Duck Hunting Forum banner

Spoiled Geese

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Indaswamp 
#1 ·
To you guys that a more kitchen savy than I, I have a few questions. Killed two geese yesterday in a field. We set the birds breast down in the spread to mimic sleeping geese. The birds were shot around 8:30am or so and not cleaned until around 5:30pm. The temperature in the field rose to mid 60's with lots of sun. When I breasted the birds they smelled a little like dead animal. The meat itself once separated from the bird didn't have a particular bad odor, but some of the blood washed off of it did. Any ideas if this meat is safe for consumption. I don't remember any goose smelling the way these did during the cleaning process. Thanks for the help.
 
#3 ·
Next time it will be above 60* on a hunt, do your best to get those birds on ice as soon as the hunt is over. They should be safe, but next time, keep them in the shade or pile some grass on them to keep the sun off them.
The spoilage happens from the inside out as the bacteria in the gut makes it's way through the tissues. The breast bone acts as a shield, protecting the meat for the most part until the bacteria migrate up around the edges. If you do not see any green on the belly over the gut, the birds are still good.

We routinely hunt in hot weather in South Louisiana, but we hunt standing in 45~50* water. We float the birds belly down to help cool them and if it is very warm, we will pluck the breasts to speed the cooling.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top