Let' s See, At $200 each....
10-31-2003, 04:07 PM
#11
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
BJ,
If you go back in as far as I' m guessing you do, where re-supply is difficult and everything has to go in one trip AND ON HORSEBACK, then having heat in your tent and having a flat rock by the fire IS living high off of the hog!
Our' s is gentle country and we don' t get too remote so it lets us play a little different game. Good thing is our area' s elk herd is way over CDOW management target goals and there is lots of game and we don' t have those #$%@&! wolves. Our area might require a different strategy if game was more scarce.
EKM
If you go back in as far as I' m guessing you do, where re-supply is difficult and everything has to go in one trip AND ON HORSEBACK, then having heat in your tent and having a flat rock by the fire IS living high off of the hog!
Our' s is gentle country and we don' t get too remote so it lets us play a little different game. Good thing is our area' s elk herd is way over CDOW management target goals and there is lots of game and we don' t have those #$%@&! wolves. Our area might require a different strategy if game was more scarce.
EKM
11-04-2003, 12:59 AM
#12
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Athabasca Alberta Canada
Posts: 353
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
Just a question? does your DNR have a clause in there regs that allows you to process your meat in the back country?...here in alberta you must prove sex by leaving gentiala entacted until at home of res.
i would like to also do what you do at camp. get it done and out of the way while everyone is there to help.
PS........looks mighty tastey!! yumyum[8D]
i would like to also do what you do at camp. get it done and out of the way while everyone is there to help.
PS........looks mighty tastey!! yumyum[8D]
11-04-2003, 07:36 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Moccasin, Montana
Posts: 1,835
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
I think it is the same as Montana,once it is cut,wrapped and frozzen all you need is to keep your tag with the meat.
EKM,
It looks like you run a first class ship,congrats again on the elk and the fine butcher shop.
EKM,
It looks like you run a first class ship,congrats again on the elk and the fine butcher shop.
11-04-2003, 03:48 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
Nicholol and BBJ,
Alas, according to the Alberta Hunters Association Bulletin Board, the governmental forces in Alberta have put the nix on butchering in camp -- quartering is as far as you can go!
Don' t make sense to me but I assume there was some past problems that led to the passage of the law, but apparently that is the way it is. Leave your knives, cutting boards, zip locks, and seal-a-meals at home, or else!
EKM
Alas, according to the Alberta Hunters Association Bulletin Board, the governmental forces in Alberta have put the nix on butchering in camp -- quartering is as far as you can go!
Don' t make sense to me but I assume there was some past problems that led to the passage of the law, but apparently that is the way it is. Leave your knives, cutting boards, zip locks, and seal-a-meals at home, or else!
EKM
That aspect of hunting is only a dream for me right now , but dreams have been known to come true.
11-05-2003, 04:19 PM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 1,665
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
Great looking set up, and it sure would make the return trip home nice, knowing that you just have to throw the meat in the freezer.
2 questions/cooments though,
First of all, that looks like a hind quarter in picture number 2, do you de-bone the entire quarter and then start on it? When I saw the picture of the dog with the full leg bone, I realized you packed the bone in too. We usually do that as well, but when we are de-boning the quarters, we take off muscle by muscle and take it to the tables that way. We found it to be easier to handle and speeds up the process some, especially with chunks like the eye of the round and larger, roast size pieces.
Secondly, in the last photo the meat is just packaged in zip lock bags, is that how you put it in the freezer? We' ve always double wrapped in a saran wrap type material, then double wrapped in butcher paper with freezer tape. We' ve found stow away roasts and steaks in the bottom of the freezer that are over a year old and are still in excellent condition and tasted great. Just curious how long the meat lasts if they are stored in just zip lock bags.
Our hunts have been too remote to set up an in camp processing deal like you guys have going. I am definately jealous!
2 questions/cooments though,
First of all, that looks like a hind quarter in picture number 2, do you de-bone the entire quarter and then start on it? When I saw the picture of the dog with the full leg bone, I realized you packed the bone in too. We usually do that as well, but when we are de-boning the quarters, we take off muscle by muscle and take it to the tables that way. We found it to be easier to handle and speeds up the process some, especially with chunks like the eye of the round and larger, roast size pieces.
Secondly, in the last photo the meat is just packaged in zip lock bags, is that how you put it in the freezer? We' ve always double wrapped in a saran wrap type material, then double wrapped in butcher paper with freezer tape. We' ve found stow away roasts and steaks in the bottom of the freezer that are over a year old and are still in excellent condition and tasted great. Just curious how long the meat lasts if they are stored in just zip lock bags.
Our hunts have been too remote to set up an in camp processing deal like you guys have going. I am definately jealous!
11-05-2003, 06:01 PM
#17
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
ABM,
Answers:
First, we debone the quarters once we are in camp with one massive slice cutting down along the long bone. Plop! Now you have one massive piece on the table and then a small amount of “backside” meat opposite from the cut side of the bone. We trim that chunk off and the bone is thrown out the front of the tent. Blazing knives quickly reduce these two pieces of meat in to pieces awaiting trimming, cleaning, picking etc.
Second, Yep! We package the meat in “just” the heavy zip lock bags. Those ZipLocs have way less air in them than you might think! At the end of the year we have had no problem with freezer burn at all (so far). Of course we have one rule about our freezers at home and that is NO FROST FREE FREEZERS, it’s proven that meat lasts longer in manual defrost freezers. My wife is the galloping gourmet and food critic and home butcher and lives and breathes this “food stuff” plus she is game to do the defrosting. So when I enter her turf (the cooking/butchering department) I just stand back and do what I’m told!
In General:
We have the residential compact Seal-a-meal and I’ve been after my wife to use that. She has indicated if I want to spring for an commercial strength one with thick plastic packaging like the fish monger sent our Salmon back from Alaska in, then we could use a seal a meal since the plastic is strong enough to do the job to her satisfaction. (We still would take the ZipLocs with us because they WORK no matter what – generator quits, Seal-A-Meal latch/vacuum/switch malfunctions, etc. and you’re screwed otherwise).
I’ve talked about wrapping it in paper, but now you can’t see the specific cut to use for the specific occasion (a chef thing), so that is out. I got to admit she is right it comes out perfect, or with no more “burn” than we’ve experienced with other methods (Seal-A-Meal and Paper) so if it isn’t broke I’m not going to fight the Chef for it. One big plus for ZipLocs when you are at the end of the road in the middle of nowhere: (1) They work (no matter what), (2) They are fast, and (3) they require little dexterity! When you are on your fourth elk at 8:00PM that is very attractive.
But hey, how to cut up and package a game animal is subject to more opinions than rifles. Do what works for your situation and work hard on the elk meat supply through the year so its gone come next elk season!
Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime!
Answers:
First, we debone the quarters once we are in camp with one massive slice cutting down along the long bone. Plop! Now you have one massive piece on the table and then a small amount of “backside” meat opposite from the cut side of the bone. We trim that chunk off and the bone is thrown out the front of the tent. Blazing knives quickly reduce these two pieces of meat in to pieces awaiting trimming, cleaning, picking etc.
Second, Yep! We package the meat in “just” the heavy zip lock bags. Those ZipLocs have way less air in them than you might think! At the end of the year we have had no problem with freezer burn at all (so far). Of course we have one rule about our freezers at home and that is NO FROST FREE FREEZERS, it’s proven that meat lasts longer in manual defrost freezers. My wife is the galloping gourmet and food critic and home butcher and lives and breathes this “food stuff” plus she is game to do the defrosting. So when I enter her turf (the cooking/butchering department) I just stand back and do what I’m told!
In General:
We have the residential compact Seal-a-meal and I’ve been after my wife to use that. She has indicated if I want to spring for an commercial strength one with thick plastic packaging like the fish monger sent our Salmon back from Alaska in, then we could use a seal a meal since the plastic is strong enough to do the job to her satisfaction. (We still would take the ZipLocs with us because they WORK no matter what – generator quits, Seal-A-Meal latch/vacuum/switch malfunctions, etc. and you’re screwed otherwise).
I’ve talked about wrapping it in paper, but now you can’t see the specific cut to use for the specific occasion (a chef thing), so that is out. I got to admit she is right it comes out perfect, or with no more “burn” than we’ve experienced with other methods (Seal-A-Meal and Paper) so if it isn’t broke I’m not going to fight the Chef for it. One big plus for ZipLocs when you are at the end of the road in the middle of nowhere: (1) They work (no matter what), (2) They are fast, and (3) they require little dexterity! When you are on your fourth elk at 8:00PM that is very attractive.
But hey, how to cut up and package a game animal is subject to more opinions than rifles. Do what works for your situation and work hard on the elk meat supply through the year so its gone come next elk season!
Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime!
11-05-2003, 06:37 PM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 1,665
RE: Let' s See, At $200 each....
ELK, I agree, everybody has their own techniques, and if it works, great! I was given some game meat by somebody that packaged it in zip locks and it was badly freezer, which is why I asked about it holding up.
We usually have a person taking the meat off the bone, handing it to the next guy that is working on cleaning silver skin and so on, then we have a person set up for grinding, and the ladies are usually back packaging and labeling the packages and getting them in the freezer. Normally we are working on one moose at a time, or half a dozen or so caribou, but once you get a system down, the job gets done faster.
We net around 150 salmon every year, and use a vacuum sealer to package those fish. Just a suggestion, but with some trial and error this is what we' ve found to work best. When we are packaging the salmon whole, we will wrap in saran wrap material twice and put the fish in the freezer over night. The next day we will vacuum seal the fish once they have been frozen. When we used to vacuum seal the fish right away, we had a problem with moisture getting into the vacuum sealer and eventually frying it. We started wrapping a paper towel around the tail of the fish and sealing it that way, but found it much easier to wrap and freeze the fish, then seal it the next day. Works great so far.
This elk I got last month was a chore. Boned out in the field and I took it home to a little kitchen and butchered it by myself. Took a day and a half. Makes you appreciate those extra hands!
We usually have a person taking the meat off the bone, handing it to the next guy that is working on cleaning silver skin and so on, then we have a person set up for grinding, and the ladies are usually back packaging and labeling the packages and getting them in the freezer. Normally we are working on one moose at a time, or half a dozen or so caribou, but once you get a system down, the job gets done faster.
We net around 150 salmon every year, and use a vacuum sealer to package those fish. Just a suggestion, but with some trial and error this is what we' ve found to work best. When we are packaging the salmon whole, we will wrap in saran wrap material twice and put the fish in the freezer over night. The next day we will vacuum seal the fish once they have been frozen. When we used to vacuum seal the fish right away, we had a problem with moisture getting into the vacuum sealer and eventually frying it. We started wrapping a paper towel around the tail of the fish and sealing it that way, but found it much easier to wrap and freeze the fish, then seal it the next day. Works great so far.
This elk I got last month was a chore. Boned out in the field and I took it home to a little kitchen and butchered it by myself. Took a day and a half. Makes you appreciate those extra hands!
