I cut my deer up next day if I can hang or immediately if I cannot. Take the cuts and wrap tightly and thoroughly in plastic wrap. Batch wrapped cuts into gallon bags and toss in the fridge for 7-14 days. Take em out, vacuum seal everything and good to go. I trim everything clean before I wrap it in plastic and toss in the fridge, and have had zero loss since I started doing it this way.

 

We have "coolered" every deer we have ever shot. We put the ice directly on the meat. It doesn't hurt a thing. We have let them age as long as a week and we have never had bad meat. After it ages we cut it up and put it in vacuum bags for the freezer.

 

I've done the ice/cooler method on the last few deer I've shot. Like others said, the discolored meat is fine. I usually trim it off and put it in the burger pile.

That said, I'm keeping an eye out for a cheap standup fridge or freezer to convert into a meat hanger/cooler. You can purchase a kit that uses a thermometer inside the freezer and cycles the power to keep it at a set temperature so it won't actually freeze the meat.

I'm in south Georgia and even now in November we are only getting lows in the 50s and highs are in the upper 70s and low 80s, so hanging a deer overnight isn't an option here.

 

You can also "wet age" meat in the fridge using ziploc or vacuum seal bags, either before or after freezing. You can cut it up immediately if you like, keep in fridge for 1-3 weeks draining off fluid as needed. Or you can cut it up and freeze it immediately, then thaw and age it in the fridge for 1-3 weeks before cooking it.

 

a frie of mine does exactly what you did and his meat turns out just fine.

 

You did it exactly right and the meat was prefect I assure you.

 

I put the meat in game bags on top of ice. It will lose some color (less than if you covered the whole thing with ice) but it will be fine. The blood from the meat can still drain through the game bags. Which is why I don't get the guys using garbage bags.if the meat was in garbage bags then the blood doesn't drain it just sits in the garbage bags with the meat. That makes no sense. I suppose you could put a baking rack or garbage bag as a "layer" on top of the ice between the game bag to minimize contact between ice and game bag but I don't bother with that. I don't cover all the meat with ice because the ice melts too quick here in Hawaii and the meat can end up towards the bottom of the cooler near the water before I can change it when I'm at work all day.

 

I have a fridge in the garage that can easily handle a cut up deer. No hassle with ice, coolers, bags or wet/water covered bloody meat.

 

I stopped using coolers and ice years ago. I don't live far from where I hunt. I use a regulator with one of my chest freezers to cool the gutted and skinned deer down to 36° until I feel like butchering it. Not big enough to hang them, but I'm not trying to age them, either. Either half or quarter the deer so everything fits. Easy peasy.

Eta: got the idea from this guy...

 

The color change is normal. Once you slice it and grind it, the exposure to air will bring back the red color and you won't be able to tell the difference. I prefer to put mine in a fridge I have in the garage and let it cool down and firm up for 3-5 days. However, I do have a big ice chest that I use when I have more than one deer to process. I put down a layer of Ice on the bottom and layer the meat with the shoulders on the bottom, tenderloins, backstraps and boned out ribs and neck, then the hams on the top and cover everything with ice. I open the drain plug and have a clear hose attached to the plug to drain away any melt water. I can fit two deer in the fridge and two in the ice chest (I've done it a few times). I do slice up the backstraps and package them and the tenderloins after 3 days. I bone out the hams and cut up the steaks I want and package them as well if I have time. I usually grind everything else or slice for jerkey on the last day. I do the processing over 3 days so I don't wear myself out.

 

Geez, do NOT store your meat in plastic garbage bags, that’s a sure way to breed bacteria and create unwanted “gamey” flavor. You’ve got to use breathable game bags…

 

Just dump a bunch of fresh scent cat litter in the plastic bag to soak up the liquid

 

Mountain breeze scented bags?¿?

 

My mom always saves the turkey carcass at Thanksgiving to make soup out of later, and one year when we had the family gathering at our house she just grabbed a trash bag form under the sink and took the carcass home. She invited us all over for soup a couple days later and I could immediately tell there was a nice Febreeze flavor to it.

 

It's not freezer burnt but it's waterlogged and washed out for lack of a better term. It's still fine to eat. Honestly it's not my preferred method but it works.

Next time layer the ice and since a cooler is typically tapered cut some PVC to make a rack just above the ice and place the quarters on it to keep it dry.

 

Osmosis, get a CoolBot.

 

I don't think you hurt any of the meat. I've compared eating aged venison and non-aged venison and my tastes buds cannot tell the difference. I'm not saying others can't tell the difference, but I can't, so I don't bother aging. I live on venison. When I'm home I eat it for lunch and dinner. Dinner, I'm always grilling it every night in all weather. In fact, I haven't bought beef in 30 years. I've brought meat back from bow hunts all over N. America in a cheap Walmart 5-to-6-day coolers packed in ice for 4 to 5 days and the meat has always tasted great. The key is to never open the cooler until you're ready to butcher. Opening the cooler releases cold frigid air and brings in warm air.

 

I wouldn't recommend garbage bags, and especially steer clear of the scented bags. I hate those with a passion.

 

Just eat it. It will be some of the best vension you've had. I always soak mine in ice, draining as the ice melts. Gets rid of the blood. Adds to great flavor. It's not freezer burnt

 

That's just what happens on the outside when exposed to long. It's fine. It will be bright red as soon as you cut in.