hanging deer

[muzzy1]

Hi,do you guys hang your deer with the skin on or off ,i have allways done it with the skin on but now dont know if it cools fast enough. whith the skin off wont the meat dry out... please let me know... THANKS!!!!!

[backwoods07]

We hang deer with the skin on, and we make sure the body cavity is held open so the deer cools.

[doubledrop]

Depending on the temp outside, usually i hang with the hide off

[wtnhunt]

Don't typically get to hang our deer here, rare that it is cool enough, but when we have been able to I have hung them with the hide still on.

[oneshot]

I hang it with the hide on to protect the meat and body cavity proped open. Don't wash/rinse out the body cavity as when the blood dies it helps to form a barrier against bacteria.

[MNcrittergittr]

We hang our deer for normally about a week with the hide on.

[scrubhunter]

Hide off here just like beef. We like to let them hang as long as the weather will allow.

[Ohiobucks]

I hang them with the hide on, from the back legs using a gambrel.

[muzzy1]

thanks!!!

[woolybear]

Skin on here. Usually just get them opened up and off to the processor while they're still steaming. By the time they get to butcher them they've been cooling skin on for 2 days and 1 day skin off in a refrigerated meat locker before butchering.

My processor is more concerned with picking up cuts promptly after they're wrapped and getting them frozen before they begin to "bleed".

[Adjam5]

I always hang my deer hind legs up on a gambrel for about 2-3 days minimum with the hide off. It is usually cold at deer camp, so spoilage is not an issue. This year I let my deer hang for over a week until I butchered it myself.

[kidd]

i process as soon as i can.....

[fly]

I've never hung a deer with the hide off. Always hide on and generally legs up. I've read that if one wants to age the meat for a week or longer then the meat can be aged in a walk-in cooler hide off.

[Turkeygirl]

We hang our deer hide off and cleaned out. Have a small root cellar in the basement with a fan. If temps allow, we'll try to let them hang a week...sometimes 2 weeks...if temps don't allow, we might get a week at most. We try to hang as long as we can. Hide will allow them cool down faster and we like to get the clotted blood and what not the makes a mess inside inbetween the muscle layers.

Yes, hanging this way results in a dried layer but it's not that much, just cut it off. End result = tasty and tender venison

[RangerClay]

We always try to get the hide off the same day that we shoot the deer or the next day. Butchers don't hang animals with the skin on, why would you? :yes:

By removing the skin you expose excessive bruising and hair that the bullet pulls into the wound. These things if left on the deer can cause meat to go bad quickly.