# home made meat locker?



## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

so, I'm going to get into cutting my own game meat. Usually I take my game to a meat cutter in Payson but, I want to start making my own summer sausage and all that kind of bizz.

I want to hang my deer and elk meat for a few weeks to cure and I'm thinking of how to hang my game in a temp below 40*

I thought I would buy a refrigerator and gut all the shelf's out and run a couple rods through it and I can hang it in there and regulate the temperature..

So, I guess I wouldn't be building anything new but, I'm wondering would something like that work?


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

If it was large enough. 

I picked up some 4" insulated panels and a old portable home AC air conditioner to make one. At the time I could hang a couple of elk and a couple of deer at the same time for quite a while. 

Or you can do like my dad did. He would just hang the animals in a unheated garage. he would wrap them up in blankets during the day before the sun came up and then unwrap them at night after it cooled down. He would keep meat like that for quite a while in the fall of the year.


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## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

Depending on the size of the structure, that would determine how big of a compressor you need. The idea is sound, but a refrigerator is not big enough. You would need a well insulated structure as well. Biggest problem is the door. We built one several years ago and although we knew what we were doing, it did not work well. If you really want to pursue the adventure, contact a refrigeration company like Wernli and pick up a used unit. They get torn out of grocery stores and the like fairly often. Keep your eyes open and you can probably get one from a demolition project. 4 ft x 6 ft x 8 ft tall would be a great size. Put your compressor outside and be prepared to see your electric bill go thru the roof. As often as you would use it, I believe you would be money ahead to pay a butcher to take care of the critter for you.

Using an air conditioner compressor could work, but they often freeze up when the temperature is set below 70. They are meant to cool down a house to a comfortable temperature not refrigerate things.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

I dont mind a meat cutter but, I dont think they let it cure out enough (and some, if at all).

I want to get my game cured out right to that magical moment and play around with it a little bit and see whats good and whats not

My Idea wouldn't need to accommodate more than 1 animal, either a deer or an elk probably completely boned out


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Do a search on YouTube and you will find a lot of ideas. 

Mine was simply a 4' square box that was 8' high with a hole cut in it for the home AC unit and hinges on one partition for a door and a couple of 1 1/2" rigid conduits ran through the top to hang the meat from. It wouldn't freeze the meat but just keep it cool to retard the growth of bacteria. I never lost any meat using it.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I have thought about this myself. If I ever get around to building a shed, I think one small corner will be dedicated to this. I have a neighbor that does commercial refrigerator/freezer maintenance and when I spoke to him, he seemed to think that for what I want, it would be pretty simple. 

I would only need it to run when in use, which would likely only be a couple weeks here and there during/after the hunting season while I'm waiting to fully process the meat. 

Pipe dream for now. But one day, maybe.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

You can look on KSL for used cooler boxes. The bad is now days most are not tall enough to hang an elk in. I am a refrigeration contractor and usually when I get one I have pulled it out of a old store that is upgrading. And I sell them fast. You don't need much as far as a condensing unit but sometimes finding the coils is tricky. For most outfitters I usually build them with a metal frame system inside so the animal can be moved around but at home you probably wouldn't need that. But you need some type of support. The roof panels will not hold the weight of an elk. And you need almost 10 feet inside height to hang a bull


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Hoopermat said:


> But you need some type of support. The roof panels will not hold the weight of an elk. And you need almost 10 feet inside height to hang a bull


That is if you bring a elk off the mountain whole. The one that I had only had about a 7 1/2" to hang a animal in and was plenty for any quartered elk or halved deer. For deer I would split them at the ribs to hang.


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## stimmie78 (Dec 8, 2007)

Insulate a shed, get a window mount ac unit, hack it to trick it into getting colder than the factory settings will allow(a johnson control), and you're done. YouTube and google are your friends for this project.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I have never tasted, or saw the advantage of hanging wild game more than a couple days. I cut all my deer, elk myself. (when I can get one. LOL) 

Save your money and get an extra fridge. Cut the Deer, Elk into quarters (boned out first) Cool it out for a couple days, and when your ready to cut it up, pull out a quarter at a time.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

I am like Taxidermist in that I normally have my animals cut up(do it myself) within 2-4 days after the kill. Most of the time the temperature dictates how fast they need to be processed. I know that aging is something they do and must have an effect on both taste and tenderness but I have never really tasted any deer/elk that was properly aged.
On a side note, an old German man, across the street from us as I grew up, was a big duck hunter. He would always hang his harvest by the neck on a rope until they rotted...he called it aged...and fell to the ground. What do ya think?


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## archerben (Sep 14, 2007)

I use an old refrigerator, shelves removed, with a frame built from 2x4s and hooks to hang meat. I can age 2 elk quarters at a time. I like to age elk for about 21 days.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

get with tex. he has a bad ass one


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## archerben (Sep 14, 2007)

dkhntrdstn said:


> get with tex. he has a bad ass one


Need pics


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## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

My neighbor was a chef. I got to talking with him one day about aging meat. He said aging was a "rotting" process, used to tenderize meat. 39 degrees for 14 days is the process. If you don't cool it to the correct temperature, it will "bone sour" while hanging. He said wild game doesn't do any good to age. He said the "marbling" you see in beef is what makes the aging work. "Marbling" is the fat you see throughout the meat. Wild game does not have "marbling" and that is why it does no good to age. I am not an expert, but I too have never "aged" a deer, elk or antelope. I have had good and bad game meat. What makes the difference in taste is the critters diet and the adrenalin that runs through the animal if you shoot one on the run. I have always shot one that was standing or walking, never one that has been running. With archery, that never becomes a concern as you can't shoot one while running. 

The idea of hanging a duck by the neck until it falls is not a new concept to me. I have also heard about doing that with pheasants. The idea supports the theory my butcher neighbor told me about why meat is "aged". That being correct, a deer scraped off the highway after a few days should be ideal.


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## archerben (Sep 14, 2007)

bow_dude said:


> My neighbor was a chef. I got to talking with him one day about aging meat. He said aging was a "rotting" process, used to tenderize meat. 39 degrees for 14 days is the process. If you don't cool it to the correct temperature, it will "bone sour" while hanging. He said wild game doesn't do any good to age. He said the "marbling" you see in beef is what makes the aging work. "Marbling" is the fat you see throughout the meat. Wild game does not have "marbling" and that is why it does no good to age.


No offense, but your chef neighbor doesn't know what he's talking about regarding aging of wild meat. John McGannon, gourmet chef and owner/operator of Wild Eats, is in my opinion the ultimate authority in wild game cooking. Here is a link to one of his articles regarding aging of wild meats: 
http://www.rmef.org/TheHunt/After/CarnivoresKitchen/Recipes/DryAgingTimeline.aspx


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

My desire for a small meat locker in the corner of a shed is more about keeping meat "good" while I work through butchering myself than actually aging the meat. If I ever start processing my own game it is likely that I couldn't do it in one sitting right when I get home from a hunt. But if I had a meat locker, I could do a little here and there as I'm able. It would take some pressure off. 

Plus, I'd just feel cooler and more manly if I had a meat locker. And that's the real reason I want one. It's all about cool factor.


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## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

> No offense, but your chef neighbor doesn't know what he's talking about regarding aging of wild meat. John McGannon, gourmet chef and owner/operator of Wild Eats, is in my opinion the ultimate authority in wild game cooking. Here is a link to one of his articles regarding aging of wild meats:
> http://www.rmef.org/TheHunt/After/Ca...gTimeline.aspx


archerben... none taken, but it is one man's opinion differing from another. Being published on the net does not make things any more correct than going to school and earning a degree. My neighbor was the head chef at Hotel Utah for many years, also a Gourmet Chef. He had to go to school to learn about this stuff, so his credentials are as good as the credentials you are quoting. Now... what you and I get to do is decide which "theory" is correct. I tend to go with my neighbors because he was my neighbor and I knew him. You go with your published web chef. Who is right??? I have followed my neighbors advise for about 35 years and have enjoyed the meat I have taken. He is not published, but that doesn't make him any less of an authority. I believe he knew exactly what he was talking about.

The article you gave the link to talks about "dry aging". My neighbor talked about "dry meat" also. He was shocked at how "dry" my archery killed elk was when he helped and taught me how to butcher meat. When he spoke of "dry meat" he was referring to meat that was drained of all the blood. He kept saying how impressed he was that there was little to no blood in any of the meat. I told him that is how an arrow kills, by bleeding out critters, different from rifle killed animals which generally kills by shock. It kind of sounds to me that both of these "Gourmet Chefs" were possibly talking about the same thing, dry meat, meat that was free of most of it's blood. Hanging meat does "drain" it.


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## DUSTY NOGGIN (Feb 27, 2017)

totally like the idea , but i would improve by putting it on a trailer with a generator that goes to camp with you , so you can stay the whole archery hunt not having to leave because you have one hanging while others are still hunting 

the refrigerator works good BUT, dont forget to wash that refrigerator out , i HIGHLY doubt you will do it next year 

skinned on ice immediately is the key in bags to keep the flies and bees from stealing your steaks


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

archerben said:


> Need pics


he bought one of the big fridges from like 7-11. That what he uses. I will see if i can find some pic


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)




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## archerben (Sep 14, 2007)

That's awesome! I need one.

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## DUSTY NOGGIN (Feb 27, 2017)

even if you use it just to cure your own long enough for your butchers freezer to get passed that full stage 

my butcher has been maxxed out for the last 5 year, unless you fly back on opening day and get one of those spots in his freezer ... if you wait until monday , no chance of getting a spot , so you have to go to hu??akers and have em give you a truck load of NON- frozen meat 

will never do that again ,i had a freezer full of 2 elk frozen into a solid cube & had to pry it out of the freezer with a screwdriver :der:


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

Unless your brining the meat in some curing solution your not curing anything. There is a aging process. Which is actually a decaying process that allows the muscle tissue to break down for tenderness. I haven't found that its necessary for wild game.

Look at those poor unprotected tenderloins in the above pic. They've turned into jerky. What a waste. By the time you trim off the hardened skin there isn't much muscle left to eat. That hardened skin doesn't make good burger either. At work it goes straight to the bone barrel. 

If your hell bent on the project get a rheostat temperature controller for a chest freezer. It will maintain what ever temp you set it at. When the temp gets to cold it shuts off the compressor to the freezer. Guys have been using these for years in their homemade kegerators in the homebrew industry. They work well. You will get multiple uses out of your freezer.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

People should learn that tenderloins and back straps don't need to be aged. 

On my animals the tenderloins are the first things that are ate, and usually at camp. The back straps can be cut up and wrapped in less than a hour once you get home. Now the hind quarters need to be aged a little if you plan to cut them into steaks and roast, if you are just planning on turning them into burger then just grind away. Same with the front shoulders.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

If you are planning on hanging your meat to age it's best to leave it quartered, when left on the bone as it ages and the muscle groups start to dry and shrink and since the muscle groups are still attached to the bone and other muscles groups the muscle fibers get broken down which makes the meat tender. If the meat is bones the muscle groups just dry and shrink as there is nothing holding them in place. If you are going to bone your meat then any old refrigerator with shelves in it to lay the meat on will work just fine to keep the meat cool.

I take a 7 cubic foot chest freezer on a Harbor Freight lawn cart to hunting camp, I can keep the temp inside the chest at a constant 40 degrees by running my trailer generator for a couple hours a day. 2 years ago I held a deer for 10 days in the chest freezer. Once home I have a temp control I plug the freezer into so I can keep the chest temp between 35 and 40 degrees while I process the meat. 3 meat lugs also fit in the chest so its used for curing my meat and spice mixes over night.

Temp control
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V4TJR00/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

This is my favorite thread.

.


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## 12many (Apr 14, 2008)

Last year I put 3 elk and a deer in a chest freezer with an ITC temp controller (I brew beer also so I need temp control to maintain fermentation), too much blood in the cooler but worked very well I kept the meat at 42, however you may want to look into http://www.homebrewtalk.com/diy-fermentation-chamber.html
and use the ideas as a search for a larger scale, a window AC works great and in winter turn it around and you have your own portable heat pump keeps your meat from freezing. 
anyway you do it should be an awesome project.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,ut/auction/view?auc=1817411

I saw this and thought of this thread. Someone could get lucky and creative.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

Well I guess I will post up some coolers when I have them on here. I usually get a couple a year


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## weaversamuel76 (Feb 16, 2017)

I'd be interested hoopermat

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