How long should you keep deer meat soaking in ice ?

Water does not hurt meat. So ignore all of the answers telling you that water will ruin meat. it's just not so. I pack my quartered deer in ice as soon as possible after killing it. I have kept in is ice and water for about a week with no ill effects. I will pour off the melted ice water and replace it with some fresh crushed ice at least daily. The constant flushing with ice water will draw out the blood and make the meat very light colored about like veal. By removing the blood and serum from te meat, it removes any wild taste that some people dislike. I have cooked venison that I have kept on ice for several days and served it to people who said that they didn't like venison and they didn't know they were eating venison. They liked it.





So, bottom line is water and ice do not hurt meat. This is an old wife's tale that gets repeated over and over. Some people actually believe it and will repeat it to their friends and so on, and so on. ';Tain't true!! I know. I've been doin' my deer like that for years and haven't heart a bit of it yet.How long should you keep deer meat soaking in ice ?
Not very long


How long should you keep deer meat soaking in ice ?
I live in Mississippi where we live to hunt. It doesn't hurt the meat as long as you keep Ice and fresh water on it just keep the water change on it and it will be fine. My best friend is a meat processor and he does around 300 to 400 deer a year and he says it does not hurt it. It gets all the blood out of it and sprinkle some salt on it. Trust me it will be fine. GOD BLESS YA
As little time as possible! Water will ruin the meat.
i try not to do it at all it will make the meat soggy and slimy when you cook it
Before I had big coolers and a place to hang deer, I would quater them and put them in coolers with Ice. Each day I would pour off the bloody water until the melt water ran pretty clean, then I would do the final butchering of the deer. They would stay in the coolers for 2 to 3 days.





It actually gets the meat nice and clean and the blood out of it. The trick is to not let it sit in water for an extened period of time.
if it is a warm day and you kill a deer putting a couple bags of ice in the chest cavity till you get it home or to a butcher will be alright but you do not want to leave it that too long.
In theory, an ice/water mix will not hurt the meat. But, with no rational reason, I don't like doing it.





My fish and game coolers all have home-built drain racks in them. That way, the meat stays above the water as the ice melts. As it accumulates I drain it off.





I also put my quartered game animals in plastic bags, so the meat doesn't actually touch the ice.





The idea is to keep the meat cold until you butcher it. Any way you accomplish that will be ok.
As said soaking deer meat in water is not good.





Here, read how to care for deer meat the proper way;


http://www.noble.org/Ag/Wildlife/ProperC鈥?/a>



i've always heard not to soak the meat, just put it on ice to keep it cool.