Ageing Venison.

[erussell]

So Ive been reading up on the subject of ageing your deer before butchering. Everthing I have read says to hang your deer ( or refrigerate ) above freezing but below 40 deg to keep bacteria at bay but allowe the enzymes to break down collogen in the muscle tissue. Most suggest 3 days for younger deer up to 7 for older deer and more for tough older bucks. And the worst thing you could ever do is cut up a deer during rigor as this causes shortening of the muscle fibers and an everlasting state of toughness. Which would explain alot about some of the venision ive been eating. ; ) Next deer I get is def getting hung for a week before I cut it up. Whats everyone else do?

[growalot]

always 3-10 days...really depends on temps and cooler space...for even if I have to quarter it up....... I need space to store packed in ice...well I like frozen juice and milk jugs...that way it's never in melted water...I also swear by the game bags...even when hanging in cold temps...helps keep the outer meat from drying out as fast...plus keeps the birds at bay

[WNYBuckHunter]

I let my buck hang for 6 days. Never again. The meat on the outside dried out and it required much more trimming on the backstraps, roasts, etc. i like to cut mine up right away if possible, its much easier to separate the muscle groups that way. I will also get them quartered up and in the fridge, and cut the quarters up within a couple of days if I dont have time to cut them up the same day.

[Lawdwaz]

Cooling a deer fast is also a key to "stinkless" and better tasting venison.

[blackradio]

The most i let one hang is 2 days. I butcher them the same day or next day. I'll usually quarter them, package all the meat from the body in foodsaver bags then put the 4 legs in garbage bags and store them in a fridge at my job for a day or two until i get time to break them down further.

[Early]

Have not hung a deer for more than a day in years...mine are usually butchered within two days. Our venison is always delicious. I think the real key to good venison is handling in the field. A well-placed shot and a neat job of field dressing goes a long way toward good venison.

[steve863]

I don't buy into this aging of venison thing. Cut them up as soon as possible. Unless you have a cooler that will keep a constant temperature, hanging them somewhere in a barn or outside won't do it. Just this season I heard of one crew who shot a couple of deer opening weekend and then let them hang in the shade at camp somewhere for a whole week until these dudes came back hunting again the next weekend. No way in hell was the temperature below 40 degrees for the entire week where they hunted. Way more chances of screwing up your meat this way, then if you butcher it up and freeze it promptly. If the venison is cooked properly I can guarantee anyone that they won't be able to tell the difference if the meat was aged or not.

[Dad 6424]

It is all on the hanging prosess the longer an animal hangs so the air around it is moving at 42degs or below if it is in a fridge a day or two is fine if in the open air 5or 6 days. I dont let any deer hang more then a week if its cool out. The ageing prosess is to yes break the tissue down but it also makes the flavor stronger and much more waste on the trim as some of you have stated we dont let pigs hang more then a two or three days and we have aged beef for up to 30 days in a controled USDA cooler I want the deer to cool out at least 12 hours with the hide off thats the first thing we do is get it skined much easyer with in the first few hours after the kill before boning it after 12 hours riger is gone and the meat fibers are relaxed so it cuts good and not much waste ( AS LONG AS IT IS 42DEGS R BELOW) if its 43 i get the hide off and after 8 or 9 hours i get it boned and in a cooler or a fridge for mabe up to a day or two I dont bag it i have totes that I store it in and also have an extra fridge in the man cave just for these things

[blackradio]

My neighbors down the road have two does hanging in the front yard from a tree. The mature doe they shot on opening day of gun, and the young doe was shot last weekend. I kid you not, both are still hanging in the tree as of 5pm today. It has gone from 26-60 degrees this past 2 weeks and the sun is beating on it every afternoon. It was hanging lower in the tree today so I think they plan on butchering it tomorrow before the 60 degree weather comes again.

Edited December 3, 2012 by blackradio

[Early]

If they offer you some venison....PASS!

[blackradio]

They hang their deer like this every year, it boggles my mind.

[WNY Bowhunter]

Luckily for me, my family has a walk in cooler. I typically let my deer hang from 5 days to a week. I have cut up many deer within hours of killing them (nuisance permits during late summer) and can tell you that there is a BIG difference in meat texture between a freshly killed deer and one that has been hanging for a week...

[Single_shot]

I quarter,debone and wash then put in large cooler with ice for a week with deer. My bear ,back in 79,hung for 2 weeks with hide on,cavity washed.It was super cold,talking single digit nights and teens/20's day temp.Was told by butcher to do this,to allow rigor to set in and come back out.Best meat/beef flavor. No problems.

[Doewhacker]

I chuckle when I hear hunters become meat aging experts the second they kill one, not for me, as stated unless you have a controlled environment don't bother. If you do want to do it check into the temperature's needed and more importantly the temps you dont want and what happens if you aren't carefull. A day or two in a fridge is all you need.

[adkbuck]

Hi erussell,

I have been aging venison for the last 25 years and have never had anything but tender sweet tasting flavorful venison. Attached is a very good brochure put out by the Penn State Cooperative Extension. I first saw the graph in Dennis Walrod's book Getting the most out of your Deer Take a look at the venison aging graph. When a deer is shot rigor mortis begins to set in and over the next 24 four hours the venison will continue to stiffen and get tougher. It will take 4 more days (at 36 degrees)just to get the vension as tender as the moment it was killed. Enzymes tenderize the deer and break down the fibers in the muscles. The graphs are for 36 degrees F. Hope this helps.

Proper Processing of Wild Game.pdf

[Danny]

you cannot properly AGE deer by hanging outside, it MUST been in a controlled environment as the temp. fluctuation is like 3-4 degrees at most

[WNYBuckHunter]

I dont know, the meat from the doe I killed Saturday afternoon, processed a couple of hours later, and eaten yesterday tasted plenty good, and was not tough in the least. According to that timetable, it was still in rigor mortise....

[Doewhacker]

I dont know, the meat from the doe I killed Saturday afternoon, processed a couple of hours later, and eaten yesterday tasted plenty good, and was not tough in the least. According to that timetable, it was still in rigor mortise....

I'm with you here, I eat a part of the deer the same day I get it every time, never had a tough peice yet.

[erussell]

I think it depends on the size of the deer. I have shot small deer that I have cut up within hrs of the kill and they were fine. Ive also shot bucks in the 160 to 180 lbs that I have cut up soon after the kill and ended up thawing out what I cut up and grinding it into sausage it was so tough. I crock potted a buck roast for 10 hrs once and it was still tough and stringy.

[WNYBuckHunter]

The doe I shot Saturday was big and old. Had some backstrap off of her tonight, sliced 1/4" thick and pan fried in olive oil. Tender and delicious.

[erussell]

Dang it, nock off makin me hungry!!! Yeah but you guys have them fat and lazy flat land'r bucks out there in WNY. They were born with tenderizer runnin through their veins and soy beans lubeing their joints. They cant help but be tender.

[WNYBuckHunter]

LOL, I like to sprinkle Mrs Dash on the food plots, its like a pre marinade marinade.

[Doewhacker]

Genious idea, lets start a seed company for Whitetails where we sell all the popular spices to grow for deer to eat and pre-marinate for the table. Love it!

[WNYBuckHunter]

There we go! We could literally take some oregano seed, relabel it with camo and a pic of a giant farm buck, increase the price of it ten fold and make a killing! Then, we could make another variety with some basil, sage, rosemary, etc in there and call it Buck Spice, the ultimate food plot, and double our profits!

[Doewhacker]

Hickory infused fertalizer!