How to avoid wasting your harvested game meat

• Posted on 12 September 2022
• By Daniel Larocque
• 0

Here's how I make sure I don't waste my moose, deer and bear meat.

Are you classified as an irresponsible hunter?

In this article I will not thread lightly or simply say, I will tell you the truth! If you feel targeted, you will only have to take appropriate measures because where I am going with this article there is no excuse but rather negligence! Especially since I hear too many horror stories year after year.

There are several elements that make hunters responsible. Before I get to the file that really annoys me, here are some responsibilities that all hunters must apply.

    1. Hold the license required for the desired game.

    2. Master and choose the appropriate weapon and ammunition to do the right job.

    3. Hunt where we are welcome and respect other hunters or landowners.

Here is what truly annoys me.

The elements of responsibility noted above are elements that we can control ourselves.

Here are two facts of life that you cannot control.

     1.   Global warming.

     2.  The shortage of butchers for wild meat.

Just in the Outaouais region, within a 60 km radius of Gatineau in the fall of 2021, a single butcher had to refuse more than 120 moose and god knows how many deer.

Many of the hunters who found themselves in this situation were already aware of this shortage of butchers and cold room space that has existed for several years. This shortage is not about to improve. So why go hunting and not have a plan B?

Where did that meat go? I'll tell you where a lot of that great meat is going… COMPOSTING!

We cannot blame the butchers, either for the space available or for the time and space available to age our venison! If the weather is hot for a few consecutive days during the hunting season, the butchers are overwhelmed with moose, deer and bear carcasses!

That being said, the one and only way to be independent and avoid running and stressing is to have your own cold room!

Since 2010, I have configured 4 cold rooms using the wonderful COOLBOT! Now we call it our anti-stress gizmo. It's simple, practical and it works!

How many of you have a shed at your hunting camp, at home or an enclosed trailer?

On average, hunting groups consist of four people. Many of these groups have a room they can use as a cold room. So, if you do the math, a COOLBOT at $500.00 and an LG or Danby 10,000 BTU air conditioner at $500 and you're done. This setup works extremely well even with a small Honda 2000 inverter generator.

With COOLBOT, I am able to keep the temperature of our "cold room" between 1.1 and 3.3 degrees Celsius. An ideal temperature to preserve and age your venison.

So when I return from the hunt, I can hang our quarters in our cold room and let the meat age according to our preferences. On average 20 to 23 days.

Afterwards, I make an appointment with the butcher for the butchering and cutting of our big game. So one trip to the butcher instead of two because we cut and come back immediately with the meat.

You can get an anti-stress COOLBOT here and all the information you need to get it going!

Enjoy your hunt and your well deserved venison meat!