Deer Processing Questions.

[One Legged Josh]

I have been processing my own deer for 5 or 6 years now. I dont do any thing fancy; backstraps, tenderloins, round roasts, steaks,stew meat, and burger/sausage meat.
I have never "aged" the meat. If its below 40 degrees I will hang the deer for a couple of days.
My question is this; There is a butcher that I work with that says "no matter how warm it is you have to "age" the meat". He let a deer hang last year for 3 days @ 70 degrees outside. He said he wont cut it up until the outside of the meat turns brown. I think he is nuts. What do you fellas think on "aging"/hanging.

[223reload]

Josh,I'd be hard pressed to hang any game in temps above 40* I hung my deer overnite last yr but the temps were below 40. I am thinking about building a small shed with at least 10' tall peak and heavily insulated with a small ref. a/c unit to use for ageing. I could do it in the fridge ,but it takes a lot of room.A friend of mine has three gutted soft drink machines and he hangs quarters in them up to a week.

[takeaction]

The way my dad taught me, and his dad taught him... I process immediately. The minute the deer is down, he goes on the hook... Once it's cut up into the pieces, it goes on the table in the house, and is processed into the different cuts/burger. I "NEVER" wait, and we absolutely love the taste.

Personally, if I saw meat that was left out 3 days in 70 degree weather, it's ruined. throw it away...

I'll probably get yelled at for saying that, but that's my opinion. And by then, it already stinks.

[on_the_fly]

We have always hung are deer for 3 to 5 days because I have always been told that you need to let the rigamortis set in that is what make the meat tender. Now if that is true or not but I have always done it but like richard said I'm the same if its above 40 degrees I dont hang as a matter of fact last year I keeped three of my deer (not at the same time) in a big cooler I got soking in ice water for 5 days. That is what I have been seeing more and more people doing. I just flushed out the bloody water every day with fresh water and ice. and I can say my wife and son both (that dont care for deer meat much ) ate more deer meat this past year than they ever have so I will probable stick to the cooler this year too. and right now its 50 at night and 85 midday so to me now the cooler is the only way to go.

[One Legged Josh]

I agree I usually process right away. I was just wondering why anyone would risk spoiling meat that they worked so hard to get. This guy will not be processing any of my venison thats for sure.
He also said you have to let it "crust up" I dont even want to know what that means.
Thanks for your thoughts and keep those opinions coming.

[Angler2007]

Well, if you ever buy some of the top of the line steaks they hang for up to 2 - 2.5 weeks in a refrigerated cooler. There will be a crust on the meat that you need to cut off but the meat is just fine. If the weather allows I'll hang mine for a week before butchering.

[samh]

All depends on the temp, if it will not get over 40 degrees for a high, I let'em hang, if over 40 they get cut up and go in the freezer.

[tkoehler]

I wouldn't eat a $20 t-bone at a resturant if the waiter said we have the best steaks because we let em sit on the back counter for a few days. Sure wont do it to my deer. Gas, time off, ammo, food, motel, that deer has alot of money tied up into it to let it spoil ! just my opinion !

[bownero]

I just don't like the idea of hanging meat for an extended period of time. I'm hard pressed to get the meat to the processor as soon as possible. I like waiting until the temperatures dip down into the 40's before I step into the woods. This gives me a little comfort knowing the meat will not spoil and I have a little leeway to get the meat to the butcher. I know a lot of resturants age their steaks (prime rib) before serving it. The bacteria acts as a meat tenderizer and the cooking temps kills the bacteria before serving it. I can deal with that, but I like knowing the animals I harvest will be dealt with care and the meat will be of the upmost quality.

I always wipe the carcess off with a towel, never water, to clean the inside. The water can create bacteria in the meat. When preparing the steaks, (backstraps), I rinse the blood from the meat in cool water and trim off the membrane before grilling them. I believe this gives the meat the best flavor and helps take away the gamey taste from the meat. Never had a problem with tough steaks!!:wink:

Mark..

[Jacksmooth]

I dont let mine hang unless its cool out and then its usually just over night. Ive never had problems with tough steaks. If you want to age it you can do what the resturants do and put it in a fridge for a few days. The game taste is easy to get rid of if you dont like it. Soaking the meat in water usually takes care of that. If Im frying I just wash the cuts of meat off and fry with lard. The lard takes the game taste out. I have to do this otherwise the wife would not eat it.:wink: Something about being bambi and whatnot!:roll_eyes: LOL!

[Blue Duck]

3 days at 70 degrees.... no way. Things like that is what gives wild game a bad name.

[postbeetle]

Aging meat is done to tenderize the muscle by enzymes in the muscle tissue. When practiced right by butchers and meat companies it is done after an initial chill and then kept in very strict humidity and temperature conditions. The crust forms from the exterior portion of the meat drying out and must be trimmed=loss of meat.

If you are hanging a deer in a garage or tree or barn or under the back porch eaves you are asking for trouble because you can't control the conditions. Deer meat is naturally tender from their diets. Unless you are going for stupid horns where there is more of a problem with some testosterone inflated deer, even an old doe will cook out tender.

Kill 'em, stick 'em, gut 'em, wash 'em, hang 'em, skin 'em and maybe an overnight chill then cut them puppies up and get them frozen.

Remove all the fat and the silver skin and you can't tell it from beef, except it is more tender.

[psychomekanik]

I always let mine hang for a few days at the least. It don't have to be below 40*, but it should be below 50*. I killed 2 deer within 3 days of opening day. It's been hot, so I used tarps and hung the deer, made a top or a "ceiling out of the tarps. Then wrapped a tarp around 3 sides of the deer and the 4'th is against the wall with an air conditioner in it. It kept the temp. right around 50*. I like to age mine. But, there's no way I would let any meat hang in 70* temps. That's asking for some serious belly problems.

[CountryHart]

Unless it's cold outside, i quarter my meat and pack it in ice for a couple days before cutting it up. Ain't no way i'm lettin my meat hang in 70 degree heat, especially not for 3 days.:crazy: Each to their own i reckon, but i ain't consuming something that the buzzards have started circling.

[Poppa]

I don't know about 3 days at 70 degrees. I would be afraid of that. It has
a lot to how well your body can handle the bacteria. Mexicans drink the
water in Mexico but it make tourist very sick. Something that does work
and I have done it many times in weather in the 60s for over night and
on into the next day. A deer has great insulating qualities snow will not
melt on a deers back if he is bedded. What we do is to field dress the
deer and allow the body cavity to cool. Wash it out if possible. When
field dressing it best to cut up to the sternum and stop reach in all the
way to the windpipe cut the windpipe and drag out heart lungs and all
insides. By doing this you leave the hide intact. Then stuff the body
cavity with bags of ice and hang your deer up head first and cover the
the deer with a tarp. It normally takes 3 bags of ice, on very big deer
it might need 4. You have to tie the bottom bags and they support the
top bags. The most I have ever done this is 30 hours and the meat was
cool and in good shape. I really don't know the max limit on time. If you
do this indoors put something under it to catch the drippings.

[lance]

WE take out racks and stackit up in the bottom no less than 4 days and leave it tillwe cant stand to look at it no more.

[postbeetle]

Just what does it take to have some common sense?

5 years ago I had a young man I worked with installing furnaces. He was a novice but wanted to bow hunt my property early season. Sure, go ahead I told him. Told him where to put his stand and to take only a doe.

He came out one early morning and sat his stand. Poked a doe about 8:00 AM. She ran about 60 yards and got hung up in a fence and died. Fine and dandy, the man got what he wanted.

But here's the rest of the story. I did not know this till later and I feel really bad.

He walked up to that doe, saw she was dead and here is where it get's bad. He was going to be late for church so he walked away from the doe and headed to town to get religion. He never stuck that deer and he never opened her belly. It was 75 degrees and he left her in full sun. About one o'clock in the PM he come's back, guts her and hauls her to town happier than a dog in the bag of dog food you left open. Has her processed at a locker, mostly sausage. A month later he gets sick. Head problems, headaches, dizzy, can't think. He gets hauled to every local hospital, the Iowa University Hospitals and finally to Mayos. Spinal taps, x-rays, buckets of drugs. They never were able to make a definitive diagnosis. I have an idea but that is neither here nor there. To this day he is not "normal" , but I will guarantee you on a stack of freshly fried Okra that that deer and his lack of commonsense created his problemo.

If you have no experiennce or are not sure or just stupid get the advice you need from people who know how to do it.

Anybody want a stick of deer sausage?

[lance]

WE take out racks and stackit up in the bottom no less than 4 days and leave it tillwe cant stand to look at it no more.

bottom of the fridge that is computer gliche !:embarassed:

[Scott Daw]

alton brown on the foodnetwork did a show on how to age beef in the fridge. It was pretty good but I dont remember it entirely.

[boswifedeb]

Okay, guys, I'm not the hunter in the family - my hubby does that. But I do help him process and here's how we do it.

He field dresses the deer, and gets it checked in. He comes straight home, hangs it, drinks a cup of coffee to give it time to drain a little and it gives him a chance to warm up! He uses 1 particular knife when he cuts through the tendons to hang the deer when he is getting ready to field dress. That knife NEVER touches any other part of that deer. Why? Because deer have scent glands in their legs, right where most people cut them to hang and field dress. If the blade hits that scent gland, and then touches the meat it will have the most God awful gamey taste. He uses another knife to skin the deer, and another to debone. He then sends the meat into me in the kitchen. I wash it with cool water, trim off the silver and any fat, and put it in meat lugs of salt water to soak overnight in the fridge. The next day, I cut it up however I need it, wrap it, label it and into the freezer it goes.

Our venison never has a gamey taste and makes some of the best fajitas. Hope this helps somebody.:big_smile:

[cantstopgrandma]

I wouldn't let it sit out in 70* temps for 3 days. Good way to get sick. From everything i've read, seen on tv, and been told, you could let said deer sit in 70* temps for a few hours.....When you kill an animal, the first priority is to get the inside "cooled down". Now, we're not talking about frigerator temps, we're talking cooler than body temperature. Gut the deer, and prop his cavity open. The inside will cool this way. Just remember to keep it out of the sun. I've shot a deer in the morning and left them propped open in the shade from about 11am until we left that night, and never had a problem. If you need room to "age" a deer, one guy i know has a trailer he's rigged up that keeps his deer cold for a week while he hunts, and camps out. He's taken an enclosed trailer, insulated it with foam board, and uses a window unit air conditioner to keep his deer cool. The trailer is separated into 2 parts, the air conditioner vents into one side of the trailer, and this helps to keep the compresser from freezing up. Just hang the deer and plug in the A/C unit

[lakerat]

I get a large cooler with drain. Put in meat then sprinkle a little salt and pack with ice. A couple times a day drain the water and add ice and sometimes a little salt. If it is warm outside of cooler be sure no flies get to meat or you will get sick. after 3 days all blood should be gone and meat will be pink and it is aged safely with no rot. Where i live 3 days at 70 and you will have a carcuss full of maggots no doubt

[catfishcentral]

I don't have a place to hang a deer for days but I'll quarter out my deer and place in the garage fridge for up to three weeks sometimes. I took out the glass shelves and put wire racks. This gets air circulation around all parts of the meat. There will be a hard exterior to the meat but I'll just fillet it of with my fish knife. It's so dang tender it makes the meat so much better.

[catfishcentral]

I'll catch myself eating some raw deer meat while processing the rest of that deer two or three weeks later....dang it's good, hope I arrow a deer this weekend.:wink:

[fishndad30]

crusting helps in seperating the membrane, and silver skin...
i do it in winter and hang a day if possible ... but i just tagged a little doe , i butchered it right away , the flavor was great , and tender enough to cut with a fork ...
ive heard that with antelope you age the meat to start breaking it down and weaken the the sage taste , but IDK...

[dust777man]

I hang my deer for several days but the temp. is around 38 degree. Never heard of hanging one in 70 degree weather. I would be scared to eat any of it.

[South Grand Laker]

i saw an episode with andrew zimmerman in norway and this guy would hang 100's of these crazy kinda of sharks up in these large barns for months im not sure what the temp was outside, those carcuses were pretty nasty lookin

[CountryHart]

I gotta long nose but don't walk on all 4's and have a slick tail. Ain't eatin carrion like a possum:smile2: We use to have an ice locker at the minnow farm and let em hang for a week or more but it was cold.

[Trevor1]

I quarter up my deer, and let it set in the refrigerator for a couple of days before I cut it up for the freezer, it seems to make the meat more tender. Especially those big 'ol bucks. I don't think I'd let it hang for 3 days in 70 degree weather, this makes no sense.

[wylie catter]

When you have a leg that's deboned and has already soaked for a few days what's the best way to cut/prepare that meat?

[on_the_fly]

Terry if its a rear leg I would get a roast and a few steaks out of it and few little trimmings lower by the foot would add to the trimming pile for gound meat. If your talking the front leg myself I just ground up the whole leg but if its a big front leg you can get some steaks or a small roast out of it.
you can google a buchers cut chart that will show you the proper areas that steaks, roast, and ground meats come from.

[Jacksmooth]

You could also cube the meat and make BBQ in a crock pot.

[jtrew]

IMO, your butcher is nuts! I killed lots of deer & antelope when I was stationed up in Montana, as well as an elk and a moose; while I might let an animal hang in my garage for 2 or 3 days if it was really cold, it was because I was busy working, rather than 'letting it age'. The key to having good-tasting tender meat is a matter of killing the animal without spooking it and getting the wrong juices flowing. How often have you seen people chasiing a cow/steer around the yard before butchering it? Shoot, I've even heard of places that play soft music while easing the animal up the chute. It's also a matter of thoroughly field dressing it immediately. And when I say thoroughly, I mean removing everything from the @$$hole to the chin. The windpipe will begin to taint the meat in about 30 minutes; the lungs within 2 hours. Shooting a younger animal helps too. I tried making some horn soup, and it was so thin tasting it wasn't worth the trouble. Seriously, big bucks are for bragging; young bucks and does are for eating.

[lance]

hind qtr. I cut into steaks and Usually thaw the steaks cut into small peices soak in dale's seasoning or make your own liquid smoke/soy/worchestershire sauce a couple hours stir fry with peppers and onions . YUM ! frnt. qtr ground or pressure cooked /canned cubes .

[Zing]

Josh, I usally process mine the day I kill it. If I'm real busy, I will quarter it then I will put it in big foil pans and place it in the frig for a few days. I do not agree with your co-worker at all.

[Luke Clayton]

Three days at seventy degrees is a good way to make somebody very sick. Now, I've hung deer in coolers at thirty eight degrees for seven to ten days and it really does make the meat tender and more flavorful. I have a guest that is a professional meat processor on the current radio show at www.catfishradio.com (http://www.catfishradio.com) ... I wish you would talk a listen, it would shed a great deal of light on your question. Good hunting! Luke Clayton

[plainsman]

When I hunt deer it can be in a T-shirt or every piece of warm clothing I own. We've had deer hang a few days in a shed with daytime temps in the 60's but probably not that warm in the shed, and probably cooler at night. Have had 6-7 hours drive home in 60-70 degree weather won't hurt it, but just don't stop and park in the sun while ya have a few beers.

We shoot deer, it hangs in the shed till we leave and then hangs overnight in the garage, sometimes we skin it that night sometimes the next day. Then it gets cut up and frozen. Never had a problem, but I probably wouldn't waste time cutting up a deer that hung 3 days at 70 degrees.

Field dress the deer ASAP after kililng and cool down the inside. After that keep the bugs off it just don't let it get too warm before ya get done handling it. If someone wants to let it hang at 70 deg thats their business, I wouldn't do it. Hope ya'll have a good hunt this year.

[doug300wsm]

I sure wouldn't want to eat any of his venison. I do not like being sick on my stomach.

[flathead willie]

I sure wouldn't want to eat any of his venison. I do not like being sick on my stomach.

I have oriental friends that would do that and then eat it raw! Sometimes they just cut it in strips and dry it in the sun. They have bacteria in their stomachs that protects them. It would kill us. They don't gut their deer, they eat the whole thing. LOL :wink::smile2: