# Hanging the harvested deer questions?



## FairwayCAL (Oct 27, 2006)

1. How long do you all let your venison hand before you cut it up?
a. Does hanging for a longer period of time really benefit the meat taste?

2. Is it better to hand from hind legs or head?


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## apeterson (Aug 3, 2005)

depends how warm it is... if the weather is hot then dont hang it too long....

tast is the same... deer dont have enough fat inorder to make the "aging" thing have much merit.

head or feet depends on how you skin them.. we hang all ours from the head.


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## indsport (Aug 29, 2003)

We have hung our deer, not for the taste, but for the tenderness (been doing it for over 30 years). If the days are in the 40's and nights at or below freezing, we hang ours for about 3 days. Warmer than that, a shorter time, a day or two. If colder, particularly if the meat would freeze, we move it to our cold cellar (which we keep in the 40's) and age for 3 days or so. Hide on or hide off is a matter of preference (Wisconsin and Michigan hunters seem to hang with the hide on while here in North Dakota, most hunters I know skin deer immediately). In our opinion, our method results in a more tender deer, but doesn't affect the taste one way or the other. 
BTW, all the deer we shoot generally are standing still and haven't been pushed or run. I understand from others (as well as other deer we have tasted), that a running deer just tastes "gamier" than some deer that is calmly munching corn or sunflowers or just walking. Again, our opinion.


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## apeterson (Aug 3, 2005)

I dont believe your running thing for a second.... blood is what makes them taste gamy..... soak the meat in salt water and you will get rid of the blood... no matter if they were sleeping or running... they all still have the same amount of blood


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## woodpecker (Mar 2, 2005)

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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Get a pulley system with a gambril.The only way to hang a deer.Easy by yourself,right out of the pickup.Of course then it must be hung by the hind legs.

I skin it immediately while still warm before the fat against the skin hardens.Like peeling a banana.More pulling and a lot less cutting than when cold.

I generally cut it up the next day after allowing to cool overnight.If you plan on hanging it for a few days,then don't skin it right away.....it will dry out.But as said above.....not much gained by letting it hang.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I hang mine by the legs. I have a drywalled ceiling in my insulated garage. I cut the back legs below the joint and make a slit between the leg bone and tendon. Then run a length of rope in a loop through there. I have S-hooks hanging from 2x4's which are screwed into my rafters (through the drywall). Then I just stand in the back of the pickup and lift the deer up so the ropes catch on the hooks. Does are pretty easy-bucks you really have to lift or have someone assist you. Then I skin them and let them hang a few days and do a little butchering each night. Even the last few days with the high temps I was able to keep my garage between 35-39 degrees by opening the doors in the evening, windows open at night and then shutting it all up during the day. Plus I had to keep my 2 1/2 year old out of there because he keeps wanting to go in and look at the deer.


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## usmarine0352 (Nov 26, 2005)

*MILK.*

Being soaked in MILK will also get the gamey taste out.

I've never heard the running shot causes adrenaline rush that will affect taste.

Taste the same to me.

:sniper:


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Over the years I have cut up deer the next day and have let them hang for a while. Two things I have noticed in doing this is that the longer it can hang at the proper temps without freezing it does make the meat much more tender. Case in point is this year. My wife and I both filled tags on the opening weekend. My daughter filled hers on this past Sat.

My wifes deer and mine hung the entire week hide on and my daughters was skinned down the next day. All of the meat was cut up on Monday and we cooked some of the steaks from each deer.

The steaks from our deer you could cut with a fork and my daughters you had to use a knife. Temp and time dictate how long I will age a deer. Taste seems not to change, but tenderness of the meat sure does.

One thing I found is that running deer vs calm deer seem to have little difference in taste. Kind of like the old time belief that you need to cut the throat to bleed out a deer. Unless the animal is hit in a non vital area cutting the throat does not reduce the amount of blood left in the animal.

Hanging of deer is a preference also we hang from the head and skin them head to tail. Others I know do it the opposite and quality and taste is no different. Sausage is getting ready to go in the smoker tonight and tommorow. Good hunting to all for the rest of the season!


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

I hang the deer from the hind legs from a tractor bucket, rinse the insides of the deer with a garden hose, cut out the tenderloins and then skin it. 6 to 10 hours later when the meat is cooled down I quarter it and debone it and grind up whatever I am planning for sausage.

When I am going to make roast or steaks I marinate them in milk for 3 to 4 hours. This makes the meat so much mre tender and as usmarine0352 said will get the gamey taste out.

Every year for Thanksgiving and New Years my wife and I stay at home and precess venison sausage. We will be starting tonight !!! :beer:


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## indsport (Aug 29, 2003)

Clarification: since all our deer in the last 30 years were shot standing still, we have little basis for comparison with a running deer. Just those we have been served that were running deer tasted gamier, in our opinion, so it could have been the processing method since we didn't see it. Other deer hunters I hunt with also will not shoot a running deer for the same reason since in their opinion, a running deer tastes gamier. Obviously some of you on this post have not had that experience but we have. As to marinating, we have never had to marinate our deer before cooking unless we wanted to. Skinned out, hung for a time and most of it is fork tender and tastes great. All our deer here in North Dakota shot since the late 80's were all feeding on corn, sunflowers, or now, soybeans, right alongside the beef cattle. 
However, the few times in the past I have shot and had deer from a pine woods area, the deer meat tasted completely different even though processing techiniques were identical to what we normally use.


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## usmarine0352 (Nov 26, 2005)

I've shot and eaten deer that were standing still AND running. All of them were processed the same way and tasted the same way.

:sniper:


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

I am of the opinion that "gamey" flavor is directly related to how quickly the deer is cooled after it is taken. From close to forty years in the field, the only so called "gamey" deer meat I have ever had came from those who were thrown into the back of a pickup or trailer with their skins on and hauled around when the weather was warmer than fifty degrees. We have a utility trailer set up with a boom. We haul it to the field with us every year, and skin all deer as soon as possible after recovery. They are then bagged and if the weather is a little warm, packed with ice. If we have to stay in an area for a few days, we will find a place to hang them. If it weren't for the quality of the deer meat that we harvest, I wouldn't even bother to hunt. Venison deserves all the care you would give the finest piece of beef. I have hung deer as long as ten days if the weather allows, and do see some correlation between hanging time and tenderness. If you don't care for steaks or fried loin, it won't matter to you. Sausage cures a lot of evils. I'm convinced that's why so many people make only sausage or jerky. The flavor matters little then and you can leave that big buck sit in your pickup in front of the bar all day long. Good eats, Burl


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Burly you are right, about care of the animal and taste. We try and get our deer hung and rinsed as soon as possible. Even if it means missing the last hour or so of hunting in a day. When it has been to warm to hang we cut it down and chill it.

I went with some friends a few years ago just to push and shoot birds, they harvested a buck early in the morning on a warm sunny day. Even though we where close to a town to get ice they chose not to. Just before dark they filled they filled the other tag. Later on the guy who shot the buck was complaining that his roasts and steaks tasted bad but the other buck was fine.

The simple fact was that one was hung up within 1 hour of harvest the other almost 10 hours. Temps hit the mid 50's that day with lots of sun.


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## scissorbill (Sep 14, 2003)

Get the guts out right away,cool down the carcass,hang by the back legs and skin when still warm makes it much easier. Less hair on the meat when you do it back legs first. Im always amazed at the stories,pics etc of people leaving the guts in a deer overnight or for hours for pics etc. Meat is tainted very quickly. Washing the carcass out quickly with cold water is a good idea too.


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## FairwayCAL (Oct 27, 2006)

Does anyone else de-bone while it is hanging?

A few years ago I watched a how-to VHS tape on how to de-bone a deer while hanging by hind legs. All the large muscle meat comes off in 4 giant pieces and each front leg comes off. then i use the front legs for grinding meat as well as some of the rump roast smaller muscles, but loins and large muscles in rump can be cut for some good "steaks". All the rest of the meat is widdled off and used for grinding.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

I hang my deer by the hind legs-seems easier to skin than by the neck. I agree it is easier and more comfortable to skin while still warm. I made several deer hangers last year, very simple to make, just welded it into the shape of the ones you buy, though it could probably hold a bull moose. Believe me or not guys, my best friend lets their deer hang in their garage for 4 months. Yah i no, its seems weird but they eat all of it


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

Lindberg9
4 months.......is that a typo?


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Mossy, not at all. Ill take a picture of them now then in March when they cut them up. They says it "tenderizes" the meat :lol: Never doubted it since theyve been doing it for years. :beer:


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Like indsport I don't like the taste of deer that have been run. Go out and lift weights until your muscles burn. I forget which acid it is (lactic I think) that is a byproduct of muscles burning energy, that makes your muscles have a burning feeling. That acid does two things, it toughens up the meat, and it makes it taste. Not necessarily gamy, but it isn't good. I am not talking about jumping and shooting a deer, I am talking about one some dummy chased for three mile with a pickup.

Hanging deer depends on the temperature. There was a table in one of the outdoor magazines a couple years ago. I have hung venison for over a week at 35 to 40 degrees. I think the table said something along this order:
35 degrees up to 21 days
40 degrees up to 10 days
50 degrees 7 days
60 degrees 4 days
70 degrees 2 days skinned.

I do not remember exactly, but I do remember it ranged from 2 to 21 days. It's the ones in between I have a hard time remembering. Indsport is also right about the reason for hanging.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Plainsman, What does the temperature have to be for 120days? :lol:


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## mikemcc (Jul 30, 2004)

I never rinse the inside with water -- can cause bacterial growth, even in a cool garage/shed. If I need to, I wipe with a dry rag, but that usually isn't necessary.

When it is warm, I only hang for a day, or maybe two if I am busy. Then I quarter the deer and remove the backstraps and place them in a cooler with layers of ice, I'll leave that in the garage for a few days and keep on checking the ice. I want it to partially melt, but still stay cold so I'll add ice as needed. This method of aging makes for very tasty venison. Even an older buck tastes great and I have no gamey taste at all -- ever. Plus, having the meat really cold makes it a breeze to debone and cut everything into steaks and roasts. I'm one of those people who will spend four hours cutting up steaks, medallions, and roasts, removing silverskin and so on -- every last detail. Plus I get _every_ last shred of meat off for stew and jerkey.

My favorite way to prepare a roast is to roll it in flour and brown it in a frying pan. Then I throw it in a roasting pot in which I have browned some onion. I add water and let it cook for an hour or so. This makes its own gravy. After an hour I add potatos and carrots. When that roast comes out it is so tender that you can cut it with the side of your fork. And the flavor makes people rave -- it is so superior to beef that it is almost amazing. I still prefer the flavor of beef steaks to venison steaks, but the venison is a very close second.

I learned all of this stuff right here. Three years ago, I had never processed my own deer, but folks on this forum encouraged me to do it myself and now I'll never have someone else do it for me. I also learned about the cooler method of aging right here, so I know that some other people use this method. Plus, I got the recipe here, though that is something I had been doing with beef for years.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Lindberg9 said:


> Plainsman, What does the temperature have to be for 120days? :lol:


I am doing some venison ham right now. I am using the dry method and covering it in salt for 40 days at a temp between 36 and 38 degrees. After that it should be held at about 50 degrees to dry for at least 20 days. This lets the salt disperse evenly also. The dry venison (like dry beef) will be held to dry until early March. Then sliced about the thickness of paper.
I'll bet at 36 degrees or lower it could hang one heck of a long time.


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