Question on ageing meat

I gut, skin(I love doing this while deer is still warm) and split down the middle right away. I hang the halves ion my garage for 1 to 5 days, depending on temperature. If it is really warm, I butcher and freeze right away.
 
sikwhiskey said:
No, that Old dishwasher post was a good one though. What do you disagree with in my post? Hair ruins meat? Or ageing does nothing? In my family, only I like the taste of "wild" game. If you have picky eaters to cook for, try my method. Or not, don't care how you cook or age it, saying ageing does nothing is BS. Ever tried it? Anyone ever here ever try it for themselves?
Not alot of work in preparing steaks or roasts, or deer for that matter. The reason I wipe the skinned deer down with vinegar is to get rid of the stinking hair off the meat, especially Older bucks in Full rut. The Salt gets the blood out, in time, especially on animals that don't bleed out from being shot, Head, spine, gut shots etc.
Plenty of ways to cut up, age your own meat, when my family sits down and scrapes all the meat off the plate, its job well done. Strange, since using this method I've not had a single complaint, from friends to extended family, never hear ewwww is that Mule deer??
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I'm saying if you do things properly in the first place, there's no need to do all that pile of WTF to your meat. Maybe try taking ethical shots to drain the blood, and what are you doing to get so much hair in your meat that an acid bath is required to remove it?
 
GMC403 said:
I now always age my big game, usually 5-7 days.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I initially tried not aging it, then a few years ago I started aging it after I built my walk-in.

Night and day difference....... but that just my opinion, and all the people that have tried the end product.
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You are correct, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Personal tastes vary.
Napoleon supposedly asked his mistress, a woman named Josephine, not to bathe for either one, three, or five days while he was on his way back from a military campaign because he purportedly enjoyed the way she smelled when she hadn't bathed.

Some folks don't be-bone or remove the tallow fat; their choice, it tastes good to them and " All their family and friends too " or so they profess.
I'm glad that you and your family enjoy it... but scientifically, hanging venison is not suggested.
The shops are happy to hang it for you... Duh, they charge for it too. But a Butcher shop that recommends it...maybe research things a tad. Contemplate whether you want to continue shopping there / using their services... because they are about 30-40 years out of the loop.
If done right, shouldn't hurt it; but I do politely express doubt as to whether it will improve it.
 
Strange, the fellows here who are of the opinion that ageing works have said not said anything negative about other's opinions that kill, cut and wrap the same day is the best way. Yet the kill , cut and wrap advocates are very vocal about the argument against ageing. Maybe ageing is not good :confused:
Darryl
 
When a butcher tells you not to butcher game for at least 36 hours to allow the rigor mortis to release I tend to err on that side of caution and yes you can see and feel the difference in the meat. I hang them head up, split from nose to tail,prop open the cavity and prop the pelvis and back legs open to prevent bone sour and hang in a cool place sometimes a couple days sometimes a week. bone the carcass without splitting bone, trim fat and silver skin on the main cuts and each guy packages his own the way they like .

I have had more than one butcher comment that the grind meat done by our group is better than he has ever seen and I have folks tell me our venison tastes like no other. I guess that is why he wants me to come butcher deer for him this fall. Do whatever you like but I am willing to bet if you leave it a minimum 36 hours you may see a difference
 
I grew up on aged venison... nothing wrong with it. Tastes fine... a touch dry perhaps.
I just like the fact that it's not necessary. My father's generation had time for that... I'm a single dad who drives truck and works Oilpatch. I dont have that sort of disposable time to fart around with it.
When; not 1... but 2 ( quite successful)competing abbitiors, both tell me to stop wasting time and meat... I dont argue.
So; I'm not slagging on it, it's just a waste of time and degrades good meat.
Why bother...because Dad did?
 
madtrapper143 said:
Strange, the fellows here who are of the opinion that ageing works have said not said anything negative about other's opinions that kill, cut and wrap the same day is the best way. Yet the kill , cut and wrap advocates are very vocal about the argument against ageing. Maybe ageing is not good :confused:
Darryl
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If you are trying to imply that folks who believe in aging are somehow more polite then the other group, you would be mistaken. There just are so few folks that like aging for the eventual somebody that would pop up to slag on the other method. :) Different strokes for different folks. While I don't age my meat and I would never recommend it, I am not going to call you names for aging yours. :)
 
Glock4ever said:
If you are trying to imply that folks who believe in aging are somehow more polite then the other group, you would be mistaken. There just are so few folks that like aging for the eventual somebody that would pop up to slag on the other method. :) Different strokes for different folks. While I don't age my meat and I would never recommend it, I am not going to call you names for aging yours. :)
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Not implying that they are more "polite" it was just an interesting observation I made from reading the entire thread. I stand by that observation.

Darryl
 
powdergun said:
At optimal conditions in a cooler with relatively low humidity aging meat for two weeks is possible. The meat will form a dried outer cover that will be trimmed off when you cut it up. Be sure the sides or quarters are clean of all contaminants from gutting and clots from gun shot damage.

Also, be sure you have good air circulation. Hang the pieces and don't let them touch each other.

I do not cut the meat prior to aging and prefer to hang in quarters. If you keep the rib cage spread you can even leave the deer whole but I would not recommend that for moose or elk. As for game bags I would not use them if you have a good cooler. Their main purpose is to keep bugs and debris off the meat.
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This is exactly what I do.
 
Bearkilr, I assume by your site name that you hunt and kill bear on occasion. Do you hang or age bear meat? I know this thread is about ungulates mostly but I would be interested to hear if you (among any others) hang or age bear meat. This question is open to all for comment.

Darryl
 
I've cut and wrapped the same day as the animal was harvested as well as hung animals for the duration of the week of the deer or moose hunt. Not because I prefer one way or the other but more because of logistics and work schedule. I've had tender, tough and in between and can't honestly say what has attributed to the meat tenderness. Here is what Wikipedia says about aging meat.


Meat hanging is a culinary process, used in beef aging, that improves the flavor of meats by allowing the natural enzymes in the meat to break down the tissue through dry aging. The process also allows the water in the meat to evaporate, thus concentrating the flavor.

The process of meat hanging involves hanging the meat (usually beef) in a controlled environment. The meat hanging room must be temperature controlled from between 33 and 37 degrees Fahrenheit (1-3 degrees Celsius). It is such a small window in temperature because the meat will spoil if the room is too hot and the process of dry aging stops if the water in the meat freezes. Furthermore, due to the water needing to slowly evaporate the room must be kept to a humidity of around 85%. Also, to prevent bacteria developing on the meat, the room must be kept well ventilated. The meat must be furthermore checked on in regular intervals to ensure that the meat does not spoil and the process is working correctly.[3]

Meat hanging allows processes to continue in the meat that would normally cease in dead animals. For example, the muscles in the meat continue to use the oxygen that is in the proteins of the blood. This normal biological process creates a chemical by-product known as lactic acid. Since the blood is no longer being circulated through the body, the lactic acid starts to break down the muscle and connective tissues around it.[1]

The process takes, at a minimum, eleven days. At this point, the meat will noticeably taste better. However, the longer the meat is hung, the better the flavor will be. This length of time also results in a greater chance that the meat will spoil. Therefore, most companies will only hang meat for 20–30 days.[3] Furthermore, dry aged meat will shrink, as much of the water has been evaporated. This loss of mass causes the meat to shrink 10-15% in size.[1]

Beef’s appearance changes through the dry aging process. The meat will change color from red to purple and will be much firmer than fresh meat.[1]
 
I used to cut it up pretty quick. The wife didn't grow up eating any wild game, and ended up grinding a lot up. I age it longer now. I'm not sure how much role intra muscular fat plays in aging, but I believe that it more of a factor of how tender it ends up being when it is cooked, or over cooked. A NY, or tenderloin cut is very lean and benefits from going more on the rare side, while a ribeye is better when it's grilled a bit longer, and the fat is melted away a bit more.

You can quick age, or slow age. The enzymes in the muscle will work faster at warmer temps, and you can get an "aged" piece of meat in 3 days. I started aging longer almost by accident. With a busy work schedule, and being run down, I put it off for a while, until it was hanging in the garage for about 10 days. I'd go and check on it, making sure it wasn't freezing, getting too warm, or souring. Stick your head up close, in the cavity, and you can tell that it's staying good. I have a laser thermometer that is a help, but you can use an ambient thermometer as long as it's not fluctuating enough to raise the temp of the carcass too much. Or you can tell roughly by touch.

A big factor in taste is just taking care when gutting and butchering. I always take a couple knives hunting both for back-up and in the event that I get one tainted. I probably end up cutting away a little more than I need to, as I am not a great butcher, and am pretty worried about getting stuff from the guts and lower on the meat. I also get pains to keep any fuel, and oils from the truck box away from the deer, and dirt and leaves out of it. Once I get it home, sometimes I will hose out the cavity with fresh clean water. Paying attention to the pelvis area, and throat with can be tainted easily. And then hang it up, hide on for aging. Keeping the hide on, does not impact the flavour in any way, but keeps the meat from drying out too much.

Don't age the tenderloin, or organs you plan on eating though. The tenderloin will dry up too much, and doesn't need it. The organs probably will too, or might be spoiled by it. Not sure, but I do like cleaning out the heart, trimming it and pan frying with onions and peppers.

I don't put any stock in bleeding the animal. Nearly all the blood comes out with the organs, and there is just no way to get more than the half dozen liters out of a deer, than by gutting it.
You will get a couple small drips when it's hanging at first, but that's it.

Having done it both ways, I find aged deer to be more tender, and flavourful in a good way. The wife now is excited to eat high quality venison, and we prefer it to almost everything. We've been to some very good restaurants, so I believe we have a handle on what world class should taste like. (toot, toot! goes our horn!)

A lot more of it ends up being steaks and roasts now.
 
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