Hanging Deer
- Thread starter timandkimandshea
- Start date
I personally don't see there being a science to this. One persons deer is going to taste different from anothers. It's not like a farm raised animal where their entire life is being regulated from birth to death. I still say cooking makes a bigger difference.
Like Sheephunter said earlier, there are way too many variables to make a valid comparison. Does gender make a difference in flavor and tenderness? Does diet? Does age? Does the temperature it's hung at? Does the humidity? Skin on or off? Rut period? How the deer died? How long it took to field dress the deer? Was it sick or weak? Was the meat in the freezer for a year before you had it? How fast did it take to freeze? Did you defrost it in the microwave? Do you like the "gamey" venison taste? Do you like your steak blue or well done? What temperature was the meat cooked at? How did you cook it? What was the resting period after cooking? WHO KNOWS!
Like Sheephunter said earlier, there are way too many variables to make a valid comparison. Does gender make a difference in flavor and tenderness? Does diet? Does age? Does the temperature it's hung at? Does the humidity? Skin on or off? Rut period? How the deer died? How long it took to field dress the deer? Was it sick or weak? Was the meat in the freezer for a year before you had it? How fast did it take to freeze? Did you defrost it in the microwave? Do you like the "gamey" venison taste? Do you like your steak blue or well done? What temperature was the meat cooked at? How did you cook it? What was the resting period after cooking? WHO KNOWS!
over the years we have tried hanging it for different lengths of times with an electric heater in the building to keep it from freezing and at the same time not having it too warm. We find the meat less and less appealing the longer it hangs. I hope this explanation will satisfy you, if not, I don't know what more I can say, but will certainly try to find some more words for you.
EDIT: "if" memory serves, in one of my many books that I have suggested that 39 degrees F is an ideal temp for hanging meat.
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The science is that the meat becomes more tender when properly aged....there's no arguing that fact but I'd agree that taste is very subjective and subject to a wide variety of other variables. The older the animal the more it benefits from extended aging....in regards to tenderness that is. A stinking old rutting caribou or mule deer or bighorn is going to still be a stinky old critter...just a lot more tender when aged. Aging has a lot more to do with texture than flavour despite what the Keg tries to tell us.
Perhaps have a butcher saw one in half, hang one side for a week and butcher wrap and freeze the other side right away and then compare the the same cut from each side cooked the same way at the same time. However I'm not sure how freezing the unaged side effects the meat though.
I have always found that deer need 24hrs or so to get the lactic acid out of the muscle, beyond that it becomes subjective with multiple biases and variables thrown in. That being said I have one hanging now on it's seventh day but only because the conditions are perfect with fridge like weather and I am too busy to get to it.
I have always found that deer need 24hrs or so to get the lactic acid out of the muscle, beyond that it becomes subjective with multiple biases and variables thrown in. That being said I have one hanging now on it's seventh day but only because the conditions are perfect with fridge like weather and I am too busy to get to it.
this from another chat site: read what of it what you will
Take it from a butcher.. Beef require about 5 days at 4 degrees to tenderize.. the one most important thing to remember that the tenderness comes from the meat breaking down (rotting) the longer the hang the more bacteria grows in and on the meat.. If the meat is black it is already past the point of edible.. Some people like eating garbage but not me.. You never see black meat in a butcher shop right. Meat packers have the hide off in less than a min and into a cooler in about 5 min. The closer you can get to this practice the better meat you will have.. What ever you do don't let it freeze. If the surface freezes, skin the black dry portion off and concentrate on the good red meat under that has not frozen. Thawing frozen meat only accelerates the rotting process.
Butchers that claim meat has been aged 21 days are lying. at 21 days the meat is at the critical bacteria count and to keep from getting sick must be cooked thorough. I don't know about you all but i like rare steaks and the less bacteria the better!
Note: Wild meat will always rot faster than beef if you want to hang no more than 4 days at 4 degees. Less if the meat has been warm (ie skin left on)
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I would like to know how long you all let deer hang before cutting it up. If in real warm weather what you do. I put it in a cooler with ice and salt and change the water and refill the ice as need be.
Being a wild animal Chef, I have found that it is more important to drain as much blood from the meat as possible. If you have the chance to take a lung shot this is your best bet. Most deer will not drop in their tracks with a lung shot and in their panic will force more blood to drain from the meat. The blood that is left in the meat is what will affect the meats taste. A rule of thumb, any type of perishable food can grow bacteria over 40 degrees to 140 degrees. This is considered the danger zone for all foods. If its warm, get the skin off ASAP, and cool down the meat ASAP. Soaking the meat in salt water can cause the meat to get tough. And don’t let it sit in water, as it can water log the meat. Leave the ice in the bag. But if you can, let the deer hang to season the meat for a few days. This will not only help drain a a little blood, but it will be easier to process. 34 to 40 degrees meat is better, and easier cutting up.
Take it from a butcher.. Beef require about 5 days at 4 degrees to tenderize.. the one most important thing to remember that the tenderness comes from the meat breaking down (rotting) the longer the hang the more bacteria grows in and on the meat.. If the meat is black it is already past the point of edible.. Some people like eating garbage but not me.. You never see black meat in a butcher shop right. Meat packers have the hide off in less than a min and into a cooler in about 5 min. The closer you can get to this practice the better meat you will have.. What ever you do don't let it freeze. If the surface freezes, skin the black dry portion off and concentrate on the good red meat under that has not frozen. Thawing frozen meat only accelerates the rotting process.
Butchers that claim meat has been aged 21 days are lying. at 21 days the meat is at the critical bacteria count and to keep from getting sick must be cooked thorough. I don't know about you all but i like rare steaks and the less bacteria the better!
Note: Wild meat will always rot faster than beef if you want to hang no more than 4 days at 4 degees. Less if the meat has been warm (ie skin left on)
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I would like to know how long you all let deer hang before cutting it up. If in real warm weather what you do. I put it in a cooler with ice and salt and change the water and refill the ice as need be.
Being a wild animal Chef, I have found that it is more important to drain as much blood from the meat as possible. If you have the chance to take a lung shot this is your best bet. Most deer will not drop in their tracks with a lung shot and in their panic will force more blood to drain from the meat. The blood that is left in the meat is what will affect the meats taste. A rule of thumb, any type of perishable food can grow bacteria over 40 degrees to 140 degrees. This is considered the danger zone for all foods. If its warm, get the skin off ASAP, and cool down the meat ASAP. Soaking the meat in salt water can cause the meat to get tough. And don’t let it sit in water, as it can water log the meat. Leave the ice in the bag. But if you can, let the deer hang to season the meat for a few days. This will not only help drain a a little blood, but it will be easier to process. 34 to 40 degrees meat is better, and easier cutting up.
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Interesting thread.
I am a newbie hunter (as of October this year), and I shot my first big game (a Buck) last Saturday. My group of four also took a Doe the Friday before. Of the four of us, two are newbies and two are very experienced hunters. The discussion of hanging was discussed a few times, and my two experienced buddies were not in agreement
...for many of the reasons posted in this thread. We butchered both ourselves, but I did observe that the longer one hangs an animal, (Deer or otherwise) the more trimming one must do. Since there isn't a great deal of meat on a Doe, I can see how this may be seen as unnecessary wastage. Applying this to beef, the longer beef is aged, the more expensive it tends to be....ie more waste when trimming.
I am a newbie hunter (as of October this year), and I shot my first big game (a Buck) last Saturday. My group of four also took a Doe the Friday before. Of the four of us, two are newbies and two are very experienced hunters. The discussion of hanging was discussed a few times, and my two experienced buddies were not in agreement
...for many of the reasons posted in this thread. We butchered both ourselves, but I did observe that the longer one hangs an animal, (Deer or otherwise) the more trimming one must do. Since there isn't a great deal of meat on a Doe, I can see how this may be seen as unnecessary wastage. Applying this to beef, the longer beef is aged, the more expensive it tends to be....ie more waste when trimming.
Interesting thread.
I am a newbie hunter (as of October this year), and I shot my first big game (a Buck) last Saturday. My group of four also took a Doe the Friday before. Of the four of us, two are newbies and two are very experienced hunters. The discussion of hanging was discussed a few times, and my two experienced buddies were not in agreement
Beef is hung in temperature and humidity controlled lockers so wastage from trimming dried meat is not really an issue.
Not it a properly controlled environment.
This doesn't even make sense. Why would wild meat rot faster than beef that was handled identically? It doesn't. It rots faster in some cases because most of us don't have access to climate controlled lockers and don't have the facilities to properly age. I've eaten tons of elk that was hung for 10-14 days and it definitely wasn't rotten. I appreciate that you don't age game and I suspect your meat is excellent but that doesn't change the science about proper aging.
those were not my words, it was someone else that claims to be a pro butcher, I believe. I was just passing it along.
Butchered 4 bucks and 2 does last Friday. All were shot between Monday Morning and Wednesday night. Not a bad piece of meat in the bunch. An older gentleman I know told me years ago that after 36 hours the rigor mortis goes out of a deer and it is fine to butcher any time after that no aging required. Now this guy has worked in the meat processing industry for 50 years and figures he has laid hands on 50,000 deer over the years and every other critter for that matter. Have followed this advice and always have excellent meat. Corn fed SW Ontario stock helps a bunch to!!!
Okay, so let me ask this question as a newbie hunter who just processed two deer this past week. We keep comparing Deer to domestic livestock, but most domestic livestock are not chased by dogs or Men, before they are shot. Now, this is not always the case, but doesn't hanging deer aid in relieving the adrenaline built up in those instances?
