by Gary Hall
Custer County CSU Cooperative Extension
You got your game tag and now you are ready to have a great experience
in the field hunting that trophy animal. You
may also be looking
forward to the steaks, jerky sausage and other meat products from your
hunt.
Be sure you properly handle game meat to stop bacterial growth on the
raw meat. Temperature plays an important role in keeping game meat safe
and preventing foodborne illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly between 40
degrees and 140 degrees. If the temperature is over 40 degrees, it is
strongly recommended to take the carcass to a cooler the day of the
kill. Special care should be taken to keep the carcass cool during
transport. Keep the meat out of direct sunlight and allow as much air
circulation as possible. Don’t use airtight gamebags or tarps that hold
in heat and cause meat to spoil.
You may be taking your meat to a processor (there are many good ones
around) but if you want to process the meat yourself be sure to freeze
fresh meat at zero degrees to stop bacterial growth. Temperatures below
40 degrees will slow growth of bacteria but will not kill bacteria.
Divide meat into meal-size quantities and wrap in moisture and
vapor-proof wrap. Label packages with contents and date. Freeze only
the amount of meat that will be solidly frozen within 24 hours.
Limit game meat to eight months of storage time. Safely thaw frozen
meat in the refrigerator or microwave. Game meat often is high in
bacterial content and thawing at room temperature will enhance
bacterial growth. Meat thawed in the microwave should be cooked
immediately. Use meat thawed in the refrigerator within one to two
days. To destroy bacteria, cook game meat until it reaches safe
internal temperatures of 160 to 212 degrees. Set oven temperature no
lower than 325 degrees. Cook all ground meats to an internal
temperature of 165 degrees. Steaks and roasts cooked to an internal
temperature of 145 degrees are medium rare, 160 degrees are medium and
170 degrees are well done. I hope you have a safe and successful
hunting season.
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