Identifying Fired carcasses

[Mungo]

I occasionally see reference to ‘fired’ carcasses, and I understand the conditions when you might expect to see it (slow cooling, hot conditions, gut contents left in too long, long follow up of wounded animal).

I think I’ve seen it once or twice, but I’m really uncertain about how to identify it for sure.

Could people outline the things to look for? If anyone has pictures, that would be really helpful!

 

[Border]

Smell and green tinge to the meat surface?

 

[ashray]

i have not heard of fired carcasses but have heard of hot carcasses, when the game dealer believes the animal was killed in the last 3 hours and is then placed in a different position in the chiller <cold chill to drop the temperature to match any thing else in the chiller>

 

[Mungo]

I’m specifically interested in whether you can spot it in a carcass when it’s skinned some time after going into the chiller.

I have seen a few carcasses that have been in a chiller for a week or so, and when they’re skinned, the surface of the meat seems slightly ‘slimy’ and the fat seems softer and runnier - rather than waxy, it has a consistency a bit more like a ripe Camembert.

 

[RM100]

I’m specifically interested in whether you can spot it in a carcass when it’s skinned some time after going into the chiller.

I have seen a few carcasses that have been in a chiller for a week or so, and when they’re skinned, the surface of the meat seems slightly ‘slimy’ and the fat seems softer and runnier - rather than waxy, it has a consistency a bit more like a ripe Camembert.

Must say, I often skin and butcher several days later. Is this a mistake? Seems fine to me.

 

[VSS]

I have seen a few carcasses that have been in a chiller for a week or so, and when they’re skinned, the surface of the meat seems slightly ‘slimy’ and the fat seems softer and runnier - rather than waxy, it has a consistency a bit more like a ripe Camembert.

If the humidity on your larder is high (as mine is), when you skin a cold (chilled) carcass you get condensation forming immediately on the surface of the meat, giving the slightly slimy surface you've observed.
If you put the skinned carcass back in the chiller for 12-24 hours before you butcher it the surface will have dried off again and the slimy feel will be gone.

Nothing to do with it being "fired".

 

[Mungo]

If the humidity on your larder is high (as mine is), when you skin a cold (chilled) carcass you get condensation forming immediately on the surface of the meat, giving the slightly slimy surface you've observed.
If you put the skinned carcass back in the chiller for 12-24 hours before you butcher it the surface will have dried off again and the slimy feel will be gone.

Nothing to do with it being "fired".

That’s really useful to understand.

And the texture of the fat? Do changes to that indicate anything?

 

[Mungo]

Must say, I often skin and butcher several days later. Is this a mistake? Seems fine to me.

I maybe wasn’t clear: I think skinning after time in the chiller is normal. The question is about carcasses that look unusual when you do this.

 

[RM100]

Ok, thanks.

 

[finnbear270]

1st location for fired game …… Deer / Boar piled together for a bit of a trip off the ground, shot birds piled together instead of spread out etc.

 

[Heym SR20]

I maybe wasn’t clear: I think skinning after time in the chiller is normal. The question is about carcasses that look unusual when you do this.

Your noise is by far the best detector. You should know what a good carcass smells like.

A too far gone carcass just smells horrible.

The nearest guide would either very long aged beef, and something that has been dead on the roadside for a while.

If its green its well gone. Mind you some like their phaesants green.

A skin keeps a lot of moisture in the carcass. Skins often also have a lot of smell - especially stags. There is a very good reason why butchers skin cattle and sheep at slaughter and then let the carcasses age without the skin. Many years ago when I did quite a bit of culling up North, all the good carcasses where skinned as soon as they came into the larder and were then aged for a few days, a) allowing rigour to pass, and b) to loose a little moisture which makes butchering that much better and easier.

We only left skins on if they were going to game dealer.

The River Cottage Meat Book has sn excellent bit on hanging and ageing meat.