with air flow should be good for a few days the problem with sheds is they get hot.
I brought a shop drinks double door chiller for $200 they work awesome just put a rain in them and I can fit 4 fallow and leave them in there with skin on for 7-10 days.
Meat is sooo tender

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As noted above keep your eye out for a skope drinks fridge they pop up on Facebook marketplace quite often. Put a rail across the top and hang your deer up in there.

haven't shot a deer but what I do with sheep in summer, is freeze a few 2L coke bottles full of water and hang them in the body cavity and resting against the outside, and wrap the whole thing in a sheet.

The double door fridge thing is the go. You just need some way to hang them in there. a bit of pipe from one side to the other seems to work ok. S hooks. hang up for a week. Butcher

With this handy (for you) source of fresh veny I would recommend getting a small chiller. Old drinks vending machine are good.
Have the same issue here. The longer you can hang the meat chilled the better it tastes.
The way you process it will improve with time. Vacuum pack is a big step in the right direction. I made sure I got one where you can reuse the bags. Saves money there. Having a partner that wants to help also is a plus. But the biggest kick is the smiles when it’s being eaten.:)
So yes if you can small chiller is a plus.

See this one on face book. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...tory_type=post
@Fatberg

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Originally Posted by Fatberg

Thanks MD, do you normally worry about hanging the deer for a day or so before boning out or just get straight to it?

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Normally boned out on hill but if close to wagon and comes home whole it might hang for day or two,weather dependant

I picked up an old Kelvinator upright fridge for $5 on Marketplace. Cut a piece of ply to fit the shelf slots and drilled holes for homemade z-hooks to go through - one day I'll make a bar to fit, but for now this does the job. Can hang four quarters easily with all the other bits & pieces spread out on one or two of the wire shelves. Chuck in a USB-powered desktop fan if you're really worried, but I rotate everything every couple of days and that seems to be enough. Cleans down really easily after use.

I reckon I could fit two animals at a pinch, but anything more than that you'll want the shop drinks fridge as others have mentioned.

Hanging and aging is important. At 6-7 days there is quite an improvement over 1-2 day meat but at 10 days there is a dramatic improvement so much so that a chiller of some sort is the way to go. An old chest freezer with wooden hanging frame and plastic tubs in the bottom works well for me. I run it on a timer so it comes on twice a day and holds at 2 -4c. The freezer has an advantage of dropping the temp quickly if run continually until the correct temp is reached at the bone. It appears to me that because bones are actually little factories, they seem to be carrying on generating heat even after death. Use a temp probe and get that meat quickly chilled to the bone if it is to be hung for a while, thats the key, well that and a good overnight hang in the wind to dry it down and drain the fluids

Few good options here thanks everyone.

I'll keep an eye out for a reasonably priced second hand double door Skope fridge. In the meantime I'll probably try the bucket trick to get by.

Really appreciate all the advice on these forums, thanks all.

Get a cheap 2nd hand fridge. Mine would be better without the freezer but I can get 8 legs in there.

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A decent vacuum packer will be your best friend. Hang it for as long as you can then bone it out and vacuum pack the cuts and leave in your fridge for 10 days too two weeks. It will turn out awesome.

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Originally Posted by Fatberg

Few good options here thanks everyone.

I'll keep an eye out for a reasonably priced second hand double door Skope fridge. In the meantime I'll probably try the bucket trick to get by.

Really appreciate all the advice on these forums, thanks all.

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I use my light weight meat safe in garage at home for a couple of days and then bone out and vacuum pack into the fridge for at least 6 days - would like to hang for longer but temp a worry in garage

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Originally Posted by 300wsm for life

Get a cheap 2nd hand fridge. Mine would be better without the freezer but I can get 8 legs in there.

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thats a damn good set up

An old shop chiller with a new blower in it. Cheap as chips. You just need the room for one cause they take up a bit of space. @Brian has the details.

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Originally Posted by 300wsm for life

Get a cheap 2nd hand fridge. Mine would be better without the freezer but I can get 8 legs in there.

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I wonder instead of using the tray slots like this if one drilled two holes up thru roof and used two alloy plates on top as anchor to distribute weight - one could make up a hanging rack closer to roof - only needs two say 8mm holes and bolts exact same size - bit of welding to make hooks - should work ???

It's worth noting that commercial chillers like you find in a dairy or old vending machines have an evaporator fan that circulates air.
Domestic fridges and freezers don't.

Yes drilling holes will work. My mate fitted a PC fan to his set up like mine. Moves a surprising amount of air. If your only hanging legs for 3-4 days then it isn't too much of a problem.

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

I wonder instead of using the tray slots like this if one drilled two holes up thru roof and used two alloy plates on top as anchor to distribute weight - one could make up a hanging rack closer to roof - only needs two say 8mm holes and bolts exact same size - bit of welding to make hooks - should work ???

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I’d not be going anywhere close to the fridge sides with a drill. There can be all sorts of pipes running under that skin. You just need to nick one and that’s it. Now you own a cupboard. Seen a cabinetmaker do this:O_O: was not a pleasant bill:sick:

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Originally Posted by Sideshow

I’d not be going anywhere close to the fridge sides with a drill. There can be all sorts of pipes running under that skin. You just need to nick one and that’s it. Now you own a cupboard. Seen a cabinetmaker do this:O_O: was not a pleasant bill:sick:

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does the same apply to roof ???

That’s a top set up @Thar I like that it’s raised and the drain hole. They can get a bit smelly when empty and turned off. Helps with the clean out. For the smaller set up you can get away with spray and wipe out with disinfectant and some paper towels. But for yours you would look like those loo roll horders back at Covid :XD:

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Originally Posted by Blackfern

As noted above keep your eye out for a skope drinks fridge they pop up on Facebook marketplace quite often. Put a rail across the top and hang your deer up in there.

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Skope are a good brand but expensive. they probably have a slow gas leak if they're cheap.

for most people a second hand domestic fridge will be fine for the amount of deer they shoot

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Originally Posted by Russian 22.

Skope are a good brand but expensive. they probably have a slow gas leak for that price

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They do pop up I paid just over $200 for my double door skope

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I run a skope fridge at home and it works very well.

Re how long to hang a deer - it's multiple of 40 ie 10 days at 4 degrees or 2 days at 20 degrees and all multiples in between. I found 10 days skin on in the chiller and fallow were fantastic eating.

Venny goes pirau from the bone outwards,hence @Moa Hunter correct advice above about chilling down to the bone fast.Especially during warmer months of the year.Its important in those warmer months to crack open the H bone ball joint and knee cap to drain out the amniotic fluid from the hanging carcass as that's the nasty shit that sets up the bone rot. Post # 30 above.Aging meat improves exponentially with time @ the correct temp.When I'm getting home kill bodies of beef done, I go for the 14 day aging hang time vs the default 10 day.The results are very noticeable.Ditto with venny as mentioned numerous times above @ the correct temp & forced air flow

I've also gone down the 40 days @4 degrees C aged beef scotch - it changed completly - was a bit blue cheesey

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Originally Posted by stumpys

I've also gone down the 40 days @4 degrees C aged beef scotch - it changed completly - was a bit blue cheesey

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I bet your farts were too!!!!!!!

Picked this up today. Still need to sort a proper rail and hooks but the existing top shelf works for now. Couple fallow from yesterday in there.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...26ce6c85b7.jpg

I have a narrow 1 door fridge only. A couple of pieces of 30mm timber jamed on top of the rack grooves. DIY "S" hooks.
5 days at 5 deg seems to work.

I like the usb fan idea.

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As long as theres air flow and cool air not summer leave the skin on and hang dark area is fine for a week no problem