Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Freezer burn?

JB, Mizwhitetail, and Bulletbutt

I apoligize for hijacking your thread. I was just trying to join in on the conversation.

JB, you are the last person I would ever want to disagree with, or get in a pizzin' contest with, over any subject on the Fire. I sincerely have nothing but respect for all of your contributions here. My experience with big game and hunting, pales in comparison to you and your wife. I value your opinions more than my own and I was unaware of some of your findings as posted above.

I'm OK now, my feelings have recovered. I just wanted to add a little humor in the feelings, cold shoulder, flames, freezer burn post. I thought it was funny.

Bulletbutt, no problems on my end here.

fish head

fish head,

It was funny!

One of the things that makes this forum great is everybody chiming in. But sometimes we're going over the same ground that another thread (either here or elsewhere on the Campfire) has already covered. That was the primary point I wanted to make.

Good hunting--and eating!

Well, to continue to beat a dead horse, when you age it in the bag, it's wet aging, and it's pretty good. When you age it in the air (cold air but not freezing) it's dry aging. And to dry age, you can't steak it out. Or shouldn't. Anyway, the black crust that builds up takes away some meat so your steaks that started out an inch end up about 3/4".

Here's a link for dry aging beef. I think the process is the same for venison, at least the venison I ate. http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possible_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.htm

Good eating and good hunting. Ms. Deer, I will definitely buy your book although my larder of game is paltry indeed. I just hope you have a squirrel recipe.

JB

Again, I'm going off topic but I know you will find my post here.

Thanks for the reply. As far as good hunting and eating goes, I'm currently eating one of the tenderest, mildest flavored, tasty mule deer I've ever had. I got him late sept. in Utah on a muzzleloader hunt during less than ideal conditions. Daytime temps were in the upper 70's, nights were OK, but with proper care I got him home in excellent condition, aged it, butchered it and vacuum packed it. I'm not a total newb. Eatin's real good on my end.

It was a 2 1/2 year old 3x3 that was my first muzzleloader buck. I saw bigger, pulled the hammer back on a 4X4 three times, but never had the right shot (too far, running behind bushes, and again too far). Next to the last day I decided to bring home some meat when the right opportunity presented itself. Good decision on my part. So far, one for one with the muzzleloader.

I just moved to Colorado last year after spending 14 years in Anchorage. Last fall was my first chance to hunt in the lower 48 in a long time. Muzzleloaders were never a great option for Alaska - no seasons (other than a very few special hunts) long shots, BIG GAME, only one shot, bears, etc.. It just always made more sense to carry my model 70 .300 win mag.

Best wishes,

fish head

fish head,

Congrats on your muzzleloader deer! Personally, for eating meat, Eileen and I both prefer a 3x3 (which is usually a 2-1/2 year old) muley buck to any other. They have a lot more meat than a forkhorn (1-1/2 year old) and, and it is still tender and has even better flavor. In fact the best mule deer we ever put in the freezer was a 3x3 that Eileen got one year just at the very beginning of the rut. He was so good that his meat disappeared from the freezer long before it should have.

I can see how a muzzleloader would be a problem in Alaska. We don't have a special MZ season here, but they are the only rifle allowed in certain areas next to towns, which is where I end up using one now and then.

Where did you move to in Colorado? It's a great hunting state. I've hunted pronghorn, whitetails, mule deer and elk there and always had a great time. Some parts are a little too crowded for me, but then again many parts aren't.

Best,
John

JB

Fort Collins is where home is now. Urban, but not too big. My backyard faces the foothills of the Rockies so in some ways it's like Anchorage. Not as pretty though.

Next year I'll be hunting Wyoming deer rifle season and the following year it will be Colorado. Probably deer and elk. I still have not had time to properly scout a good area for Colorado so I'm putting it off for a year.

In wyoming I'm hunting an area that my huntin' bud has been to before. It has taken two preference points to get drawn for that area as a non-resident. It should be a real good hunt.

Best wishes and good hunting to you too.

fish head

A big problem I have is that my group hunts elk in New Mexico in Dec. and Jan.. We made the mistake the first year of handing our cows in the meat shed overnight. Well, we had to transport back 3 skinned elk in the stretched pose. Good thing we had a crewcab with an 8 foot box! We got a lot of stares driving thru Kansas City!
It can be very cold in New Mexico that time of year and equally cold in Minnesota. So, we now must skin and debone our elk within the same day. So the animal may not even get into full rigor by the time we are deboning it. Consequently I let the meat thaw in the refrigerator for at least a day. I just made an elk post roast today after it sat for 36 hours in the frig, in its "juices". Ten hours in the crock pot on the high and then temp shift setting yielded a very tender meal. I used golden mushroom soup after I browned all sides. The one previous was with onion soup mix.
Wild game on the grill must be watched carefully because there is a short window between tasty and jerky.
I should get the book as JB and MizWT bring a lot of credibility and hard work to our sport.