BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I like to skin before I gut or start breaking the animal down. I don't hang wild game more than overnight or two. I process right away.
Whens the best time to skin a Deer after harvesting ?
- Thread starter jsavoy86
- Start date
- I skin them ASAP and then wash them down with lots of cold water from the hose.
- Wipe down with old towels, spread the ribs and put a fan on it to dry it off.
- Let hang for a week and then de-bone whilst removing all fat.
- Enjoy!
- Wipe down with old towels, spread the ribs and put a fan on it to dry it off.
- Let hang for a week and then de-bone whilst removing all fat.
- Enjoy!
Trimmer 905
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
With our crew,it all depends on the weather. If it's warm (55F-80F) in the early season,we field dress and get to the butcher's cooler immediately. Later in the season if it's cold(30F-40F),we field dress and hang at camp for a up to 4 days with the hide on before taking to the butcher.
I use a hitch rig which fits in the receiver of my truck to elevate my deer for skinning. It is gutted as soon as I get to it, then skinned immediately upon getting it to my vehicle, the blood is cleaned out, all hair removed although there is never much and the blood bruising is cut out, (my wife has lost many a good towel at this point), cooled and bagged prior to transport. I can’t comment on the practices of others but even rutting bucks done by myself like this have a great taste. It then goes to my butcher who is an artist with an animal where he normally hangs it for 7-10 days depending on how many animals are coming in. Tasty and tender meat. I’m sure others have good practices but this works for me.
^^^ what he said...Keep 'em cool as possible and as clean as possible!
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Your buddies issues are likely more to do with not gutting it immediately. There is literally crap inside the body, why on erath someone would not want that out immediately I cannot for the life of me figure out.
In my experience the skinning of the animal is dependant on many factors. The way you have been taught by others. The circumstances of the hunt such as temperature, distance from a vehicle, etc. etc. Whether the hide must be left on to protect the carcass from dirt etc.
I can tell you one thing over the past 47 yrs. I have personally never skinned an animal until just prior to it being butchered, as I have seen many carcasses/meat heavily soiled and contaminated by dirt and being dried out which created a mess for the butcher to deal with and wasted good meat needlessly.
I hunted out of camp many years ago in which we had a good year and shot a deer for every man in camp. One of the camp elders was a loud mouth no it all type who insisted all the deer be gutted and skinned immediately on the spot to aid in cooling despite the fact it was 10 below F. When my friend and I got our two skinned and frozen stiff deer to our usual butcher he was livid wanting to know what ever possessed us to skin those deer which caused the meat to be soiled and dried out. Stated never ever to bring him a skinned animal again.
The last time I had a some deer professionally butchered. The first thing the butcher asked was were they skinned, I replied no why. He stated he refuses to take animals that are skinned because 100% of the time the carcass is dirty and contaminated which causes him a lot of extra work, and the customer more money and less meat.
Now if the circumstances dictated the animal to be quartered and skinned to reduce the weight for flying or packing out and the pieces were thoroughly wrapped in cheese cloth with care I could agree with that. But from what I have seen and experienced over the last 47 years from hunting here in Ont guys ruin more meat by field skinning than one would care to think about, as most fellas do not have the expertise or the proper amount of cheese cloth at hand to do the job properly and cleanly.
I can tell you one thing over the past 47 yrs. I have personally never skinned an animal until just prior to it being butchered, as I have seen many carcasses/meat heavily soiled and contaminated by dirt and being dried out which created a mess for the butcher to deal with and wasted good meat needlessly.
I hunted out of camp many years ago in which we had a good year and shot a deer for every man in camp. One of the camp elders was a loud mouth no it all type who insisted all the deer be gutted and skinned immediately on the spot to aid in cooling despite the fact it was 10 below F. When my friend and I got our two skinned and frozen stiff deer to our usual butcher he was livid wanting to know what ever possessed us to skin those deer which caused the meat to be soiled and dried out. Stated never ever to bring him a skinned animal again.
The last time I had a some deer professionally butchered. The first thing the butcher asked was were they skinned, I replied no why. He stated he refuses to take animals that are skinned because 100% of the time the carcass is dirty and contaminated which causes him a lot of extra work, and the customer more money and less meat.
Now if the circumstances dictated the animal to be quartered and skinned to reduce the weight for flying or packing out and the pieces were thoroughly wrapped in cheese cloth with care I could agree with that. But from what I have seen and experienced over the last 47 years from hunting here in Ont guys ruin more meat by field skinning than one would care to think about, as most fellas do not have the expertise or the proper amount of cheese cloth at hand to do the job properly and cleanly.
Glad not to have met any of mr.goats butchers. There are some that charge extra for skinning and resent the per carcass fee being reduced.
I don't know how long it takes for a carcass to "dry out" but it hasn't happened to any of ours in 3-5 days of hanging.
Our guy, who is also a neighbor likes it that the excess fat and any blood shot meat is trimmed and they are in easy to manage quarters.
Will say though that if the carcass is going to be subjected to a lot of handling or contaminants, maybe leaving the skin on is a good practice.
We all have our own circumstances to deal with and decisions to make.
I don't know how long it takes for a carcass to "dry out" but it hasn't happened to any of ours in 3-5 days of hanging.
Our guy, who is also a neighbor likes it that the excess fat and any blood shot meat is trimmed and they are in easy to manage quarters.
Will say though that if the carcass is going to be subjected to a lot of handling or contaminants, maybe leaving the skin on is a good practice.
We all have our own circumstances to deal with and decisions to make.
Not likely to find a butcher to take an animal with skin ON in Alberta...least not in these parts...they detest hair and dirt...I butcher my own, and take great pride in doing so...
Sidearm Sambo
Regular
My father was a very good hunter. Grew up during the depression. Our family didnt have much and we needed the land to provide many meals. One thing i remember him saying was the venison always tasted better when they would shoot one and skin it right away. Not only to take care of the animal for processing, but also so the local authorities didnt know about it. A different time for sure. Now if a person needs to feed their family, im sure they would be thrown in jail for taking a deer out of season. Is it a sin or crime to steal food if you are starving?
CordovaShooter
New member
- Location
- Cordova Mines, ON
I don't think aging a deer does anything to help the flavour, it's not like beef where there is more marbling of the meat. Getting it cooled as quickly as possible is key to great tasting venison.
I hang my deer for minimum a week as long as weather and temps permit, but wouldn't know if it changes anything because it's what I do. This year's bull elk hung for 18 days and it's been amazing to cut and wrap, and what small amount I've eaten has been amazing. IT also helps that I got it 3 hours into the opening day and wasn't rutting yet.
several long time butchers I've talked with have told me there is no benefit to aging a deer because apparently it lacks the enzyme required for that process to take place like it does in beef cattle for example. In the case of beef , the enzymes go to work and break down the connective tissue while the meat is hanging at appropriate temperatures and relative humidity. The longer the aging process, the more tender the meat becomes due to the work of the enzymes.
if the animal/meat does not contain those enzymes, there is no point in performing an aging process though I've heard that hanging deer should be butchered within 7 to 10 days of the kill.
edit: just got off the phone with my butcher hehehe. I guess i'm wrong about deer not having the enzymes for aging...... but is so lean that it doesn't benefit the way it does with beef. Another main reason deer is not typically aged or hung past 7 to 10 days is it dries out very fast and can lose 10 to 15% of it's cut and wrapped weight from hanging too long. This is what he tells me anyways. His preferred aging method is meat temperature of 2 to 3 degrees C and 85% humidity for X amount of days. He will only hang age local cattle 20 days maximum.
Last edited:
I used to a hang/age. Now if the temperature allows I have an outdoor butchering table setup, hang them up on the tractor bucket, skin, gut and proceed directly to deboning and making my final cuts. Once I'm done I hose off the table and everything is ready for the fridge/ freezer. No indoor mess and more importantly trying to find the time later in the week for the butchering. From from field to freezer and at leisurely pace I done in around 2 hours. I have appreciated no difference in taste of meat.
That is why if you want to age your deer for a few days just leave the skin on until your ready to butcher and it keeps it from drying out. Pull the tenderloins ASAP as they can dry out quickly and let her hang for a few days before skinning and let the enzymes do their job!!
IMHO I have a feeling the long time butchers that told you there is no benefit to aging has more to do with them wanting to get the meat out the door ASAP and get paid then anything else.
I have my own hanging room we are finishing off with air conditioner run down by a "Cool- Bot" unit as well as humidifier/dehumidifier set up, all run by a PLC.
I can hang 8 quarters on sliding stainless hooks on a ceiling assembly made from garage door track and rollers with 2 , 8ft x 3ft stainless cutting tables , one has 2feet x 3 feet UHMW cutting board as well
I have been contemplating taking up meat cutting and sausage making after many years of DIY smoking, curing and processing my own stuff.
Personally, speaking only to deer (mulies/blacktails) I have never noticed much difference in flavor or tenderness between getting hide off right away and leaving it for a few days at the right temperatures. To me, in the field or hanging out back, anything over 6 degrees C is too warm and I get the hide off immediately of that's the case and butcher as soon as I get home and cleaned up.
Where I notice the difference is with elk and moose because we always have meals off the kill in camp.... which taste fantastic of course. However, after the trip to butcher and the hanging process and all.... I do notice the difference the hanging time makes.
these topics interest me is all. I have been endeavoring to set myself up completely so as to not need to pay someone to process my big game ever again. One of the butchers I know offered to pass on his sausage making skills to me but only if I take a meat cutting course first..... so I just might be doing that sooner than later.
I have been hunting for 50+ years now and have personally killed well over 100 deer. I have always butchered all the animals we have taken and can guarantee that there is a definite difference in tenderness and texture between a deer or moose that has been dry-aged and one that hasn't. With younger animals hanging time is less critical but with older moose and deer it can make the difference between an animal that gives up good whole cuts and one that is turned into sausage.
As I suspect a large percentage of hunters these days don't like the taste of deer I think the majority of them end up getting their animal ground up and turned into pepperoni or other sausage. If you are going to grind an animal then aging is not required.
As I suspect a large percentage of hunters these days don't like the taste of deer I think the majority of them end up getting their animal ground up and turned into pepperoni or other sausage. If you are going to grind an animal then aging is not required.
