Do you age your meat?

[runamuk]

Wow, that's a process they do at the Broken Arrow Ranch, but it makes a lot of sense. 

yes,they put their heart into it dont they...we hung all pork for 3 days where I worked,let it dry a little ..much better to work with...

honestly i think if you were to treat bear similar to pork both being technically omnivores and deer like sheep we hung our sheep 5-7 days or well the shop we used did our lamb and mutton tasted more like steak and didn't stink it was really good and our shop raised bison and were all set up for organic processing.  All I know is all the deer I have ever had tasted like gamey nastiness did not matter if it was western WA eastern WA or Idaho ...all the elk I have had was good no idea why the difference....

[buckhorn2]

We have a garage very much like the one Grundy is using and we hose them out good and dry them and we put a couple fans about 10 feet from the animals to help air circulation. If you put the fans to close it with make the meat dark I think from dehydration. We let them hang about 5 days. We feel the same as Rasbo it needs to hang.

[rasbo]

mine hang in my garage here.of course the temps have to be right,but during most seasons,except early archery they are fine here,again I hang mine till they mold at the pelvic.I also put a fan pointed at the meat.heck eds bear was here from sat till monday evening then to MTView meats where it will hang a few more days..
 runamuck deer are more gamie,the fat sickens me.but I do know a guy that likes it YUK...I never run a saw through bone,then through the meat, YUK, on deer there also.Ive eaten many Idaho muledeer and never had a gamie deer.Aging and not running the saw through the meat works..I bone my deer now. and go from there..

[bobcat]

I can't tell the difference between elk and deer. It's always good.

[billythekidrock]

I never hang bear more than overnight. Let it cool and cut it up.

[grundy53]

mine hang in my garage here.of course the temps have to be right,but during most seasons,except early archery they are fine here,again I hang mine till they mold at the pelvic.I also put a fan pointed at the meat.heck eds bear was here from sat till monday evening then to MTView meats where it will hang a few more days..
 runamuck deer are more gamie,the fat sickens me.but I do know a guy that likes it YUK...I never run a saw through bone,then through the meat, YUK, on deer there also.Ive eaten many Idaho muledeer and never had a gamie deer.Aging and not running the saw through the meat works..I bone my deer now. and go from there..

so true. we never cut through bone when we are butchering. also i think deer are gamier because they eat mainly browse where as elk eat more grass. we also cut off all fat and don't leave any muscle lining. and clean clean clean the most impotent part is CLEANLINESS.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

clean clean clean the most impotent part is CLEANLINESS

I don't know about ageing...I guess it gets done 
For the past 20 years hunting the Manastash, we get it clean, cooled, and down to Owens in CleElum,  ASAP !
After season is over, we pick it up cut and wrapped.
I have gotten a deer or two on the west side during late season , and did the same thing, except different butcher.
I tried cutting up a few myself, but didn't have the necessary equipment to grind up the burger, so still had to get that done.
I have been told that freezing does the same as hanging as far as tenderizing, and the "gamy" flavor comes from ageing (Mold on food= bacteria) and not getting the blood out. (as a restaurant cook, I have had top sirloin smell and taste gamy after sitting in its own blood in the refrigerator for a week) 
Also, what it has been eating has an effect, I like the taste of a Blacktail that has been eating Blackberries and apples more than a Mule Deer that has been eating sagebrush (a generalization, don't correct me)

[meathunter]

Can somebody tell me if game animals have the same enzymes as beef? I would think they don't. I think the enzymes are what tenderizes the meat, so i would at least hang wild game for a day or two, but not sure if it matters.   

[Curly]

I read somewhere that ageing of meat works best with animals that have lots of fat..........like beef.  I always end up with tastey deer and elk without ageing, so I'll stick with it. 

[robb92]

I will let my deer hang for a week unless the temps won't let me then I wrap the boned out meat in clear unscented garbage bags and place them in a big cool tipped at an angle to allow water to drain out and it will stay in there for a couple of days. If its below 40 in the basement then I will let it hang longer.

[bobcat]

Here is a thread from 24 Hour Campfire, and pay attention especially to the posts by "Mule Deer." He is John Barsness, outdoor writer. I believe anything he says about guns, shooting, reloading, and meat. Sounds like he believes in aging meat, especially older animals. I still won't do it myself, because I have no way of keeping the meat at a constant temperature. Although normally my animals usually end up hanging for a couple days before I get a chance to cut them up...

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3545653/1

[bobcat]

Another one:


http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3273938/1

[elkrack]

i let my deer hang for eleven days in really cold weather and it didnt seem worth it because i lost the outer layer and it was still gammie. we cut up my buddies 6x6 bull where he landed and transported the meat home and packaged the meat the next day and that was the best bull elk ive tasted

[Smokepole]

I age my venison for about 10 days with the hide on.  I don't lose the outer layer of meat that way.  Never had a bad deer.  I like to age them to dehydrate the meat, and it seems to make it tender.  I bone them out, trim all fat, and throw the small pcs. and tendons into the burger bin. 

Gotta watch out for flies if you age them.  I keep mine wrapped up and tape a plastic bag over the mouth and nostrils.  Seen blowflies crawl in and out of the nostrils before.

[bobcat]

Gotta watch out for flies if you age them.  I keep mine wrapped up and tape a plastic bag over the mouth and nostrils.  Seen blowflies crawl in and out of the nostrils before.

   When I hang my animals I cut the heads off, so there are no nostrils for flies to crawl in. Just curious why do you leave the head on?