Is meat allowed out of New Zealand?

[Cool Cathy]

I brought back 50 pounds. We brought a styrafoam container wrapped in cardboard as a second checked bag on airline. We were told must be in clear sealed (vacuum packed) marked not for sale and you have to have a butchers receipt and your outfitters receipt. Customs didn't even open box, just checked paperwork. More concerned about clean boots. Our meat was hard frozen prior to packing we added layers of newspaper between to absorb any condensation. Made the 15 hour trek home still frozen.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Cool Cathy, welcome to AH! Good info!

 

[bruce moulds]

I have had rutting deer meat that tasted like rusty iron and could not eat it.
the dogs would not eat it either.
put it out in the paddock and the foxes would not eat it.
bruce.

 

[JPbowhunter]

I have had rutting deer meat that tasted like rusty iron and could not eat it.
the dogs would not eat it either.
put it out in the paddock and the foxes would not eat it.
bruce.

I have fed rutting stag meat to people who have said it's inedible without telling them and they never noticed. A lot of it is in how you care for meat. No judgement against you personally but in my experience most aussies have no idea how to properly care for meat.

 

[bruce moulds]

you could be right jp.
I do not confess to be good at doing deer meat.
I have now got it to the stage where I can cook it roasted and casseroled and I and other people like it.,
and it took a while to learn that.
I do not have access to a cold room, which might allow longer hanging.
I always bleed it asap.
and cut out its balls etc too.
the afore mentioned one was skinny from much rutting, and looked poor in body and coat.
as most of my deer shooting is for control, I tend to take women and children first, which makes the meat side of things easier.
any tips gratefully received.
bruce.

 

[curtism1234]

I think bleeding it is over rated

While there are certainly merits to hang it, the most important thing you can do is get it cold asap and keep it cold. I have seen literally a pile of deer 10 feet high at the processor before - no way would I do business with that practice. I have seen people hang deer for weeks and it gets 70 degrees during the day - no way

I'd rather get it quartered and in a cooler of ice within 3-4 hours than risk it spoiling. Imo, most of the "rutting taste" is either caused by the food they eat (which applies to any size of animal) or the meat is spoiled due to heat / improper storage.

If I hang it over night and the temp is above freezing, I put a bag of ice in the chest cavity and another bag between the legs.

 

[rookhawk]

I always read the comments "that food wasn't any good so we tossed it, left it, fed it to dogs, pissed on it, whatever" over and over again.

To my mind, based on my experiences, I conclude the following:

A.) The person has no idea how to prepare meat so there mishandling is being transferred to the quality of the animal.
B.) The person is an awful cook.
C.) The person is rationalizing, thus alleviating their ethical obligation to conserve and find utility by saying it is inedible.

In the past ten years, I cannot recall a time I prepared game, any game, and had the guests (or picky 6-8-10 year old kids) claim it wasn't equal or better in taste/texture/flavor/quality to fine french restaurant food regardless of what species was in question. In fact, even in Africa of the dozens of species I've tasted, the only one I can't recommend was male giraffe. (but again, it was prepared in the bush not in a proper kitchen so even that is suspect)

Take some cooking classes.

Be careful out there, we are ambassadors for hunting to the general public. The less utility we derive from our hunts, the more difficult winning over the public becomes.

 

[Tra3]

@bruce moulds i have had a deer or two that had a noticeably different flavor. (read: inferior). Usually older male deer. When discovered, the cuts from that animal get heavier seasonings: curry, stir fry (soy sauces) or even a dusting of cinnamon, cayenne and salt before grilling.

I agree with @rookhawk that today, when I cook venison of any sort, guests are surprised by how good it is. I judge their honesty by the volume of second helpings taken.

My first few years of cooking venison were not that way. I tended to over cook it. The absence of fat makes it easy to ruin. There should be another thread about venison/wild game recipes.

I plan to hunt in New Zealand in 2021, so I am really glad to see that the meat can come home.