Hanging Deer

Hanging deer with/without the hide on

  • I leave the hide on when I hang it.

    Votes: 32 46.4%

  • I skin the deer as soon as possible and hang it.

    Votes: 37 53.6%
  • Total voters
    69
Too many variables to make it that simple a question. If it is quickly going into a controlled temp environment (meat locker) to hang for a long period of time then leaving the hide on is a bonus to keep the meat from drying out.
If it is very warm out or there is a lot of blood or offal under the hide or any one of a dozen reasons to take the hide off immediately then... bob is your uncle.
There is no cut and dried answer to the question.
 
Lots of different opinions on the subject....

I would like to expel a myth about hanging your deer in the barn for a week prior to skinning
it out.

In beef cattle the meat is hung for several days so that the meat becomes tender (called
marbleing). The enzymes in the meat break down causing it to become tender. This is also the start
of the decaying process. Venison and beef are two different types of meat. Venison does not have fat
running throughout the meat like cattle. It is all located on the outside of the meat up against the
skin. Because of this deer do not get tender when they are hung in the barn or cooler for a week.

The truth is that all you do is put your family in jeopardy of food poisoning. This is also when you get
comments like “this years deer sure does have a gamey taste."
Please to not take any risks cut your deer up as soon as it cools down. This does not take a
week.

Depending upon the weather this could be just a couple of hours after harvesting your deer.
This same situation holds true for mounting your deer. Get it skinned out as soon as possible. If it
has been hanging around the barn for several days the likelihood of the hide working for a mount are
slim to none.
Click to expand...

Not mine, just another opinion.
 
Davey,

Seeing as how the poster of that doesn't even know what "marbling" is I wouldn't take his advice too seriously. Deer DO get tender because they are made of meat and will decay just like beef. I've never heard of anyone getting food poisoning from game meat -- even meat that has been hung till it was ROTTEN. Most bacterias that do cause food poisoning cannot penetrate beyond the outer layer of meat which is why a rare steak is considered safe and why rare hamburger is not. Keeping the hide on is an extra layer of protection to keep that bacteria off even the surface of the meat.

Proper aging doesn't involve bacteria but the natural enzymes in the meat that break down the muscle fibers.

Some people hang their game birds till their heads fall away from their bodies. I hang most of my late season waterfowl for up to three weeks, completely feathered and with the guts intact (obviously not with birds that have been heavily shot up though).

That said, temperature control is key. I'm putting in a walk-in cooler in my garage this year for next hunting season so I can control the aging of my game better.
 
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You could have made this thread really lively with adding the head up/down option. :cool:

sjemac, please take a few pictures and post your project for us.
sjemac said:
That said, temperature control is key. I'm putting in a walk-in cooler in my garage this year for next hunting season so I can control the aging of my game better.
Click to expand...
 
sjemac said:
Davey,

Seeing as how the poster of that doesn't even know what "marbling" is I wouldn't take his advice too seriously. Deer DO get tender because they are made of meat and will decay just like beef. I've never heard of anyone getting food poisoning from game meat -- even meat that has been hung till it was ROTTEN. Most bacterias that do cause food poisoning cannot penetrate beyond the outer layer of meat which is why a rare steak is considered safe and why rare hamburger is not. Keeping the hide on is an extra layer of protection to keep that bacteria off even the surface of the meat.

Proper aging doesn't involve bacteria but the natural enzymes in the meat that break down the muscle fibers.

Some people hang their game birds till their heads fall away from their bodies. I hang most of my late season waterfowl for up to three weeks, completely feathered and with the guts intact (obviously not with birds that have been heavily shot up though).

That said, temperature control is key. I'm putting in a walk-in cooler in my garage this year for next hunting season so I can control the aging of my game better.
Click to expand...

Finally the voice of reason... thanks for the succinct and factual testimony on proper hanging and aging venison "sjemac":cool:
 
In all periods of history, more people have been killed by religious fanatics trying to impose their "divine revelation" on the rest of the world.
 
oldbadger said:
In all periods of history, more people have been killed by religious fanatics trying to impose their "divine revelation" on the rest of the world.
Click to expand...
Once again, thank you for your opinion. Now back to the regularly scheduled programing.;)
 
I voted hide off.We never hang our deer that long (2-4 days) so the meat doesn't really have time to dry out plus with the hide off it will cool faster.
But whatever floats your boat I guess.
 
Hide off. I've had the sorry displeasure of skinning a frozen solid carcass. PITA!

I'm not a fan of long hang times, and usually try to get my stuff cut ASAP.

This year I cut my doe myself, on the kitchen counter, and a hunting buddy and I cut our two bucks in a friends somewhat heated garage. As a result of other commitments, we had to leave our bucks hanging frozen for a while, then hung them to thaw for several days at just above zero C. Losses to drying were minimal.

Cheers
Trev
 
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