to hang or not to hang...?

[growalot]

That is what I'm struggling with...yes he's been up a while now ..hide is off..but it's pretty cool here. so it's mid forties and going to low 40's tonight...no sun heavy cloud cover slight breeze...I want to butcher him because I know the meat will be great...but would like him to hang over night if possible...what do you think  with these conditions...Oh by the way...farmer was just here...we had a good chat..he was measuring today because they are going to inject manure. Our well is only 50 ft from the field...they need to be at the least 100ft...Oh 10 ten was taken nearby and one killed in a nearby town,by a car.....Any how should I go quarter him up?

Edited November 16, 2016 by growalot

[growalot]

Well he's hanging..misting and temps dropped 41 to  rain..nearly dark out..it's just going to get colder..

[Hock3y24]

hide is off let em hang. no sense rushing!

[607 HUNTER]

40 Degrees or higher is the rule of thumb of when meat will start to spoil. Suppose to hit over 50 tomorrow in Rochester, not sure where your located.

So its either cut up today or tomorrow, but me personally I would butcher today. 

[growalot]

It will be done at dawn tomorrow...remember I get up at at least 4am everyday...

 We are in the hills in the finger lakes...even when our temps on the stations say one thing , we are always at least 3-5 degrees cooler

Edited November 16, 2016 by growalot

[grampy]

Let him hang overnight, then just do him up in the morning. He will be fine.

[BizCT]

Let it hang, will be fine. If you shot one tonight and didn't recover till tomorrow it would be fine and that's with the guts in and hide on.

[Moho81]

Let it hang overnight. Those temps are safe. 

[Buckmaster7600]

My great grandfather was the local "butcher" and his refer room was always set at 50 deg. He would never cut up a beefer until it hung for at least 3 weeks.


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[moog5050]

Cut a bit off for those monster Shepherds you own.

[growalot]

Moog , when I quarter him up I will saw the rib cage down the middle and each of the boys get a half a cage...it lasts them a morning...Then as I de-bone him, they will get the leg and leg/shoulder bones....Thank God they are not house dogs the gas would kill us all ...lol

[BowmanMike]

Oh my god,you are so right grow.

Our dog used to take off and scavenge dead deer parts during/ after hunting season and that's how we knew she snuck off,when she let one off. What a stink,disgusting.

She was such a good girl,but sometimes the wild husky would come out.

[BowmanMike]

By the way,I think there is no problem with letting him hang.

[growalot]

Our of likes...like..lol

[ATbuckhunter]

Let it hang! Helps with the rigor mortis. If it stays in the 40's tomorrow id let it hang for as many days as I can. 

[wolc123]

Do you have an old refrigerator?   I have one out in the garage that comes in real handy when it is warm.   I cut the hind quarters off and hang them by the tendons from hooks on top inside the fridge. I rest the front section on the neck against the bottom of the fridge.   I processed a 2-1/2 year old buck earlier this week that was just about perfectly aged after 8 days in there.  You know it is right when the meat again feels just like it did when freshly killed.   1 week is good for a 1-1/2 year deer, 2-1/2 year olds about 10 days, and 2 weeks for older deer.

There will still be lots of rigermortice in that meat if you cut him up tomorrow.   If you think you must do that, grinding most would be the best bet, but even the grind is a lot less chewy if the deer has been aged.   Canning is another good option if you can not hang for a week or more.  

It is supposed to get up to 70 on Friday, so some type of refrigeration will be necessary if you want to properly age that deer.    After that, the hanging temperature looks perfect for as far out as the extended forecast goes.  I am hoping to take advantage of that by filling one to four dmp's, starting Friday afternoon with the crossbow.  If I can get one of my target button bucks on Friday morning he will get cut up Friday night (6 month's don't need to be aged).

[goosifer]

I don't have a link to a source handy, but my understanding is that a deer should hang for at least 24 to get past rigor mortis, and that between 35-  50 degrees it is OK (recommended unless grinding) to hang for a week or so, between 50 and 60 degrees up to 24 hours, above 60 degrees no go. As I recall, it is also recommended to leave the hide on while hanging as it will help prevent the meat from drying out or freezing. The rate of enzyme activity that tenderizes the meat is a function of the hanging temperature. The higher the temp, the faster it goes. This is all from what I read, fwiw.

[wdswtr]

6 hours ago, goosifer said:

I don't have a link to a source handy, but my understanding is that a deer should hang for at least 24 to get past rigor mortis, and that between 35-  50 degrees it is OK (recommended unless grinding) to hang for a week or so, between 50 and 60 degrees up to 24 hours, above 60 degrees no go. As I recall, it is also recommended to leave the hide on while hanging as it will help prevent the meat from drying out or freezing. The rate of enzyme activity that tenderizes the meat is a function of the hanging temperature. The higher the temp, the faster it goes. This is all from what I read, fwiw.

What he said, this is how we do it and the deer processor around here, hide always stays on.  Was always taught the hide keeps the meat from drying out and better yet it also keeps the meat from warming up during the day as it will hold the cold in from overnight temps.  Chest cavity always gets packed with ice as well.   Think of an air conditioned house, poorly insulated one the cool goes out, good insulated one the cool stays in, same as those cool  fall nights you dont heat the house, cool inside just about all day and warm outside. 

[Chef]

I always butcher right away. If you get the meat off the bone and away from the nervous system before rigor starts to set in, it never will. I also vacuum seal so, all I do is defrost 3 days or so before I want to eat and let it wet age right in the package


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[wolc123]

We just sampled a roast from that 2-1/2 year old buck for dinner tonight.  It may be the most tender, best-flavored, mature whitetail deer roast that I have ever had.  I am not sure if it was the 8 days aging in the fridge at 35 degrees, or the corn diet that buck was on for a few weeks before I killed him, but man was that good.   A little bit of each I suppose.