Aging

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EllieTheChubb
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Aging

Unread postby EllieTheChubb » Sat Nov 09, 2019 2:47 pm

I dont usually have the luxury of aging my deer because of warm temps but the next week-ten days looks perfect to hang. How long do you all hang your deer before butchering?


Rich M
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Rich M » Sat Nov 09, 2019 3:11 pm

I age them on ice. We typically quarter and bone the day shot, then in the cooler for a week or so. Done that for years.

Not my choice. Live in FL and also have to bone deer shot in other states to be legal.

I'd prefer to hang a whole deer in a barn for a week or more if temps were right.
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PK_
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Re: Aging

Unread postby PK_ » Sat Nov 09, 2019 6:37 pm

Rich M wrote:I age them on ice. We typically quarter and bone the day shot, then in the cooler for a week or so. Done that for years.

Not my choice. Live in FL and also have to bone deer shot in other states to be legal.

I'd prefer to hang a whole deer in a barn for a week or more if temps were right.

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Re: Aging

Unread postby keepthefevercalls » Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:09 pm

Same as above.

I quarter and pull backstraps and tenderloins out the day of. Throw it on ice in 2 coolers. Make sure your coolers have a drain plug. Here in SC unless it gets real cold I drain it every morning and every night, occasionally slap another bag of ice on. 5-7 days does the trick!

We had rare steaks off a hindquarter the other day that were incredible.
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Rsnyder
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Rsnyder » Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:50 pm

I’ll let hang 5 days if weather right. Tougher to skin than when fresh but worth it IMO.
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Jurist
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Jurist » Sun Nov 10, 2019 2:13 am

quarter it the day of.

Then into the fridge I have set up just for aging venison. 10 days to 2 weeks.

Then process and vacuum seal.

Delicious.
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Kraftd
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Kraftd » Sun Nov 10, 2019 3:24 am

Aging individual cuts after you pull them front the freezer also works well too. Anything you’re going to braise or grind will have no tangible benefit from agin too, so aging the whole deer isn’t a necessity.
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Re: Aging

Unread postby EllieTheChubb » Sun Nov 10, 2019 7:27 am

Kraftd wrote:Aging individual cuts after you pull them front the freezer also works well too. Anything you’re going to braise or grind will have no tangible benefit from agin too, so aging the whole deer isn’t a necessity.



This is really the only way ive done it. Letting it sit in the fridge in packages for a week prior to freezing or when i defrost
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Re: Aging

Unread postby EllieTheChubb » Sun Nov 10, 2019 7:35 am

PK_ wrote:
Rich M wrote:I age them on ice. We typically quarter and bone the day shot, then in the cooler for a week or so. Done that for years.

Not my choice. Live in FL and also have to bone deer shot in other states to be legal.

I'd prefer to hang a whole deer in a barn for a week or more if temps were right.

X2

Exactly what he said.



I have always been a bit nervous about meat in a cooler because its such a humid environment. Interesting to hear so many folks do it with no problem.
Rich M
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Rich M » Sun Nov 10, 2019 7:48 am

Yeah, if you believe what some folks say about the meat sitting in melt water being a petri dish, it gets suspect real quick.

The good thing is that they don't know what they are talking about.

Not all areas of the country have cool enough temps to hang deer and not everyone has a meat locker available.

Most guys in FL or GA either bring deer to processor or put em in a cooler.
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Kraftd » Sun Nov 10, 2019 9:11 am

EllieTheChubb wrote:
PK_ wrote:
Rich M wrote:I age them on ice. We typically quarter and bone the day shot, then in the cooler for a week or so. Done that for years.

Not my choice. Live in FL and also have to bone deer shot in other states to be legal.

I'd prefer to hang a whole deer in a barn for a week or more if temps were right.

X2

Exactly what he said.



I have always been a bit nervous about meat in a cooler because its such a humid environment. Interesting to hear so many folks do it with no problem.


I generally agree with this. Still need to keep those temps down and most folks I know that do this get the meat up off the ice with a rack of some kind. Really don't want the meat just sitting in water for to age.
Rich M
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Re: Aging

Unread postby Rich M » Sun Nov 10, 2019 10:19 am

Pretty much. Don't mind me - I'm at work, go on vacation then come home and work every day until the work is caught up...

I just haven't found a lot of diff between using a rack of sorts or just draining the cooler "frequently". Example - my mule deer buck is in a 70 qt cooler w 20# of ice on top - draining the melt water water in AM and PM. The water is now pretty clear as opposed to being bloody during the initial cooling and "drawing" process where the water pulled blood out of some of the meat.

The long and short of it all - is we should do what seems right to us. We are gonna consume it, might as well treat it right by our standards.

I never had a tough deer steak until I hunted a place in GA - every deer from there is tough, sometimes leather tough - even the back straps. Treat it the same as anywhere else - shoot, then skin/quarter and into a cooler/ice. Thought it was the whole rigor-mortis thing folks talk about, letting the muscles tighten/stiffen up and then letting them break down. Supposedly icing a deer too fast can stop this process and it gets "trapped" in the rigor-mortis tension. Just not too clear on how to deal with the possibility of this. Issue is that it doesn't happen to deer I've taken at other places. Weird. But, in all seriousness could be the whole kill to cooler being measured in an hour or two that might do it. Thank God for my grinder and love for ground veni.
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Re: Aging

Unread postby mipubbucks24 » Sun Nov 10, 2019 1:41 pm

How do you guys deal with the wasted meat of aging? I have tried it a few times and have never been happy with how much meat I had to trim off. Maybe I am just doing it wrong? Also have not really had a tough deer yet except for 1 mature buck, neck roast was terrible.


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