venison aging

[Joe Hulburt]

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2006/01/deer-hang-time

That article goes against the findings in this study almost completely. I tend to get stuff cut up about as soon as I can and have never lost any meat or had to remove any fuzz.


http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B589R.pdf

 

[ttinman23]

let it hang

A friend of mine picked up a walk in cooler along with a lot of other equipment from a meat processor that closed down a few years ago. My buddy was a butcher in his early days and has always bragged about how tender meat will get if you let it hang properly. Decided to hang my bull elk this year for three weeks in his cooler. Went to cut it up and the meat had a nice white fuzzy mold growing on most of it. Started cutting and you could tell it was tender. Cooked the first steaks on the grille and you could just about cut'um with a spoon. The flavor was about the same, but I've never head wild game that tender. Shot a whitetail the last week of Nov. Its still hanging and will be until we get close to the 3 week mark...[/QUOTE

I use to have it butchered and frozen right away. In reading the Field and Stream article on this topic and implementing the way it should be, it has really improved the tenderness and gamey taste and not just by a little.........I just havn't figured out yet if I need the air outside to age the meat properly or if keeping it in coolers will do the same, if I quarter it because of weather. I will soon find out.