Contributors to this thread:
You have successfully packed out your elk and meat is in good condition. You have an 18-20 hour drive home. You have the options of freezing your meat whole prior to leaving or leaving it chilled on ice. What do you prefer and why?
Freeze if it has been processed and cut
Keep it on ice. Even for another 7-10 days after I get home. I will stress "keep plenty of ice"
Can't remember if it was on this forum or a different one. But there was a thread on the whole "ice aging" in late 2023 or early 2024
I've done 20+ hour trips many times. Never once froze it. Coolers with ice will temp stabilize in less than 2 days and ice melt will drop a bunch. Meat will stay ice cold and just fine for a week. I leave mine in the cooler till I cut it up.
I leave mine in a cooler full of ice. I drain the water off maybe once a day. I’ve never had any issues with it being in ice water.
The meat turns out better that way. My opinion
On an extended September elk I once killed a bull on the first day. Being a meat cutter I had the boneless primals frozen in cotton pillow cases in ice chests. When I got home 3 weeks later I couldn't even get the meat out of the ice chests. Took me another week to cut it up by what had thawed out each day. I vote for just keeping it on ice.
I too am a leave it on ice guy.
Game bags into small plastic/white garbage bags, and covered with ice top and bottom.
I modified a cooler so it would drain the melting ice water out and not have the meat sitting in water for miles and miles.
Good luck, Robb
Tiny bit of leaking over the years of a small utility trlr, bouncing along the travels~~!!
If processed, I leave about 5-6 inches of headspace, put down a layer of cardboard and fill the space with dry ice. I seal the cooler with duct tape and then cover with a sleeping bag. I cover all my coolers with old sleeping bags as it will double you ice life.
I’ve always used ice for antelope, deer and elk when I didn’t have access to a cooler or fridge. I have never had any issues. My friend mentioned that he always had an empty freezer and we could freeze quarters if needed.
We have brought many a speed goat back to Texas from Wyoming in an ice chest. Ice directly on the meat, draining and adding ice as necessary. Once, while carrying a big ice chest on the hitch haul of my Excursion, the lid blew up some where in Kansas. We stopped in Edmond OK and discovered all the ice had melted but you could hardly hold your hand in the cold water. Drained it, added ice to capacity, and no spoiled meat. I have never, repeat, never, had any ill effects from putting ice directly on the meat. All the blood, or most of it, drains out and that’s a good thing.
I freeze "Simply Lemonade" bottles and line the bottom of my cooler with them. This creates a layered space that allows the water to get to the drain and keeps my groceries (and hopefully meat on the way home) above the water line. Ice on the top and open the drain a couple times a day and I'm golden. Haven't in the past, but will likely put meat in trash bags this year so it doesn't get washed out. I process my own when i get home so I sometimes leave the meat in the cooler for several days afterwards as well. Once home, I just put frozen water bottles on the top and swap out the melted ones.
Cooled to below 40 above 32 so I can some fresh when I get home and let it age more. I love fresh game & fish and work hard to bring a lot of never frozen. Carry on bags and personal items never get weighed.
Don, several of us once brought home a boned deer in gallon ziploks in our packs, as carry ons. The young black female TSA agent FREAKED out when they made us remove and 'splain what it was, and why. Made for a pretty funny scene!
If you have the option, pick up a small 7-10 cubic ft freezer & a little generator. You have the option of freezing or just cooling it down for the ride home. Even not running, a tight lid on a cold freezer will stay cold for quite a while. I prefer not to freeze as processing when you get home can take longer..
I had one lady get a little squeamish in Jackson - I am always there smiling friendly and nice and explain I have seafood (that is what I call alligator - sounds better). Or just say elk. Never had an issue. I have done it at least 20 times. I can get about 35 pounds in my personal items which is always free and about 70# in my carry on bag.
One year when out west for a month I removed the passenger seat in my Tacoma and put in a chest freezer. WHen stopped I plugged it in. At night I left it out and open (it was going down into teens. Then closed up in AM and loaded in truck.
Funny story. I was driving my taco that year with 180K miles, looked a little rough. I bought a cap for it that did not match then made a roof rack out of 2x4's. It looked very hillybillie! Early on 1/2 my exhaust ripped off so I bungi corded it to the roof. I am glassing in WY and the warden stops to talk to me. I am busy glassing but notice him eyeing up my truck. Exhaust on roof, jury rigged roof rack, duct tape to seal cap to truck bed. Then he walks around and sees an extension cord going from my truck bed to the passenger car window. He walks over and sees the chest freezer in place of the passenger seat.
He was really nice but I am pretty sure he wanted to take a pic and was thinking "I wonder if all guys from Ohio are this crazy"
A couple weeks later I nearly died when it slipped and almost went over a cliff.
Me and my friends carry on and personal items in Jackson lots of meat!
Truck on cliff it was a lot worse than it looked.
