How long to let a deer hang

[zeke83]

My brother in law shot a doe last sunday morningg, and we have been letting it hang outside at my house with the skin on for the past week. Monday and tuesday the temps ranged from 39-57 and the rest of the week below was below 39.

Do you think the meat is still ok?

[First-light]

Get it skinned and cut up. Was it in the sun or shade. Are there flies on it???? Only you can tell if it's good.

I would let a deer hang maybe 3 days max.

[Suilleabhain]

Agree with Burt. I took mine to a butcher the day I shot it and he had us pack the cavity with ice until he could get to it.

Depending on temps, in cold years and the deer froze hanging, we would let them hang all opening week. Then we brought them to an old German butcher and he would hang them in his cooler for another 3 days.

As long as the temps are right you can hang meat for a while. Store bought meat has probably been hanging around somewhere for a month before you see it.

[DEADDEER1]

Id say its wasted 3 days is good in cool temps longer you hang the better the met will taste but when you say temps were 39-57 yikes and yuck 57 is warm if theres any sort of sour smell obviosly its junk as well if its darker in color . I think shes coyote bait. wow 57 degrees

[cwhite]

You are most likely fine. I like to hang a deer a minimum of 7 days. With ideal conditions, I will go 9-10 days. Obviously the warmer or colder it is outside the shorter time frame for the deer to hang. You don't want it warm enough for bacteria to start the decay process and you really shouldn't let it freeze solid as a brick either.

Keep the deer in a garage out of the sun where conditions are somewhat regulated. Speak to any experienced butcher and you will find that aging is the key to good meat.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2006/01/deer-hang-time

Edited December 10, 2011 by cwhite

[growalot]

57 with the hide on? that would be a yikes for me....when temps are warm ...I skin immediately......If temps are due to fall at night 40 or below I cover it with a game bag. then fill and tied bags of ice in and around body....quarter the next day if temps are to go above 40 and let it finish Bleeding in a cooler on ice for a couple of days .... or in a refrigerator...just keep it out of the blood....In cold weather a week

[cwhite]

Yes, most likely that deer is fine even with the temperature ranging up to 57 degrees. Don't run it out to the coyotes without consulting a butcher first. But then again its hard to tell without looking at it in person. I can only assume that by posting the question online 'Zeke' didn't notice the smell of decay that would definitely indicate it was spoiled.

[Doc]

My deer never hang anymore. As soon as I get it home, it's on to the processor ........ same day.

Back when I used to do my own processing, I would hang it up overnight just so I didn't have to get into the stinking mess right away at the end of a hard day of hunting. No other reason. I know that professional slaughterhouses hang their beef and pork and such for a specified time at a specified temperature. Unfortunately, I don't have a climate controlled walk-in cooler like they do. So I forgo all of that process. I've never had a complaint or noticed any difference in meat quality. However, I have had some moose and deer meat that was "aged" in the sun and at all kinds of excessive changing temperatures. The taste of some of that was not really all that pleasant.

[Suilleabhain]

My brother shot a deer a few years ago and had one of our friends oick it up from teh butcher. He wasn't answering his phone and when my brother finally got him the meat had been in his garage for three days. What stench, that was a waste.

[132 eight pointer]

A deer can be kept up to 10 days if kept at 38- 40 F. That is out of the sun . With hanging outside and temps rising and falling I wouldn' t have waited more than 2 days myself. 24 hrs. should pass before butchering to allow rigor mortis to pass and the meat to relax .I also would have skinned the deer within 24 hrs. You would be surprised how long a deer stays warm with the hide on.You will have to be the judge now. Next time you may want to skin and quarter the deer and put it in a refrigerator or coolers to age or until you can finish processing it. I only let a deer age if it is not getting warmer in my garage than 40 F.If it gets to be mid 40's and above I butcher it and at least get it in the refrigerator after 24 hrs.

Edited December 10, 2011 by 132 eight pointer

[the blur]

last year I ate venison that was 57 degrees when it came back from the butcher, I measured it with a temp gun. But it was 57 degrees for only a few hours before I got it into the freezer. It was perfectly fine. No odor, no stench, looked fine, and taste great.

A few days at 57 degrees, you need to smell it, and touch it.

[wooly]

You only need to hang the deer untill it stops breathing...anything longer then that is overkill .

...unless your not done showing it off yet!

[rong]

why let it hang that long?couple days is fine,its only going to bleed out so much,,

[Fantail]

I often tackle the real work next day.

[Lever action]

I don't hang deer anymore.I usually take them to the meat shop as soon as possible.

[SteveB]

Butchered one yesterday that had been hanging since last Sat evening in my barn.

It was fine, but the temp never got above 40 and I put ice in the cavity to cool it when 1st hung.

[Lawdwaz]

Do you guys think a butcher cuts YOUR deer first? Depending on the lineup, YOUR fine deer might lay at the bottom of the pile for a few days, easy. They certainly don't have the room to hang 'em up like in the movies.

Lots of good ways to manage your processing. Butcher it within hours or wait 10-14 days. Temperature and humidity are the deciding factors.

I'm absolutely & certainly no expert on aging meat but if your interested, reading up on it could be enlightening. Read up on wet aging & dry aging.

You know, 100's of years ago in Europe they would age birds by hanging them by the neck, with the guts in them. They were "ready" for human consumption when the body dropped away from the neck. Mmmmmmm good!!

[Doc]

Do you guys think a butcher cuts YOUR deer first? Depending on the lineup, YOUR fine deer might lay at the bottom of the pile for a few days, easy. They certainly don't have the room to hang 'em up like in the movies.

Lots of good ways to manage your processing. Butcher it within hours or wait 10-14 days. Temperature and humidity are the deciding factors.

I'm absolutely & certainly no expert on aging meat but if your interested, reading up on it could be enlightening. Read up on wet aging & dry aging.

You know, 100's of years ago in Europe they would age birds by hanging them by the neck, with the guts in them. They were "ready" for human consumption when the body dropped away from the neck. Mmmmmmm good!!

Our processor is a huge outfit with a whole lot of employees. I always get my meat back within a day (or less) of when I drop it off. Actually that hide is off and the carcass is hanging on a conveyor inside of a couple hours or less. This year I dropped my deer off on opening day late in the morning. He already had a pile of deer there. I got my call to come and pick up my meat around 4:00 in the afternoon. That kind of service is not all that unusual and has become the norm for the past decade that I have been using these guys.

We have a neighbor own the road that seems to be a believer in aging meat. He generally has some doe hanging in his front lawn for about 3 to 4 weeks before it finally disappears. Most like it is taken down and taken to the dump or someplace ..... ha-ha. I see he has another one dangling there this year....lol.

[Doewhacker]

No way would I ever eat meat that has been hanging for a week in temps over 40..yuck

If the meat is over 40 for a total of 4 hours its borderline, meat is aged in an extreemly controlled environment which cannot be dupilcated in a garage some where. But have at it, you are the one that will pay if its bad..lol

[Dad 6424]

I have owned and ran meat packing plants (and cut ) my own deer it is my opinion that deer need to cool out for 24 hours in 38-42 temps then be prossessed the game taste is real strong bucks get even stronger the longer they hang the food they eat to the water they drink change the way they taste as for the 57 deg if it was in the sun the deer is going to be bad more then not if not in the sun you might luck out but its going to skin real hard hehe any way if you like the strong taste let them hang in a cool dry place for up to 15 days you will have alot of trimming to do if you dont want it so strong 24 hours will be great any way its your deer eat it as you like

[WNYBuckHunter]

If the temps are cool (below 45), Ill sometimes let them hang for a few days before cutting them, but I found out this year that its much easier to skin and start cutting fresh, or within a day. The deer I shot during bow was skinned and quartered and in the fridge in less than 24 hours, and completely processed and in the vacuum bags within 4 days (except the ground I made into sausage, that took an extra 2 days to finish).

[arrow nocker]

both of mine i did this year were skinned immediatly after pictures and then quratered up right away.Within 12 hours they were in the freezer.And they still taste great.

[NFA-ADK]

Shot my deer on Tuesday and had it butchered on Friday. Wed and Thursday were warm, in the high 50's 60's, I packed the cavity with ice and was ok Repacked for the ride home, 6-7 bags of ice total. One hunter complained about the tast but he was the only one who though it would spoil. Meat was fine no one got sick and tasted great. I coved the deer during the hotest part of the day... It did not smell at all. I think the ice saved it... I have been told the same about the 45 deg but with the ice and cover I was OK.

[Doewhacker]

Technicaly speaking 41 is the magic number for holding food, stuff grows in temps of 41-140.

[cwhite]

Zeke, was the deer ok or not?