Shot a turkey Sunday night at 7pm. I wasnt thinking and also wanted to show my young daughters the bird when they got up the next morning so ended up letting the bird sit overnight. It was about 50 degrees when I harvested the bird and got down to about 30 that night. Cleaned the bird about 12 hours after harvest. It still smells fine to me but was curious to see what others thought and how many people would still eat it as I am going to. I absolutely hate wasting meat and it makes me upset that I ran the risk of completely spoiling the bird.

You can pull the guts and even breast them out for pics.
With that said, it should be fine.

I dont think you will have any problem at all processing that bird for tablefare.
If it was gutshot at all just trim the gutshot meat off with a knife.Might have to trim a bit more than if you cleaned it right away but still no problem.

I gut them and fill the cavity with ice if I can’t clean it for whatever reason.

Yeah I thought about doing that after the fact too and will definitely be doing that in the future

Folks used to dry age poultry. Pull out the guts with a hook and age them for a day or two.

Yeah i have seen that too but this bird was fully intact. Didnt gut it for the overnight

Toss it . Why risk it. Other than the breast too stringy. Be different if you were starving. You want turkeys to eat go to Kroger.

As long as you cook the turkey thoroughly, you'll have no issues. In the last 50 years, people in the US have forgotten how our ancestors processed and kept meat for the entirety of our specie's previous existence.

Keith

My neighbor was big time duck hunter. he would open the duck just eggnog to get most of the guts out. Then he would put the duck In nylon stocking and hang In on the clothes line. When it had turned green around the opening he would cook those ducks.

I've heard that they used to put a nail through a ducks head and tack the exterior, shady side of an out-building. When the body decayed enough to fall away from the head, it was ready to eat.
I think your turkey is just fine; maybe even better.

At the temperatures you stated the bird should be fine, I'd eat it.



This is the best thing to do if you're not going to clean it soon after killing it. Get the guts out and get it cooling down. It doesn't take long to gut a turkey.

I usually do this when I get a nice longbeard early and want to show it off to my hunting buddies who are still out chasing them. I'll gut it and hang it under the porch roof at camp until they get back.

Probably fine, but I would probably turn all of it into jerky for the dogs. Wouldn't want to risk anything.

Why would you eggnog the guts out of a duck? Is that a some weird Wisconsin thing?

My dog just chomped on a possum that probably died in December and washed it down with a cat turd and some 4 day old rainwater out of a portable firepit. Shes doing awesome. Us humans should be able to withstand meat separated from some guts by a ribcage and cartilage in temps rivaling a fridge for a night.

Lab or beagle? I've had both. LOL

The spice trade with the middle east came about because folks wouldn't waste meat that got a little "Gamey". Rub it good with some spices and cook it for the table.

Should be fine

Turkeys are gassy and you will smell a bit of the guts if left in more then a couple hours, however the meat will still be good to eat. I would eat it.

It should be fine. In the future get the guts out right where you shot it and like he said Ice it inside. But it should still be fine.

Along those lines… last time I hunted in northern England every butcher shop had bunches of whole ducks hanging out front of their stores. They told me they would hang them a week. Temps were pretty much what the OP described. Your turkey will be fine.
The pheasants and other birds we shot were hung as well, I never ate anything fresh shot over there.

Osky

We eggnog all the critters we get up here. Thought everyone did that.

If it smells fine , it is fine. Any place in the states that got down to 30 last night, you know as soon as the sun set it got cold. I have waited a day or two before cleaning waterfowl, but outside temps barely got above freezing during the day. Still I'm sure you're fine. Turkey should be cooked fully anyway. If it had been gut shot, things would probably have been different.

Your turkey will be fine. I always put mine in the garage fridge, for 3-4 days before cleaning. Whole bird, guts in tact. They clean easier firm like that in my opinion. Been doing this for a long time no issues.

eat it , guy that live where I grew up, would ask for fish ducks, that we shot only fish ducks, and he would let them hand for days with guts in them, he lived to be really old!

I'll gladly give up a few years to not have to eat another fish duck in my life. I know the rule, eat what you kill, but we all make mistakes.