How long do you age your deer meat?

[Erick S]

I ask this because the one I processed last night was 9 day from kill date. Normally I let them hang hide on for 5 days then process. This last one only hung 2 days and then was quartered and refrigerated until yesterday. I have been processing deer since last Tuesday and was not able to get to this one until last night. It did not have any noticeable odor, but I am still a little concerned about the meat being bad. Is 9 days to long?

Erick

[saumensch]

7 days is the satndard in germany, that is cooled and without hide. Up to 5 days in the hide and cooled. Had one last year hang 10 days cooled and withou hide and it was just fine. The gamey-taste increases but in like it anyway.
I think yourrse should be fine adn i would use it without worries.

[bornagainbowhunter]

what was the outside temp before the quartering and refrigeration?

[Erick S]

Sorry forgot we hang them in a walk-in cooler that is kept at 40*.

[canoeman]

I think the the temperature in which it's hanging is most important.  If it were around 35 F, I don't think 9 days is too long at all.

[jonsimoneau]

9 days is not too long.  I let mine hang for 14 days or more whenever I can, depending on temps.

[bornagainbowhunter]

your fine.  If it never got above 40, you are all good.

God Bless,
Nathan

until i kill it!

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I don't like to hang mine that long, but I don't have a walk in cooler either. 9 days is pushing the limit in my opinion and 4-5 days would be better....just my 2 cents.

Without the luxury of a cooler, I usually skin and quarter mine as soon as I can....normally within a day or so. Then it can go into the bottom of my fridge in the garage for another day or so. Maybe 4 days at the most from time of kill to in the freezer is all mine ever age.

Then if it's real warm out, I skin and quarter within hours after the kill and get the meat in the fridge as soon as possible. Once it's in there, then it's fine until I can get it deboned and packaged for the freezer.

[Jeff Strubberg]

I've quit ageing venison.  We package two or three a year for family and friends and if the meat is clean and well-drained, I don't find any difference between aged and non aged meat.

Beef we hang for two weeks.  Deer we cut up immediately.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by Jeff Strubberg:
I've quit ageing venison.  We package two or three a year for family and friends and if the meat is clean and well-drained, I don't find any difference between aged and non aged meat.

Beef we hang for two weeks.  Deer we cut up immediately.

I agree, I haven't noticed any difference in taste or tenderness when they are aged any more than a couple of days. Mainly the only reason why I would let mine age is due to not being able to get to it right away to get it cut up and packaged.

[xtrema312]

I get them quartered and trimmed out ASAP and in the fridge.  No more than 4 days in there on average while I am working on them.  When I have cuts ready to go I put them back in the fridge until I am done.  We rarely shoot a really old deer.  Most are 1.5-2.5 years and don’t need to be aged although any time they are kept cold, but not frozen I think they are aging.  I don’t think they have to have the skin on.  So I guess on average I age them about three days.

[Encino Man]

Aging a deer at 40 deg. it is said that the meat will taste best after 5-7 days.

As far as "hide on". I don't think it is nessary if your putting it in a cooler. The quicker an animal cools down, the better.

You would leave the hide on if your cooling it down outside. To protect the meat.

[Ray Borbon]

Originally posted by arrow30:
until i kill it!

Right on.  

[Don Stokes]

It's fine. I've aged them up to 17 days in the hide or ten days in a cooler on ice with no problem.

If it goes bad, you'll know it! I left the quarters and backstraps from a young doe too long in a plastic garbage bag in the fridge one year, and it got really rank. I thought it was totally ruined, but my throw-nothing-away wife cut up the meat while I was at work, and when I got home the whole house smelled like corruption. She sniffed each piece as she cut it, and if she didn't gag, she kept it. I thought she had lost her mind (that happened a few years later- now ex wife) but the meat was some of the best I've ever had. Since that experience, I don't worry about a little odor.

[Igor]

I've had them hung with hide on for a week or better with no issues. We always field dressed them on the spot and propped the body oppen with an appropriate sized stick then rinsed out the body cavity with cold water. I hunt in northern minnesota and it has been cold enough to keep the meat. I've also skinned and cut them up the next day and really can't tell the difference. The only time I've had bad venison is when I've paid to have someone else process it so I bought a grinder and a meat saw to do it all myself!

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Glenn

[SpencerL]

The University of Wyoming did a study on aging venision.

 http://ces.uwyo.edu/PUBS/B589R.pdf

By the way, my family doesn't like to too "gamey" so I only aged about 4 days this year.

[Huntschool]

No less than 7 days hung head down.  I am lucky to have a processor who hangs and cuts exactly as I want.  Did our own cut and wrap for years back in Jersey but the temps here in Southern Illinois can be pretty warm.  I don't even like to start hunting until the last week in Oct. because of it.

I really feel this "aging" is needed.  I want all the blood drained and a bit of microbial activity is beneficial. Professional butcher/processor friend told me if you cold water rinse the internal cavity dry it completly when you are done.  Something about the bacteria and chemicals in water. The most expensive beef is dry aged and it is really something to behold.

I have hung halves at 38 deg until the "green amd mould" had to be scraped off to cut the meat down.  That was some good deer meat.

[wildwood]

Ive learned to just hang it until its cool, has a glaze and cut it up

[chanumpa]

I prefer 5 to 7 days.My main concern is getting the animal cooled out a.s.a.p.General elk season in Oregon starts in Aug. and ends in Sept.and can be 90 degrees for the high ,so here it is imperative ,{in my opinion}to get that kritter skinned and then as long as you have a cool place to store them,10 or 12 days is no worry.Have done it lots of times with no problems,and great meat.