Meat quality: bone out vs bone in?

[Shortdraw]

For those of you that bone out an animal before packing it off the mountain, have you noticed any decrease in the quality of the meat? In earlier days I was always taught to hang quarters, bone in, for multiple days (or at least past the rigor mortis period) before cutting meat off the bone and into steaks, etc. That doesn't work so well in the mountains. I have backed all my elk and deer out of the mountains bone in (at least the rear quarters and the front quarter meat often goes into burger/sausage). Is your boned out meat still tender or do you notice it being a bit tougher than if you left it on the bone? Thanks!

 

[jtw]

I haven't noticed a difference. I put my boned out meat on a rack in the walk-in so it still ages similar to hanging. Personally I think the increased surface area from boning it out helps cool the meat faster.

 

[5MilesBack]

Boned out goes straight home and then in the freezer. It's pretty much ready to go from the time I put it in the bag, whereas hung quarters dry out and I end up cutting a bunch of the dried meat away.

 

[durangobrad]

I heard on the Randy Newberg podcast with Janis from the meateater show they were discussing this topic as well. They agreed to keep the meat on the bone whenever possible because the tendons and muscle stay stretched out on the bone when going through rigor mortise. Whereas if off the bone those tendons and muscles can shrink making the meat tougher.

 

[vanish]

Tough has never been a word anyone has ever used to describe our deer/elk/pronghorn. We debone to get the animal out and process pretty much immediately. Maybe it makes a difference on tough, old animals? I have an itchy trigger finger.

 

[Becca]

We try to leave as much of our meat on the bone as possible, but not so much bc we are worried about toughness. It's just a lot easier to keep the meat clean when it stays on the bone. I find we end up trimming off most of the parts of our meat that crust over due to air exposure, and when you bone out the meat that surface area increases almost exponentially. So a lot more waste when you bone it in the field. Bone in quarters are also way easier to hang, and are more rigid to pack than the same weight of "jello" you get when you bone meat out. Coupled with the fact that it's harder to keep hairs, leaves and grass off game meat when you bone it in the field and it's a no brainer to leave the bones in whenever possible.

 

[bz_711]

My group has always boned out elk so nothing to compare it to. We do it primarily to reduce pack out weight...and since we truck camp we can usually have it in coolers in 6-10 hours.

Even our whitetails in the mid-west I hang in camp, debone, wrap and put in freezer in just a couple hours time...I've never believed in aging or drying out meat, the fresher the better or quicker to frozen in my opinion. I've never had anyone not finish their elk or deer I prepare for them - including my kids which is most important

Old animals are naturally tougher...but just have to know how to prepare and keep cuts nice and thin to make cutting/chewing easier.
Bone in or bone out...I think it has much more to do with getting it cooled quickly and how clean you keep it through the whole process.

 

[Poser]

If given a choice, I'd rather get the meat out of the field bone in if no other reason than because I can do a better butchering job on a work table at home than I can do in the field. Especially with an elk, it's a lot of work to take on at once and you invariably begin to cut corners. I also like to make stock from the bones, But, the reality of packing out a heavy animal through difficult terrain is often going require deboning. I did assist in killing a Coues deer in the backcountry last year and we packed it out bike in as its a small animal. I still have a whole leg in the freezer. To pack an elk out bone in, I'd need several people available or be pretty close to a vehicle.

 

[IdahoElk]

What are the benefits of keeping the bone in? The bones in Elk are not light,I couldn't imagine hiking all that weight out only to discard it when I got home.

 

[Ross]

I don't know how many elk I have packed with my family and mine but 90%have been with bone in. Simply the family way. I am boning more out as I get closer to 60. What I have found is it is easier as others stated to keep one big piece clean versus many smaller pieces of a quarter. You simply have to be more careful in keeping things clean when in the field. Trade off is being lighter in packing. Just have to take more time.have seen no difference in quality of meat and never had a bad elk if taken care of quickly and properly.

 

[Ross]

Boning front is easy but hind more difficult. There is good YouTube video on how to do the hind

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I generally bone out anymore. Haven't noticed any difference in tenderness between the two options.

 

[5MilesBack]

I grind most of mine so I don't worry too much about tenderness. Quite frankly, the only chewy elk meat I've ever had is meat that has been over-cooked. I'm usually by myself so it's easier to work with smaller pieces than quarters, and I can actually keep it all cleaner. The clean meat comes off the elk and straight into a bag. Unless the bag is dirty, the meat is clean. When I pack it out, I slide the meat bag into a white trash compactor bag and put it in the pack or lash it to the pack. Then it goes into a cooler with frozen milk jugs so no contamination there either. At home it gets a look over as I'm putting it into the grinder. But it doesn't go into the bag to start with unless it's clean........except for that large rear ham section that wobbled out of my hand and into the dirt and then rolled down the hill. That one went into a separate bag.

I also put the tenderloins and back strap and maybe some neck roast into a separate bag too.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

What are the benefits of keeping the bone in? The bones in Elk are not light,I couldn't imagine hiking all that weight out only to discard it when I got home.

Keep in mind when most of us are talking "bone in" we really only mean the ones in the legs, the rest of the carcass gets deboned. IIRC we're talking around 30lb of bone. Yes that is 30lb to carry but its all situational dependent. If its a mile or so pack out that extra weight (even if another trip) is still faster that taking the time to debone the legs fully/cleanly (at least it is for me). I have one solid mass of meat to deal with/keep clean and can clean it up and do a better job in the comfort of my home butchering it. If it was 10mi back I would certainly have an inclination to debone it.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Quite frankly, the only chewy elk meat I've ever had is meat that has been over-cooked.

Crock pot on low is the way to go when working with roasts, I did it on high once and it was way tougher.

 

[5MilesBack]

Crock pot on low is the way to go when working with roasts, I did it on high once and it was way tougher.

Crock pot or smoke it. Any of the tough meat has been over-cooked on the grill. But I even like my beef bloody.

 

[Buglebrush]

Boneless only here. I have done it both ways, but go solely bonelss/gutless now. Haven't noticed a toughness difference at all, but flavor is definitely better when using the boneless method. Maybe that is just because I hunt in September, but I believe rapid cooling is the number one thing in better tasting meat. Keep it cool and keep it clean. Boneless does both for me. I don't understand why some say it is dirtier? We bone ours straight onto a tarp of some sort and when it is cooled put it strait into a game bag. No dirt.

 

[dirtytough]

I've done it both ways. Never noticed a difference while eating. But I believe bone out is way easier and also sometimes cleaner. The hindquarters on mature bulls that I have weighed bone in were between 75-80 lbs. That is a lot to hold up one handed and not touch any hair while cutting it off. 5-10 lb chunks are way easier to handle. Also with the way game bags are made now days long and skinny I don't think it matters if it's bone in or not for packing. The meat isn't flopping around or anything like that. Its a lot tougher to get 2 quarters in a pack bone in then it is two game bags full of meat.

Anyway I would use whatever method works best for you.

Regards, Branden

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Yeah solo I'd be inclinded to debone the leg lying there. With a buddy around they can hold up the quarter to make the final cuts and keep it suspended for a game bag to slip on. Its all based on your situation.

 

[elkyinzer]

Bone in, I guess I just prefer to do it that way. I am very careful with my meat as soon as I take the shot to the point of it being stressful, it's the number one reason I hunt. To me it seems cleaner, or at least without surgical precision and sanitation anyway. I've only ever hunted within 5 miles of a road and typically on the lower end of that spectrum, if I had to pack one out really far I would probably try to cut the weight and debone.