Free: Contests & Raffles.
Quote from: JLS on March 10, 2011, 08:49:53 AMQuote from: Jason on March 10, 2011, 08:34:46 AMI hang my deer for a day or two.Growing I was taught by my uncles to only hang deer for no more than 1-2 days. I asked them why they don't hang their Deer for longer periods of time like my friends dads? they told me that Deer get gamier the longer the meat is on the bones.Elk I hang for 3-7 days depending on outside temps.There is no biological process that supports this claim. Being on the bone does not contribute to gaminess nor does the length of time hung. "Off taste" in game meat typically comes from poor trimming of connective tissue/fat, or overcooking the mat.Hanging meat or "aging" it does not change the flavor of meat. It simply allows enzymatic breakdown of fibers that makes the meat more tender. I've hunge meat for as little as 12 hours and as much as 10 days. A young animal won't benefit a whole lot from increased hanging time, but an old one sure can.Dr. Ray Field did a lot of research on this at the University of Wyoming. Life begins at 40, and extended aging should take place at 40 degrees or less. You can "quick age" meat for up to three days at 60 degrees.JLS Everyone has their own theories, that is my family's theory and it has been thoroughly tested, so take it for whats it is and keep reading your books.
Quote from: Jason on March 10, 2011, 08:34:46 AMI hang my deer for a day or two.Growing I was taught by my uncles to only hang deer for no more than 1-2 days. I asked them why they don't hang their Deer for longer periods of time like my friends dads? they told me that Deer get gamier the longer the meat is on the bones.Elk I hang for 3-7 days depending on outside temps.There is no biological process that supports this claim. Being on the bone does not contribute to gaminess nor does the length of time hung. "Off taste" in game meat typically comes from poor trimming of connective tissue/fat, or overcooking the mat.Hanging meat or "aging" it does not change the flavor of meat. It simply allows enzymatic breakdown of fibers that makes the meat more tender. I've hunge meat for as little as 12 hours and as much as 10 days. A young animal won't benefit a whole lot from increased hanging time, but an old one sure can.Dr. Ray Field did a lot of research on this at the University of Wyoming. Life begins at 40, and extended aging should take place at 40 degrees or less. You can "quick age" meat for up to three days at 60 degrees.
I hang my deer for a day or two.Growing I was taught by my uncles to only hang deer for no more than 1-2 days. I asked them why they don't hang their Deer for longer periods of time like my friends dads? they told me that Deer get gamier the longer the meat is on the bones.Elk I hang for 3-7 days depending on outside temps.
I skin everything as quickly as possible.. not only does it help cool the animal out, it peels off a hell of a lot easier when it's warm vs. hanging in a tree for 5 days in 20 degree temps.
Thank you, I will keep reading my books. The beef industry has way more research money thatn I do and I have no problem taking advantage of it. The physiological processes that take place in muscle cells don't deviate based on whether it's a deer, elk, or beef cow.
Quote from: KimberRich on March 10, 2011, 09:57:30 AM I skin everything as quickly as possible.. not only does it help cool the animal out, it peels off a hell of a lot easier when it's warm vs. hanging in a tree for 5 days in 20 degree temps. I perfer to let mine hang 3-5 days though.
QuoteThank you, I will keep reading my books. The beef industry has way more research money thatn I do and I have no problem taking advantage of it. The physiological processes that take place in muscle cells don't deviate based on whether it's a deer, elk, or beef cow.Unfortunately, I am probably wrong, but I dissagree with that statement, Wild game does not have the marbling that beef does, and the fat has a very different flavor, leave the fat on your next game animal and see how well it tastes.
Quote from: MtnMuley on March 10, 2011, 10:21:13 AMQuote from: KimberRich on March 10, 2011, 09:57:30 AM I skin everything as quickly as possible.. not only does it help cool the animal out, it peels off a hell of a lot easier when it's warm vs. hanging in a tree for 5 days in 20 degree temps. I perfer to let mine hang 3-5 days though.Agreed.. I should have clarified. If it's above freezing 2-3 days. If it's below, I've let them hang for 4 or 5 days for sure or whenever I can get them in to the butcher. I'm talking about Montana.. I cut my own game up in this state normally. Haven't found a butcher that I like and the price is way higher here. My guy in Montana is $60 out the door for boned, cut, wrapped, suet added to burger and he throws it in his freezer over night so it keeps good for the drive home. Not worth my time for $60 when I'm on vacation and can be fishing or napping!!!
AGING - Aging of meat is done for two reasons: First and foremost, it is a tenderization process. Second, it produces flavors that are different from those of fresh meat. What occurs during aging to make meat more tender? What develops the flavors? - Actually, in a manner of speaking the meat is kind of "digesting itself". You see even though the animal is dead, the cells in the muscle are still alive. They produce enzymes that break down protein as part of a normal body function of "tear down and rebuild". However, when muscle no longer has a blood supply, only the "tear down" part takes place. Enzymes called "cathepsins" break down part of the structural portion of muscle and make it more tender.The unique flavors of aged meat come from lipid oxidation and protein lysis. What the hell is that? Well, lipid oxidation is actually the fat turning slightly rancid. Yup, rancid. Protein lysis simply means that the molecules are breaking into pieces and the pieces have different flavors than the whole protein....probably more than you wanted to know. This is a little important when we get to the topic of freezing tho'.Muscle tissue contains connective tissues. The connective tissue proteins called "collagen" and "elastin" are what actually hold muscles, bones and other organs together in the body. As an animal ages, the molecules of connective tissue protein begin to "cross link". One strand of protein will bind to others nearby. As far as we can tell, this process continues pretty much throughout an animal's life, at least in ruminants. The older the animal, the more cross linking and the more toughness. Kind of an interesting side note: Cross linking and the development of toughness does not occur at nearly the same levels in swine species. Because pork has more collagen and less elastin, meat from old pigs is only slightly tougher than the meat from young ones.Here's the point where it may not be appropriate to age wild game - if you do shoot a yearling animal, whether is taken as a cull or shot for camp food, you may want to consider skipping the aging. One upside of not aging the meat is the flavor notes are a bit cleaner. It's your choice either way. (When I get around to typing out notes on meat prep, I'll give you a real simple 4-hour tenderization/hydration method that works every time. This is what I use instead of aging for yearling venison.)
