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Cooks' Corner
ageing your venison for table fare?
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<blockquote data-quote="Coyboy" data-source="post: 178769" data-attributes="member: 3733"><p>Sounds like you guys all have a pretty good handle on getting your deer cooled and cared for.</p><p></p><p>When I first started hunting back in the mid 80's I couldn't get the deer cut up quick enough. Seemed like once it was killed it was time to take care of it. If they hung for 2 days that was long for me then. Venison always seemed "chewy" and I thought that was just the way it was.</p><p></p><p>I worked for the local locker when I was 20 helping with the deer processing. Thats when the full time guys gave me the education on aging meat. The one thing they emphasised was to keep the meat dry so a fungus didn't grow on it. A couple years later a friend took me to his place and he had 5 deer hung in his cooler a week after deer season, I was thinking he was a little goofy. After he cooked some well aged steaks for me I started to pay attention.</p><p></p><p>The next year I had the perfect oportunity to age my deer, I had an uninsulated garage with a cement floor that kept a pretty consistant temp from daytime highs to night time lows. I let that deer hang for 12 days in temps that swung from 32-38 degrees. The result was no longer "chewy meat"</p><p></p><p>Since then I have been aging my meat, hide on, for different lenghts of time varrying on the temps from day to night. One year the lows were down around 32' and the highs were hitting the 50's. I had the deer hanging in a pine tree wind break so they were out of the sun. Like blackco, once the carcass had cooled I wrapped it in an old sleeping bag to keep the cold in during the day. I cut the meat up after just 5 days due to the warmer weather. This year I shot a 4.5 year old buck. The first night he hung outside in 26' temps. After that he hung in my insulated shop were it was 42'. I left him for 6 days and cut him up, I have ate several steaks off that buck and they are as good as any. I have also aged deer in a cooler out of necessity, after being boned out on hunting trips and hauled back home, I would leave them in dry coolers for 4-5 days weather/temp permitting. If conditions are good, low-highs from 28-40 degrees I usually leave them hang for 7-10 days.</p><p></p><p>I haven't had an aging horror story yet, but I keep a close eye on the carcasses during the hang time.</p><p></p><p>One thing I learned is that after a week of aging the hide pulls off relativly easy, due to the "relaxing" of the conective tissue.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Just my experiences I thought I would share with you, may-be they will help you age your deer. At one time I thought I would quit shooting deer because they weren't that good and they were tough. 20+ years later and I put up about 5 deer a year, and my whole fammily enjoys the tender and tasty steaks that aging helps to produce.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Coyboy, post: 178769, member: 3733"] Sounds like you guys all have a pretty good handle on getting your deer cooled and cared for. When I first started hunting back in the mid 80's I couldn't get the deer cut up quick enough. Seemed like once it was killed it was time to take care of it. If they hung for 2 days that was long for me then. Venison always seemed "chewy" and I thought that was just the way it was. I worked for the local locker when I was 20 helping with the deer processing. Thats when the full time guys gave me the education on aging meat. The one thing they emphasised was to keep the meat dry so a fungus didn't grow on it. A couple years later a friend took me to his place and he had 5 deer hung in his cooler a week after deer season, I was thinking he was a little goofy. After he cooked some well aged steaks for me I started to pay attention. The next year I had the perfect oportunity to age my deer, I had an uninsulated garage with a cement floor that kept a pretty consistant temp from daytime highs to night time lows. I let that deer hang for 12 days in temps that swung from 32-38 degrees. The result was no longer "chewy meat" Since then I have been aging my meat, hide on, for different lenghts of time varrying on the temps from day to night. One year the lows were down around 32' and the highs were hitting the 50's. I had the deer hanging in a pine tree wind break so they were out of the sun. Like blackco, once the carcass had cooled I wrapped it in an old sleeping bag to keep the cold in during the day. I cut the meat up after just 5 days due to the warmer weather. This year I shot a 4.5 year old buck. The first night he hung outside in 26' temps. After that he hung in my insulated shop were it was 42'. I left him for 6 days and cut him up, I have ate several steaks off that buck and they are as good as any. I have also aged deer in a cooler out of necessity, after being boned out on hunting trips and hauled back home, I would leave them in dry coolers for 4-5 days weather/temp permitting. If conditions are good, low-highs from 28-40 degrees I usually leave them hang for 7-10 days. I haven't had an aging horror story yet, but I keep a close eye on the carcasses during the hang time. One thing I learned is that after a week of aging the hide pulls off relativly easy, due to the "relaxing" of the conective tissue. Just my experiences I thought I would share with you, may-be they will help you age your deer. At one time I thought I would quit shooting deer because they weren't that good and they were tough. 20+ years later and I put up about 5 deer a year, and my whole fammily enjoys the tender and tasty steaks that aging helps to produce. [/QUOTE]
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ageing your venison for table fare?
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