I've had mine hanging since Nov 3. Still going to give it a week or so. Not much to do, just let it hang without letting the meat freeze and don't let it get above 40 for extended periods of time. After it hangs as long as you prefer process into normal cuts and then cut off the dry layer with a fillet knife or similar. Congratulations on your deer and enjoy.

 

The garage stays a fairly stable temperature, but what are your methods to keeping the temperature 33-40?

 

My cousin tried this last year and said it was the best venison he's ever had.

I'm awfully tempted to let mine hang for awhile with these temps but looks like we get a heatwave on wednesday with a high of almost 50F. Would that be something to worry about if I were to dry age mine?

 

My cousin tried this last year and said it was the best venison he's ever had.

I'm awfully tempted to let mine hang for awhile with these temps but looks like we get a heatwave on wednesday with a high of almost 50F. Would that be something to worry about if I were to dry age mine?

I wouldn't worry since the overnight temps will be low enough to keep the meat cool, the actual temp of the meat will not get above 40 even if the outside temp is above. Obviously keep it in the garage or in a shaded area if it is outside though.

 

I would get the hide off ASAP once back at camp or home.

 

Yep. Already out and gobbled up.

No stranger to processing deer just never dry aged one before.

 

Hide on is the way to go IMO. They're harder to skin once they are cool, but it's far less of a PITA then having to trim (and waste) all the dried out meat that is exposed after skinning.
Without a controlled environment, you have to hope for mostly cold nights and cool days. Keep in mind it's the meat temperature and not the air temp you need to be concerned about. A few 50-60 degree days don't concern me a bit as long it cools down and night I'm storing in the garage out of the sun.

 

If I plan on aging a deer, I leave to skin on so I don't have to trim away the layer of dried meat. I have no clue if that's the right thing to do or not, but it seems more antiseptic that way.

 

I disagree. The hide is filthy. Get it off and wash the carcass down with fresh water then wipe it all down with a rag soaked in distilled vinegar. The vinegar acts as an effective microbial astringent barrier. Trim it up, bag it then let it season if you want. I’m jealous you all got those nice low temps to be able to that.

 

We also hung one longer then usual, we normally process within 2 days. This one hung for a week with the hide off. Yes lots of extra trimming not my favorite deer we have butchered.

Next time I will leave the hide on if its going to sit a week or more. I didnt like the look or smell of the exposed meat and my garage has been just above freezing all week no spoilage.

 

Just cut mine up on Sunday that had been hanging in the pole barn for 9 days. Left the hide on to protect the meat and reduce the amount of waste. Just be sure to wash it out thouroughly and remove the inner loins, if thats your thing. If you take the hide off and leave it hang be prepared to throw away more meat than you're most likely comfortable doing. There is minor trimming when the hide is left on for the parts that are exposed during gutting. Mainly in the hind quarters. I will admit it is a PIA to take the hide of after hanging a while as the hair wants to "fall out" when tugged on but the quality of the meat makes it worth it. So much better IMO. So long as weather allows I will always age it as much as I can. We have had deer hanging in the barn at temps in the daytime near mid 50s and lows near freezing. No issues so long as its not in the sun from my experience. Trust me you wont be disappointed with the meat by letting it age. I have never heard anyone say wow that tastes horrible.

 

Dry aging is science. Simple as that. You can absolutely butcher a deer the day you shoot it but it will never be as flavorful or tender as an aged deer.

Now I will admit I have walk in cooler at my camp so we can hold steady temperatures but once you start aging them correctly not aging them seems weird.

Only exception at my camp are gut shot deer that you can’t get the smell out of. If they smell even after being cleaned out that smell will just get worse. If anyone has a trick for that I’m all ears.

 

Dry aging is science. Simple as that. You can absolutely butcher a deer the day you shoot it but it will never be as flavorful or tender as an aged deer.

Now I will admit I have walk in cooler at my camp so we can hold steady temperatures but once you start aging them correctly not aging them seems weird.

Only exception at my camp are gut shot deer that you can’t get the smell out of. If they smell even after being cleaned out that smell will just get worse. If anyone has a trick for that I’m all ears.

Good tips guys thanks so much, that all makes sense for sure. We took off the hide, and yes trimmed off more then we liked to. Next time will try with hide on.

Were in the process of getting an old fridge and converting it to hang a deer in so we can age it or at least keep cool if its shot during warm temps. Good info!

 

Venison lacks the fatty acids to slow bacterial growth, if the temperature is much above 37 your meat is rotting. Make a meat cooler with styrofoam insulation and a window AC.

 

Biggest key to aging is to maintain (as close as you can) a constant temp. I have a cooler (which is now run by an ac unit) and prefer to let a deer hang from 2-3 weeks before cutting it. I get the hide off when I get it home (often before I gut it because it’s cleaner overall) I had an unintentional test one year to confirm what I am doing....I used to hunt my uncles property (formally my grandparents)....as part of my harvest, I shared some of the harvest with my uncle who no longer hunts very much. A week later, when I stopped by to visit, he asks....what do you do different than your brother? Wondering if I’d done something wrong, I asked “why”?....his reply....well, when I cooked up your brothers (he shared part of his harvest also, and normally cuts it up the day of or after) and it has a different taste and you can see the blood come out in the pan when I cook. Yours, I don’t see that, and it tastes more like beef and is more tender.
From that point forward, I was sold that what I was doing was not just in my head. The key of aging is constant temps and keeping an eye on things. If it has too much moisture on it before aging, it can promote mold growth (not a major deal, it can be cut off with no ill effect) in fact, for me, I have found that when I see a couple mold spores show up on the inside of the rib cage that it is time to get cutting.

 

This!

 

Hide on 14 days minimum as long as the temperature in my garage stays 25 - 45 °F. That is why I don't bother to start hunting until around October 20th - too dang warm to allow for hanging. If it gets too warm, I quarter it up and put it in my salmon cooler in plastic garbage bags with lots of ice in gallon containers. Rotate new ice in every day if it melts quickly.

On a side note - coming from a chemist - deer have lots of fatty acids - my doe had 1 3/4 inches of it on her butt after skinning her today.

Hey guys - this is just experience - I used to think 5 days was a long time to hang. Over time, increasing the hang time has resulted in more tender venison and better tasting. I would not be afraid to let a 7 year old whitetail hang for 20 days either - if the temperature is right.

 

The issue isn’t that deer lack fat and fatty acids, it’s the meat. Domestic meat/muscle is marbled with fat, so the meat is actually full of fatty acids to help prevent bacterial growth. Venison lacks marbling. That back fat isn’t doing the aging process any good.

 

In case anyone wants to go real deep on the process of dry aging.

Venison is actually great for dry aging.

Still the biggest consideration should be getting the meat as cold as possible as soon as possible.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213453018300600

 

i let mine hang as long as the weather allows with hide on. if i had a cooler it would be at least 3 weeks before i would start cutting. my grandpa was a retired butcher and on the side he butchered deer too. his personal deer hung in his cooler till a layer of mold covered the inside of the rib cage. usually at a month +. to this day it was always the best tasting venison i have ever had.

 

I’m not convinced of this extended hide on aging . If you guys wouldn’t mind shipping me 1 & 2 week aged deer roasts for evaluation I’d be very grateful. PM me for the particulars ok guys.

 

Here is what I have been doing the past few years, (originally posted after 2017 season)

I have been processing my deer for the past 30 years (still no expert) two years ago I took a chest freezer and built a temperature device where I can control the temp anywhere between 30 - 50 degrees or simply disconnected it and use it as a freezer.

I aged my first deer the fall of 2015 3.5 year old from NLP. As we consumed the deer over the next year my wife, son and I all made comments on how good it tasted and how tender it was.

So the deer I got this year I quartered it within hours of shooting it and hung the meat in the cooler to age, I first took one back strap and cut two steaks, packaged, labeled and froze same day it was shot. After ~15 days I processed the balance of the deer and took the other back strap and cut two steaks from the same location packaged, labeled and froze. After two months I pulled both packages of meat and cooked them together on the grill using no seasoning. After cooking there were 9 of us and we did a taste test not knowing which meat was aged (except for me). 7 of 8 all picked the aged deer as having a better taste and more tender. The only one that didn't pick the aged meat was my daughter that never liked deer meat or most any meat.

I have been using 37 as a temp and this year I purchased a Temp/Humidity gauge because I have always been curious what the humidity is. I have two 1/4 deer hanging, one put in the freezer the 11th and one the 16th the temp is 37 as expected and the humidity is ~90% not sure what humidity is ideal it has dropped a few % the past couple days and I have the plug removed in the bottom, I am going to target 21 days except for most of the burger and front shoulders I will cut them in the new few days as time permits as I use most of that meat for jerky and burger

 

I’ll bring wine.

 

I disagree. The hide is filthy. Get it off and wash the carcass down with fresh water then wipe it all down with a rag soaked in distilled vinegar. The vinegar acts as an effective microbial astringent barrier. Trim it up, bag it then let it season if you want. I’m jealous you all got those nice low temps to be able to that.

i disagree 100%. once the so called "dirty" hide is removed you are now exposing the whole deer to everything under the sun. the hide is a natural barrier and should be used as such unless you have the right conditions. the only area that should be left exposed to dry out is what a normal gut job exposes and this will vary depending on how one guts their deer. i know i may get flack for this but there is absolutly no reason to split a pelvic bone and exposing that much more meat to goto waste. i wont even rinse my deer out. theres no reason to introduce another chance of contamination. simply wipeing out the exposed area is good enough imo and 99% of the time i dont even do that. a good clean gut job and draining the cavity is the most important part before hanging. gut shot deer or deer that the gut are cut open during gutting are a different story. once gut material touches exposed meat then its just a matter of time till it effects the meat. all areas exposed to gut matter should be cut away or the affected areas processed right away.

 

If I'm not keeping the cape I always cut all the way to the chin on a deer and remove the trachea and esophagus because of the bacteria that resides in them and also to expose the neck to cool temps quicker. The neck is a big piece of meat and won't cool as efficiently if encased in the hide.
Most of the whitetails I shoot are donated to friends and family and I don't have the time usually to baby sit a carcass for them. I've yet to hear anyone complain and they always come back for more.

 

I've tried every method over the years and have friends and family they do various methods from walk in coolers to taking to a processor.

What I've found is, I do what I have time for. I butcher at my convenience and I've never had anyone complain. Been asked tons of times if I "age". My deer are usually quartered and in the fridge in 48hrs, usually. From there it's a few days before final butchering.

I have shot deer in July and had them ground and in the freezer in less than 4 hours. I still think those were the best backstraps I've ever had. Might be the time of year though?

I'm not sold on this "aging" thing. Mostly because 90% of people don't do it right to begin with. I would like to honestly do a side by side taste test. I know there isn't enough difference to tell otherwise. Maybe if I could take bite after bite though?

I think it's cool when guys get a system they love and run with it though. As long as you're doing your own, do it how you want! That's the beauty of it all anyway.

Sent from my E6810 using Michigan Sportsman mobile app

 

I want to know what ac units u guys are buying to get the temp down to 37. No way would a standard window shaker do that, not even to a small room. Did you modify the thermostat?

 

To be able to get the ac unit to cool to the temps required for aging you have to get a temp controller. Look into the coolbot pro. It will set you back $350 but it's still cheaper than a walk in and I would think energy costs are lower as well.

 

Hide on (25°-45°) and aged till mold appears on the inside of the ribs. Every bite is like filet mignon!

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

 

dont waste $350 on coolbot that's a waste of money.go on amazon and just buy a digital programmable thermostat and wire it to your window a/c unit per you tube video...itll cost around $20-$30...

 

I hang my deer for as long as I am comfortable based on temps. I am currently still doing this in my unheated barn. If its to warm I will break it down to quarters and slide it into a spare chest freezer. I can maintain pretty good meat temps in there by plugging it in for a short time a couple of times a day. I use a remote meat thermometer stuck into the meat for this and it works really well. I can keep a deer at 33-38 very easily for as long as I like. I have considered giving a timer a try (I have one on hand) but I suspect temps would creep one way or the other over time and adjustments would be constant. A thermostat to a relay would be a better choice I just have not taken the time. Maybe next year.
A walk in would be great but I usually only have 1 deer around here at a time and don't want to dedicate the space or $.

 

How many deer can you take every year in MI?

 

Dnr would love us to shoot 20 deer each. And in some places you can get that many tags but max of 2 bucks

 

Guess I don't know what I'm missing on aging deer. About the longest they hang is 4 days. Ive had them cut up before they have cooled off as well.

I found that improper cooking is what makes tought.