How long can elk hang -

[CP]

How long can elk hang outside in this weather?  50 degrees last night, predicted to be 70 today.

[NW-GSP]

I would say not very long, anything above fifty degrees is a breeding zone for bacteria.
If you can get dry ice put it in the bottom of a cooler put a towel on top of it and then the meat on top of that.

Your meat will not get water logged like it would if you used ice.

[JLS]

Actually, anything over 40 degrees allows bacterial growth.  You can "quick age" meat for three days at 60 degrees.  If you have no way of refrigerating/cooling it consistently I would butcher within 48-72 hours.

[Goldeneye]

Elk can be cut up rather fast if needed.  It does not have to hang that long at all.  It is too warm to hang it at room temp now.  Putting a fan on it will cool it some.  Icing it down without getting it wet is better.  Once cooled, cut it up.  If you do not plan on doing your own cutting, definitely get it to a processor ASAP.

[Kowsrule30]

With those temps not very long.... Cut it up now or take it in now... 

[wapiti hunter2]

Process NOW!  Do not hang a moment longer unless you can keep the meat below 40.

[Dan-o]

Process NOW!  Do not hang a moment longer unless you can keep the meat below 40.

 

[buck man]

Process NOW!  Do not hang a moment longer unless you can keep the meat below 40.

 

 

[jess]

I cut my meat as soon as the body temp leaves the meat.. I never hang! I dont like eating half rotten food!

[Kioti]

Whats the point of hanging, other then letting it glaze up and possibly cool down.  Cut that sucka up, now especially with they way the ambient temperature is now.
Elks a tender side of meat anyways, no point in hanging it to make it more tender. 

[ghosthunter]

Any elk we kill next week will be to the butcher hour after it hits the truck. We dont hang them at all early muzzy. let the butcher hang it in the cooler.
A lot of guys wait too long than try to rush it to the butcher. And the butcher turns them away because its bad already.

[ridgefire]

My bull hung for almost a week this year with the temp nearing 80° and I did not lose an ounce of meat. The weather was getting down into the thirtys at night though.

[Chesapeake]

All elk hunters should read this:

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf


What different folks consider as rot loss/ sour varies.

[dvolmer]

All elk hunters should read this:

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf


What different folks consider as rot loss/ sour varies.

That was a great article and very helpfull.  My hunting partners grandpa was a meat cutter in Waitsburg for years.  He always told me that cow hang for 21 days, elk hang for 7 days, and deer don't need to be hung at all.  Your article confirmed that for the elk at 7 days.

when we get elk we usuall bone it all out right on the spot to pack it out easier and than put in old pillow cases and hang in a tree if we are still hunting.  We try to get it home as soon as possible and pretty much process it that day.  I wonder what the best thing to do if you have meat that is boned out  and how to age it if it needs it at all?

[Chesapeake]

This comment is in the study:

Many locker-plant operators object
to aging elk because they are not chilled rapidly and
have high bacterial contamination which results in
spoiled meat.

For me, with meat boned in the field, I dont age at all. Mostly due to the fact that boning opens the meat up to a much greater surface area. There is much more surface that is opened up to bacteria and then closed back up due to folds ect... so that it maintains a moist dark environment good for bacteria growth. Boned meat spoils much faster than rounds or halves in my experience.

My family has a walk in cooler to hang our meat in.