Question: bringing meat home

[juststarting]

Hi All

So this is something I've been wondering about for a while... How do you keep and take meat home from interstate hunts.

I am thinking:
+ circa 8 hour driving (easy) and hot climate at camp; or
+ flights and camp in hot climate.

So, if I wanted to fly in and out for a hunt and I generally like to eat what I shoot, I am not really into trophy hunting, unless it's a trophy for my belly! Anyway, saw something about camels on Facebook and thought, hey, I'd like to do that... So my question is, how do you do that. How do you get the meat cooled in hot climate at camp and how do you transport meat interstate, not just 'cut X', but generally what you shoot.

[Daddybang]

Dry ice in an esky seal it up with duct tape and ya should be good for transport.

[juststarting]

Daddybang, thanks.

I also meant logistically, has anyone shot a camel and transported the ****** interstate by air or....

[Baronvonrort]

When I worked in the meat industry Mitsubishi would airfreight their meat back to Japan with dry ice in normal airfreight containers, 8 hr flight.

It was quarterbeef wrapped in cotton cheesecloth cram packed 10 bodies approx into large alloy maindeck containers with only a few blocks of dry ice, delivered from meatworks in refrigerated trucks

[Gwion]

One extremely large esky for a camel. As well as a truck load of techni-ice sheets (will freeze to -18 deg and hold temp for days in a well insulated eenvironment).

[Gwion]

Reefer truck???

[juststarting]

Wonder what the weight restrictions are...

[Baronvonrort]

You could always try something like this-

http://www.rvtr.com.au/refrigerated-vehicles-for-rent/

[juststarting]

Yeah, bit of a drive to VIC lol I rather fly.

[Daddybang]

Daddybang, thanks.

I also meant logistically, has anyone shot a camel and transported the ****** interstate by air or....

Never transported camel but a mate in the territory sends me a care package of magpie geese breasts every year by air into cairns I just pick it up from the airport.

[juststarting]

so another obvious question, I probably should have started there - how the heck do i get to go hunt camel

[Supaduke]

You want something like this. Known in transport as a 'fish box'.

http://www.polyfoam.com.au/polystyrene- ... l-Boxes-47

Cheap, disposable and does the job nicely. Make sure the meat is pre-chilled/frozen. Add some ice or dry ice. Tape it up securely . Will easily last a few days. Used to bring home fish and prawns when I worked on trawlers. Torres strait to Cairns , Cairns to Melbourne. Still cold when I got home.

[Daddybang]

Easiest place to find them from melb would probably be outback SthAust one of the boys from down that way might be able to point ya in the right direction.

[juststarting]

Daddybang, started a separate thread...

[Gwion]

How much of this camel do you want to eat?

I think you're gonna need a bigger freezer!

[juststarting]

LOL just a thought for now.

[Antie]

Roof rack? Drive fast so it's cooled by the rushing wind?

[Bent Arrow]

Not flying but one of the properties I hunt goats on regularly is a solid 6 hour drive away. I pack a 150 litre esky filled with boned out meat and 3L bottles of ice (milk containers). The less air space the better. I've used this set up in summer in mid to high 30's no worries at all. I normally chuck the bottles in a freezer when I get to the station so they are fully frozen when it's time to head home. I also have two 40L car fridges and when I'm camping I often run one as a freezer for ice, keeps ice blocks for the kids and ice for my scotch........

[on_one_wheel]

Carry-on luggage ... overhead compartment

[bigrich]

Not flying but one of the properties I hunt goats on regularly is a solid 6 hour drive away. I pack a 150 litre esky filled with boned out meat and 3L bottles of ice (milk containers). The less air space the better. I've used this set up in summer in mid to high 30's no worries at all. I normally chuck the bottles in a freezer when I get to the station so they are fully frozen when it's time to head home. I also have two 40L car fridges and when I'm camping I often run one as a freezer for ice, keeps ice blocks for the kids and ice for my scotch........

great idea mate, can't have a nice single malt scotch without ice oh, and the milk bottle ice packs in a esky is good too i suppose....

[Tripod]

When I hunt on the mainland we take a 500 litre freezer on the back of the ute and a small generator, Plug the freezer into the mains while we are hunting and freeze the meat down as we get it, run the freezer on the generator while we are driving and plug it into the motel rooms when we stop at night. The 12 hour trip back across on the ferry doesn't worry it as it's frozen solid. The last trip was two freezers and over 500kg of meat on the return trip. I will be doing the NT later this year using the same method to bring back a heap of buff meat. Flying wouldn't work as you can't take enough meat to make it worth while.

[Gwion]

There you go, JS.

1/ Bigger ute (or flat bed tray truck)
2/ Bigger freezer (or refer for the tray)
3/ New generator.....

Hey, we're back to the idea of a Reefer truck!

[Gwion]

Look up the "techni-ice" website.
You can pack a whole bunch of techni-ice sheets on the load in. Hydrate and freeze them onsite and use them on the load out.
Weight for weight they are FAR more effective than ice because they will freeze down to what ever temperature your freezer will go whereas ice will only ever be around -2deg (salted water).
They are designed for commercial use. I've used them for years and highly recommend them.