Chilling antelope
Pronghorn
It's winter and I am bored. We often talk about how good/bad antelope meat is.
One of the issues is getting it cooled fairly soon after shot.
This year I hunted during fairly hot weather and killed a doe and buck. I was alone and over an hour drive from home so I planned accordingly. I only killed one animal before going home.
First I never gutted either animal and took the skinned quarters and other meat off. I then put them in plastic sacks. I was close to my truck and once there I had a 100 quart cooler. In the cooler I had about 15 twenty ounce soda bottles I had frozen nearly full with water. I then kept the cooler out of sun and wind for the 3-4 days I hunted.
This allowed me to place the meat on the bottles and place some on top without getting the meat wet, something I prefer. It also allowed me to keep the meat surface from getting a glaze which I hate to carve off, especially on such a small animal.
I've eaten a lot of antelope over the years and never had a bad one.
I agree on get them cool as soon as possible. I hunt them about a hour from the house. I keep some frozen milk jugs in a ice chest. When I kill one I just gut and stuff a couple in cavity and hurry home. Then quarter right away and have a fridge I put quarters it in. Worked so far with I'd guess a dozen or so goats and is always my favorite meat.
I shoot em, quarter them, pack them to the truck, go to town and get ice.
Good process. good meat for sure. Yep, off the bone asap, cooled down, on the ice.
I guess I’m a little different (mama told me I was). I skin and quarter and ice down in an ice chest ASAP. Since I live in Texas, I had to keep it on ice for at least two days. I always drained the chest a couple times a day and added ice as needed. Most of the time I couldn’t take it to the processor immediately when I got home so it might stay in that chest 3/4 days. As LKH said, eaten a bunch of them and never had a bad one.
Frozen jugs in a cooler, gutless method. Rotate jugs every day, twice first day. 4 to 5 days later cut it up. Yummm
I've always deboned at the kill site and then got to a cooler and ice asap. I have had a few that have been several hours between kill and getting on ice due to pack outs or drive time, temps often in the mid 70's. Meat has always been excellent.
I think getting them out of thier hide quickly is most important.
No messing with ice or dry ice.
No messing with ice or dry ice.
Freezer in the back of the truck that runs off an inverter- shoot them - gutless method - in breathable game bags - in the freezer with in an hour. Take them to my processor back in MI that does all my game. He thaws and cuts!
It got hot quick in August in NM this year, so I just quartered him using the gutless method next to the stock tank I shot him at, covered them in trash bags, and threw him in the ice cold water til evening.
