How to Cure Raw Game Meat in the Field
Eating better foods and moving more is key to improving your health. Hunting wild game offers both of those. Wild game hunters often hike, climb and run to bring home meat for their families that is lower in cholesterol and higher in protein and iron than many other sources of protein. To do so safely, hunters often dress and cure their prey in the wild. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Blade knife, 5 to 6 inches
- Cheesecloth or old sheets
- Citric dry cure concentrate (available at sporting goods stores)
- 1 gallon water
- Sealable plastic bags
- Tarp, if hunting in freezing temperatures
Instructions
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Mix dry cure with 1 gallon water. Soak game bags, made of cheesecloth or old sheets, in mixture for 20 minutes to one hour. Allow to air dry. Seal in sealable plastic bag.
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Once you've hit your target, eviscerate the carcass as soon as possible. Many sites and books can help you learn to field dress the animal. You should field dress a deer within an hour at 60 degrees or three hours at 30 degrees. This includes skinning and cooling. Use the cheesecloth or sheets when field dressing to protect it from insects and dirt.
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Once you have eviscerated and dressed the carcass, you need to cure it. This will continue to help protect it in the field from flies and other insects. While flies may light on the bag, the citric acid cure will burn and they will leave. The cure also helps reduce growth of bacteria, which can grow rapidly at the natural meat pH level of 7.0. Because the pH level of most cures is about 2.35, the cure will help lower the level of the meat and reduce the chance it will spoil. This also is important regarding flavor.
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When you kill an animal in freezing temperatures, you should skin the carcass immediately and cover it with a tarp to freeze cover the animal for insulation. It is important that rigor mortis, the natural process through which tissue begins to stiffen, sets in before the carcass freezes. Otherwise, the pH level will not decrease enough. This will impact the meat's flavor.
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