Carcasses ‘going off’ , ideas?

[wildfowler.250]

Right folks, I’ve had this happen a couple of times in the past year now and it’s driving me mad.

So last time, I’d rinsed the blood out of the chest cavity, hung the roe for a week and when I went to butcher it, it was clearly off - assumed the damp and never rinsed again since then.

Had another deer recently. Chest shot. Cleaned at the time. No real contamination. Bullet or bone had nicked the osophagus within the chest cavity but this was actually completely contained. Fairly spotless going into the roe sack - I was pleased with it. Hung at 1C for 7 days.

Today, there was a greyness to the neck area and a tiny bit of smell. There was also a bit of of an off look around the pelvic canal area and over the tenderloins.


Now, the game birds I hang for a week,(usually I try and clean sooner) are fine. I don’t think it’s a temp issue but that would be easy to check. It is a proper chiller, 2 years old maybe, which goes from 1C up to 4C then cools back down to 1C again.


Am I expecting too much? Should I be butchering after max of 5 days? I thought some folk would hang for 2 weeks if they wanted.

Is it tiny bits of dirt from the field? It was honestly very clean.


I’m pretty disheartened because it was a clean carcass when gutted. Went into a roe sack so minimal dirt from shot to car boot. The back legs and loin looked ‘okay’ but you can’t eat in good conscience when other parts smell a bit off.


Any suggestions? If the rumen was burst or something then sure. But anything over 5 days hanging seems to be roulette. I don’t think I can realistically set it cooler than 1C.

 

[finnbear270]

Clean Roe sack?

 

[75]

Lots of questions but I've been through some chiller issues in the past so here's my thoughts!
1. Firstly, is it definitely off? A little bit of greyness wouldn't normally suggest "off" to me. I'd expect to see mould growth before anything else but I can't smell it over the internet and that is usually a good gauge.
2. Have you got a temp tracker in the chiller - can you confirm it's been stable and c.1C throughout and no big spikes? Or are you relying on a readout on the chiller? Get a Govee tracker off Amazon and start there.
3. What's your humidity in the chiller? High humidity will promote mould growth but you would likely see a bloom of mould inside the chest first, and unlikely at 7 days - prob 10-14 in my experience.

 

[VSS]

What sort of humidity levels have you got in your chiller?
Good to hear that you no longer rinse carcasses out. Rinsing is a sure way to end up with an "off" taint.
At high humidity levels you can expect a bit of grey mildew to form after 10 days or so. Just wipe it off with distilled vinegar.

 

[Mr. Gain]

I'd check the chiller is operating at the temperature indicated and that your power supply is reliable. Bacteria shouldn't be able to proliferate as quickly as your description suggests at 1-degree C. Is it possible you are having occasional power outages that are leading to these instances of spoilage?

 

[Jon P]

Is there a fan in the chiller to keep air flow around carcass?

 

[finnbear270]

Seems odd if a chiller problem, birds are fine &
1C up to 4C then cools back down to 1C again,

Is it tiny bits of dirt from the field? Or is it the Roe sack?

 

[HonestJohn]

Poor chiller ventilation or maybe you’re just becoming sensitive… not to sound like Greg Wallace of course

 

[finnbear270]

Is the dog kipping on the Roe sack on the way home?

 

[Tim.243]

Right folks, I’ve had this happen a couple of times in the past year now and it’s driving me mad.

So last time, I’d rinsed the blood out of the chest cavity, hung the roe for a week and when I went to butcher it, it was clearly off - assumed the damp and never rinsed again since then.

Had another deer recently. Chest shot. Cleaned at the time. No real contamination. Bullet or bone had nicked the osophagus within the chest cavity but this was actually completely contained. Fairly spotless going into the roe sack - I was pleased with it. Hung at 1C for 7 days.

Today, there was a greyness to the neck area and a tiny bit of smell. There was also a bit of of an off look around the pelvic canal area and over the tenderloins.


Now, the game birds I hang for a week,(usually I try and clean sooner) are fine. I don’t think it’s a temp issue but that would be easy to check. It is a proper chiller, 2 years old maybe, which goes from 1C up to 4C then cools back down to 1C again.


Am I expecting too much? Should I be butchering after max of 5 days? I thought some folk would hang for 2 weeks if they wanted.

Is it tiny bits of dirt from the field? It was honestly very clean.


I’m pretty disheartened because it was a clean carcass when gutted. Went into a roe sack so minimal dirt from shot to car boot. The back legs and loin looked ‘okay’ but you can’t eat in good conscience when other parts smell a bit off.


Any suggestions? If the rumen was burst or something then sure. But anything over 5 days hanging seems to be roulette. I don’t think I can realistically set it cooler than 1C.

I never rinse the inside some times might blue towel, don't have or want a roe sack as big deer don't fit!
Have a separate drinks chiller for pigeons/game birds.
Shoot 1 day cut up the max 2 days after or take to GD the next day.
Less power used.
Venison is not like Beef with fat to age in the marbling, very lean meat.

 

[Heym SR20]

I have always worked on 10 degree days, so 5 days at 2 degrees is about the limit.

Any well hung meat to me smells off. Personally I don’t like 28 day hung beef. It just tastes rank to me, buy some rave about it.

I tend to leave beasts to hang a max of two or three days, but have frequently butchered on the day of being shot.

Key also is getting the animal cool quickly. I am not convinced that shooting, gralloching, loading into a roesack whilst warm and carrying it to the car then driving home is good for the venison. If you can let it cool before transport so much the better.

 

[wildfowler.250]

Thanks folks. Some interesting points.

I’ll start by tracking temp.

Any way to check the humidity? Maybe a 2 in 1 tracker with the temp?


I think the legs and backstrap were probably fine but definite smell (close to) the neck area that looked foosty. But it wasn’t a case of open the chiller and you knew it was off.


It’s one of those things where if you couldn’t give it to a friend in good conscience, probably shouldn’t be going in the freezer for yourself either.


I’ll double check the manual for a fan in chiller. Humidity might be the issue. Certainly that would be where any blood or moisture might drop down to the neck and inside the thorax where I’m getting issues

 

[wildfowler.250]

Key also is getting the animal cool quickly. I am not convinced that shooting, gralloching, loading into a roesack whilst warm and carrying it to the car then driving home is good for the venison. If you can let it cool before transport so much the better.

Did also think that re roe sack and cooling

Maybe 5 days is the correct point as you say. It cools down to 1 and up to 4 so 2C is probably bang middle.


Just 5 days seems unreasonable compared to what a lot of folk quote they do elsewhere,(14 days) but maybe different chillers and setup.



I do wonder if blood on/insdie carcass may be an issue and causing issue. Maybe wiping down with blue towel would help

 

[75]

A Govee tracker (either wifi or bluetooth) will do RH as well: https://amzn.eu/d/hFgpaB7

 

[Buchan]

Ensure it's cool before hitting the fridge. The coat may need towelling if it has got wet! I've had contamination spread from an oesophageal nick, and if I suspect it I will do an interior wipe with dilute milton and and interior dry after it. I'm better at shot placement now, so this hasn't been necessary for a while. IF I am concerned about shout tract contamination, I'll cut it out ahead of hanging - it's low value meat.

 

[Dunwaters]

Where did you shoot it? With chest shots theres often bits of bone, blood clots and sometimes gut contents lodged between muscle layers, this will initiate early decay. Trim all damage or bruising out .
In my own fridge I get a max of 12 days in dry conditions and a perfect carcass before I get mould forming, if its damp thats down to 7-10 days.

 

[Overlay]

Lots of questions but I've been through some chiller issues in the past so here's my thoughts!
1. Firstly, is it definitely off? A little bit of greyness wouldn't normally suggest "off" to me. I'd expect to see mould growth before anything else but I can't smell it over the internet and that is usually a good gauge.
2. Have you got a temp tracker in the chiller - can you confirm it's been stable and c.1C throughout and no big spikes? Or are you relying on a readout on the chiller? Get a Govee tracker off Amazon and start there.
3. What's your humidity in the chiller? High humidity will promote mould growth but you would likely see a bloom of mould inside the chest first, and unlikely at 7 days - prob 10-14 in my experience.

Yep all of the above, I would be looking at temp constant, humidity and the air flow as the first point of call, looking deeper, hygiene refer to single use after a deep clean and disinfect, get a swab taken if after all the above doesn’t solve, use a clean shot carcase as a guinea pig, you may have picked up a problem.
All the best I hope you resolve it

 

[MAH]

Right folks, I’ve had this happen a couple of times in the past year now and it’s driving me mad.

So last time, I’d rinsed the blood out of the chest cavity, hung the roe for a week and when I went to butcher it, it was clearly off - assumed the damp and

Any suggestions

Might be Bone Sour.
How quickly did you gut, and it skin it?
What was the ambient temperature?
Happen to me once.

 

[finnbear270]

It's likely not the chiller,"Key also is getting the animal cool quickly. I am not convinced that shooting, gralloching, loading into a roesack whilst warm and carrying it to the car then driving home is good for the venison. If you can let it cool before transport so much the better."
How far are you travelling from shot to LARDER / HOME?

 

[Heym SR20]

It's likely not the chiller,"Key also is getting the animal cool quickly. I am not convinced that shooting, gralloching, loading into a roesack whilst warm and carrying it to the car then driving home is good for the venison. If you can let it cool before transport so much the better."
How far are you travelling from shot to LARDER / HOME?

Up here in Scotland it can easily be a few hours. An hour or two carry or drag back to quad / argo, an hour back down hill track to road then loading up into the car / pick up and drive back to home / larder. If you are shooting a number of deer in the day then even longer.