Age the meat or cool, cut and freeze?

[Unit8R]

For those of you who do your own processing, I'd appreciate your opinions... I have done both and "think" aged is better but tough to compare one animal from another... you have the dried crust to shave off loosing a little bit of meat. I read that aging breaks down the enzymes but works better for beef due to higher fat content. Thanks!

[Unit8R]

Please excuse, should have looked a bit further before posting  found a great thread in the Processing topic

 

[SuperMag]

We cut ours up within 1-3 days max. I shot a doe Thursday morning and we processed it that night just because we're up north hunting this weekend and didn't want to let it hang. I don't have anything against letting them hang and age if the weather permits, but its just not how I've done it.  

[G-Man]

Cool cut freeze, can age when you thaw in fridge if you want

[wolc123]

This looks like a good week for hanging.  If you leave the hide on, most of the meat does not dry out too much.  Just remove the tenderloins first, or they will. 

I hang them for a week or so, if the temps are good, and usually remove the hide, the day before I process, to split up the workload a little.  The meat dont dry out too much, after one day with the hide off.

Most red meat like venison, is better, if aged prior to processing.  If the temp dont cooperate , an old fridge works good, like that shown in the old thread you found, with the big 8 point hanging next to it.

 

 

 

[SteveB]

Cool, let rigor pass, cut and freeze/can. 

[KeukaHunter]

I quarter the deer and bleed it out in a cooler with ice for a couple days, replacing the ice as needed. Then I process and freeze. Bleeding it removes the strong gamey taste out of the meat. 

[Unit8R]

Thanks for the replies. Learned about modern refrigerators drying the meat as opposed to very old ones. Ended up going the cool/cut//freeze route wrapping in plastic wrap before freezer paper (learn from Meat Eater TV show). I should mention that I use the gutless method as I have no ATV and have an uphill walk to the vehicle so aging with the hide on is really not an option for me however it sure makes sense in order to keep the crust from forming.

So just over 48 hours after the kill I have most all in freezer and have just cracked the bones to roast for stock (as well as grabbed tarsals for Saturday's hunt). As an aside, I've spend most my life in Colorado where we would not only use gutless method but would bone then out as well as packing out elk in that country was very rough. I had an old Austrian friend there who would hang his meat until there was a green fuzz on it!

[Steuben Jerry]

It was too warm yesterday to hang that doe I shot Saturday afternoon - about 45-53 degrees in the garage all day. After hanging it overnight, I had it skinned, quartered and in the fridge by 10:00 am. It'll sit there for about a week before it gets vacuum packed and frozen.