Dry aging?

[Carrion Carrier]

Hi all,

Yesterday I shot a 4 point bull. I was going to post pics, but there's not much anyone would really want to see. On the shot, he tobogganed down the hill 500 yards, tearing off an antler and wedging under a downed tree. I guess I could take pics of bloody game bags

Anyway, this morning I fried up some backstrap in butter and found it to be a little chewy. I'm thinking about dry aging it for a while and was wondering what others think about this. I only have one refrigerator and it has food in it (duh). I could probably make a space in there, but am afraid of it picking up weird flavor from the fridge. I do have a barn I could put it in, but it's a little dusty in there. I have a large rack to put if on, and am wondering if it might be best to put the meat in an Alaskan bag to protect from dust/mice and stick it in the barn. The temps in there are cool and constant. I've always hung elk in there, whole or quartered, but generally don't age the loose meat much so that I don't have to trim it all away.

What do you think I should do? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Lawnboy]

Put it in the barn for a few days. Although if it is as cold as it is over here it will be frozen by morning. I think it's below zero now. congrats on a bull.

 

[BigBull301]

Put him in the barn for 3-6 days, he'll tender up.

 

[DavidKeenan]

hell tender up, IF he doesn,t freeze . If it freezes , no need doing it , I like to hang my game for a few days, if the temps are in the mid 30.s to mid 40's

 

[Shooter09]

If you eat game before rigor mortis has had time to relax it will be chewy, but as others have said if you hang the meat for a few days it will tender up

 

[Carrion Carrier]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've always hung my elk for a week, but was saddened last year by how much I had to trim. I'm specifically talking about the backstraps/t-loins (removed). I was just thinking it would be nice to have a way to protect them a little and not lose so much. All of the little spaces in the backstrap really make for some waste.

 

[Carrion Carrier]

It seems that if I don't remove the outside the meat only lasts a day or two in the fridge then starts to go bad.

 

[Khunter]

I would guess you overcooked it or got it too hot in the pan. Never had a tough elk but always take care to not sear the steak with high heat and always try for medium rare or less. Never thought elk needed aging..

 

[Khunter]

Pretty sure we need pics of that freight train wreck. Seriously. Pics as it lay?

 

[Carrion Carrier]

Just cooked some more that was aged and it was delicious. Better flavor and tore it up with just a fork. I guess last year I took an elk on opening day and that must have made all the difference. Not particularly cool this last week, but the meat looked the same as when I put it in the game bags. No extra trimming other than CT. Last year, trimming more than I would have liked.

Unfortunately, no pics. Couldn't find the camera at 4 AM and wasn't about to wake up the kids at that hour by looking much. It was a sight to see, but the real story was in the sounds. As I looked over the hill and saw the elk sliding into the timber a few hundred yards below me I started hearing the POP POP of timber breaking as the elk continued to slide down before wedging under the deadfall, .