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PUBLIC LAND BOWHUNTERS
Welcome to the PUBLIC LAND BOWHUNTERS forum.

On behalf of public land bowhunters, throughout our great nation, I work on this forum almost daily. I am striving to make this forum the very best all public land, bowhunting forum on the internet.

Look around, see if THIS FORUM is something YOU want to be a part of. Registration is fast, simple, and absolutely free, so join our forum today! All the best.-
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poor mans walk in cooler

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poor mans walk in cooler Empty poor mans walk in cooler

Post by wandering monk Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:29 am

its that time of year...for me to get my "walk in" ready...no its not some huge and expensive job...but one that works perfect to age my meat properly when its too hot to do it in the shed etc.

I have been doing this for many years after finding out a long time ago that if venison or elk isnt aged some it just does not have the flavor and texture we like so much. Wild game in general gets a bad rap a lot of times just because it isnt handled as well as its domestic cousin...

I have an old refrigerator in my garage that I keep for the purpose of always having ice on hand and a place to cool down my meats. In August I give it a super cleaning with some spray nine and bleach if necessary.

I bone all my meat 100% , clean &  dry it thoroughly. I have plywood shelves I have cut up for stronger shelves, and I like to keep around waxed boxes too. I place the meat with a towell over it to help from drying out too much. I set the thermostat at just above freezing...(the only way to really get it perfect is to get some stuff to starrt freezing and then back it off a hair.)

poor mans walk in cooler IMG_5510_zps16338247


We keep the meat and all the scraps for sausage and grinding in there at about 33-34 degrees for at least one week...after that it has started to get that pretty pink color...and is OK to do any final cuts & wrap it up...this freezer will hold one elk plus a deer or three to 4 deer if all boned properly.(or one Buffalo) I dont put anything in my freezer you dont want to eat...bones, fat and grissle etc are left for critters in the field.

I keep 1 gal jugs in the freezer compartment to help the costs of electricity a bit...and also have excellent frozen blocks for the cooler on a trip. I use purified water too so that if and when it melts we have good drinking water or for other purposes in a camp. I re-freeze new water in the jugs when I get home and keep the ice on hand. I usually do the same in my chest freezer when it does not have any wrapped meat in it too.

this has worked so well for me over the years I just thought I would share it with you folks that might not know about this method...especially good for the early seasons that are about to start out west and anywhere its still pretty warm out. Walk in coolers are OK...but I havent had an animal cut up by anyone else for me in 35 years...I am just way too picky. Plus you get used to different things that might not be considered "regular" cuts etc...for example I with Deer, Elk & Antelope I like to make as many as possible "steaks" for the grill. I love to run my grill even in mid winter! We dont really cook roasts anymore... I also like to "cube" all my trims and scraps for either being ground , used in stew or similar. I just grind it on demand, but even making burgers has sort of not been to much a practice for a while....we also can a lot of stews with garden vegetables & herbs for dry stored meals. It really helps on freezer space, and is a really quick & easy meal right out of the mason jar into the frying pan...great on campnig trips too(no ice needed, plus its all from a harvest and garden too)

this has been my alternative to using a real"walk in" to let my harvests age a bit...also a few little things I gave adopted over a lifetime of hunting....I hope it is of some value to others.t
wandering monk
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