Q. 390) Question: I live in Central/Southern WI and during bow season we often have temps in 70s to 80s during the day. The closest proccessor is 40 mins away and you are out of luck if you shoot a deer in the afternoon since they close at 5pm.

I have a extra 20 cu ft refigerator /top freezer in the garage that I plan on plugging in so it will be cold during the season just in case I need it however it is not big enough to stuff a whole deer in it unless it where quartered.

If a person were to shoot a deer and have it recovered, field dressed, and the inside rinsed with cool 50 degree water within 1 1/2 hrs what would be the next best course of action?

-Immediatly skin, quarter, remove loins, tenderloins and neck meat and place in refrigerator
or pack the deer cavity with ice to bring the temp down and then skin & quarter?

-What is the maxumuim time a person has to skin and quarter the deer and get it refrigerated at this point? 2 hrs? This depends on how cool the area is where you're hanging it and if you pack it with ice.

Would it be better to refrigerate or freeze the quarters until final deboning and cutting occurs 24 hours later?

Would it be best to wrap the quarters in wax paper or plastic to keep it from drying out until the the quarters are ready to be deboned and final cutting takes place?

Beside common sense that that bacteria will rapidly form at temps above 40 degrees, does the FDA or USDA have charts showing how long meat will last at given temps immediatly after the kill? (i.e at 50 degrees you have 4 hours to get it in a enviroment of 40 degress or less before it forms too much bacteria; at 60 degrees you have 3 hrs from time of kill ect.

Q. 389) If I shot a deer in 80 degree tempature how long before the meat goes bad. (sometimes you have to track one for a distance.)

Q. 388) I would not listen to this idiot about deer fat or tallow. If you leave it on you will not only taint the meat but when you cook the meat the tallow will stick to the rough of your mouth worse than peanut butter.

Q. 387) I have been hunting all my life and this year I hope to butcher my own deer. I am wondering why you need to add pork and/or beef to the venison in order to make burgers. Do you have to put it in? What will happen if you don't? Thanks in advance!

Q. 386) I have three deer cut up in the freezer. Somehow the freezer got unplugged,and the meat was completly thawed when I found it. I plugged the freezer back in and refroze it.Is the meat safe? it did not smell,and looked fine. What happens to meat when it is refrozen?

Q. 385) I have some deer meat that has dated dec 06. I remeber putting it in the freezer is it still good? P.S. I killed the deer. I have never waited this long to eat deer meat before so therefore I am clueless.

Q. 384) Can you eat fresh deer meat killed in the off season? (from crop damage tags)

Q. 383) My freezer went out. If was fine last night but by the time I went out there this evening, most of my venison is thawed, or only partially frozen. I have always followed the rule, when in doubt throw it out. And I have read all your previous asked questions about this problem. However I have lots of meat that is good: sausage, cutlets, steaks and roasts. Can any of these items be cooked and refrozen or would that even be good? Do you have any suggestions on what to do with everything or bulk recipes? It's only the 3 of us and we can't eat it all. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Q. 382) Could you please tell me how long it is okay to keep deer meat in the freezer. My fiance has some in the freezer from 2004 and he won't let me throw it out. Is it still okay?

Q. 381) We recently cleaned and dressed a deer but on the way home the deer meat was in a cooler with ice and some of the meat got wet, is this a problem? How can i tell by looking at it if it is water damage or if the meat went bad at camp?

Q. 380) I was wanting to know does anyone use brown freezer paper anymore and if not why?? as a young kid growing up around my dad slaughtering beef/pork, when we picked up the meat from the cutter is was in brown paper. I have looked and can not find it anywhere, Im kinda old fashioned and would like to find some to use for my meat processing. Thanks

Q. 379) We purchased a Cabela's model 08-2201 meat grinder (which I believe is the same as a Weston) and the auger pin is broke. Cabelas need to check with manufacturer to see if part is available and that takes a week. How can we contact Weston direct for part? I tried on line www.westonsupply and apparently tha web site is no longer active. Can anyone help?

Q. 378) I would like to try venison liver. My friend says there are two livers.
Im not sure I believe that. There is one that looks like a liver and another organ that is red and has kind of a white skin over it. Do I want both of these?

Q. 377) A friend of mine shot an elk (cow & pregnant?) When he went to quarter it out, in the field he said the meat had a blood redish color "gel" and slime all through it between the hide and meat. Got any ideas? Thank You Your site is so great.

Q. 376) Hello, very informative site. I want to know the best way to harvest the tenderloin bone-in. I would like to have about 2 inches of bone frenched and cook like a rack of lamb or loin chops. Any ideas? Thanks

Q. 375) How long can vension sit in a refrigerator (without being fronzen) until it goes bad?
I shot a doe the last week of December '07, deboned and quartered it, and put the meat in Zip-Lock bags in my spare refrigerator. It is now the second week in February and the meat is holding a decent color. I planned to make sausage out of it, but with 3 kids under 4, time is difficult to come by. Did that deer die for nothing? Has the meat spoiled by now?

Q. 374) Need a receipe for ground vension for a deerhamburger.

Q. 373) What seasoning mix is the Italian Base as is mentioned in your recipe for the Stuffed Italian Meatloaf?

Q. 372) Need a receipe for ground vension for a meatloaf.

Q. 371) My wife and I are new to cooking deer meat. We like the flavor but my wife has a hard time with the smell of the meat while cooking. Is there anything we can do eliminate the odor or at least minimize the smell until she gets used to it.

Q. 370) I just found your web site and I wish I had found earlier. I have processed the last couple deer I harvested on my own instead of taking it in. I feel I get more out of the hunt doing it that way. I want to utilize the most I can out of the deer and I know I can if I do it myself.

I recently harvested a small buck (2 days ago) and the temperature has been in the single digits. I field dressed the deer within 1/2 hr. of it being shot. It froze that night and is still frozen. I believe I will have a hard time skinning and processing it frozen. Do you have any recommendation as to how I can thaw it safely? I have it in my garage now. I do have a kerosene torpedo style heater but I am concerned about the emissions from the heater making the meat taste bad. I would like to process ASAP but it looks like the weather won't cooperate by warming up in the near future. Should I bring it in my house and let it thaw overnight??? I don't think my wife like that too much.

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Great web site and I look forward to using in the future.

Q. 369) No offense but i am tired of taking my meat to a locker to have slim jims and what not made i understand that there may besome trade secrets to processing but are there some websites or advised to someone that wants to process his own venison to walk them through or is the best thing to buy instructional videos to learn procedures and recipies i love venison bacon;)

Q. 368) I was looking at your link on meat yielding from a dressed deer. I am wanting to know what a deer will dress out at, example the live weight of a deer would be 100lbs what would the dressed weight be. Thanks and you have a great website, I wish you were closer to Georgia.

Q. 367) People occassionally give us deer meat they have leftover from their hunts. Of course they keep the prime cuts for themselves and I should simply be grateful. Your site was very helpful when we got a couple of shoulder pieces the other day. I've tried every which way to stew and slow cook and pressure cook venison leftovers in the past and always end up throwing the whole inedible mess out. I hate to waste the meat and I also hate to waste all that time and energy cooking it. Contrary to the guy who gave it to us, (he told us to fry the meat) I realized I did own a meat grinder and that the best thing to do was just grind it up. I hacked all the useful looking meat off the bones and according to your instructions I did not just grind it straight without adding fat. I ended up with about 4+ pounds of venison and added a 12 ounce package of the cheapest, fattiest, raw bacon, sold as unevenly sliced. I mixed and ground 3 times and it's not half bad ground meat after all. I formed a patty to test cook and it held together well, unlike another woman's complaint. My question is though, hubby told me he thought I was supposed to soak the meat in salt water to get the blood out. I did for one day and then rinsed the bloody water and then soaked it a second day in fresh salt water and rinsed it all again before grinding. Really it seemed to add quite a lot more appeal to the look of the meat. It looked more, well, meaty and less bloody and gross. But my ground product, combined with the salty bacon, was quite salty tasting without adding any salt during cooking. I won't be eating that much of this, so the potential unhealthy levels of salt are not the problem. What should I have done? If I used unsalted pork fat from a butt roast that would help, but what about the salt water? Does soaking in plain unsalted water do the same thing to make the meat less bloody?

Q. 366) I shot a buck in november and I have hameburger and deer back strips in my freezer.I want to know how to cook this meet and not have it be tuff. I herd its real hard to cook deer and I want to do it wright this time. What do I do?

Q. 365) I hunt in Tennessee for deer season and I have always wondered how long do I have to get my deer to processing after I field dress it? It seems like the temperature is usually between 40 and 50 degrees.

Q. 364)I was given some frozen venison at work in a styrofoam cooler. Unfortunately, I forgot to take it home and when I got back to work the next day, the meat was thawed. Is it ok to refreeze? I've always heard you cannot refreeze meat once it is thawed but no one can tell me why not. Thank you so much for your answer.

Q. 363) I shot a doe this past Sunday eveing and I found no blood only some whitish hair. Not wanting to jump it up, I left it overnight and found it the next morning. The buckshot penetrated high in the lungs mid ribs and high in the rear ribs(probably liver shot). The temps were in the high twenties overnight. However when I field dressed it the blood seemed to have a pungent smell. A butcher told us it was "outgasing" and it would be fine.
The smell seems to be disappating. I plan on hanging the deer until the weekend. Should be in the 20's and 30's. What do you think?

Q. 362) I have a whole doe due me by a friend next week. Venison cuts are new to me.

Are their any cuts of Venison you would avoid?

What are the best cuts of Venison?

Q. 361) I have a whole deer backstrap and I want to cook it in a slow cooker...what is the best way to do this without having to cut it up?

Q. 360)I bowshot a buck two evenings back around 5:10 PM and didn't find it until the yesterday morning, my arrow deflected off an unseen twig. He went about 250 yards and looked to have dropped and died. The night temps were in the 50's. By the time I got the deer home and skinned and in the cooler it was around 1:00 pm [yesterday of course].  The backstraps and shoulders were cool when I got the skin off, the butt was warmer. The meat smells like buck venison to me.  Not bad, but gamey.  How do I know if it's spoiled?  I have read many of the other questions about dealing with stomach contents [etc] on the meat.  Some gut drainage was under the skin of one ham in the groin area, the deer actually had a hernia with some gut sticking through, so there was no way for me to get one ham of without getting some of that on the meat.  Should I do your baking soda trick on that and then trim of anything that still smells off? Last question. What does "spoiled" smell like? I know what rotten or putrid smells like but can I tell if spoilage is starting or has started? Deer smells strong to me even freshly killed and dressed.

Q. 359) Would you be kind enough to tell me where I can buy processed venison in bulk? In viewing your website I figured you are the go-to people to ask! - Many thanks and Merry Christmas!

Q. 358) My wife and I and 3 children have lived off venison for the past 15 yrs (not buying meat in stores) which 80% we use is ground mixed in casseroles etc. We were wondering if venison could be ground by itself without adding fat from pork or beef.

Q. 357) A friend of mine gave me a back strap from a smaller buck that he shot on November 21. It was dressed and hung for two days then put on ice until the 28th at which time we cooked some of it and the larger portion was placed in a zip lock back in my refigerator set at 32 degrees. Obviously the intention was to eat it before today but... Still there, do you think it is okay. The meat is whitish color and a fair amount of water is in the bag.

Q. 356) Hi, we had back straps of a doe frozen in vacume sealed bags. WE thawed 3 and only ate 2, we kept the other one in the fridge (still sealed) for 13 days and just ate it tonight...thinking it smelled fine, and that cooking it would keep us safe. We Barbecued it to at least medium and had it marinaded in BBQ sauce for about 20 minutes. Are we likely to get sick...or worse??

Q. 355) I live in North Carolina, And I'm trying to saLvage whats left of my life and childrens. I would like to open a deer butcher, take out foods shop, but I don't know who to go about it. I love your shop - if you could give me any advice I would greatly appreciate it.

Q. 354) We killed 8 deer this year in wv. The first two were killed on the 15th of nov and for the next 8 days. I got home on a friday the 23rd to florida which is a friday at night. Could not take the deers to the processor till mon morning the 26th. I told the processor the dates when I dropped it off. Its now the thursday the 6th of dec and he calls me to say its ready. When I picked up the meat he told me it has been done a few days but its not even frozen yet. One of the empty coolers smells bad but not the meat itself. I would hate to kill these deer and go to waste. I know you yelled at the guy from ohio and told him to take up golf. Can I eat the meat or should I tell the processor to take up golf. He swears its fine cause hes done it before.

Q. 353) Hi I was talking to a friend I work with and he wants hot dogs made out of his deer, I have a #22 grinder with the adapters to make sausages would they be used to make the hot dogs and could you explain to me what I need to make hot dogs with the deer? Thank you.

Q. 352) My son got a nice buck this year,we had it butchered at a very wellknown butcher (all animals)not just deer. When my son picked up the meat, he told my son the deer had an old wound that had puss sacks an infection around it, he told my son he cut it all away an that it is all right to eat. Is this true? I talked to a lot of other hunters an they said they wouldn't eat it.

Q. 351) With venision brats when you boil them first will they float and does that mean they are done? Thanks

Q. 350) I was given some moose meat. It has some freezer burn damage. Can I make ground jerky and still have it taste alright?

Q. 349) I think you misunderstood my question about venison bacon , it would be made from fresh ground venison and maybe fresh ground pork and somekind of bacon cure , if you heard of this can you help?

Q. 348) How do I marinate a hine quarter to be grilled, and how long do I cook it?

Q. 347) I recently killed my first deer, did a proper job of field dressing and got it to the butcher within 2 hours of the kill. It's been 2 weeks and he still doesn't have it processed yet. He's a reputable butcher, but I am a little leary of the quality of my meat since it's been so long. Am I justified to be concerned, or is this standard procedure?

Q. 346) I love venison hot dogs. I have a ton of ground venison, and would like to make some dogs. Do you have a recipe for making dogs. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank You

Q. 345) I killed a 7 point 10 days ago in W.VA. The weather was warm (50-65 during the day). He was field dressed immediately and hung in a barn for 1 day before I skinned and quartered him. I put the front legs & hind quarters in plastic bags and placed them in coleman coolers. I put ice on them but never drained the water. They have been in the coolers in my garage here in Ohio for 10 days and the weather has not been above 45 degrees during the day. The meat has a gamey smell and is somewhat moist/slimy. I intended to slice off the bone and freeze for jerky. Is this meat any good?

Q. 344) Is it safe for my 13 month old to eat deer meat if properly processed, handled and cooked?

Q. 343) I had deer meat in a cooler overnight with ice and water, outside temp in 40's. I was supposed to put more ice on it the next day and I forgot till mid afternoon. The temp was around 70 and the ice was melted, but the water was still cool. My husband says the meat is still good. It has no odor or anything. Do you think it is still good? Second question is I have always soaked my deer meat in a cooler till we cut it up but I read on here not to do that. Will it hurt the meat? Does it make a difference in the taste?

Q. 342) A friend at work gave me some venison that had been killed just a couple days before. What he gave me he called the ham. Is this the same as what you call the round.

Q. 341) Question...My husband shot a buck in the rear (it didn't die) then again in the head to "finish him off" Usually I skin them but this time I decided that he should...Now the hind legs smell foul. When I was gutting him he didn't smell off, it wasn't until after skinning him that we noticed the smell. He swears that he didn't puncture the stink pads down by the feet but I'm not so sure about that. What does it smell like if they were punctured? Is the meat ruined? If not what can we do to get rid of the smell? It smells to me like a cat has peed on it but I'm positive that it's not been peed on by anything (except it's self possibly!)

Q. 340) My friend shot a nice buck the other day. We dressed it and upon doing so we noticed the deer looked sickly, only to find an arrow wound from a previous hunter. We had heard the animal was larger 2 weeks prior, and he looked drastically smaller. Is the meat going to be safe to process?

Q. 339) Hello, I am going to try and make some brats. I have venison buger with beef fat added. Can I just add the seasoning to the burger as is and run it through the stuffer? Or should I add some beer? pork, etc? If the pork isn't needed I'd prefer that? Thanks!

Q. 338) I have harvested a doe this year but when skinning the deer i noticed a wounded area around the hind quarters where the tissue was all rotted and had a yellowish green tint to it,when i looked on the outside of the fur there was no visible injury, i think it may have been hit by a car. is this gangrene? and if so is the meat that doesnt seem infected safe to eat?

Q. 337) My son shot a deer that we did not find until the next morning. It was 49 degrees that night and 55 degrees the next morning when we found the deer. Unfortunately, the bullet busted the rumen. Therefore I only tried to salvage the backstraps, hindquaters, shoulders, and neck. The deer was not bloated, but I am concerned if the meat is good. What do you think?

Q. 336) We shot a mountain goat at 5 pm on Saturday. Couldn't recover or gut the animal for several days due to difficult terrain, a snow blizzard that buried the animal and snow/rock slides as well. On the following Friday we located the goat and recovered parts of the distal meat that seemed less spoiled. The temps were low of upper 20s and high in the 30s on a sunny slope. Is the meat safe to eat?

Q. 335) I harvested a small button buck Wednesday night, today is the following Monday. Every since then, we have kept the meat iced down in a cooler, draining the water out when necessary. Have we waited too long to finish disposing of the "white" skin and excess before freezing, or should we chunk it?

Q. 334) We were going to make deer burger so we cut up 100 pounds of deer meet and froze it to get out and grind later, now I'm told you can't after you already froze it once?

Q. 333) Someone recently shot an illegal deer, which ran onto our farm and died. The game warden said go ahead and process the deer. The deer didn't get field dressed for approx 24. The temp was in the low 20's to high 30's. The deer hung for two days in in low 20's. Upon pulling the pant off it we noticed a green color, and somewhat fowel odor in the mid section, and in between the rear legs. Is this deer coyote bait,or can it still be processed for eating?

Q. 332) My son shot a nice doe. She has been hanging in the barn for 6 days. Our temperatures have been in the teens to low 20s at night and in the low 30s during the day. I want to cut up the carcass tomorrow but am worried that it wil be too frozen. Can I slightly thaw it, cut it, and refreeze? Should I be worried that the carcass froze too quickly and may be tough? Thanks!

Q. 331) My nephew shot a doe and it had yellow fat instead of white. Was wondering if meat was ok to eat and also what may cause this.

Q. 330) My husband shot a doe over the weekend and last night he cut up the meat after letting it hang for two days. We would like to grind the meat for hamburger but we do not know if we should add beef or pork to it. What would be the ratio of beef or pork to the ground venison. Last year we just ground the venison and it did not want to stay together as a pattie so we used it for chili and sauces. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

Q. 329) Thank you first off, for taking your time to listen. It's going to be in the high 60's off and on and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get the meat cold enough to process safely. Or should I try to age the meat at all with the higher heat?

Q. 328) I shot a few deer this year and the tempature outside was about 40 deg.I planned to leave them hang for a day or two till I could get some time to process them. Well the next day the temp outside went to 70 and I was out of town. Is the meat spoiled ? Or will I be ok?

Q. 327) Can you shoot a deer in the evening and not find it until the next morning and it still be good to eat?

Q. 326) How long will deer stay if 1/4 and put in cold water in a cooler, and temps in the low 35 and high 55?

Q. 325) Help, my husband and brother-in-law picked up a dead deer off side of road. We live in cooler midwest state. They where getting desperate and didn't see anything while hunting. I have searched internet and they want to cut it up and process if themselves. They cleaned it out, but how do you tell if it's still ok to eat? It's probably been dead 2-3 days.. Thanks.

Q. 324) I will be deer hunting in Arkansas and i dont want to deal with having the meat processed and shipped. What/how do you recomend i care for the meat until i arrive back in Az. I was thinking about quartering/ boning the meat and storing it (paper wrapped) in a cooler with ice and or dry ice.

Q. 323) Can I get a detailed descripton on how to get the steak and roasts off of the hind quarter?

Q. 322) After processing a deer at home, how long can you keep the fresh meat in your refrigerator before cooking it?

Q. 321) I harvested a nice little 8 point,field dressed within 1/2 hour of death,daytime temps in 60s for 2 days,nighttime 30s,40s- I am pretty sure the meat is good ,no bad smell etc. My problem is with the ticks-this otherwise seemingly healthy buck had an invisible infestation of ticks in his chest hairs. After 2 days the rear area of the truck bed had like 50 ticks and more were crawling from the body including engorged females.I put perhaps 50 in a jar and microwaved em.Should I just throw this carcass away? I have NEVER seen more than a few ticks on any deer I have ever shot(even from same area). I am disgusted and alarmed- what is your advice? I have a local processor here and was going to drop off tomarrow after work-are they used to this infestation stuff? It will be 29 degrees in my area tonight also.This animal was harvested Nov 4th in cetral Illinois.

Q. 320) We shot a deer on Saturday evening,we field dressed it and washed it out and hung. Temps in the 30's. On Sunday it was skinned and deboned and the quarters were wrapped tightly. Will it be okay in the refridgerator until Saturday when we plan on cutting up and freezing? Thank you.

Q. 319) Is it necessary to let your deer hang (age) for awhile after skinning it? I live in Charleston, SC and the temps don't get low enough that I would feel safe leaving the deer hang (in a garage-not cooled) for fear of spoilage. I hear some people say it makes the vension more tender, do you find that to be true? I usually end up butchering the deer within 24 hours because the temps usually don't get much lower than the 40's overnight and I don't have access to a cooler. Thanks.

Q. 318) I gut shot a yearling last Sat. evening, recovering it on Sun. morning,it got down to 17 degrees over night. I sprayed out the cavity well w/water and rinsed w/vinager and water..family suggestion. It has been skun and quartered and is in a cooler with ice packs and baking soda due to the remaining foul odor. If the odor remains is it tainted? It will make me sick to have to chuck the whole thing but the smell is nearly making me sick now. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Q. 317) Hello, it's warm during our bow season and sometimes into gun. What are the pro and con's to hanging a deer( hide on ) under these conditions.

40 -45 at night
60 -65 in the daytime
Deer is in yard bard
Deer has two bags of ice ( one in chest ) the other between thighs.
No flys
Always shaded

How long can I hang it?

Q. 316) So what you are saying is that you can not get waxed freezer paper any more. I would prefer to get away from the poly I feel that we are using too many plasitcs in and around our food. I know of many people who would use the waxed paper over the poly coated paper. How does the uncoated butcher paper stand up in the freezer and does it save the meat from freezer burn? I find that the poly does not do the job that the waxed freezer paper did. I have more freezer burn on the meat with the poly than we ever had with the waxed. If you know of any supplier that still makes the waxed freezer paper could you please let me know. Maybe if there are many requests for the waxed it will be made once again. Thank you for your help.

Q. 315) I have been looking for waxed freezer paper and have not been able to find any. All that I can find is the poly lined freezer paper. Could you tell me where I could obtain the waxed freezer paper?

Q. 314) We just had a small deer processed into 9 summer sausages..I picked up sausage from processor and cut into one the very next day, (not frozen) and the sausage is dry, crunbles and doesn't taste right. Any ideas as to what happened? The processor gave us a sample upfront of what to expect and it was delicious with cheese and jalepenos added but what we received is disgusting! Thanks for all your help!

Q. 313) I have had venison in my freezer since 2004, someone gave me a chilli receipt and I would like to make some chilli, is the venison good, even though I had it in the freezer all that time? Please advise before everyone gets sick!

Q. 312) AFTER venison has been frozen and thawed then ground w/ pork for sausage can it be frozen again? This is my first experience with venison. Thank You

Q. 311) AFTER venison has been frozen and thawed then ground w/ pork for sausage can it be frozen again? This is my first experience with venison. Thank You

Q. 310) I saw your answer (#232) on the proper mix to grind my own venison. Does that mix work also if I want to use some of the ground meat for jerky as well?

Q. 309) My neighbor and another good deer hunter told me he used salt in the body cavity and tap water rinsing to clean that area up. Would you recommend salt or baking soda use in the body cavity of a deer what layed over night to reduce odor?

Q. 308) We process our own deer. Once cut/ground, packaged, and frozen can we eat it instently...or is there a period of time we should wait?

Q. 307) Howdy! Marc-Allen here in Houston. My cousin has a place south of Rocksprings. Last season my cousin shot an Axis doe that was free ranging on his place. We have heard that the venison is really good, so he took the shot. We quatered it, placed it in clean trash bags and put it in a neighbors chest freezer until we left. The venison was not frozen solid, frosted on the outside, but still a little soft to the touch. As soon as we hit Rocksprings, we poured the ice to it and the whitetails we were hauling in coolers. The day after I got home, I deboned the whitetail I had, kept it on ice for 3-4 days, bagged it, tagged and froze it. My meat tuned out great. My cousin kept the Axis on ice and when he lifted the cooler lid on the third day to check the ice, the smell about knocked him on his backside. He said that the meat was ruined. I did not ask him if he deboned it or not. I told him that I would find out if there is a trick to processing Axis that is not common to whitetails. I read the answer to one of the listed questions," Why would you soak venison in water for 3-4 days?" Well, I don't know. I guess because I have never tasted a gamey(Wild Taste)piece of venison that I have processed at home. That "Wild Taste" people talk about, I always assumed, somebody got into the ice chest quicker than they got their venison into the ice chest. Any suggestions?

Q. 306) I shot my first deer a doe on opening day. A friend helped me clean it. He said to put the meat in a cooler for 3-5 days with ice and change the water daily. I have a feeling the meat is spoiled. The meat smells like fish!! How can you be for sure the deer meat is good or not. I did gut shot the deer.

Q. 305) How long do you need to hang and age a deer?

Q. 304) I have thoroughly enjoyed your website! My boyfriend has a 12 x 12 walk in cooler and processes deer for friends and family. He is interested in adding a rail system but I have not been able to find anything. Any information you can provide would be most helpful. Thank you so much!

Q. 303) I am grinding my own meat this year and adding some beef fat. The grinder seems to clog up because of it, I know that you recommend not using it but I have tried it both ways and like it with beef fat better. Do you know if there is anything I can do to keep my commercial grinder from clogging up. It is a 1 HP, Cabellas grinder. I used a 1lb beef fat to 3.5lb venison ratio. If anyone has any tips I will take them. It is taking me forever to finsh 1 deer. Thanks for your help and thank Jeeves for helping me find you.

Q. 302) I shot a nice buck (double lung) at 7:30 on Sunday night. It was raining and I followed the blood trail as long as I could that night. (Temperature in the 50's - low 60's.) I wasn't able to resume the hunt until 5:00 pm the next day and found the deer about 10 yards from my last trail marker. Still good? (I called a local butcher and she said "No good!") Your thoughts?

Q. 301) I always make soup out of venison bones. What do you do with the bones, do you just throw them away for I am interested in buying them if they are for sale and what will be the cost per pound to ship them to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.