Aging Deer

[MC37493]

Thanks for the input everyone. i have a old refrigerator i think i will do one quarter right away and put the others in the fridge and see how big of a difference it makes

[Camo Queen]

I was told by a wild game butcher, that wild game does not contain the same enzymes as beef and therefor "aging" it doesn't have the tenderizing effect that it does with beef...   
 
That being said, mine has always hung in camp for a day or two, or three while we're out filling our other tags... But as soon as we get it home we process it. My personal opinion... the sooner the better. Work too hard for it to take any chances with spoiling the meat

[BigTines]

Everything I read says to age venison 4-7 days at a constant cold temp between 34-40 degrees. This is pretty hard to do without access to a walk in cooler. My plan is to do it in the fridge this year but I have never done it before so it will be an experiment. I have heard its important to keep the meat dry and the blood off the meat to prevent spoilage.

Anyone with any experience doing this feel free to chime in!

[Skyvalhunter]

You ask 10 guys you will get 10 different answers. Really it depends on the temperature. If you cut the fat off and it is in a cool shed I usually hang mine a couple days.

[grundy53]

Temperature permitting we hang our deer and elk 3-5 days. If it's bellow freezing (late November  Idaho hunt) we will hang them until the day before we leave. Up to 8 days.

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[Bigshooter]

I have killed a few small deer that never got cut and wrapped.  I just cut and ate over a week or two while they were hanging the whole time.  And when you have done it this way a time or two you will get to experience the difference in letting meat age and not age.  And there is a difference.

[jagermiester]

I hang mine until you can see the muscle groups start to separate. It makes butchering much easier and hopefully enhances the flavor.

[KopperBuck]

I hung the last whitetail I killed over 3 weeks. It was excellent eating, even for an older rutting buck. As long as it's cool I'll hang as long as I can.

I hang ducks too, although I don't know if that makes a difference, just how I was raised.

[jagermiester]

I was in Canada fishing and they had an Ice House off the ice house they had a screened in area and they had us hang all the trout we caught in there for a day before you would process or smoke. It really firmed the meat up and to my surprise it was not fishy.

[bowhunterforever]

I was in Canada fishing and they had an Ice House off the ice house they had a screened in area and they had us hang all the trout we caught in there for a day before you would process or smoke. It really firmed the meat up and to my surprise it was not fishy.

I use a fridge to cool my walleye and bass over night, meats more firm and easyier to clean

[mackdaddy]

We have always aged our deer as long as possible, usually a week to 10 days if we do not have access to a walk in and temps. allow.  Venison and beef have an enzyme that breaks down tissue making the meat more tender. Lamb and and pork lack this enzyme so once the animal is cool cut it up and freeze. I have been to a growing number of popular high end restaurants  that to dry aging, under de-humidified and control conditions, steaks, usually New York Strips , that are aged up to 60 days. I have done up to 21 days with a Coctco  N.Y. strip with awesome results. For venison and beef, aging is good.