The guys in Canada shoot them ans clean them in the water all the time. Their camp is a large boat . They have no problem with bad meat. Is water in AK that filthy ?
And after they clean it the run the boat to the lodge? I get meat cool and dry as fast as possible. Having meat soaking wet, especially when the elements aren't going to help you cool them, and I don't bring all sorts of paper towels or whatever DM is using....
I guess if you didn't have to have your meat keep for 3-7 days it wouldn't matter too much. But such is the case how we usually hunt moose.
Cooome-on, do you think i never hunted out in the bush, where i had to keep meat for several days or even a week before flying or floating it out???
I have used snow, but mostly it's warm out in the sept. moose season, so i just used my hands, wiping the excess water off the meat, then hanging it right after. The meat dries it plenty fast doing that!
Once dried, keeping it from re-wetting is the real secret...
DM
But we agree that getting it dry, and keeping it dry no matter the situation is important??? -When in the field so all you bathtub cooks can keep your ice party goin.
I don't see a problem with clean ice water I guess.... My 16' cat won't hold a cooler that big though!
I would rather just cut and pack it... why get the blood out?? Good juices in the meat... doesn't seem like a problem with me. I love opening a good package of meat, take the juices in the package and keep it in the marinade, then when you cook the meat turn that bloody spicy marinade into a sauce... mmmmmmmhmmmmmmm