How to Handle Wild Game Meat Safely
One of the benefits of hunting is bringing home the meat. Hunting and filling your freezer with wild game is a great idea. Take precautions to make sure the meat is properly cleaned, stored, and preserved for cooking. Handle wild game meat safely and enjoy a variety of exotic meals.
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Instructions
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Wear rubber gloves when gutting and cleaning the insides out of the wild animal. Use a solution of 50/50 bleach water to clean all knives or saws used when cutting through the spinal cord or neck of the animal.
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Keep the rubber gloves on when removing the hide, or skin of the animal. Use a clean sharp knife, and remove any hair, dirt or debris from the carcass. When the hide is completely off, wash the carcass with water.
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Cool the carcass very quickly. Find a large refrigeration unit for larger animals, and ice can be placed directly into the body cavity to speed cooling process. Allow air to circulate around the carcass by hanging it.
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Wash hands with warm soapy water before handling any wild game meat. When cutting meat, remove all lymph nodes, and bones. Package and freeze game meat immediately after processing the meat.
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Place frozen meat on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for thawing. Deer carcasses can be kept in temperatures up to 50 degrees F for several days. Protect the carcass by putting it in a cheesecloth bag.
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Cook all wild game meat to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F. Wild birds such as ducks and geese should be cooked to 170 degrees F.
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Tips & Warnings
Use ice packed around the carcass in warm weather until you get the carcass to a proper cooling area.
If any intestinal content comes in contact with meat, throw the meat it contacted away to prevent bacterial contamination.
Don't handle any animals that act or look sick. It's important to remember that wild animals can carry diseases, and their meat can be contaminated by processing it improperly.
Avoid cross-contamination of meat and other foods. Always wash hands, surfaces and anything else that comes in contact with raw wild game meat.
Never thaw at room temperature, as this promotes growth of microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses. Bear carcasses spoil very quickly at any temperature over 40 degrees F.
