How long to age/hang venison

[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..