Getting the blood out of the ground up deer meat

Im trying to get as much blood out of the deer meat as I can so I can vacuum seal it without issue. I tried squeezing it with cheese cloth last night but it kept shooting through. If I dont get a bunch of blood out, the sealer wont get a good seal. Just trying to see if others have this issue of pressing out the blood. Im sure most just take their deer to the processor and not worry about it.

Thoughts?

Wrap it in sedan wrap super tight - get all air out and then vac seal.

I know hunters who soak their deer meat in very cold salt water to draw blood out. Not sure of how much salt, just keep adding ice to the cooler. The let it soak for 24 hours or more.

The blood doesn't effect the bags sealing on any of my vacuum sealers. Bits of meat do, but not blood. Are you actually having this problem or are you just worried that you will?

Never a problem for us, on our Foodsaver brand sealer. We just roll the top of the bag over to keep it clean and dry, when we pack it, then close it up with as much air out as possible. When the crimp is clamped down, it seals fine

If I think it is going to be an issue with the first seal, I just seal it again a second time.

I am having the issue with my cabelas vacuum sealer. I just squeeze the crap out of it to get as much as possible out. It doesnt do it every time but its just a hassle having to squeeze the blood out or I know it wont get a seal. Just more of a hassle than anything else.

I also let mine sit in ice water for a few days to let the blood get out.

Never had blood affect the seal when doing this. I do let my quartered meat sit on racks in a refrigerator for a week or more before grinding.

Sounds like it might just be my sealer. Dang thing wasnt cheap....

Put the bag with the meat in it into the freezer for 20-30 minutes and then seal it. It will minimize the moisture/blood circulating when sealing the bag. Works great when sealing bags of fish fillets as well.

-Z

Interesting. I have had issues with bags not sealing in the past when I used cheapo bags, even sometimes 1 out of every 8 or 10 Food Saver bags wouldn't hold a seal. Nothing wet or dirty, just would hold a seal. I don't like rework, so got a little aggravating. I started buying the more expensive/heavier duty Weston bags and it fixed that problem.

What I was going to suggest also. Every sealer is unique, and as little as a 10 degree variation in temperature may be critical for your selected bags. The Weston is definitely top shelf, but we have good luck with Food Saver brand also. The Cabelas brand pre-made bags seem tougher, but are harder to seal if your machine doesn't get pretty hot.

When I shoot a deer I cut its throat and let it bleed out. I hang it when I gut it. Never had any problem with blood in the meat.

Fold a paper towel inside the bag will catch all the blood then just seal.

This is what I do as well. Cut the bags an inch longer than you think you need to and seal it twice. Works well.

Separate into 1-2 lb then freeze, then seal o meal.

Forgot to add I've never had this issue where ground meat was sloppy wet. We do a 70% elk/deer and 30% pork shoulder.
When transporting meat it is always on dry ice and NEVER in standing water. If dry ice is not available we leave ice in the bags and have meat elevated off of bottom of cooler and drain often.

Works

I've found that the colder (but not rock solid frozen) I keep everything when I do my grinding for burger or sausage, the easier it is to work with and vacuum seal. The grinder components (hopper, bowl, blade, etc) all go in the freezer the night before, and the bowl I catch everything in is metal, suspended in a bigger bowl of ice, water, and salt. I also ensure that the meat trimmings are patted dry and quite cold (set in a freezer for 30ish minutes) before grinding. If necessary, the grind will then go into the freezer for about a half hour before vac sealing. I've found that keeping the meat patted down dry before grinding and cold throughout the process keeps it from building up too much "juice" at the bottom of the bowl.

For burger, I then weigh out 1 pound servings from the metal bowl (suspended in a bigger bowl of ice water/salt) and vacuum seal into thin slabs about an inch thick. Using this method, I've found that I have very little juice dripping out of the vacuum seal bag when I thaw and cut open (maybe about a TBSP or 2 that I drain into the sink). It also thaws out in very little time for weekday meals. It pretty much takes me a whole day to do two TX whitetails from field dressed to cleanly wrapped in the freezer. If it makes a difference, I do my burger 100% lean, but I don't really do hamburger patties as much as I add it to beans/spaghetti/etc. that I start off with bacon grease or lard anyway.

As far as bleeding deer or soaking in saltwater, I personally do neither. I always kinda figured that shooting a deer in the vitals did enough of the bleeding for me and is drained when you open the diaphragm/sternum. Could be wrong on this, maybe some of you older guys could help me out.

Soaking in saltwater though is something I don't care for. I've tried it, and ended up with oddly colored, oxidized meat. I do my best to avoid moisture on meat at all during processing, except for maybe a quick spraydown inside with a hose after field dressing.

Hope this helps.

Cut the bags a little long and fold the top back about 2". Kinda like we use to do the cuffs on our jeans if they were too long. After the meat is in the bag, clean hands, fold back and seal.

When I am vacuum sealing ground, I make it into a large ball, put it at the bottom of the bag, seal and then flatten it for freezing. By doing it that way the blood is never and issue, it stacks beautiful and that’s quickly.

Are you talking about blood, or red colored water? Could there be water on the meat when you put it into the grinder? There will always be some moisture. I put all my trimmings into large bowls, most of the water drains to the bottom. If it seems excessive after I put burger, or anything else, into a vacuum bag, I wipe out the excess with a paper towel.

Leave a little room on the sides.

The only way I know to get most of the blood out of fresh deer meat is to leave it in an ice chest a few days. Even then, you will not get most of the blood out of it, especially from the quarters.

My suggestion would be to upgrade your vacuum sealer when you can. We did this a few years back and it makes all the difference.
Mine will even seal liquids like soups and BBQ sauces. Also, the money you save on bags will off-set the cost of a good machine in a hurry if you use it a lot like we do.
1,000 bags cost under $100