Thread: Meat Storage Without Refrigeration

G'day. I recently spoke to a bloke who'd spent some time on Stewart Island. He told me about some hunters who'd hang a deer carcass near a hut so that other hunters would have meat to eat when they came to stay. He got the idea that the meat beneath the surface could be edible after a considerable time... maybe several weeks. I think I may have also read something about hanging a leg of venison for a long time and how the meat under the surface was fine to eat. I'm wondering what others have heard about things like this.

My personal belief is that meat like beef and venison can hang for a long time. I've seen an article about hanging/drying whole sheep carcasses (on the Faroe Islands?)... the bodies get covered in mould but evidently it is still good tucker. However in an age where practices like this are not a necessity (and certainly not common), our society's concerns about food safety - and the convenience of using refrigeration - are likely to discourage people from doing such things.

I don't have a chiller but I still like to hang any mature game animal before freezing the meat. This might be as long as a week in winter, or just a couple of days in the warmer months. The animal is gutted and the pelvis and neck are opened up to allow air circulation and drainage. I generally hang a whole animal from the pelvis as I've heard that hanging by the legs can contribute to toughness. That may not be true, but it isn't hard to do.

I've made biltong. I am comfortable to cure and dry it without refrigeration, but lately I've been using an electric dehydrator which dries it relatively quickly.

I also often dry deer liver. I cut it thinly and dry it until crisp. I cut it up with scissors for dog treats.

Currently I have a goat leg hanging from the garage ceiling. I 'cured' it using a recipe for mutton prosciutto crudo. Sometimes people use the word 'violino' to describe it because the shape of the leg can be compared to a violin. It has been hanging for several weeks now as I wait for it to lose at least 35% of its initial weight. It has been implied that if you intend to eat this 'ham' raw, it is safer to eat once it has dehydrated to this level. It is close to being ready. It has quite a strong odour. It doesn't smell rotten... perhaps it can be compared to a type of cheese. I think I've had some biltong that had a similar fragrance. Patches of white or green mould have appeared on the surface, but I wiped them off using a paper towel and vinegar. A black or red mould might scare me, but I comfort myself knowing that cheese will often grow a white or green mould and be delicious.

Anyway... that is just a bit of chit-chat around the topic. I'd love to hear anecdotes about meat that has been eaten after being kept for a long time without refrigeration.

I took this photo today of my 'nearly ready' dehydrated violino goat leg.

Venison forms a hard skin/shell in hours. If you can keep flies off it till hard shell in place it's ideal. In cold conditions if kept dry I've eaten venison that's been out for weeks. Relatives did six weeks many years back but that was winter. The dry but cannot be stressed enough. Wet = rotton.

Thanks for that Micky. It is good to learn about these things from people who have direct knowledge.

I remember we used to put steak on an egg carton to keep it dry. I still sit it in fridge in a stainless steel bowls with upside down saucer under the meat so any blood has somewhere to go.

Read up on what botulism is, how it grows in anaerobic environments and how to make sure you prevent it.

It is the main real danger, it is fairly rare, but if your meat was is ever in the ideal conditions for botulism growth then I would not eat it.

A little education goes a long way

Yes, agreed Inglishill. I recall reading about some people who used to ferment salmon heads... in the north of North America I think. The old way was to place the heads in a crude basket in the ground where they would get nice and stinky. Evidently it was some sort of a delicacy. Then as civilisation came closer to them, they started to use bowl to ferment the fish in and some people harmed themselves because of the anaerobic conditions created in the bowl.

When I was a kid, I recall my parents keeping the left-overs of a mutton roast in a cupboard even though we had a fridge. I guess that is what they saw their parents doing.

Totally agree about the necessity to keep things dry Micky. Some folks like to keep everything in containers or bags in the fridge, and I can see the wisdom in this. However I like to let things breathe and not build up condensation. Although not meat, I find that cut pumpkins are less likely to go mouldy if they are uncovered in the fridge.

a hunters nose needs training what smells right and what is off- any contamination from gut contents learn that smell - I am going to say any one who wants to age venison without refrigeration needs a damn good nose and exactly the right conditions - and in general do we have those - aging needs dry cold - we get wet cold generally - smell a fresh carcass back steak - learn that smell - smell gut content learn that smell - train your nose - I have eaten red hind hind quarters that were hung for 3 weeks in summer in the shade cool hung in a tree - they had developed a hard skin and was bloody delicious - but that was rare - generally hung wet damp gets it real quick - so pick your conditions train your nose and well hung properly yes can be really good eating

Good advice Barry. I have a friend who has made a living as a rural butcher. He said more or less exactly the same thing about your nose being your guide.

I'm aware of 'bone taint' and the advice that we should cut open the ball joints at the pelvis to allow the area to drain and get some air. I've never done this, but I did have one pig that was badly tainted around the joints after a short time hanging. But that is just one pig out of quite a few. Both the landowner and I cooked some of that pork even though it smelled pretty bad, but it seemed to be alright by the time it reached our plates.

pork and venison are two very different meats wild pork goes of real quick - warmth and moisture- I have had it go off in 5-6 hours - sounds like you got away with that pork but I would not push it- food poisining is not funny and kids and elderly are more susceptible

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

a hunters nose needs training what smells right and what is off- any contamination from gut contents learn that smell - I am going to say any one who wants to age venison without refrigeration needs a damn good nose and exactly the right conditions - and in general do we have those - aging needs dry cold - we get wet cold generally - smell a fresh carcass back steak - learn that smell - smell gut content learn that smell - train your nose - I have eaten red hind hind quarters that were hung for 3 weeks in summer in the shade cool hung in a tree - they had developed a hard skin and was bloody delicious - but that was rare - generally hung wet damp gets it real quick - so pick your conditions train your nose and well hung properly yes can be really good eating

I shot a young, summer, sike stag on the first day of a 7 day Kawekas hunt. I skinned and quartered the carcase and hung everything in the hut meatsafe located in permanent shade with breeze every day. When I packed it up to take out everything had hugely dehydrated with the outer "shell" hard and almost black. But it stayed dry and didn't smell. At home it was some of the best tasting venison ever.
Also shot a red hind first day of a Winter trip into South Island hills. Snow everywhere, freezing temps. Tree hung the gutted animal, which remained dry due to no rain, and semi butchered it for the walk home 7 days later. Flies hadn't touched it and it was perfect venison.
Have also hung semi butchered venison in a fabric meat safe ( to keep wasps off ) for up to a week, which stayed dry and the meat was in perfect nick.
I think the fact that properly hung venison can remain unspoiled edible for some time relates to it's lean nature ... ? Keeping the meat dry is key.

Originally Posted by 30.06king

I shot a young, summer, sike stag on the first day of a 7 day Kawekas hunt. I skinned and quartered the carcase and hung everything in the hut meatsafe located in permanent shade with breeze every day. When I packed it up to take out everything had hugely dehydrated with the outer "shell" hard and almost black. But it stayed dry and didn't smell. At home it was some of the best tasting venison ever.
Also shot a red hind first day of a Winter trip into South Island hills. Snow everywhere, freezing temps. Tree hung the gutted animal, which remained dry due to no rain, and semi butchered it for the walk home 7 days later. Flies hadn't touched it and it was perfect venison.
Have also hung semi butchered venison in a fabric meat safe ( to keep wasps off ) for up to a week, which stayed dry and the meat was in perfect nick.
I think the fact that properly hung venison can remain unspoiled edible for some time relates to it's lean nature ... ? Keeping the meat dry is key.

yup 30-06 dry cold thats the key

Those are encouraging stories thanks 30.06king.

Barry... I feel the same way about venison (and beef) being more likely to keep better than pork and poultry and maybe mutton. I am never likely to try it, but I have listened with interest to stories of game birds being hung by the neck until the body drops away... and hares being hung with their guts in until the belly flaps turn green.

Back around 1969 when I was at Nelson College we were studying animal anatomy and I offered to try and get some possums to bring in to the next class. I took my Gorosabel double shotgun on to a neighbours place along with a bulky spotlight. Didn't see any possums, but I shot maybe five hares. I think this was on a Saturday night, but our next biology class wasn't going to happen until the following Tuesday. I stuffed the hares in a sack and left them on the shed floor. The boys dissected the hares, and the teacher rescued some good bits to take home.... something that was a bit unusual to my way of thinking. I wouldn't be keen to eat shotgun-damaged, potentially rotting, meat that had been butchered by students on laboratory benches that might have been contaminated with all sorts of stuff that isn't common nowadays (mercury, phosphorus etc). When I saw the teacher after the event, I asked him what the meat was like. (I think he'd made a dish called 'jugged hare' which I think there may be more than one version of). He replied 'It was beautiful Coote'. That teacher was a heck of a good guy. If I remember correctly his name was Ian Watts. Top bloke.

We took a leg of venison in on a three week trip, as a backup. The animal had been shot about 6 months before and the leg was hung up the hut chimney to dry. When I saw it it was light and looked like a piece of wood. I hammered a few tent pegs in with it when camping on the way to the hut. We found that we did not need it. There were plenty of animals about. However, nobody wanted to carry it back out again, so I put it in a bucket of water to resusitate overnight, cooked it up and it was delicious.