Aging

[lbirch]

I shot my Nevada antelope last Saturday. Sorry, there are no pictures, he wasn't very big. Long story short, I passed several bucks looking for a great one. On day three I could tell my 9 year old son was getting board. It wasn't until I crashed my truck through a washed out road bending the front axle that I decided I'm going to shoot whatever comes next. I did and my boy thought it was the greatest day ever.

To my question. The quarters and straps have been in the fridge for seven days. I usually age the meat for about seven days in the high 30 s. How long do you let the meat age and at about what temp? Aging is a must in my opinion. It sure makes a difference. I'm looking for more ideas.

More info. I shot the buck through the armpits. Did the no gut method. Cooled it in the cooler with ice in garbage bags until we got home. The meat is clean and was quickly cooled. The straps we ate that nightwere mmm good

 

[brymoore]

I age pronghorn as long as it takes me to drive home, overnight if I'm busy.

Pronghorn don't have the same amount of collagen as deer and elk and don't benefit as much from aging.

 

[RobertR]

I have always known that keeping the temp around 35 is about average for aging if you have good humidity control and the meat your aging has some fat content in the muscle.
Check this out http://www.theoutdoorlodge.com/features/articles/wild_game/aging_big_game.html

 

[Papa-Zulu]

I don't age pronghorns at all; deer 5-7 days if it is cool enough; elk 7-10 days. The trick is to have the air temperature around 40 degrees--not easy to do unless you have your own walk-in locker. I used to have an old refrigerator in the garage for aging purposes.

 

[Fisheye1]

my rule is 3 days per 100 pounds of meat, at 38-42 temp.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Antelope are way different than venison. I think aging actually can hurt the meat taste.

Thirty years of harvesting and enjoying antelope has taught me to clean it, cool it, cut it, and freeze it as soon as possible for the best meat flavor.

Believe it or not, the closest relative species to the western pronghorn antelope is the giraffe.