# After the kill



## FairwayCAL (Oct 27, 2006)

Does letting the deer hang for a period of time once gutted and skinned make the meat "better"?


----------



## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

It is supposed to tenderize the meat. A couple days at 40 degrees should allow bacteria to break down some of the muscle tissue and tenderize it.

The finest reseraunts in the world wipe the green fuzz off a steak before they cook it. 40 degrees is optimal. We hang our deer in a cooler until we see signs of mold. Wipe the mold away and process properly. Make the meat very tender.


----------



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

I dont know if id let it mold, but hanging for several days if its cool enough does wonders.

I let everything hang if its cool enough. Does wonders to ducks and geese.


----------



## Tator (Dec 10, 2005)

ahhh ruger, reminds me of the steaks that The Lodge in Baker MT use to serve, I'm sure them had some green moisturizing their steaks, but man, what a meal!!!! 24 oz

mmm good times


----------



## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

FairwayCAL said:


> Does letting the deer hang for a period of time once gutted and skinned make the meat "better"?


We let some of our deer hang for up to several months depending on the outdoor temps. There is nothing wrong with letting the meat hang properly provided it does not get to warm where they are, or that the temperature doesn't vary by more than 25 degrees between freezing and thawing... e.g., as long as they stay cold you should be fine.

As has been mentioned some people believe it makes them more tender.. however you will have some of the meat dry out if you wait too long.

.02

Ryan


----------



## FairwayCAL (Oct 27, 2006)

so what if a person just grinds 80 percent of the meat for sausage?


----------



## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

If you are grinding it for sausage, there is no point in hanging it. Hanging it is all about tenderizing the meat and maybe getting the blood out. I suppose if you are grinding it, hang it for a day or so and then grind. Just to get the blood out.

Tator, where in Baker is that? We belong to a deer camp in Ekalaka. I've never heard of The Lodge.


----------



## Hockeyhunter99 (Oct 11, 2007)

shot on friday or saturday. by sunday it is cut up and packaged. i have never seen the point of letting your meat "age" aging your meat will make it tender, i agree, but a person needs to learn to cook it right. just throwing a steak on the grill and letting it cook ruins the flavor of the meat. my $.02. if you process and store immediately you can leave the meat a little more rare without having to worry about food poisoning. i love a good venison steak pan fried for three minutes each side. Done. ready to eat. my dad and i both agree on not hanging for more than two or three day. and we do all of our own processing. from ribs to rump!!


----------



## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

I don't care if you are cooking green meat. If you cook it past medium rare, you've over cooked it.

I age mine and cook until medium rare. It just melts in your mouth.

HockeyHunter is right, cooking properly is the key.


----------



## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I hang mine in the garage, and if its cool, do the butchering over 3 to 4 days. My uncle has a butcher shop in Heaton ND and he was telling us about what some of these big time restaurants do to age their meat. Green fuzz and all! LOL

I have heard of some people hanging a pheasant on the barn wall with a nail and not cleaning the pheasant until the head detaches from the body. I'm not into that! uke:


----------

