do you let the deer hang out after gutting and before skinning?

[birddogdad]

yep, HIDE OFF!! hang if temps under 40F as long as you can.. longer the better.. when you can smell under the front arm pits that its starting to stink , you are close or there... the longer you can age the better... google dry aging of beef.. but don't leave that hide on...

if you are at camp will have to watch for temp swings, too hot is no good! those game bags work great to keep bugs off and cover with tarp under shade of a tree...

if you can get it home and hang longer even better.. my last elk was 15 days in my garage fridge, after hanging at camp 4+ days.. the more you read upon this topic you will find that after 10 days the process really improves meat taste.. the longer the better. High end dry aging of beef is 21-30 days.. BELOW 40F/ABOVE freezing is key.. when you think its starting to smell your game is getting better... don't be afraid of the smell..... keep flys off..

[Bullkllr]

yep, HIDE OFF!! hang if temps under 40F as long as you can.. longer the better.. when you can smell under the front arm pits that its starting to stink , you are close or there... the longer you can age the better... google dry aging of beef.. but don't leave that hide on...

if you are at camp will have to watch for temp swings, too hot is no good! those game bags work great to keep bugs off and cover with tarp under shade of a tree...

if you can get it home and hang longer even better.. my last elk was 15 days in my garage fridge, after hanging at camp 4+ days.. the more you read upon this topic you will find that after 10 days the process really improves meat taste.. the longer the better. High end dry aging of beef is 21-30 days.. BELOW 40F/ABOVE freezing is key.. when you think its starting to smell your game is getting better... don't be afraid of the smell..... keep flys off..

Good to keep in mind that the 21-30 days for aging beef is done by professionals under highly controlled optimal temp/humidity/air circulation conditions.

I'd hate to see someone try to "age" their game and then end up losing it. That's why a lot of people don't mess with the whole aging process, even if it can result in more tender and tastier steaks.

[police women of America]

Thanks guys! This has been really helpful!

[Old Man Yager]

I get it home, hang it skin it and break it down to fit in my garage fridge. I ttake all the shelves out, and let it cool in there before I cut it up. If it's cold enough in the garage, I will let it hang a few days, but usually it's not cold enough, so he goes into the fridge.

[zike]

What I'm surprised at is watching the Moose hunt on North Wood law. All the moose at the check station were whole with the hide on. Moose have to be harder to cool then elk and how did they get them out of the woods whole?

Of course if your in the woods in PA during deer season all the deer hanging have the hide on.

[RadSav]

For best results...make friends with Jrebel  
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,159482.0.html

[WSU]

It's all temperature related.

Most of the time the hide should come off right away.

If it's cold enough, and I wanted or needed to hang the deer for a while, I might very well leave the hide on. I have done this on occasion, and it really cuts down on drying and needing to trim dried meat edges.

   I've hung deer for a week with hide on in cold temps where I wanted the meat to age while keeping it from freezing.  We always skin elk immediately because they have a reputation for spoiling quicker than other big game.  Yes, it is easier to skin while warm but deer aren't hard to skin when cold unless they are frozen.  Weather, temp, closeness to home, transport and processing options are all factors in deciding whether to skin immediately.  Leaving the hide on can help keep meat clean.  We have stuffed the inside body cavity full of snow, wiped it out to clean out the inside, then filled it again.  If transporting, it will leak badly if the snow is left in, no problem in the back of a pick-up but maybe a problem inside a vehicle. 

In warm temps, skin immediately, and I cut off or wing out the front shoulders to speed cooling in the thick base of neck shoulder region that stays warm the longest. 

My problem for the past few years hunting a late season is having the deer carcass freeze like concrete overnight, hide on or off.  We are boning out immediately in severe cold simply for ease of handling.  Boning out or skinning etc. a frozen carcass is the pits.

This is the right answer in my opinion.  I left the hide on a buck I shot for a week while it hung.  It was cold out (freezing) and I had no issue with any meat going bad.  In fact, I got more meat because nothing dried out and had to be trimmed.  I was skeptical too until I tried it for myself.

[bowtechian]

Do you know if some game processors will hang your meat for you? Until your ready to travel home if fr outta town or trying to fill another tag

[RadSav]

Do you know if some game processors will hang your meat for you? Until your ready to travel home if fr outta town or trying to fill another tag

Used to be common practice for butchers and country stores.  Not so much anymore.  But they can be found.  I hung deer in some back woods nowhere town by the Eagle Caps one year.  Place I found was a wild mushroom drying facility.  They welcomed the extra $$ and bought me enough time to put an elk in the truck before heading home.

When you are hunting down in Cougar I believe there is a place in Woodland , but things must be very clean and you better have absolutely everything in order paperwork wise when you show up.  Believe the place is "Premium Meats"  or "Premium Smokehouse"  something of that nature anyway.

[Tbob]

I don't even waste the time to gut my animals anymore. I'm all about the quick and clean ( less smelly too) gutless method. Google it and you will be way happier than gutting it.. You can still reach in (if you want) for heart, liver etc..

[Mossyhorn]

It's all temperature related.

Most of the time the hide should come off right away.

If it's cold enough, and I wanted or needed to hang the deer for a while, I might very well leave the hide on. I have done this on occasion, and it really cuts down on drying and needing to trim dried meat edges.

   I've hung deer for a week with hide on in cold temps where I wanted the meat to age while keeping it from freezing.  We always skin elk immediately because they have a reputation for spoiling quicker than other big game.  Yes, it is easier to skin while warm but deer aren't hard to skin when cold unless they are frozen.  Weather, temp, closeness to home, transport and processing options are all factors in deciding whether to skin immediately.  Leaving the hide on can help keep meat clean.  We have stuffed the inside body cavity full of snow, wiped it out to clean out the inside, then filled it again.  If transporting, it will leak badly if the snow is left in, no problem in the back of a pick-up but maybe a problem inside a vehicle. 

In warm temps, skin immediately, and I cut off or wing out the front shoulders to speed cooling in the thick base of neck shoulder region that stays warm the longest. 

My problem for the past few years hunting a late season is having the deer carcass freeze like concrete overnight, hide on or off.  We are boning out immediately in severe cold simply for ease of handling.  Boning out or skinning etc. a frozen carcass is the pits.

This is the right answer in my opinion.  I left the hide on a buck I shot for a week while it hung.  It was cold out (freezing) and I had no issue with any meat going bad.  In fact, I got more meat because nothing dried out and had to be trimmed.  I was skeptical too until I tried it for myself.

You know that's all fine and dandy if you get it opened all the way up, propped open, hung and cooled down ASAP. But leaving a hide on is a gamble even in cold temps. I've killed caribou in November when temps were below zero. I couldn't believe how hot the meat was when I finally got to it and got the hide off.

I think for a rookie, leaving the hide on in any situation could be a recipe for spoiled meat.

[cryder]

In the early season line up a cool place to take it , that's first thing I do before the season even starts, then its place your arrow , gut it, skin it , take it to the cooler,,,,,GET TO THE CHOPPAH !!!!

[pianoman9701]

Do you know if some game processors will hang your meat for you? Until your ready to travel home if fr outta town or trying to fill another tag

I've asked and have received the same response: "we're too busy to hang meat for longer than it takes for us to get to it." Most will cut, wrap, and freeze as soon as they can. It doesn't help the tenderness at all to freeze it within a couple of days. Best to do it at home if you can and have the space to cold age it.

[WSU]

It's all temperature related.

Most of the time the hide should come off right away.

If it's cold enough, and I wanted or needed to hang the deer for a while, I might very well leave the hide on. I have done this on occasion, and it really cuts down on drying and needing to trim dried meat edges.

   I've hung deer for a week with hide on in cold temps where I wanted the meat to age while keeping it from freezing.  We always skin elk immediately because they have a reputation for spoiling quicker than other big game.  Yes, it is easier to skin while warm but deer aren't hard to skin when cold unless they are frozen.  Weather, temp, closeness to home, transport and processing options are all factors in deciding whether to skin immediately.  Leaving the hide on can help keep meat clean.  We have stuffed the inside body cavity full of snow, wiped it out to clean out the inside, then filled it again.  If transporting, it will leak badly if the snow is left in, no problem in the back of a pick-up but maybe a problem inside a vehicle. 

In warm temps, skin immediately, and I cut off or wing out the front shoulders to speed cooling in the thick base of neck shoulder region that stays warm the longest. 

My problem for the past few years hunting a late season is having the deer carcass freeze like concrete overnight, hide on or off.  We are boning out immediately in severe cold simply for ease of handling.  Boning out or skinning etc. a frozen carcass is the pits.

This is the right answer in my opinion.  I left the hide on a buck I shot for a week while it hung.  It was cold out (freezing) and I had no issue with any meat going bad.  In fact, I got more meat because nothing dried out and had to be trimmed.  I was skeptical too until I tried it for myself.

You know that's all fine and dandy if you get it opened all the way up, propped open, hung and cooled down ASAP. But leaving a hide on is a gamble even in cold temps. I've killed caribou in November when temps were below zero. I couldn't believe how hot the meat was when I finally got to it and got the hide off.

I think for a rookie, leaving the hide on in any situation could be a recipe for spoiled meat.

I should note that I've only done it once, it was very cold out, and it was a deer.  I wouldn't try it unless it was a deer, gutted quickly, and very cold out.  Maybe it would work in other situations but it's easy enough to skin your deer that it likely isn't worth the risk.

[sirmissalot]

While we were antelope hunting last year a buddy of mine had a whitetail tag and stuck a buck with his bow, when we got it back to my buddies shop everyone looked at us like we were crazy about skinning it before we put it in the cooler... we went ahead and left it on and its the best deer I've ever eaten. It also was no harder to skin after 4 days of hanging.

It was in a home made walk in cooler though... I generally skin as soon as I can even with good access to a walk in cooler.

We have had times in Montana where it was very cold and it was much easier to skin before the whole deer was frozen fricken solid and I'd much rather deal with frozen quarters when I get home than a whole entire deer thats as stiff as a wedding prick.