Venison question safety....

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ecto1

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Feb 22, 2010
2,131
28
Spring, Tx
Ok I was given a white tail doe that was shot on Thursday .  It was skinned and quartered then placed in a deep freeze.  We just picked it up and it is frozen solid.  What is the safest way to defrost it so we can process, package, and freeze.  I don't have enough space in the fridge to place it in there to defrost.  Could I let it defrost over night in a ice chest with ice.  The ambient temp here in Houston will be in the 40s tonight.  When we usually kill a deer in the past we have always processed same day or next so this is a first for me.
 
I would say you would want to thaw it at around refrigerator temps so since you don't have room I would user your cooler idea. But you might want to add some ice in it so it stays below 40 degrees. It may take a day or two to thaw out that way but at least it won't spoil or be unsafe.
 
Thanks once thawed and processed is should be good to go back in a freezer right?
 
Thanks once thawed and processed is should be good to go back in a freezer right?
Probably isn't the ideal way to do it but yea that should be safe as long as the meat stays cold. We have had to do that before in the past. I was reading some where about what happens to meat if it is frozen and thawed a few times. The meat might break down and not be exactly the same quality or something like that when it is froze then thawed multiple but it will still be safe to eat as long as it is kept cold. I'm sure Pops or some of the other guys could talk about the scientific aspect of it.
 
 
I do not see any problem letting it thaw in a cooler filled with ice. As a matter of fact when it thawed out I would leave it in the cooler filled with fresh ice for 3 or 4 days to draw alot of the blood out of it ..That is the way I do all of mine...
 
Ross gave excellent advice....There are no Safety issues with proper Thawing, Processing and Refreeze....The Flavor and Texture issue may be something else....Two situations may come in to play here. First is if the Deer was Frozen before it had the chance to go thru Rigor Mortis...The meat will be what we call Green Meat...It can be Tough and will very likey be Flavorless...That is why Venison is better Hung for a few days to age... Second, the breakdown of muscle fibers from repeated freezing at Home Refer temps causing large Ice Crystals to cut the fibers up...This may offset the Green Meat toughness but it may make for some Dry Steaks and Roasts because the Moisture is no longer Locked in the muscle fibers...Hope it all works out...JJ
 
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As long as you keep it at the correct thawing temp it does not matter if its in the cooler or the frig....
 
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