How long should i let my deer hang before butchering it?

[Swolf]

Looking for some advice based on personal experience.

A beef steak aged for 28 days is good, even longer can be amazing. I am curious how long should a guy hang a deer for optimal taste.

Assuming ambient temp, is constant at 3-4 degC.

Thanks in advance

SWolf

[rottie]

Some good info here for you to cruise through. Deer don't need too long, I only let them hang for a few days.

http://www.uwyo.edu/foods/educationa...wild-game.html

[Nyksta]

You dont have to "hang" it. You can put deboned quarters in the fridge, or you can butcher it into your cuts and age them afterwards in fridge for a bit. Just dont let freezing temps and hot temps of the day go back and forth while you are trying to age your meat.

[Swolf]

This thanks for the help Boys!!

[skidderman]

I typically never go beyond five days. If you have good cooler you can certainly go longer but I've never seen a need to. Moose or elk maybe a bit longer but again the type of cooler you have makes a difference.

[Swamp hunter]

Originally Posted by Nyksta

You dont have to "hang" it. You can put deboned quarters in the fridge, or you can butcher it into your cuts and age them afterwards in fridge for a bit. Just dont let freezing temps and hot temps of the day go back and forth while you are trying to age your meat.

Really dont recommend this at all. There is a certain amount of bacteria on the out layer of hung or aged meat.by cutting you are creating more surface area for bacteria to form. If you want to age meat leave it whole. Also by cutting (deboning) you will also lose moisture.

[mindoutside]

Some guy once told me that when hanging it needs to be wrapped in some kind of wrapping

[Hogie135]

I've never aged my meat. Once home I clean the meat with some warm water and vinegar. Then I quarter it up and throw all the quarters in the freezer. the next few weekends the wife and I will take a quarter or two out, thaw, cut into steaks or grind, vacuum seal and back into the freezer.

[curtz]

I like to hang deer a week.

[Sooner]

Originally Posted by curtz

I like to hang deer a week.

Us too. We general get something( moose or deer) on a weekend so the next weekend is cut up day.

[Nyksta]

Originally Posted by Swamp hunter

Really dont recommend this at all. There is a certain amount of bacteria on the out layer of hung or aged meat.by cutting you are creating more surface area for bacteria to form. If you want to age meat leave it whole. Also by cutting (deboning) you will also lose moisture.

The location requirements for hanging meat whole at the proper temperature for multiple days isnt an option for some people.

[pikeman06]

My meats been hanging for 47 years and actually seems to be getting tougher...ha-yuck ha-yuck.😉

[JimW55]

I’ve always just butchered and put in the freezer and my meat tastes good.

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by JimW55

I’ve always just butchered and put in the freezer and my meat tastes good.

I don't bother hanging deer at all anymore. Hanging may tenderize it a bit more but the way you clean, prepare and cook your deer will effect the taste much more than a bit of hanging time.

[Habfan]

Originally Posted by bobalong

I don't bother hanging deer at all anymore. Hanging may tenderize it a bit more but the way you clean, prepare and cook your deer will effect the taste much more than a bit of hanging time.

X2

[SuperCub]

Originally Posted by bobalong

I don't bother hanging deer at all anymore. Hanging may tenderize it a bit more but the way you clean, prepare and cook your deer will effect the taste much more than a bit of hanging time.

You are right for the most part. Aging will improve the taste and will firm up the muscle and make cutting easier and more efficient.

The first thing I do is skin the deer ASAP and wash it down inside and out with cold water. This will cool down the meat and clean off a lot of the hair and dirt. Prop the ribs open with a stick and set a fan on it to dry. Low humidity is the key from now on in. After aging for 5-7 days, I then fillet completely the entire animal removing all fat. No bones are left on the meat. This eliminates bone dust on the muscle and greatly improves flavour.

[Bassett]

For my early season elk they will hang anywhere from 11-14 days. If we get one super early and one late in the trip the second elk won’t get as much hang time.

My deer this year hung for a total of 6 hours.


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[marlin1]

we had to debone half a cow moose and the half we deboned was noticeably tougher from not hanging . Any suggestions as to what to do in this case ? leave the loins on bone ?

[Mike_W]

Originally Posted by marlin1

we had to debone half a cow moose and the half we deboned was noticeably tougher from not hanging . Any suggestions as to what to do in this case ? leave the loins on bone ?

I have a cooler as well however it is rare that I cut full quarters as I hunt where packing out bone in quarters is not much on an option.
I "drumstick" quarter my large game like elk or moose (remove the hinds from the pelvis and seam out the fronts remove the loins from the bone and remove all other "trim" neck, rib meat. ect into game bags) when I get home I will hang the quarters and remove game bags then vacuum seal the loins using vacuum sealer rolls that you cut to length I will then put the vacuum sealed loins in the cooler to "wet age" on a rack as long as I age the quarters. You can vacuum seal the trim but I find this pointless as it gets ground anyway and try and process the trim ASAP as I find trim hard to store/hang and it sours if left in a game bag too long.

If you are looking for vacuum sealer rolls Cabela's has two sizes 11" wide and 15 inch wide if your sealer can handle the 15 inch they are best for loins from larger moose and the 11 inch work great for elk or smaller moose loins.

For someone interested in "aging" their meat but don't have a cooler vacuum sealing a deer hind quarter or steak and roast cuts then in your fridge might be an option. The biggest issue why you cant age meat in a fridge without a vacuum bag is moisture and air that's where things will start to get funky. So for instance putting a quarter on some sort of tray in your fridge will result in moisture accumulation where the meat and tray touch which will result in some souring in sort order.

I have dry aged beef in my extra fridge for 49 days a few times now and it has worked fantastic but this requires it rack to allow airflow, a fan, a tray of salt below the rack to remove moisture and you must start with a clean and sanitary fridge and not have any outside food contaminants or smell.

Good luck,
Mike

[Suzukisam]

21 days just like beef and at 10 to 13 degrees Celsius and you will have fall of the bone tender. And the little white spots go great with steak sauce. Just kidding. Rule of thumb is the less fat on meat the less hang time. Anymore the 3 is a waste. And Moose very little fat can be done once you get it home.

[58thecat]

Had. Oh and went through the various trial and error of big game prep...I basically now debone, gutless method, cut and get to butchers within a few days and have not noticed a difference in quality other than how you get it from the field to home and handle/prep it....leaves/hair/fat/sinew not removed makes for some questionable table fare

[livinthedream]

Just finished butchering my Mule Deer. It hung for 2 weeks in the shed and the conditions were perfect this year. Depending on the weather, some years only 1 week, some years you have to quarter right away and age in the fridge when it is too warm to hang. Aging is always preferable to not aging. This shouldn't even be a debate. However, if you grind everything up or turn everything into sausage it doesn't require aging. On the other hand if you run the whole frigging thing through the band saw and then wrap your "venison steaks" in freezer paper and no one likes your venison except the dog then this is all lost on you. Just saying.

[fingershooter]

I have proven to myself and friends that hanging helps. Ten to 12 days for an elk (in a proper meat cooler) and five to ten days for a deer, depending on the date shot. I hang deer with hide on if possible because it will lose at least a pound a day in moisture if not and then the thick skin formed would have to be trimmed resulting in more loss. I have hung moose for over 20 days and it's always better.

[North of 53]

I always find it funny that many off the people that do not hang their deer for very long are also the people that end up making sausage out of most of their meet. I like shooting a deer with a nice rack as much as the next guy, but for me the real pay off is when I put my venison in front of people and they tell me it is the best they have ever eaten. Many people tell me they can't believe it is venison it is so tender and has zero gamey taste.
I hang my deer 21-28 days and then remove the dry out layer and de-bone everything. From the second I pull the trigger I make sure I treat the animal like it is something I will be putting on my plate sometime.
Too many hunters treat the meat as a bi-product of getting some antlers when it should be the other way around. Hunting is about feeding people, killing is about taking trophies.

[gtr]

Originally Posted by North of 53

I always find it funny that many off the people that do not hang their deer for very long are also the people that end up making sausage out of most of their meet. I like shooting a deer with a nice rack as much as the next guy, but for me the real pay off is when I put my venison in front of people and they tell me it is the best they have ever eaten. Many people tell me they can't believe it is venison it is so tender and has zero gamey taste.
I hang my deer 21-28 days and then remove the dry out layer and de-bone everything. From the second I pull the trigger I make sure I treat the animal like it is something I will be putting on my plate sometime.
Too many hunters treat the meat as a bi-product of getting some antlers when it should be the other way around. Hunting is about feeding people, killing is about taking trophies.

Sounds like logic to me.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by North of 53

I always find it funny that many off the people that do not hang their deer for very long are also the people that end up making sausage out of most of their meet. I like shooting a deer with a nice rack as much as the next guy, but for me the real pay off is when I put my venison in front of people and they tell me it is the best they have ever eaten. Many people tell me they can't believe it is venison it is so tender and has zero gamey taste.
I hang my deer 21-28 days and then remove the dry out layer and de-bone everything. From the second I pull the trigger I make sure I treat the animal like it is something I will be putting on my plate sometime.
Too many hunters treat the meat as a bi-product of getting some antlers when it should be the other way around. Hunting is about feeding people, killing is about taking trophies.

Like fine wine, cheese or beer. Some things need time to make them Better.

[Sheepnu2985]

I Have had the best results with 1 week

[Mike_W]

Curious if those that claim that aging does nothing for wild game have ever actually aged their game in the proper conditions before?
Butchers will tell you it makes no difference because they are not in the business of aging meat and quiet frankly don't want to do it.
And the hack job of a guy that hangs his deer in a garage for a few days to a week with fluctuating temperatures opinion holds no water with me.

[FQ2]

2 weeks or more.


My meat is better than your meat










https://www.themeateater.com/cook/as...-meat-worth-it

[Bush Critter]

Typically 3 days for small deer 5 for mature bucks. Don’t let it freeze solid the first night. If the temperature is really warm cut down the hang time if it’s blistering cold can hang a bit longer but it will be a pain to butcher a frozen solid critter. It’s all trial and error really 99% of the hunt is what to do after the critter is down...