I personally dont age them. I just get them into a cooler as fast as I can but that is mainly due to southern MO heat in Sept and October and as a lazy hillbilly i figure just get them put up now so i dont have to do it later. Later season kills I don't rush them into a cooler yet I prefer to not let them exposed and hanging for more than a day or two.
1) Do you really have problems with tough venison? (I haven't ran into a "tough" chewing deer and yes I do kill afew adult bucks) 2) Flavor-what about the flavor gets better? Milder? gamier? What changes? Heres my observations-none of my venison is ever tough to chew period. Occasionally a rutty bucks meat may have a very mild rutty smell and taste a lil gamier and seems to me the longer that meat is held prior to processing the gamier it gets.
"The question of whether or not to age game meats has always been a point of discussion among hunters. Many practical considerations such as the temperature at the time of harvest, the chilling rate, the age of the animal, the proper storage place for aging and the intended use of the meat need to be determined if you plan to age your game.
Aging of meat is defined as the practice of holding carcasses or cuts at temperatures of 34 F to 37 F for 10 to 14 days (Figure 3). This allows the enzymes present in the meat to break down some of the complex proteins contained in the carcass. Aging of meat usually improves tenderness and flavor.
Immediately after death, all meat decreases in tenderness. From one to approximately 14 days, tenderness increases at a constant rate. After 14 days of aging, tenderness continues to increase but at a much slower rate.
Because mammals and birds forage for food, their muscles may develop more connective tissue than muscles of domestic animals. Exercise can be given as a reason for less tender meat. Tenderness is generally inversely related to age of the animal at harvesting. The tenderest meat comes from young, healthy, alert animals. The condition of the animal prior to harvest has an overall effect on the quality of the meat. If an animal has run a long distance before being killed it will have depleted its reserve glycogen stores, which may result in meat which is darker in color (a brownish-red to a purplish-black) and may be sticky or gummy in texture. Consequently, this meat does not decrease to a normal pH of 5.6-5.8, but stays at a pH greater than 6. This decreases the keeping quality of meat and increases the potential of bacterial growth.
Not all meat should be aged. Young game animals are tender by nature. Aging game that has been skinned often results in excessive weight loss, dehydration and surface discoloration of the lean tissue because there is little or no fat cover on the carcass. The meat is also exposed and susceptible to deterioration by bacteria and mold growth. Processing game meats into sausage or ground meats should be done as soon after harvest as possible to minimize weight loss from drying and deterioration due to microbial growth. Grinding or chopping tenderizes game so aging is not necessary. If you prefer to age your game, leave the hide on the carcass and maintain proper temperature.
Whether or not to age birds is also a matter of personal preference. Young game birds have lighter legs, soft breastbones and flexible beaks. Older birds have darker, hard-skinned legs, hard and brittle breastbones and inflexible beaks. They need to be aged longer than young birds. If you do not have a cooler in which to put the birds, the weather can affect the aging process. Hot, muggy conditions accelerate aging. Sometimes birds are not dressed before aging. (The authors do not recommend this.) Hang the birds by the feet in a cool, dry, airy place. Feathers should be dusted with charcoal and covered with cheesecloth to protect from insects."
KSArcher~~~
My wife read your post and is begging me to kill a buck four years old or older.LOL. Just kidding.
VAbowhunter
See what you think then.
I use a meat thermometer to test the temperature of the hanging deer, at least every day while it is hanging and like it between 35 degrees and 42 degrees F.
Also, keep it out of the sunshine if you are going to hang it, no matter the outside temperature.
More typically, I have seen other hunters talk about the "gamey" taste of venison. That gamey taste is universally caused by either improper field dressing or "aging." Aging in cold temperatures within reason doesn't hurt anything, but it doesn't help either. I can hang a deer for 3 days at 30 degrees or butcher it while it is still warm and it comes out the same.
If you think about it, what does aging really do? It gives bacteria time to start breaking down the meat. If it is cold, the bacteria are relatively dormant, so the process is greatly slowed. If it is warm or enough time passes at lower temperatures (above freeze), the bacteria are literally rotting the meat. Not something I am terribly interested in.
My advice: if it is above 40 degrees, butcher immediately. If it is below 40 degrees, take your choice as to whether or not to do it immediately. In terms of taste and texture, it makes little difference.
when the meat slides off into tub pour it into molds, freeze ...However there are a few other ways as stated.
Milt
Aging allows the rigor mortis to slowly ease out of the meat. Green meat, "tough as tripe" full of rigor mortis has to be tougher than properly aged meat. Only stands to reason.
Take a rock-hard piece of meat and the same cut properly aged - no comparison in a tenderness and taste test. Peope age meat to get the rigor mortis out.
There is more going on in the aging process than just getting rigor out. Rigor only lasts about 24 hours. The effects of rigor will reverse in muscle tissue regardless of whether it is hanging, quartered, or de-boned if left un-frozen for an adequate time.
Unless a person knows what they are ding and has a way of maintaining a proper temperature, the effects of warm temperatures and mishandling often taint meat far more than any results gained from attempting to aging.
I’m not disputing that hanging/aging can offer good results, but I will say that it is just not necessary to achieve excellent results, even for older deer, particulary if you're grinding most of it, etc.
I process all my own deer; there are probably better ways but here is how I go about it:
I typically skin and quarter it at the farm, bone the back straps, etc and throw it all in a 120-quart cooler I bought just for this, and top it off with a couple bags of ice. If I have time I'll bone it all. When I get home I put the cooler in the garage, change out the water, add ice and go to bed.
The next day, if it's warm I'll drop a block of ice (frozen milk jug) in the cooler before I go to work or whatever. Once I get home I’ll finish boning it (if needed) and change out the water and ice. I'll slice the steaks and chops up and let them soak as well. I'll soak it to get out as much blood as possible, (unless its a young doe, then I'll skip the soaking. I use a metal tenderizer like the jaccard to let out as much blood as I can. I do this so that family and friends who are less fond of wild meat will like it better.
The third day, I add more ice before work if needed. When I get home I'll drain it all and then begin wrapping the steaks/chops and grinding the trim. I typically grind most of the rounds and shoulders if it’s a buck. I've taken 2.5 year olds that are not tough at all, but IMHO 3.5 year or older get a bit on the tough side and I just grind them and save the does for chops/steaks.
If the weather is cold and time permits extra soaking wont hurt, just keep it cool and change the water as often as you like. I've never hung a deer more than over night, and generally only string em up to skin and quarter.
I typically hose down the garage with bleach and water after each night, just to keep it all clean. In a perfect world I'd have a walk-in cooler and then maybe I’d hang and age em!
I guess that depends on the quantity and quality of ones reasoning skills. ;)
DPS's Link
http://www.gametenderizer.com/
If it is convient, in other words if you have access to a walk in cooler, yes it does help to age the meat. We age ours at 36 degrees with the hide on for about 10 days.
But...if you don't have that kind of access, you can age one a day or so in a Coleman cooler with ice. Just be sure to leave the drain open so water drains out.
Or you can cut that sucker up right then. But here is a hint. If it is hot and if you can, bring that meat down to cold temp before butchering. Try, if at all possible, not to package warm meat. It is also better to butcher one when cold, rather than fresh.
Aging is important depending on the age of the deer.
"Fresh" isn't bad and I have nothing against it. Good stuff. Due to logistics and time most of mine now is "fresh" But I haven't seen any meat, beef or game, that isn't improved in texture and taste by proper aging. It is the process of the enzymes breaking down the meat. Simple. Changes the flavor and tenderizes the meat. Marbling has nothing to do with it, meat breaks down, any meat, all meat.
Ever had any dry aged Allen Brothers steaks? Now go down to Safeway or whatever and pick up the same steak that is supermarket "wet aged" (that is the proper technical term used). Cook and eat them side by side. The dry aged Allen Bros will kick the Safeway steak all over the dining room. I believe their aging is measured in weeks, as in 6 to 8.
I don't fully age everything, very little nowadays as I lost my access to a walk in cooler. Someday I plan on building a small one of my own. But if you get a chance to age meat properly it makes a difference. Enough different to warrant the extra work? I guess we get back to that "subjective" thing again.
The Allen Bros are graded "prime", where as the Safeway steak is at best "choice". 2 completly diffeernt steaks, so you're comparing apples to oranges.
Just the same, I agree with points overall.
For those of you who call aging a wives tale, you should do some reading. If you prefer or are forced to cut it fresh, more power to you. But there are advantages to aging, give the proper temps and a method of keeping the meat from drying (fat cover or leaving the skin on)
Properly aging deer meat is best done with the hide on at just above freezing temps. We have found 36 degrees to be just what we want and no more than 10 days.
But there are some tips to aging. That carcass must be clean. We wash all ours out with a hose before hanging, then dried with towels and we hang all of them head up so all fluids can drain out. Each deer is inspected every day.
But in truth, the biggest key to tasty, tender deer meat, is what you do in the first 60 minutes. Nothing you do in the kitchen can overcome improper handling. No amount of aging can over come imprpoer handling in that first hour.
I have experience cutting meat as soon as the same day of the kill to as late as 14 days after. I can honestly say that the aged meat has always been more tender. The aged meat cuts easier and the silverskin is easier to remove.
In my experience, the taste of wild game is relatively unaffected by aging.
You can't compare wild game to beef when it comes to aging. There are too many differences.
Let them come to room temp. and sprinkle well with Adolphs meat tenderizer and run well with KC dry venison run or regular KC dry BBQ rub. Sprinkle well with Wroc, sauce and let stand at room temp for at least an hour. I alos season well with Tony Chachere Cajun Seasoning. Then smoke of 2 hours at low temp.
Not much meat but talk about a hor dee over. Oh, be sure and trim the lower end well.
Drove to Alaska one time with a guy and we ate smoked deer ribs the whole way. He had three big sacks full of them. No way you can eat just one.
But a cold beer is a must.
