Thread: meat questions

Hi guys!

At this time of the year, for the backpacker hunters, how do you bring your meat home? with or without bones? and why?
I'm used to bring the whole animal (moose(4 pieces) or deer) at the bucher with skin. but I won't have ATV or meatwagon in NZ so this all new to me.

Also, form the posts a read here, you all seem to process your meat by your own. but for travelling, it's a lot easier if process and deep freeze by a butcher. any recommendation near Queenstown?

thanks for your help

I usually shoot deer, break down the deer on the spot i.e. take back legs off, back steaks, front legs (if not too mangled). Walk back to the closest hut with legs still with skin on, hang them up to cool down overnight usually (huts I go to have meat safes, or you could buy one of those portable ones), or at least for a while. Then bone out legs and pack it all in my pack for the carry-out. If I was camping out rather than at a hut (which I don't do very often) I guess I would bone out at camp on a plastic bag or something.

Definitely lighter and less of a pain to squash into the pack when boned out. I tend to eat the good cuts as steaks and take the rest to a local butcher for sausages, because it's much easier to convince the kids to eat sausages rather than chewy steaks.

Originally Posted by Juicy

I usually shoot deer, break down the deer on the spot i.e. take back legs off, back steaks, front legs (if not too mangled). Walk back to the closest hut with legs still with skin on, hang them up to cool down overnight usually (huts I go to have meat safes, or you could buy one of those portable ones), or at least for a while. Then bone out legs and pack it all in my pack for the carry-out. If I was camping out rather than at a hut (which I don't do very often) I guess I would bone out at camp on a plastic bag or something.

Definitely lighter and less of a pain to squash into the pack when boned out. I tend to eat the good cuts as steaks and take the rest to a local butcher for sausages, because it's much easier to convince the kids to eat sausages rather than chewy steaks.

Yup, agreed. Have a chilli bin waiting in your car then just pop to the nearest gas station and buy some ice on your way to the butcher.


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I tend to bone out on the spot. Separating out the muscle groups means you get the heat out way faster, which is key. Hang the muscles in a nearby tree or sitting on top of a scrub bush. An extra 15 - 20 minutes in the breeze makes a huge difference and meat will last a long time after that hung in a tree in an old pillow case or whatever you use if the heat has been let out in the first instance.

The breeze will form that dry skin on the meat, once this forms it seems to last a bloody long time out of the fridge.

Originally Posted by Juicy

I usually shoot deer, break down the deer on the spot i.e. take back legs off, back steaks, front legs (if not too mangled). Walk back to the closest hut with legs still with skin on, hang them up to cool down overnight usually (huts I go to have meat safes, or you could buy one of those portable ones), or at least for a while. Then bone out legs and pack it all in my pack for the carry-out. If I was camping out rather than at a hut (which I don't do very often) I guess I would bone out at camp on a plastic bag or something.

Definitely lighter and less of a pain to squash into the pack when boned out. I tend to eat the good cuts as steaks and take the rest to a local butcher for sausages, because it's much easier to convince the kids to eat sausages rather than chewy steaks.

your last line jumped out at me....... been there and done that NOW I know better.
chewyness is generally one of three things in this order
1 you neglected to remove the silverskin...thats the muscle sheath,the silvery bit thus its name..cut this off and will be vastly better...I know I know it looks like you getting a smaller bit of steak,and in case of round steak it goes from lovely big cut to 3-4 smaller little steaks but the difference for those with fewer teeth left of impatient younguns is huge.
2 you didnt age meat at all..it got shot,cut up and chucked in freezer..far better to age for a week in fridge...you can get away with doing this at other end EG get it out of freezer on Monday and dont eat till after friday sortt of deal...I like to upend a small saucer inside larger SS mixing bolw and sit steak on this,so as it sits the blood can drain into cavity at bottom of bowl...or do marinate thing.
3 you stressed animal when it died or it was a smelly old stag....
I used to carry animal out whole...its got to be plurry close to wagon for that now days..front end always boned into bag,back end too if a long way away...too easy to do the four quarters and back n eye steaks into big pack thing with fallow. reds I can only fit front end i ndaybag so back wheels come out via a shoulder ride attached to pelvis eg cut off across kidney area (strangely enough got a deer recently with two other hunters and they had NEVER seen a set of back wheels carried out this way) must be a old meat hunters thing that newer generations just dont see anymore.

Originally Posted by JSV

At this time of the year, for the backpacker hunters, how do you bring your meat home? with or without bones? and why?
I'm used to bring the whole animal (moose(4 pieces) or deer) at the bucher with skin. but I won't have ATV or meatwagon in NZ so this all new to me.

As per previous answers, I do a lot of butchery in the bush. More or less skin animal and harvest back legs, shoulders (if not smashed) and backstraps. Sometimes take ribs and heart. If the animal is big enough, I take tenderloins as well. I don't see the point of carrying out skin and bone which is going to be discarded anyway.

As for what you should do, it depends. If you're going on a guided hunt on private land, there may be an ATV waiting for you and a guide may do all the hard work. If going unguided on public land, you could carry the whole animal out, but you may regret that decision after a couple of kilometres. Guess it depends on your strength, distance to be walked and size of the animal.

I do exactly as @Juicy and @Six5Bleedmoor said.

Taking boned out meat from front legs, backsteaks and the whole hind legs reduces weight to 40% of s whole gutted carcass.

Amazingly, skinning a back leg and removing the bone cuts that down by another 50%.

Also, although it is the second heaviest thing known to hunters, meat does flow around and fits will inside your pack.

I do exactly as @Juicy and @Six5Bleedmoor said.

Taking boned out meat from front legs, backsteaks and the whole hind legs reduces weight to 40% of s whole gutted carcass.

Amazingly, skinning a back leg and removing the bone cuts that down by another 50%.

Also, although it is the second heaviest thing known to hunters, meat does flow around and fits will inside your pack.

one thing that never ceases to amaze me in videos photos is the number of people ( I wont call them hunters ) who carry out deer whole with the head on - I cannot see any reason why one would carry out the extra weight - if someone gave me a common sense valid reason why one would I shall be educated - in the mean time I will regard them as idjits

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one thing that never ceases to amaze me in videos photos is the number of people ( I wont call them hunters ) who carry out deer whole with the head on - I cannot see any reason why one would carry out the extra weight - if someone gave me a common sense valid reason why one would I shall be educated - in the mean time I will regard them as idjits

I will admit I carried/dragged a whole goat home guts and all when I was first starting out. Only once though.

As for the queston asked by the OP, I play it by ear depending on the size of the animal, how much time I have, and how close to the vehicle.
At one end of the spectrum, for a small animal like a goat or fallow, not too far from the vehicle, I just gut it and carry it whole and do the cutting up at home. For a big red, there isn't much option but to cut it up on the spot unless you are very close to a vehicle, but the bigger ones are a struggle just to get them across a small gully let alone carry out from the bush.

Many butchers will accept the meat for processing, I can't speak for QT, but my local prefers more meat and less bones, and won't accept the whole carcass with skin on. Front and back wheels plus other cuts is fine.

The only queenstown home kill I know of is the bloke in riversdale so about 100km one way , he does a good job though, I only hang my carcasses in his cool room, but he's well known in area, he does travel as well. I process all my own meat as I like doing it , and make my own small goods, take my time using my own recipes , can't get that done by a butcher

In NZ we are not obligated to take any meat, so unlike Canada and the US, we dont spend hours taking every little piece of edible meat. Takes a bit of getting your head around, but the reality is you are often miles from your vehicle or camp or pick up point. And the human body can only carry so much. If you shoot a meat animal and want to take as much meat out as possible, then the above posts have pretty much detailed it - remove as much of the excess weight as possible, cool the meat down, and get it in to a cooler as soon as is practical.

For most of my deer, I take the backsteaks first, so easy while its still sitting up a bit. Then both back wheels. If its a big yomp to get out, I skin and short bone it. If its a bloody big yomp, then I fully bone it but leave the meat as one big lump until I get out. Then if I figure I can carry more then I take the tenderloins by going through from the back under where the backsteaks use to be. And lastly take the front legs boned out. Hang it as long as you can until putting it in your pack and I use old pillow cases for that. If its gonna be a bit of a bloody mess from the carry out, I reluctantly use a plastic bag over the pillowcase. With our game animal population as it is at present, theres no need to feel compelled to take everything if its gonna compromise your ability to walk out.

Once I get it home I place the meat in single layers on a rack over an oven tray so that the blood can drain away. Several trays for the whole job. In to the fridge or a chiller and leave it until you think its suitably aged or the wife gets ratty with the meat taking up her good fridge space. Then break it down and freeze.

the only thing I do differently to Husky is that I vacuum pack the meat in heavy plastic bags in fridge before freezing - yeah never bother with the front end - I might if I head shot an exceptional eating animal such as a big dry red hind - I get a local home kill to mince for me and mix in some really fatty beef - usually they will donate some beef fat - if I had mutton flap's would use that to

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one thing that never ceases to amaze me in videos photos is the number of people ( I wont call them hunters ) who carry out deer whole with the head on - I cannot see any reason why one would carry out the extra weight - if someone gave me a common sense valid reason why one would I shall be educated - in the mean time I will regard them as idjits

Had a neighbour, ex SA who arrived at home one summer evening with a complete red hind, head on, guts in. He had carried it for 3 hours. Didn't know how to gut etc, someone did it for him back home.

ha he earned a beer a young fella I worked with got two hinds in the river bed Ruahines took him three hours to gut - hind quarter and back steak - he admitted to get ones head of he bashed his knife threw the neck with a rock - I pointed out that if he was only taking hind quarters and back steaks why did he need to take the head off - he admitted he realised after doing one it was not needed - ohh well we all have to start somewhere - I was lucky I guess -I was killing sheep regularly when I started hunting