Aging deer meat

[Zizzer59]

Does anyone have experience aging deer meat? My great uncle told us to hang my buck up for a few days and let the meat age to tenderize it but we have never done it before and I don't want to ruin a bunch of deer meat. How long do you let it hang? Do I keep the skin on? What is the ideal temp. for it to be in, and what if it freezes? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[wtnhunt]

If it is cold enough where you are would hang it for no more than a week. We don't usually have weather for it here and don't have a walk in so they get quartered and packed in a cooler on ice. If you have a walk in cooler would skin it, if hanging outside where exposed would leave skin on.

[Zizzer59]

Ok, the high for today is 30 and its about 14 right now so I guess it will be okay.

[redkneck]

To me its ideal about 5-7 days. Like William said, its rare in the south to have temps that low for several consecutive days, I've done it once or twice but you really need a cooler. I wouldn't let it hang in temps above mid forties.

[Ravin R10 man]

we have a walk in cooler so temp is not a prob..you need to keep the meat between 34 to 38

An old farmer that used to butcher meat on the side told me 10 to 12 days is what you want to age meat

I normally let the deer hang for at least a week..of course,.... minus the tenderloins...lol

Edited November 25, 2013 by Mathews XT Man

[PotashRLS]

Ok, the high for today is 30 and its about 14 right now so I guess it will be okay.

With temps like that, it won't age, it will be frozen.

In Wisconsin, deer hang on the pole during gun season for 9 days when temps are below freezing. Heck, some leave em even above freezing. Butchering takes away from drinking.

[dbHunterNY]

you'll want to leave the hide on with the deer gutted so the meat doesn't dry out. take out he tenderloins before letting it hang. they're tender enough and will dry out if left inside the body cavity. what I do that works well is bone out the deer right away. I then put all the meat one or two meat pans that will fit in a fridge covered with plastic wrap. i'll leave it on there between 34 and 38 degrees for 1 - 1.5 weeks. periodically draining blood from the bottom of the pans. you don't want your meat to sit in liquid or blood if at all possible. sometimes if your pans are big enough and you've got less meat a grate at the bottom works to keep the meat off the bottom. when I process the meat I cut off as much silver skin and fat/gristle as possible then don't cook it past med - med well. doing everything this way I've always had it taste great and I can cut it on the dinner plate with a fork.

[Zizzer59]

I didn't think of putting it in the fridge, that sounds like a good idea. He's been hangin since saturday night but the temps haven't got above freezing since then.

[dbHunterNY]

i'll add that 90% of the time I'm 5-7 days (1 week) aging. Only if I'm very busy and can't get to it does it go out to maybe a 1.5 weeks. I haven't noticed a difference. For what it's worth it's recommended that it age 5-7 days. It's not the same as beef that you can age it for weeks. remember it's tough on the hands but much easier to work with the meat very cold and almost frozen. especially when grinding. using the fridge and working in a heated space, you should only take a little out at a time to work on. don't let it warm up to 40+ degrees if you can help it. another thing is I've used commercial wrapping stuff and methods for years. I switched to vaccuum sealing and it's second to none.

Edited November 26, 2013 by dbHunterNY

[Rhino]

Like others, I've done it only using a walk in cooler so the temperature isn't an issue. Take out the inside loins and leave the rest covered with the skin for ~7 to 10 days.