Venison is one of the most popular hunted meats in the country.
With many hunters taking to the woods over the last several weeks, what do you do with the buck in the back of the truck?
Many meat processors across the state are incredibly busy at this time, but once they give your venison back, make sure to take the proper steps to make the meat last.
“We love to have it in a nice cold freezer," said Chris Arrowood, Co-Owner of Arrowood’s Wildside. "I always tell people how cold is your freezer? especially if they have any questions about freezer burn or getting their meat to last a little longer throw a thermometer in there. We keep our freezers at twelve degrees below zero at all times and we can have meat last two, three years in the freezer.”
One of the most important steps to harvesting a deer that is often overlooked, is putting a bag of ice in the chest cavity which can help the meat last longer through the process.
Before you do any of this, though, make sure you get your deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
You don't want to find out after you spent all that time and money that the meat is infected, and needs to be thrown out.
Preliminary figures from the DNR show hunters in Wisconsin registered nearly 174-thousand deer during the firearm deer season this year.
That was down close to 18 percent from the year before.
