Aging venison?

[catman529]

I have the meat in the bottom drawer of the fridge. It was rinsed but drained off. I have the fridge set to just a hair above the coldest setting. No specific temp, it just says "coldest" and that's definitely in the 30s. I'm thinking of letting it age a few days before trimming and freezing it. Is this a good idea and how long should I let it sit? The backstraps and tenderloins are already trimmed, the rest needs to be trimmed still. This is my first deer so any advice is appreciated... thanks

 

[Trapper John]

When using a regular refrigerator I go about 4-5 days at about 35 degrees. You can use a typical outside thermometer to get a basic idea of what settings on the fridge coincide with what temperature. Too long in the fridge and it can dry out the meat so after the first day or so I usually put on a single layer of plastic wrap over the meat.

Back when I had an entire refrigerator dedicated to aging meat I would put a bowl full of water in the bottom of the fridge. That would help with humidity levels but plastic wrap was still needed to keep the meat from drying too much.

I did multiple deer like this for years before the refrigerator finally died (It was about 20 years old). It produced some of the best venison I've done.

 

[catman529]

When using a regular refrigerator I go about 4-5 days at about 35 degrees. You can use a typical outside thermometer to get a basic idea of what settings on the fridge coincide with what temperature. Too long in the fridge and it can dry out the meat so after the first day or so I usually put on a single layer of plastic wrap over the meat.

Back when I had an entire refrigerator dedicated to aging meat I would put a bowl full of water in the bottom of the fridge. That would help with humidity levels but plastic wrap was still needed to keep the meat from drying too much.

I did multiple deer like this for years before the refrigerator finally died (It was about 20 years old). It produced some of the best venison I've done.

Thanks for the advice. I have the meat in plastic bags so it won't dry out. Does that sound good? I'll take it out before T-day and trim it, cut it how I want it for storage, and freeze it.

 

[mike243]

do a web search for info on how beef is aged look it up & decide if you can use the same method from a deer,i have come to the conclusion that fresher is better ,there is also the wet aged method that makes more sense to me,congrats on your first deer kill,hope the meat turns out to be something you enjoy

 

[mike243]

http://www.askthemeatman.com/dry_aging_beef_info.htm
here ya go,make sure you read to the end,make note of the fat layer & humidity requirments,no need to experiment on your self er i mean on your first deer :)

 

[mike243]

here is a dry age process for home
http://bbq.about.com/b/2003/07/09/dry-a ... t-home.htm

 

[a retrohillbilly]

I think aged venison is much better. They don't go to the trouble of aging beef for nothing.If you have ever had unaged beef, there is a big difference, and I think to my taste the same holds true for venison.