Icebox

[Ara D.]

I tried an experiment. I took down a herd of reindeer late fall, about ten minutes worth of fresh ice but no snow on the map. I piled the slain deer 5 of them in an ice hole. And then went to skin butcher and start tanning the hides in that order. I was able to start the process on 3 of them bjyefore the last to went rotten. At no time did the ice melt. I feel that the deer did not exceed a temperature of greater than 0°C and as such should have kept longer than 3 to 4 days. What are your thoughts on this? It's a cold temperature or gutting and draining the blood more important to keeping a carcass from rotting in real lifr. Do you think it's worthy of a suggestion since Sami has been working on more realistic temperatures

[JP_Finn]

Temperature and so the warm organs and body fluids too, ruin meat.

Archery Only 1st deer season in Southern California starts in July. With temperatures in 90F-100F (low to high 30Cs) range inland. Given its Mulies and not Whitetail, and that we can’t bait/feed for tree stand... I don’t partake in the season. Climbing up mountain in The Heat, to stalk on the game, to butcher it on the spot (got to carry water up to rinse) to hauling the meat skin and antlered skull down. Nah.

Even if it’s dead of winter with 0F (-18C) I still prefer field dressing, at least the gut out ASAP. Skinning can wait until out of the sticks.

Birds I leave as is until I get back to the vehicle. Then gut them.
All game goes in cooler with frozen water bottles on bottom and layer of card board above them. Keep it cool, avoid frost bite/freezer burn.

[JP_Finn]

As for submerging carcasses in frozen lake, I’d expect the carcass to cool down similarly to hypothermia in water, 5 min to chill the extremities to unsustainable. 30min to cool the carcass almost through and 60min or so to cool it throughout.

On the other hand, you shouldn’t be able to butcher a frozen carcass either. You want to hang a  large game carcass for about a week as close to 32F(0C) as possible. Mature/ripen/relax the meat, while keep it from rotting.

[Buoidda]

...What are your thoughts on this? It's a cold temperature or gutting and draining the blood more important to keeping a carcass from rotting in real lifr.

Gutting and draining, regardless of outside temperature.

Do you think it's worthy of a suggestion since Sami has been working on more realistic temperatures

I do think carcassess (and skins too) rot unrealistically quickly in Urw. The spoiling process should be slower since field dressing is not (yet?) featured. If it will be, then one should slower spoilage after field dressing.

I have suggested curing to be possible right after skinning, without the cleaning (fleshing) of the skin. I'm hopeful it will be so. Then your scenario would not have been a problem. Also your own fine idea of quartering would make possible to speed up initial butchering and cut the quarters into small bits later. https://www.unrealworld.fi/forums/index.php?topic=5251.msg16284#msg16284

Submerging meat has been an ancient way of preserving it. The Sámi practised it by wrapping the meat in something (skins/bark? can't remember the source) and sinking it.

This I found online:
https://www.ur.umich.edu/9495/May08_95/storage.htm