Cabela's guidelines on hanging and aging deer

[Vermin93]

Always hang head-down.
Age by hanging the carcass whole or breaking down in muscle groups.
Age at less then 40 degrees.
Age deer for "no more than five to seven days." (that makes no sense)

I love this wisdom: "the larger piece of meat you use, the greater your yield will be." :crazy:

 

[Barnes Ridge Rambler]

I don't usually age them. If I do its a day max. But thats how dad taught us to skin them.

 

[bowriter]

Here is my guide:

1- Always hang head up. That way all the juices drain out instead of collecting in the chest cavity.
2- Age skin on at 34-36 degrees.
3- Age whole or quit wasting time.
4- If possible, age with the entire carcass wrapped in an old sheet or something similar. Helps keep it clean.

 

[bowriter]

No it isn't and I thought we were talking about deer. If you deer weighs 650-pounds, then cut it in half or quarter. If it is the same size everybody else kills, leave it whole for more uniform aging.

 

[Deer Assassin]

i hang them 7-10 days whole

 

[Deer Assassin]

at 36-38 degrees

 

[timberjack86]

I quarter mine, put it in a plastic tote and cover with a garbage bag or cheese cloth. Let set or age whatever you call it 5 or 6 days then I butcher. My venison is delicious so what do I care :grin:

 

[TheLBLman]

I just take mine to Yoder Brothers.

 

[pressfit]

Honestly, I have hung them 2 weeks and I have hung them 2 hours.. I doubt very seriously anyone could tell the difference when they eat it.. now beef..that's a different story..

 

[Vermin93]

What exactly is wet aging? If you age the backstraps and hind quarters on racks in a large cooler above block ice, is that wet aging?

 

[timberjack86]

Do you have to trim all the dry meat off? Or does most of that come off when you remove the silverskin?

 

[timberjack86]

Gotcha. I am going to try this on the first one I get next year. Thanks!

 

[Vermin93]

What exactly is wet aging? If you age the backstraps and hind quarters on racks in a large cooler above block ice, is that wet aging?

Wet aging, by definition, would be aging the meat while contained, such as wrapping it in plastic or in non breathable bags, where there is not much moisture loss. I would also consider aging meat directly in ice to be "wet aging." I will transported venison in ice when needed, but I'll allow it to dry age for a few days once I get it home.

Not trying to be nit-picky, because this is what I actually do....

If I have a huge marine cooler with a layer of block ice on the bottom and wire shelving sitting above the block ice, and if I lay the backstraps and hind quarters on the wire shelving so that the meat is not in contact with the ice and blood can drain, and I make sure it stays less than 40F in the cooler, would that be dry aging or wet aging?

 

[AT Hiker]

Aging meat is a science, whether you want to believe it or not, and it works when preformed correctly.

Dry aged is my favorite, maybe one day I will be stupid rich and I will build a salt block lined room to age my venison and free range beef. Actually I would never butcher it...just slice of a piece as needed.

 

[TN Larry]

Poser,

Please explain your dry aging method.

Thanks!