Daughter shot a cull Friday night at dark. We looked for an hour with no luck but I was sure her shot was good. Found him Saturday morning before 9:00 AM. Temps got down to 37 overnight. I gutted him and all appeared ok. Dropped him off at the processor around 11:00 AM on Saturday. Received a call Sunday night from processor saying meet was spoiled. Was a good lung shot. I sure would have thought the meat would have been ok.

I sure would have thought so too.

I would have thought it to be ok, also. If you dropped it off Saturday morning but didn't get the call until Sunday night, think maybe they could have done something to cause it to spoil?

Did you mention to the processor when you dropped it off that it sat overnight when you couldn't find it?

Very doubtful ALL the meat was bad, unless the meat was mixed or sat in a cooler in ice water.

I have had axis hams sit for almost 36 hours in March and still good. Heck, in Africa, the have the meat hang in a 50 room for 3-4 days before they even think about eating it.

But remember, even if a small portion of the meat has begun to spoil, if it touches or comingles in a cooler, etc. with good meat - it will taint ALL the meat in just a few hours - even in 40 deg weather.

Spoilage can happen from things besides temps. If the intestines/bile was pierced, it will spoil the meat but quick - even if it freezing out.

Not much your going to do to convince me to eat a deer/hog that sat overnight with the guts etc. in it. In texas/south texas I probably wouldn't have gutted the deer. Have tried a few times on meat that sat out and even if it is safe to eat it will not keep like fresh meat that was cared for from the get go.

Processors are in the business of making money if it was ok they would have cranked it out and billed you.

I would take his word for it and shoot another one...

Last year I had a 3 pound pack of bacon that my MIL gave me, she said they weren't going to eat it. It was vacuum packed and frozen solid. I forgot it in the truck and it sat till 6 am the next morning, it was in the 60's that night. I brought it in and put it in the fridge. That night I cooked a good bit of it and it was ok but it was obvious in taste and smell that the meat was at the very least tainted. I froze it and tried to use some of it again but the spoilage had just gotten worse and tossed it.

bacon is pseudo preserved and it was sealed and frozen and it still went bad. Highly doubt a deer with guts in is still good. There is a difference between edible and wont kill you and good.

Had a buck that sat over night in the 60s. Found him and took it in and they said the meat was fine...no way I'd feed that to my family so I told them to donate that deer!

This is slightly off topic, but it seems that every single deer hunting show that I have watch in the last two months where they are using bows, always "back out" until tomorrow once they arrow a deer. I have thought, is that meat going to be any good. Of course they always say, it was cold last night so the meat is still good. But ???????

He did you a favor. Could have packaged that meat for you and taken your payment. Your daughter would never eat venison again after her first dinner.

Sound advice.

Always better to be safe than sorry. Hate to hear the meat was bad, but like stated before, they make their money processing the deer and if he told you it was bad I've no doubt it was good advice. However, look on the bright side. Now your daughter can hammer another deer and hopefully everything will work out. But now she gets to hunt even more than before. Good luck, and enjoy the experience with your daughter.

I left a deer overnight once with a low of around 30. I regretted gutting it and should have used the gutless method instead since the tenderloins and anything touching guts were no good. However, the backstraps and hams produced some of the most tender venison I've ever had, and this was from a mature buck. Obviously there are a ton of variables here, and I was definitely worried the meat would be no good, but in most cases, it's probably worth investigating before throwing away.

I trust the processor and have no doubt it was bad. He said there was green slime present when they cut into it. I told them to hold my deposit and use it for the next one.

green slime in less than 24 hours? are you sure you found the right deer?

Some potential gut disruption.