Hide on hide off?

[Chris O]

I saw a thread about how long to hang a deer before you butcher it the other day. I didn't realize you were supposed to let em hang a few days but it got me wondering if you should leave the hide on or off or maybe it doesn't matter?

[Chris O]

This is my first poll so I hope it works! Thanks in advance for replies!

[oldskool]

I don't buy into all the stuff about hanging for three days or what ever. All my deer get butchered the day I kill it.

[xtrema312]

Hide on to keep the meat from drying too much and keep the bacteria out and flies off, but most times I skin, quarter and put it in the fridge the same day.  If it is real hot and I don't have a fridge then I do the same, bag the quarters and trim then on ice.  I never skin and leave exposed to the air.  It probably cools way faster, but if cooling is an issue a fridge or ice is best.  I hunt farm land deer, do a good job of field dressing, and cut out all bone, fat, and white skin.  My venison always tastes great with no hang time. I guess if I shot some big old deer I would maybe be more concerned with hang time, but the 4 year old I shot this year is just fine eating so far.

[maineac]

Depends on the temp.  I have butchered same or next day and let hang for over a week.  I leave the hide on to help keep in moisture.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

It's really not necessary to let them hang for a few days but it does help the meat.  In reality most of us don't have meat lockers so we let them hang for as long as the weather permits.  If it's warm we skin and quarter right away, if it's sub 40 you can let them hang pretty much as long as you want within reason.

[LKH]

I often leave the hide on.  Keeps them from freezing.

[customcrester]

I butcher my deer the same day or the next if the weather is cold.I leave the hide on until i butcher.The sooner it's in the freezer the sooner you can enjoy the venison.  

[lpcjon2]

I keep the hide on.and hang it for 5-10 days if temps permit.

[Killdeer]

It all depends on the weather.
Deer hide and hair is chock full of bacteria and stuff.
I leave it hang with the hide on if it is going to stay cool and dry.

I take the hide off if it will be warm, or rainy. When the hide comes off, I butcher the deer.

The hide is much easier to remove while the deer is still warm. I would not let the deer hang hideless because the meat will dry out.

Aging the meat is a whole other matter, and can be done in the cooler or refrigerator, before or after freezing the meat. So, I can kill a deer some days before going home, and age it on the rack or in the cooler. Then freeze.

Or, I could kill a deer on the last day, butcher it, freeze it at home, and age it when I pull it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge. On the whole, conditions are most controlled when I age the meat in my fridge.

That is, if I don't miss.
Killdeer

[Killdeer]

BTW, I did not vote in the poll because there was no way to allow for these variables.

Killdeer  

[Don Stokes]

I hung one in January for 17 days one time, hide on. Some of the best venison I've had. It was unusually cool for MS. I've never had conditions that good before or since down here.

[30coupe]

Let me ask you this: if you had a beef butchered and the locker left it hanging for a few days with the hide on, would you eat it? How about if they let it hang outside with the hide on for a day or two?

The longer meat stays warm, the more bacteria can take over. What is the hide designed to do? Keep the critter warm, right?

I want that hide off as soon as possible. As far as the meat drying out with the hide off...so what. Do you think that doesn't happen if they hang in a locker?

The sooner you take care of the meat, the better it will taste and the lower your chance of food poisoning. I cut mine up as soon as the rigor is out.

[Killdeer]

Actually, once the animal stops producing heat, the hair on the hide serves to stabilize the temperature of the meat. So you cool it down as quickly as you can, and the hair slows its reheating, as well as retarding any freezing overnight. I am not saying that the meat can not get too warm, or freeze, I am just saying that it is slower to attain unfavorable temperatures than hideless meat.

As long as the meat is staying cool, I don't care where it is. Bacterial action is necessary to tenderize the meat. Too much action and the meat goes bad. Beef does not dry out in commercial lockers because of carefully controlled humidity levels.

 http://www.ehow.com/about_5085414_tenderizing-meat.html

Whatever way you control that, it's all good.
And yes, I would eat the beef hung with the hide on.
Killdeer

[frassettor]

Originally posted by oldskool:
I don't buy into all the stuff about hanging for three days or what ever. All my deer get butchered the day I kill it.

same here!

[joevan125]

Im lucky that i hunt a few miles from the deer butcher and he always lets the deer hang in the cooler for at least 5 days with the hide on.

For those of you that dont believe this makes the meat more tender i have to disagree. I have done it every way that it can be done and letting the meat age for a few days makes the meat a lot more tender.

I use to hunt with a college buddy of mine who had a 6,000 acr farm and we had 100 doe tags. I use to let some of those deer hang in there walk in cooler for over a week and man it was some of the best deer meat i have ever ate.

[Don Stokes]

It goes without saying (or should) that if you plan to leave the hide on, you should cool the carcass as quickly as possible. I do it with cold water from my hose, or by dunking the field-dressed carcass in the nearest creek. Some say you shouldn't wash out the carcass, but the thought of that grosses me out. I don't want coagulated blood or worse in contact with the meat that I want to eat! Paraphrasing what Killdeer said, having the hide on protects the meat from drying and temperature fluctuations. Deer hair is an excellent insulator! That's how they can sleep in the snow without melting it.

Beef is not the same- the carcass is much larger, and consequently harder to get cooled down. If it could be done, I'd prefer to age it in the hide, too, after having the experience of turning a couple of old, stinky, rutting bucks into much better venison by aging them for a week in a cooler with the hide on. It makes a big difference in the flavor to me.

I wouldn't shoot a bit old stinky rutting buck if I couldn't age it properly in the hide. And if you believe that, I have this piece of prime real estate in the Florida Everglades...

[inn8hunter]

Ever since I started skinning them as soon as possible and only letting them hang one day at the most, the meat has been so much better tasting.

I believe it comes down to cooling a deer asap by getting the hide off. Hanging after that may help, but I think you lose meat due to drying if you hang too long.

Tim

[bawana bowman]

I voted to leave the hide on, only because I believe it will help to protect the meat. But...

Have never let a deer hang, have seen people do it up north, why I don't know.... don't agree with the aging of the meat theory. Never seen a cow carcass hanging to age the meat. (At least not outside with the hide still on) Meat can be aged very efficiently butchered and left in a dry cooler. I know many butchers which do it this way, and their product is excellent.

Also where I live, and most areas that I hunt, if you were to leave a deer hang for a day you best be digging a large whole cause that suckers gonna be real ripe when you get back to it.
We generally will have any deer we kill hung, skinned, back straps and tenderloins removed and quartered, within an hour and a half of killing. Then refrigerate over night and process in to steaks, roasts, or ground meat next day. Very efficient, and meat always tastes great!


   

[jindydiver]

I voted it doesn't matter. You are only talking a couple of days and then you are going to butcher it, the meat wont dry significantly in that time unless it is particularly warm or dry where you are.
If the drying worries you (and it worries me) then get your deer broken down and into a fridge as soon as it has cooled. I put the muscles onto a teatowel in the bottom of a tray and then stick them in the fridge for a day or two till I can get to it and sort it for freezing. I stick the whole butt end in if it will fit too