How long to age/hang venison

[Salmo]

So how long  do you all prefer to hang/age venison?   I almost alway cut and wrapped on the 3rd day due to lack of access to a walking cooler.  Temps just never seem to cooperate..

Anyway, how long do you hang your venison?   

[JohnVH]

weve hung them up to a week, if its cold. My bear was in the cooler a week.

[pianoman9701]

1-2 weeks in a cooler. Less without, especially if it's warm. Aging assists and multiplies enzymes which break down fibers making the meat more tender. I do this with elk too. There's a lot trimmed off, but the results are excellent.

[Jingles]

I only hang them long enough to get them from the day they were shot til I can get them out of camp and home and depending on weather might be next day. Keep it hung in barn while I skin, bone and cut them up . Then the wife goes to work cutting all connective tissue off and wrapping. By the time we're done it is all as tender as backstrap and doesn't have any of the gamey taste

[jaymark6655]

Just long enough to butcher the thing.  Hanging too long makes the meat too mushy.

[runningboard]

3-5 days if you can keep it cold, heard something I wanna try, hang from ribcage & rope around flank in front of rear 1/4s no tension on muscles supposed to make it more tender. worth an experiment 

[Smokepole]

Ten days is a good time to hang them if the weather is cool.  You have to keep your eye on the carcass and smell it daily if the temps are over 40.  I like to age long as possible, since it dries the meat a bit and you don't get as much water oozing out into the fry pan.  Tenderizes it too.  I've also butchered them shortly after the kill, and the meat is fine, just not as good, IMO.

[adamR]

We only hang them as long as we have to.  Typically we take the animal home, skin it, and butcher it all one after the other.  I don't typically let it hang longer than nessasary.

[Huntbear]

5 - 7 days minimum...  longer if it is a big old nasty thick necked blacktail that has been rutting in the alder thickets...

     

[WSU]

Depends on temperature.  Here is a good read based in part on a study done by the University of Wyoming:

http://www.theoutdoorlodge.com/features/articles/wild_game/handling_big_game_carcasses.html

[Greenhorn]

Good article WSU!

[Jonathan_S]

I have never hanged deer for longer than two days at any temperature

[jaymark6655]

Depends on temperature.  Here is a good read based in part on a study done by the University of Wyoming:

http://www.theoutdoorlodge.com/features/articles/wild_game/handling_big_game_carcasses.html

  Everytime this comes up I post a study down by another university, CO I think, that says hanging/aging game meat is bad and makes it too tender.

[Russ McDonald]

Doe I shot in Minnesota this year.  Gutted, pictures, hung, skinned, butchered, wrapped all in about 5 hours.  Aunt buck she shot the first day I was there we gutted, pictures, hung, skinned and quartered threw quarters and backstrap in bags and put in chest freezer to firm up because it was actually hot in Minnesotat.  Butchered and wrapped the next morning.  Hunting as a kid in Minnesota I don't every remeber us leaving our deer hanging. 

[superdown]

The absolute minimum amount of time. I like my meat butchered as quickly as possible and off the bone even quicker so there is no possibility of anything effecting the quality or flavor of the meat.

[Hunterman]

Everything depends on the weather..Normally one week, but not less then 3 days..

Hunterman(Tony)

[Gringo31]

I used to let hang, now I burger most of my game as that's what I eat most.  I process same day anymore....

[Kioti]

I hang mine long enough to glaze up.  Then I  butcher it.  I dont see the sense in hanging deer to make it more tender, when the meat is already tender as it is.

[hardcorecarnivore]

Minimun of 24 for rigor to release and 4 or 5 days if cool enough.  Hide on if the temps are too low....freezing the 1st day will leave tough. 

[Salmo]

Minimun of 24 for rigor to release and 4 or 5 days if cool enough.  Hide on if the temps are too low....freezing the 1st day will leave tough.

Thinking I agree with this.

Carry on..

[CHUCK S]

All depends on the outside temp.  I've hung deer 3 days and up to 6 days.  I always hang with the skin on.  Once I butcher them I put all the meat in garbage bags for another 3-5 days and the meet bleeds out even more.  Then I cut and wrap removing all the tendons and fat.  Works pretty damn good for me and takes any game taste out of it.  I know, many guys do it differently and will say I'm wrong but I've done 13 deer in 5 years and each one came out great.......

P.S. Lotta freaking work though!

[DoubleJ]

Minimun of 24 for rigor to release and 4 or 5 days if cool enough.  Hide on if the temps are too low....freezing the 1st day will leave tough. 

Dead and "hung" 24-36 hrs so rigor lets go.  By "hung" I mean the body gets quartered and put in the fridge that I have with no shelves in it that's dedicated to deer carcases.  Then off the bone and into game bags.  Game bags go into the fridge at 36 degrees for 7-10 days.  Pull it out, cut, wrap, and freeze

[j_h_nimrod]

Depends on temp and how/where taken. If it is cold enough (40 or less) I will hang for 5-10 days if the carcass is clean and the humidity is low. If it 40 degrees plus, was a messy carcass, or the humidity is high I play it by nose or butcher as soon as possible after rigor release.

I have often questioned why and how long I hang and have come to the conclusion that it is mainly to relax/tenderize and drain blood/fluids. I have not really noticed a flavor change but have not done a comparison of aged/unaged meat off the same animal.

Much more important than this debate of aging/hanging is just general care after the kill. I have had some horrible meat (not my own) that can be traced back to just bad field care. Every time I hear about someone using a torch to singe the hair off their meat I want to gag.

[TommyH]

hey nimrod  :chuckle:what is your number on to high of humidity?         
 I was just checking on this topic last night(temprature) and was supprised I didnt get any results from hunt-wa. I did find some intresting info tho, one thing i didnt know, was about rinsing your hanging deer off with water  few replys said it does more harm than good.
We have always let our deer hang 2-7 days hide off, I have heard of lots of people leaving the hide on.

Hide on or off what do you all do?

[bullcanyon]

We cut up a 21 day old hind quarter last night. Yum. Walk in cooler though....

[Boss .300 winmag]

If the meat is wiggling its ready, extra protein added. 

[j_h_nimrod]

hey nimrod  :chuckle:what is your number on to high of humidity?         
 I was just checking on this topic last night(temprature) and was supprised I didnt get any results from hunt-wa. I did find some intresting info tho, one thing i didnt know, was about rinsing your hanging deer off with water  few replys said it does more harm than good.
We have always let our deer hang 2-7 days hide off, I have heard of lots of people leaving the hide on.

Hide on or off what do you all do?

I would say probably in the 80% or higher range for humidity, mainly I see if the outside develops a skin or not. If the outside stays damp or just shy of damp I cut her up quick, that is the perfect Petrie dish for some real nasties. I almost ruined a animal that way one time in only 2 days after the kill when the temp never got above 40 but it was raining hard keeping the humidity high in the hanging shop. This was SE Alaska where humidity less than 70 is rare and usually there was not a problem but this time it was a bit higher and almost catastrophic.

Always try to take the hair off as soon as I can get it hung or quartered. A lot easier to do when it is fresh and I rarely have to worry about it being too cold. If I am going to be moving it around where it might get dirty and is cold enough I may leave the hair on until I get it hung and ready to butcher.

I never rinse the outside but have scrubbed the cavity if real bloody or dirty.

[BowHunterZ7]

you should only hang a deer 3-7 days in a cooler after that the outside meat starts to age and u end up wasting more meat in the end, if u dont have a cooler a maximum of 2-3 days is what i prefer. Make sure u get all the game fat out and u will have a nice product

[robescc]

If it is cold enough, I will hang it overnight and cut it up the next day. If it is not cold enough, I quarter it and put it in an ice chest with frozen bottles of water. I cut it within 24 hours because I don't see why I should hang it longer and have to trim it and throw away any meat.

[whitey]

Until the legs slip off..
Or is that how the Chinesse used to do their pheasants.
Never mind, I dont know chit..

[NWBREW]

5-8 days but the weather usually looks like this.

[Bob33]

Minimun of 24 for rigor to release

I learned the hard way that cutting in the first 24 is not a good idea. It was the toughest meat I ever had from an elk.

Beyond 24 hours, I think it's mostly a matter of preference that doesn't make as much difference as other factors such as age of the game, how it was cared for, etc.

[Dansk]

Gutless method in the field immediately after kill, Kifaru meat baggie to pack out, then into a heavy fishbag in cooler with ice.

Tenderoin and backs are always tender... I can't tell the dif in taste between hanging or not... maybe just me, but I can't tell that much difference.  Infact, people (non hunters) think it tastes better- prob because you can get much more of the blood to drain if you cut it up sooner.   

[sneakyjake]

I hung my elk quarters Friday in the garage.   Skin off because I was alone when I shot it.  Most points can be argued from experience.  They all have their time and place.  With the temp in Lakewood fairly cool and the humidity ok, how long would you hang the hind quarters for?  I hung my mule quarters in oct for a few days and it got pretty dry.  I had to cut away a little bit of dry meat, but it fileted off like fish skin.  It was an older deer.  Sould I place cheesecloth/game bags over the quarters to keep them from getting too dry?  I haven't read anything on this.

[KopperBuck]

At least a week, have gone as long as 3-4 weeks. If I can't get the length I want, I'll age it a little longer in the fridge before eating.

[JLS]

Game bags and/or cheesecloth won't keep the outside of the meat from drying out.  The only time I use bags is to keep flies or bees off the meat.  Just skin away the dry layer like you did, helps to get rid of the muscle fascia so it's not a big deal.

Remember, life begins at 40!  If it's below 40 degrees you can hang meat a long time without worry.  If it's warmer than that be a little more cautious.  If it's a constant 60 degrees, you can hang meat for three days and then it needs to be in the freezer.