Deer down!!! have some meat hanging questions

[ghosthunter]

My grandad had a butchershop/slaughterhouse, he never hung game meat,when I asked why he explained that the reason you hang meat is so the marbled fat weakens and flavors/tenderizes,Game meat tallow is nasty and also does not have marbleing which is why he never hung anything,it hung in the tree to cool off enough to cut and then was cut/wrapped/thrown in the cabin freezer.He was a second generation butcher,my uncles the third generation do not hang theirs either,but their meat all gets turned into sausages of summer or pepperoni because.............. thier wives won't cook deer steaks.As grandpa told me........... you don't want tough meat,drop em in their tracks dead,you want tough meat wing em three or four times and get the adrenaline running through them.And has been mentioned above, the refrigerator with a closet rod acrossed it is an excellent way to cool em off and hold em until you can deal with em,my buddy shot a deer a few years ago and had it hung in his shop on the opener,I saw tons of flys on it(in game bags but..) I helped him quarter and the whole buck fit in the fridge hanging from a 1 inch pipe,Took a little finagaling but it worked SUPER!

I just had a butcher tell me that this weekend. Deer and Elk are not beef. You gain nothing but time letting them hang.

[wildweeds]

I've shot some antique reverters with all white faces,velvet morphidite horns in  late october/early november(this dates me as the season hasn't run into november for at least 25 years) and dumped em over dead in their tracks and they were tender as all git out, I've also done the shoot out at the ok corrall thing  on some young bucks and had the entire thing be like eating retreaded tires. I think grandpa knew what he was talking about.The mountain goat I shot was not fit to eat or feed to sled dogs,And it was a shootout.I ate it and tried every way under the sun to cook it,the best way turned out to be crockpot and long.

[Bob33]

I know hunters that age their game, and hunters that do not. Aging game may help some, but not as much as beef. I don't age my game and know many butchers that don't, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't if you want do.

If you wish to do so, follow these guidelines:

1. The temperature must remain above freezing and should not go over 40 degrees.
2. Do not butcher in the first 24 hours. Rigor mortis needs to finish. In the first 24 hours, meat actually gets less tender. Read this for more info: http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2006/01/deer-hang-time
3. Keep the meat clean, dry, and free of insects and bugs.

[Smossy]

Great work!

Thanks Smossy.  Great work on arrowing that grouse too! My first game kill ever was last year when I arrowed a grouse. Tasty little buggers. Enjoy it!

Everyone talks about how good they are to eat, cant wait to get him on the BBQ or something. Not sure how I want to prepare it yet I'm still waiting on that first deer.  Late archery maybe.

[steeliedrew]

It's hard to beat frying grouse up in a pan with some butter. keep at it man. From reading your posts over the last year or so I can tell you have drive. You'll get er done.

[Bean Counter]

Congrats on your first deer!       etc etc

Meat doesn't have to be be below 40  in daytime temps  100% of the time in order to make it. We've hung deer and elk, boned out and skinned, in breathable bags, day time temps in the low to mid 50s in the shade.  It was because nighttime temps dropped to the mid 30s that the meat got so cold that even though the daytime temps were officially in "the danger zone" that the meat didn't spoil.

Just remember all those qualifiers I put in there: shade, skinned, deboned, hung, breathable bags, mid 30s, mid 50s.

[steeliedrew]

Thanks everybody. The deer is on ice still in the coolers. I'll be butchering her today with a buddy. I'll post a story and some pics in a day or two.

[bullcanyon]

Guessing rigor mortis doesn't apply to wild game?  We hang our animals in the cooler for at least a week for deer and longer for Elk.  Imo they are more tender.  Never had an issue with flavor.
My wife shot a cow Elk on a late hunt a few years back.  It was negative 2 when we hung her in the barn. Never got a chance to age.  Just cooled down and was froze. That was the toughest meat we've ever had. I'll never not let meat age again if I have the choice.

[pianoman9701]

Refrigerators are magical things if you can get to one.  I bone out my deer and put the meat in there for about 7 days and then cut it into steaks, roasts and burger and then vacuum seal and freeze

The things which affect meat flavor and texture the most are the initial processing in the field, time to get it in the cooler, and aging. Proper field processing, which includes limiting meat exposure to feces, urine, and digestive tract, also includes exposure to heat and dirt/hair. Processing has perhaps the most effect on the final taste of the meat. Next is keeping the meat dry and getting into a cooler ASAP. Finally, if you want really tender meat, you must age it. Proper aging does NOT affect the "gaminess" of the meat. Gaminess comes from the original processing, exposure to excrement and body waste, natural forage, and the time it took to cool it down. What aging does do is breaks down the fibrous matter with enzymes and make your meat more tender. I've never had a deer that didn't taste excellent and all of them had very little gaminess. I age deer or elk 7-10 days, emphasizing that the butcher go as long as possible in that range. He'll end up trimming off a little more, but the end result is much better eating meat.

[Buzz2401]

I usually try and butcher within 2-3 days if it is cool enough for that.  I have hanged for much longer and have butchered right away never really seen any change in  hang time vs meat quality, seems to be alot of other factors. Such as how long it took animal to die and where the animal was feeding and what time of year it was.  The number one thing that has made my steaks 10x better is soaking them in water overnight to get as much blood as possible.  I refuse to eat any elk or deer steak that hasn't been soaked. 

[Igottanewknee]

Get an old fridge, make sure that it will maintain between 34 degrees and 38 degrees. Modify so you can put in 1/4 or 1/2 deer. Leave for 5 or 6 days. Cut steaks and roast, grind the rest. Tender, great tasting, never had a problem.

[pianoman9701]

I usually try and butcher within 2-3 days if it is cool enough for that.  I have hanged for much longer and have butchered right away never really seen any change in  hang time vs meat quality, seems to be alot of other factors. Such as how long it took animal to die and where the animal was feeding and what time of year it was.  The number one thing that has made my steaks 10x better is soaking them in water overnight to get as much blood as possible.  I refuse to eat any elk or deer steak that hasn't been soaked.

Not recommended. Water and meat are not friends.

[scout/sniper]

I usually try and butcher within 2-3 days if it is cool enough for that.  I have hanged for much longer and have butchered right away never really seen any change in  hang time vs meat quality, seems to be alot of other factors. Such as how long it took animal to die and where the animal was feeding and what time of year it was.  The number one thing that has made my steaks 10x better is soaking them in water overnight to get as much blood as possible.  I refuse to eat any elk or deer steak that hasn't been soaked.

Not recommended. Water and meat are not friends.

Agreed. I only use water on a soaked towel to wipe off hair and blood.

[christopheri]

I usually try and butcher within 2-3 days if it is cool enough for that.  I have hanged for much longer and have butchered right away never really seen any change in  hang time vs meat quality, seems to be alot of other factors. Such as how long it took animal to die and where the animal was feeding and what time of year it was.  The number one thing that has made my steaks 10x better is soaking them in water overnight to get as much blood as possible.  I refuse to eat any elk or deer steak that hasn't been soaked.

Not recommended. Water and meat are not friends.

 What happens? I have always washed my deer meat in water then pat dry. I have never had a problem.

[whtbuck]

Yep,we have been letting our Whitetail,Elk,Blacktail hang for as many days as the weather lets us.If to warm meatlocker,fridge or someplace cool...I second that post about the meat turning dark in color and the membrane on the outside...Gramma told the story of the mold as well.Congrats to you guys....Welcome to the Big Game Harvest......