Carcass going off

[Tim.243]

I don't get the bit about not taking the arse out with the gralloch even if you do the clear a section of the rectum and zip tie and cut it

Once you do that it is 20 seconds work to pull it through and cut the external portion off leaving the same thing as tunneling

What's the point of not sorting it while you have a knife in your hands is there some benefit

Post some pictures/video of you in action! that way others could take on other ways!

 

[Freeforester]

I would say that no air circulation and no humidity control in the chiller would be the main issue. Sticky carcasses are not pleasant to deal with.

This^
In days of pre refrigeration the estate larder was usually located in a breezy area; the high humidity in the South (Grampian escaped the recent wet and the unusually warm, thankfully) and warmth provide ideal spoiling conditions. The airborne bacteria will do the rest, surprisingly rapidly, as you’ve now learned.

 

[shakey jake]

Never had a carcass rejected in 25 years (bar bad shot placement by guests).
Dealer always comments on how good my carcasses are.

they all should of been if you are washing them.
massive no no.
do what you want for your self but not if selling

 

[homer]

they all should of been if you are washing them.
massive no no.
do what you want for your self but not if selling

If i dont wash them, the dealers do!

 

[paulbshooting]

I never leave mine out, the big ones hang for an hour while I have my dinner but then in the chiller all cleaned out.

Same as me. Let the heat out for a hour then ensure all clean and dry before into the chiller, which runs 1 to 2 deg C.

 

[mudman]

Humidity in the chiller has been mentioned ….

So how do I measure it and how do I know if the chiller is operating correctly in that regard/ fix it if it isn’t?

PS I posted this initially as I hoped others as well as myself may learn something. Seems to have succeeded in at least that.

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

Humidity in the chiller has been mentioned ….

So how do I measure it and how do I know if the chiller is operating correctly in that regard/ fix it if it isn’t?

PS I posted this initially as I hoped others as well as myself may learn something. Seems to have succeeded in at least that.

You can buy a cheap humidity meter of Amazon, personally I’ve never bothered worrying about it.

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

This is me -

Shoot it, get it in the chiller @ 1°, hang it 21 days min and butcher when the mould grows on the internal rib cage (that’s when I know it’s ready)

Perfect

 

[weblyish]

You can buy a cheap humidity meter of Amazon, personally I’ve never bothered worrying about it.

Govee do a decent fairly cheap WiFi temp/humidity monitor which has been mentioned on here if you search

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

.

 

[Tim.243]

Same as me. Let the heat out for a hour then ensure all clean and dry before into the chiller, which runs 1 to 2 deg C.

A good trick a friend showed me after the last trim up is he takes the blue paper gets it not soaking but close to it, and wipes down the rib cage then again with a dry hand full, takes any of that blood washed on to the ribs and they come up and stay shiny. So no blood to go off and when the lads look in them at the dealers a and off they go on their last ride.

 

[Freeforester]

My brother shot a roe morning stalk, did a quick gralloch and I collected it later that day.

I left it in cool garage overnight, head, legged it and tidied up rear end, rectum bladder out next morning

Put it in chiller at 4C

After four days I thought it was smelling.

Skinned it and put it back in chiller.

Day six, meat was wet. Smelt. I’m colour blind, wife confirmed green discolouration in chest cavity and that it was gone too far. (Chest was not split).

Now I know it was not a piece of perfect larder work, but to loose a carcass in just a few days in a chiller at 4C?

Obviously the 24 hours before the arse end was dealt with wasn’t optimum, but the meat which was obviously off was the neck and interior of chest.

The fan for the chiller only runs when the refrigerator kicks in, so when it is already cool outside that isn’t very often

So what went wrong?

Probably lack of circulatory cool air to do any setting or drying of the surface of the carcass leading to Mould growth;

He never mentioned it, it was a head shot. But a spill of green from the food pipe might be an explanation.

Did he bleed it at all? Blood is pretty good for growing mould and bacteria, hence the act of bleeding the carcass promptly.

That could be it, I made a hash of extracting the bladder and had a copious amount of urine run into the cavity. Garden hose was there so ran it for a while then flushed out the carcass, let it drain for an hour then hung it in the chiller.

That could be it, I made a hash of extracting the bladder and had a copious amount of urine run into the cavity. Garden hose was there so ran it for a while then flushed out the carcass, let it drain for an hour then hung it in the chiller.

Garden hose - what was the ambient temperature, and is the water from the mains? Not a great idea - mains water is usually worse than properly neutralised and sanitised spring water. Personally I’d not want to eat a pi55y biscuit much less a tenderloin.

My changes would be to hang the carcass where it can cool in a re-freshing airflow ( as opposed to circulating a limited volume of air - how big is the ‘chiller’ - and what/where is providing the airflow within?

If the chest cavity wasnt split, it would not have cooled sufficiently in a small irregularly running ‘chiller’

 

[kieran222]

Leaving the rectum in combined with not splitting the chest and I assume that you didn't have a chest Spreader in to open up the stomach area for air circulation on top of washing it out would have resulted in a wet and warm carcase in current temperatures. As others have said, washing out is always a bad idea.

I don't split the chest but I use a spreader to open up the stomach area to get plenty of air circulation, so that on its own isn't an issue.

 

[weblyish]

Leaving the rectum in combined with not splitting the chest and I assume that you didn't have a chest Spreader in to open up the stomach area for air circulation on top of washing it out would have resulted in a wet and warm carcase in current temperatures. As others have said, washing out is always a bad idea.

I don't split the chest but I use a spreader to open up the stomach area to get plenty of air circulation, so that on its own isn't an issue.

Had a long discussion with a guide in Thailand recently who takes hunters out on Sambar in the high plateau north of bangkok

They do a short cut and gralloch through the smallest possible gut incision then cover the hole with a bit of tarp (or traditionally leaf) to stop flystrike and carry it out. They absolutely do not take out the red pluck or kidneys as those are meat for eating. The small intestine is always field stripped clean and kept and put back inside the cavity -i didn't work out for what

Bear in mind ambient is 25C+ most of the year and humidity is always high it's a day to the fridge and the paint on the walls literally has thick black mould after a year.

You'd rightly condemn a carcass which went through half of that in the UK

But yet they are not all dead

 

[buachaill]

Had a long discussion with a guide in Thailand recently who takes hunters out on Sambar in the high plateau north of bangkok

They do a short cut and gralloch through the smallest possible gut incision then cover the hole with a bit of tarp (or traditionally leaf) to stop flystrike and carry it out. They absolutely do not take out the red pluck or kidneys as those are meat for eating. The small intestine is always field stripped clean and kept and put back inside the cavity -i didn't work out for what

Bear in mind ambient is 25C+ most of the year and humidity is always high it's a day to the fridge and the paint on the walls literally has thick black mould after a year.

You'd rightly condemn a carcass which went through half of that in the UK

But yet they are not all dead

The small intestines (Caul Fat) would be used for the likes of sausage casings and to wrap around leaner meat giving it some added flavour / moisture.

 

[Sol]

I will be honest I do believe OP's issues Is just down too washing the chest out, or something is up with his chillers humidity the inside should crust up even If it has been washed out.

We often leave the rectum in over night (tied off) with the heart and lungs still in there, we dress it and move it too the drink chiller the following morning I haven't had any deer I've shot personally spoil yet and that's including throughout summer too.

We've got no larder light so doing things like that with no light Is pretty dangerous, that's why we do it in the following morning.

 

[Mungo]

But yet they are not all dead

You’re only seeing the ones who survived to adulthood…

 

[shakey jake]

The small intestines (Caul Fat) would be used for the likes of sausage casings and to wrap around leaner meat giving it some added flavour / moisture.

small intestines and caul fat arent the same thing

 

[mudman]

Would putting a small cheap fan in the chiller (capacity- holds four roe), running the cable through the door seal, be of benefit?

In all the years of shooting deer I’ve never had one spoil until I got a chiller, and yes I have double checked the internal chiller temp.

 

[Ratel]

This is me -

Shoot it, get it in the chiller @ 1°, hang it 21 days min and butcher when the mould grows on the internal rib cage (that’s when I know it’s ready)

Perfect

Providing the.mould isn't yellow. Scraped blue off loin many a time and cooked it.(The loin not the mould).