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Do you pepper your wild game? Meaning, after you skin it, do you cover the animal in pepper?
I've seen this done before, and my best guess would be to help keep pests away from the meat. I have never did this before and was wondering if this actually works? I find it rather strange myself..
While I have read of it still being done in warmer climes than here up noth, I can't see any way that it would either prevent spoilage by bacterial/fungal infection or keep flies or other insects away. About the only thing I can think of is that the strong and (to me) unpleasant flavor of too much black pepper might help to disguise the off flavor of meat that had begun to spoil. I have also heard of a similar and (again, to me) more palatable but equally questionable practice of using hot red cayenne pepper. In general, the strongest spiced foods traditionally come from areas with very hot climates where meat spoils very quickly. Before refrigeration, there were few alternatives that actually worked: drying, salting(corning), pickling, smoking, canning, all of which had differing degrees of effectiveness that were improved upon over time, especially as increased understanding of the principals of chemistry, physics, and biology yielded modern chemical preservatives and irradiation techniques. In terms of what actually might work, layers of cheesecloth and canning salt seems the most practical alternative to temporarily retard the spoilage process, absent a suitable way to chill it.
First time I've ever heard of Peppering meat ! I live & hunt in a very hot enviroment .I normaly just hang my kill (if it's for the family in a Muslin (or cheese cloth bag) in the shade until I can get it home to the chiller! When working I generaly work at night & the Profits go into the Chiller when I either am finnished for the night or I have a full rack on board ! I had to do a Game meat preperation course several years ago to maintain my Roo shooting permit when it was deemed that Roo meat could be sold for human consumption & the main thing was that the animal be Bled as soon as possible & be free of any Brusing & dirt ect (something we'd been doing for years) Hanging the meat in the shade alows it to begin to set & cool .But it must be covered esp in ourconditions due to Flys !
Dave