Thread: Processing game to avoid food poisoning

Hi all,

I've been doing small game pest control for a bit but am keen to get some meat from them too. Starting with rabbits, then moving bigger if there's an opportunity.
@Micky Duck, @Barry the hunter and @MB had some good advice in another thread, and it got me wondering about food hygiene in the field and what to do to avoid the meat spoiling and food poisoning.

From what I get so far, we want to:
1. Headshots / chest shots to avoid puncturing the guts and contaminating the meat.
2. Remove guts asap in the field to avoid smell affecting the meat.

Could someone chime in on the following?
- What do you need to do to make sure the meat stays good and doesnt get contaminated?
- How long before it needs to get in a refrigerator?
- Is processing small game like rabbit any different to larger game like pigs?
- What's essential kit for processing the animal after it's been skinned / gutted?

Thanks, this forum's a great resource.

Sent from my M2101K6G using Ta

Look up the gutless method of preparation. It's super clean and quick on a rabbit. It can also be applied to larger game animals. It may not suit you if shooting a large number of animals, but worth considering.

Store meat in breathable pillow cases not plastic bags if not getting on to ice or in to a fridge straight away. Speaking of which, there's no reason not to leave a chilly bin with some ice bricks in it in the car when rabbit shooting.

Flies.....keep meat away from them and cool. Chilly bins is great idea. Couple of two litre bottles 80% filled with water,slightly squeezed then top put on and frozen gives you great slicker pad for chilly bins. Sooner in fridge/ freezer the better but a few hours is no big deal. In this heat a few days very much so.

Avoid getting water on the meat directly as water seems to make the meat go off quicker.

Cool and dry is key.

Go to your local library and get "The Game Butcher" by Darren Meates (no joke).

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful

We eat a lot of rabbit, always try to shoot it from the chest forward. I then sleeve skin it from the rear to just beyond the start of the ribs, split the back legs and then cut it in half at the front of the back steaks. Leave all of the diaphragm as is, and the guts from the rear stay attached to that as well, and throw that away for the hawks. Then leave the complete back half to air and cool, and in to the fridge for a day or 2 before freezing. Pillow cases are great, and make sure they have cooled down before putting in the chilly bin with ice bottles.

The faster you get the guts out the better. The less you spread the guts on the meat the better. The cooler you can keep it the better. The less it touches other things the better. The drier you keep it the better.

Me personally, I just carry anything (rabbit through to deer) home with the skin on. Others will prefer to do otherwise, but for me, I like that it keeps the meat that is under the skin, clean. When you cut up the animal, just trim off any nasties, if you really want to keep it hygienic, keep some hot water handy to wash your knife when it gets nasties or fur on it.

It won't hurt to do some practice runs on one or two rabbits that you don't want to eat. Then when you want to do it for real, you don't have to figure it out as you go.

You can't go too far wrong cutting up an animal, remember you don't have to put it back together after you take it apart. It's easy enough to learn you're own ways of doing it just by having a go, the worst that can happen is that you produce quite a bit of 'stewing steak' from the good cuts, but the meat is free anyway, so it's not the end of the world.

Excellent thread, following.

There is nothing really different between skinning and butchering small game from large game its all the same thing your doing. What you might do to a deer, you will do to a rabbit. Except rabbits are more fragile and so easier to process in general. You can dismantle them all the same way.


The important thing is to cool the meat as soon as possible. So cut or butcher it after you shoot it, dont leave them lying around for hours before you get to processing them. Cool the meat down while keeping flies off, which is why you put them in old cotton pillow cases. Keep in the shade until you can take it home and don't put it in a plastic bag until it is actually cold.

While your cutting it up keep grass and dirt and hairs off the meat. It doesnt really make much difference, Ive eaten it all, but your family wont like it. Often if I want to take a whole rabbit, I will skin him first then gut him, then cut him up, then you dont get fur on everything. If you get any of the gut contents onto the meat or urine etc, then just cut that bit of meat off. Cut around and take off all of the bloodshot meat from the shot. This is not edible and will go off immediately as well and taint any meat nearby.


I have tried cooling meat and then putting them into plastic bags once cold, and then putting the bag into a creek in the water. But eels are my mortal enemy, and can chew into the plastic bags. Then I put stones all around it and build a wall, and then the eels will sometimes go over the top. They are my nemesis.

Get the meat home and into the fridge or freezer that night. I would not use the meat from an animal that has laid out all night that has not been gutted except when it's real cold. Certainly not in summer.


Then at home I will freeze it all, I find freezing meat for a while will tenderise nearly anything.
I also tend to soak rabbit and hare meat in salt water for a few hours if I am going to cook it. Gets rid of a lot of the gamey taste of hares. If you dont have salt - a pinch of msg (!) will do it!


There is no critical danger to be afraid off. Have been eating wild meats since I was a child and no one has ever had any food poisoning. Cooking food kills germs thats why we do it. (But you may adopt a simple general rule - when in doubt, don't eat it. Give it to your neighbour.)

Good point old son....rabbits are great way to teach you how to remove hind quarters...and it tranfers to bigger game as the joint is the same in big n small alike.

How to make rabbits into a tasty meal, shoot a few hundred then sell them for dog food and buy a steak from the butcher.

People go crazy on the refrigeration aspect. Easy access to refrigeration is a relatively new thing, people got on without it for the most part before the 1900's.

Yes, meat will spoil if left out in the hot sun where bacteria, parasites and vermin can get at it, but leaving it in the shade and a slight breeze will do wonders vs. chucking it directly in a bag or getting it wet.

There is a reason why venison farming is not a big industry vs. cattle and sheep, as it's crap meat by comparison.

Deer fat won't render and thus you can't cook it in it's own fat.

Big fan of the gutless method for deer/pigs, take off each limb and hang by cord from adjacent tree or freshy cut fern fronds in the shade/in cool breeze to cool, then back steaks/tenderloins (get fingers under the back bone to separate gut from meat - always cut away from yourself)/off cuts/heart/liver into a game bag. Then skin out legs, cool, then bone out and into meat bag. It's surprising how cool you can keep venison in the height of summer. Hung one animal for a couple of days at the top of a bush ridge under fern fronds in a light wind. Find the cool guts adjacent to animal. Photo below of a meat bag hung low over a stream in shadow. Chilly bin in the vehicle has big blocks of ice/ice bottles/then foam, closed lid/foam over the top/towel. Always keep meat away from water/keep it cool/elevated from liquid.

Originally Posted by caberslash

How to make rabbits into a tasty meal, shoot a few hundred then sell them for dog food and buy a steak from the butcher.

People go crazy on the refrigeration aspect. Easy access to refrigeration is a relatively new thing, people got on without it for the most part before the 1900's.

Yes, meat will spoil if left out in the hot sun where bacteria, parasites and vermin can get at it, but leaving it in the shade and a slight breeze will do wonders vs. chucking it directly in a bag or getting it wet.

There is a reason why venison farming is not a big industry vs. cattle and sheep, as it's crap meat by comparison.

Deer fat won't render and thus you can't cook it in it's own fat.

This got a genuine chuckle @caberslash

As the others have said keep it dry and cool , the gutless method is great. trim any blood shot/contaminated meat as much as possible, before chilling/hanging. keep the meat clean ie no dirt leaves etc . when your breaking the critter down try not to make any stabs/excess cuts as that gives more places for bacteria etc to grow if your gutting it and find you've gut shot or stabbed the gut bag dont keep on hacking away. clean your knife and hands before moving on to other cuts. same as taking the wind pipe out use a bit of sting/flax and tie it off if you can as you can drag gut contents though . if you dont have a handy tree place it on a cotton tarp or the inside of your jacket spread out to cool then into the pillow case. regarding pillow cases dont use the good new ones or ones that you got as a wedding gift you will never hear the end of it.