Hanging a deer

scott_r

scott_r

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Im going to be going out for whitetails in the beggining of Oct. and realize that we can still have some pretty warm days. So my question is... what is the minimum a guy can hang a deer for ??? or do you even need to if you use all the meat for sausage and jerky? I think at least a night to drain most of the blood but am really unsure :confused:

Cheers!!
 
I like to hang as long as possible, but, if the temps are 40 Farenhieght or above, you really have no choice, but to find a friendly butcher that can hang it in a cooler for you.
One time I had a Sunday morning road kill, on a hot July day, I quartered it, and 'hung' it in an old fridge under my cottage. Really, I just stood the quarters up best I could.
It worked fine.
Get the guts out and the hide off pronto.

Given a choice, and the temps, I'd hang it outside for a week.
 
The early season is sketchy for hanging because of the warm temps.
The only thing I can add to to J/C's post is to phone around and arrange for a meat locker ahead of time.
 
One thing I've done at camp a couple of times, when it turned warm, and we had one hanging already, is to stick a couple of bags of ice in the cavity.
If the deer hangs in the shade, it works much better than you'd think. It's saved us a couple of deer so far.
 
Here's a point of interest - for the most part deer meat 'ages' whether it's on the animal or already cut up.

SO - i assume you're butchering it (a regular butcher would likley let it hang for you in his cooler for a week or so) so when you've got it done, just put it in the fridge for a few day, or a cooler packed with ice. You want it below 7 degrees celcius. Then put it in the freezer.

A more important question is 'how fast can you get the meat cool' - i'd reccomend a vinigar and water rinse for it when you get the skin off. That helps cool the meat down faster and that'll make a big difference to how it tastes.
 
Hey guys, I was lookin around for a meat-cutter or a locker around Guelph or KW... talked to one butcher who didnt do it, and she said nobody could anymore, because of BSE concerns. Truth or BS?

And anyone have a meat cutter around KW? PM me!
 
So how do bow hunters dress up there game when many will shoot the deer and let it bleed out at night?? A early Sept night can still be pretty warm here in Sask let alone down in Texas.
Would the meat not be spoiled if it sat all night with its guts in and hide intact.

Cheers!!
 
I never hang meat! I shoot skin right away, bone out into main pieces then pack it out of the bush. It then goes into the fridge for a couple of days to get good and chilled before I complete the butchering. Hanging is a waste of time IMHO.
 
Big Buy; do you find it has a "wild" taste to it? Just curious. What if you skin right away, "wild" taste? I've left the skin on for a day or two in a cool place. Maybe stupid ? , but anything to learn more!
 
Big Buy; do you find it has a "wild" taste to it? Just curious. What if you skin right away, "wild" taste? I've left the skin on for a day or two in a cool place. Maybe stupid ? , but anything to learn more!
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Well, skin on or off is a whole nuther thread :) one we've done before a few times.

However - here's a few hard facts you can take to the bank:

About THE number one thing (aside from cleanliness of course) that will affect your game meat's taste is how fast the animal cools after you shoot it. It can take days, even in cool weather, for the meat to cool off. In mild weather that generally means getting the skin OFF and getting the chest open, and i'll even wash it down with vinigar and water (which promotes faster cooling and less bacteria).

"hanging" game is all just about letting the meat begin to break down a little. However - there's no need to actually hang the game, it'll break down just fine cut up in the fridge too. But in the end, its' less important than getting the meat cool fast.

You cannot age fat - it will taste gamey no matter what (unless rendered to lard apperently). And in most animals, the fat is where the worst of the 'gamey' taste is (especially bear). You can ruin otherwise tasty meat by leaving the fat on when it cooks. Connective tissue is fine, but lose the fat as much as possible. I roll my roasts in olive oil and my steaks too in order to replace the 'fat' when i cook it so it's not dry - marinades work good too.
 
I hang my deer with the skin on for at least a week. Last year I had a nice cool shop with a concrete floor so I let him hang for 12 days. IMO you don't really need to hang it as others have posted, like Foxer said cleanliness and proper cooling is essential.
 
I'm with "Big Guy" on this one. I field dress them as soon as possible. When I get them back to where I butcher them, I skin it, bone it, and seperate the muscle groups. It then goes into the fridge for a couple of days before I finish the butchering. Mainly I leave everything as roasts, except for the back straps and the smaller leg muscles. All the smaller stuff is going to be pepperetted this year.:D

7.62mm
 
Foxer said:
"hanging" game is all just about letting the meat begin to break down a little.
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No it is more than that.

While "flavour" is more dependant on prompt and proper cleaning the final "texture" of the meat - especially in mature animals - is very closely linked to proper hanging.

All animals start to stiffen soon after death. The first stages of rigor-mortise cause the muscle fibres to contract and shorten. Hanging the animal, ideally whole or halved, uses gravity to help and lengthen those fibres using the animal's own weight. I find with deer 2 days by the rear legs, 2 days from the front and another couple hung up from the pelvic girdle shows a great improvement in texture and "toughness" compared to one which was cut up quickly.

This all assumes a nice clean, quick kill. If the animal took longer than a few minutes to die and/or ran a long ways after the shot get that sucker cut up and in the freezer as quick as possible. In fact if it was really stressed and it's blood sugars were severely depleted when it died grind the whole carcass up into burger and in truth that may not save a "dark cutter"l.
 
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So the animal is not touching the ground. :)
 
This is the first that I have heard of using vinegar Foxer. Where did you learn to do this?
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Oh i heard it a few places, then i got thinking about it.

Vinigar dries faster than water. I'm sure you remember from your highschool physics days that this consumes a lot of heat energy, so it tends to cool the meat faster. Plus, the vinigar is too acidic to allow bacteria to grow, so it reduces things that can make your meat go 'off'. I usually use a solution of 20- 25 percent vinigar to water and i boil the water in the feild from a stream or other handy source - that means you don't have to take much vinegar with you to camp. Then i use a cloth and just wash off the meat, which both cleans AND cools. After that - game bags and i might just spritz those with a bit of vinegar too.

You'll also note it greatly reduces the flies.
 
I will seldomly let a deer hang longer than overnight...just long enough to cool
Never had a problem with "gamey" meat as I remove all fat and sinue during the deboning process.
As foxer said most, if not all of the gamey taste comes from the fat and sinue.
Further the meat is no tougher than that of deer hung for up to 2 weeks.
Hope that helps
 
I get the hide off pronto, because it's easy when warm and also cools the meat quicker. I've hanged deer and butchered them right away. The only difference I've noticed is that if you hang it too long you get real stinky farts. If you're grinding and/or jerking it, hanging is a waste o' time.
 
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