dry-aging and butchering deer

[smdesign28]

This year I am going to try dry-aging and butchering my deer. I just bought a big freezerless fridge to use to age it. The plan is to put the whole, field-dressed deer in the fridge, skin on, for a week. then butcher.

My question is this, I've read a lot of posts about bleeding out deer, in ice chests, by quartering and skinning them and hanging them in the fridge, etc. If I'm not going to skin my deer (which is what the farmer that usually butchers my deer for me recommends) is there some way to drain out the blood? Also, should I hang it head up or head down?

Thanks

[growalot]

Skin...and head down to get the blood to drain way from biggest cuts...the hams...I tend to shoulder shot so the shoulders are usually ground at our place....

[SteveB]

The only way to drain blood from the meat after the heart stops, is to soak it out.

Any blood coming out of a hanging carcass is from the cavities and not from the muscle tissue.

[Doewhacker]

The only way to drain blood from the meat after the heart stops, is to soak it out.

Any blood coming out of a hanging carcass is from the cavities and not from the muscle tissue.

What he said.

[jjb4900]

Most of the blood can be drained by gravity, hang it head down, that's how it's done with animal's in the slaughter house, they don't soak the meat to remove the blood. If you ever skinned a deer that's layed over night, you'll notice the blood pools in the meat on the bottom, it has no where else to go but to the lowest point.

[growalot]

You guys need to watch more CSI...lol

[Uncle Nicky]

Rinse the inside cavity well with cold water (garden hose works best). Flip the deer over so the back is facing up with legs spread to allow the cavity to drain for an hour or two (all done outside your house or garage, obviously). I don't think hanging head facing up or down will make much difference, but slaughter houses hang meat by the back legs.

[jjb4900]

There's a membrane that seperates the body cavity from the muscle tissue, you won't have any blood drain from the meat out through the body cavity. Any blood that is in the cavity, got there when it was pumped there but whatever organ was damaged by the shot.

[Lawdwaz]

one week won't make much difference in hanging. 14-21 days is what you need. With the hide on, you must really work hard to cool that deer asap. If you pull the hide, it cools MUCH faster but........when you hang a deer for more than a few hours without a hide you have more trimming/waste to do and after 7-21 days you have LOTS of trimming to do and plenty of waste.

How do you plan on hanging it in that fridge?

Nothing like well aged venison. I've done 14-21 days before but always in a cooler, on a hook, hide on. Scrape away the moldy stuff and you have a winner.

I don't do as much aging as I used to as it is just too hard without a constant temerature. Day and night tems change so much I can't/won't fight it.

One time we aged pheasants with the guts in them for a month in the fridge before dressing and eating.......I'm still kicking!

[smdesign28]

I guess that makes sense to hang head down. the plan is to cut off the lower limbs and just stuff the thing inside the fridge. The fridge won't be big enough for me to actually hang it. Not very scientific, but at least I'll have temperature control.

[Elmo]

Slaughterhouses hand with head down because they slice the jugular and let most of the blood drain through there. The only part that isn't drain would be the section below the cut which would be the head and so unless you're in the practice of eating head cheese, then not much is wasted.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Elmo

[steve863]

Interesting that someone would go as far as buying another fridge to age venison. Frankly, I think it will be more trouble than it's worth. I have eaten venison from a deer I shot same day without complaints. Couldn't imagine going thru all the trouble of aging it for days and weeks. It can age in my stomach after I eat it. LOL

[Doc]

I'm not a big proponent of aging. I know that's what the butchers do in slaughter houses, but there are two at work for them. They have extremely accurate and constant storage conditions, and second they know what they're doing. Not only that, but any beef that I have seen aging didn't have any hide on them. I really don't think that storing a deer for a week with that rank tallow laying up against the skin does anything wonderful for the flavor of the meat.

I generally have them critters in packages and in the freezer before I go to bed the night that I get them. I'll be honest with you, I have never had any better venison including that that was supposedly aged. In fact some of foulest, nastiest tasting, deer meat I have ever tried to swallow was somebody's home version of aging for a week. It used to be a very common practice and I remember you would always see these deer hanging in people's front yards, first with the sun beating on them and then frozen stiff each night. Yuck! Just hack it up and freeze it ..... you'll never be able to tell the difference anyway.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I have had it aged and have had very aged beef. There is a definite 'taste' to the aged stuff. Personally I am not fond of it but I know others that like it. I find if it is a tenderness issue just shoot the ones with spots on them...lol. Seriously though most people that tell me they don't like the taste of venison or it is tough....when I ask them how they order their steak they say 'well'. ------medium...medium rare is where it is at.

[Lawdwaz]

If it is just a tad on the warm side, 45 or higher, you better get that hide off asap, IMO.

I've had some meat that was pretty stanky next to the bone in the HQ's. Back straps, shoulders etc are all fine its just the stuff that takes the longest to cool that can get a bit foul............

If you can dress it off, stash it in the shade, maybe get some big ice blocks stuffed in the cavity it will help.

The thing is too, if you take that questionable "aged" deer to a butcher, you don't know if they trimmed out the gray stuff or not. They may not take the time to slice & dice the rank pieces. Hell, they'll probably grind it up in the big community grind and spread the wealth, so to speak. Gross.........

[growalot]

We had an old frig for my bow deer to age in...I just skinned and quartered it and stood it up to drain...only thing in liquid was leg bone...Now I do that but put it on a grate in a huge chest cooler...then pack with frozen milk jugs and bags of ice.... we hang our deer when the weather is below 40...skin off in a deer bag...but the back straps are eaten right away...mmmnnn garlic butter and just brown..dang that made me hungry

[the blur]

I like the blood. taste yummy.