Hanging Deer

[RockChuck]

How long do you guys hang your deer before butchering it? also how do you keep it cool enough? Thanks

[rawhide]

Depends on the weather.  If its cold (freezing at night) 2 to 3 days ill let him hang.  If its warm out you might as well cut right away or the next day.  Dam flys work quick laying eggs if its warm. Any ways that how i do it.  Meat is always good hanging or not.

[edmondshunter]

It was hot last year when we got a deer. We bought bags of ice and tucked them into the deer for the trip home.  We butchered the next day. I think the meat needs time to relax.  I hang um by the neck and tie legs back spread eagle

[GregU]

I cut the quaters and the loins off and stuff them into a large chest of ice for a few days, or butcher them that night and let them age in the ice chest for three days.

[BENCHLEG]

why don't you do it like they do it on tv. let them lay for 8-10 hours on the ground, then find the next day take several photos and then skin. it works on tv.

[Hot Lunch]

Anymore I pack a big cooler, quarter or bone him out and place it in the cooler with block ice. No way would I hang a deer in the 70+ degree heat of hunting season, the flys were horrible this year as well.

[Ripper]

My father-in-law was a wildlife biologist for the DNR, and he says the the reason people "age" deer is because they are too lazy to butcher them right away. There really is no benefit to delayed processing. However, as stated in previous post if the temp is cool to cold there is no harm in letting game "age" a few days. We're guilty of it ourselves. Good hunting to all.

[Missing]

I have to disagree, we let our deer hang in a cooler 7 to 9 days to let the meat age it makes it more tender and improves the taste. As some of you know Black Angus lets their beef age 28 days. If you keep it in the cooler at 36 to 40 deg it works fine, Elk we hang for 10 to 14 days.

[Axle]

Mine go in the freezer asap. Often it is the day I get them but only the roasts and steaks. The burger takes a bit longer to process.

There is really no advantage to aging a deer. Cabelas sells a meat tenderizer with blades that work extremely well. Aging will give more 'taste' to it that turns off many people. The 'gamy taste' is exaggerated even in the freezer over time. Hard to imagine but it does happen.

One way to help the burger is to cut the meat into cubes, put it into a big plastic tub with towels in the bottom to absorb all the blood and extra stuff that drains off the meat. This will really help the flavor of the meat because the meat itself is good but the blood has odor in it. Let it sit for a day, then grind it. If the meat didn't drain well when the animal was taken (which is most often the case in a rifle-killed deer), then let the ground meat sit another day (after being ground) with more absorbing towels in the bottom of the big plastic tub. You would be surprised at how well it will turn out!

[billythekidrock]

No reason to age wild game. Deer and elk go in the freezer within two or three days. Bears are usually in the freezer or on ice the first day and frozen within two days.

[halflife65]

I throw it out in the front yard for a couple of weeks.  I freeze whatever the dogs don't eat or roll in.

Sometimes it's a couple of days until I'm in a place to cut it up, but I'll usually try to get it cut up and frozen within 48 hours with whatever portion is going to the butcher either frozen or at the shop (grind for burger or sausage, the rest I cut myself.)

[PA BEN]

36 hr is all you need.

[rasbo]

aging deer and elk is great...saying not aging makes no difference is false..do it how you like.But aging makes it better if done right.the meat breaks down like beef.Best beef 20 days or more.I hang my deer till they mildew in the pelvic area usually 7 days or more there is a difference..Eat a steak off a beef that was just killed compared to an aged one..Butchers don't want your animal in there any longer than they have to.


Article by Field & Stream Online Editors. Uploaded on January 11, 2006
Photo by Field & Stream Online Editors
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[stumprat]

Beef have fat marbled in the meat. With venison all you gain by hanging is a chance of bacterial growth.

[rasbo]

Proper Care of Venison is Necessary for Excellent-Quality Meatby Mike Porter
ll venison is not equal. Venison can be consistently excellent table fare, or, with poor handling and preparation, can be about the quality of a boot sole. Many people who do not like to eat venison had bad experiences with improperly handled or prepared meat. Many factors affect the quality of venison, including deer species, deer age, stress prior to harvest, field dressing, contamination of meat, cold storage temperature, excessive moisture during storage, aging of carcass, butchering and packaging.


Venison that has been butchered
and packaged for different recipes.
   
To keep things simple, these comments focus on the meat of wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer and mule deer. Some of these details would be different for large deer species such as moose, elk and caribou or non-native deer such as fallow, axis and red deer.

Meat from mature bucks more than four years old that are harvested during rut sometimes can have a little off-flavor and be a little tougher than female deer and young bucks. Nevertheless, mature bucks are usually very edible when handled, aged and butchered properly. Genetics most likely impact tenderness of venison, because I have encountered some old does that were more tender than some young does. However, I do not know how a hunter can recognize a deer with the genetics for tenderness.

A clean, quick kill of an undisturbed deer probably provides the best-quality venison. Meat quality usually declines in animals that are stressed or run extensively immediately before death. A deer should be eviscerated (field dressed) immediately after death, but this can be postponed up to a couple hours during mild weather and even longer during cold weather. The combination of evisceration and the bullet or arrow wound usually adequately bleed a deer—there is no need to cut a dead deer’s throat. Also, contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to remove the metatarsal glands because they do not affect the meat after death. However, avoid rubbing the glands on the meat and avoid handling the glands and then handling the meat without washing well.

Soon after evisceration, the carcass or quartered meat should be cooled and stored at 34-38 degrees Fahrenheit. The carcass is easiest to skin soon postmortem, but skinning can be postponed for a few days as long as the carcass is quickly and thoroughly cooled. Tenderness is generally improved when the carcass or quartered meat is aged at least a week at 34 to 38 F with good air circulation around any exposed meat. Air circulation around exposed meat causes its surface to dry—the dry layer should be trimmed off during butchering. Tenderness continues to improve during the cold storage aging process until about 16 to 21 days. The meat that will be ground and the tenderloins do not need to be aged. Freezing should be avoided during the aging process because it inhibits aging and speeds spoilage after thawing. However, meat does not go bad when it freezes during the aging process. The meat should be kept clean and dry throughout field dressing, cold storage and aging processes. Soiling and excessive moisture increase the likelihood of spoilage.

After the aging process, fat, cartilage, bruised meat, dried outer meat and non-muscle material should be removed from the muscles using a sharp filet or boning knife while working on a clean, cool cutting surface. I believe fat is the most common source of off-flavor in venison. Several chemicals that cause off-flavor are stored in fat. Venison fat usually leaves an aftertaste or residue in the mouth and is less palatable than beef, pork or chicken fat. Cartilage, such as tendons, ligaments and fascia, are responsible for much of the toughness in meat.

For most of my venison recipes, I prefer to separate each muscle and cut slices or chunks across the grain of the muscle. The muscles from the tenderloins, back straps and hindquarters are the best choices for frying, grilling and roasting (these muscles are ranked in order of decreasing tenderness, but all are good quality). These muscles, as well as the neck, shoulder and flank muscles, can be used in other recipes such as stews, fajitas, chilies, smoked meats, sausages and hamburgers. Some recipes that work well with beef or pork may not work well with white-tailed or mule deer because these deer meats tend to be “dry,” lacking intramuscular marbling. Avoid undercooking and overcooking venison when frying, grilling, roasting, smoking or microwaving, because undercooked venison might provide a health risk, and overcooked venison becomes tough and dry.

Unless cooking the meat fresh, it should be quickly frozen after butchering. Meal-sized quantities of meat should be placed into plastic bags. Most of the air should be removed from the plastic bags before sealing. When the meat will be stored in the freezer for more than a few days, the plastic bags should be wrapped in freezer paper; the freezer paper should be sealed with tape; and the packages should be labeled appropriately. Meat prepared and stored in this manner maintains good quality for more than a year. Vacuum-sealed bags probably improve the storage process, and vacuum-sealed bags may not require a second layer of freezer paper.

If these comments cause you to treat your deer meat differently, you will probably enjoy your venison meals more.