SKINNING DEER

[BOB VANDRISH]

There were a whole bunch of comments made on this site not too long ago regarding when to skin a deer,before or after aging.
I had made the comment about aging the animal for as much as two weeks before skinning and even passed along our method to skin a deer using a cable and a golf ball.
Some recommended doing a deer immediately as there was a suggestion that leaving the hide on may have a negative impact on the taste.
I have had the opportunity to skin two deer out almost immediately after they were killed,and noticed a strange phenomena that I have never seen before,and wanted to ask the forum members if this was normal for a freshly killed deer.
There was a type of mucous membrane next to the meat that had to be removed before starting the deboning process.
As I said,I do not ever recall seeing this on an aged animal.
We had to do these fresh due to the restrictions placed on imported deer where a whole animal cannot be brought back into Ontario with specific parts still attached,like the head,unprocessed horns,spine,etc.
Any and all comments are invited.

[VixChix]

Bob - I'd say that slimy membrane dries out a bit with letting it hang longer. It makes the meat a bit slippery but I don't think it hurts any. I scrape it off as best as I can with a knife and finish cleaning it off when I'm packing the cuts for the freezer. The white skin is tougher to get rid off. Will try filet knives for that next time we butcher.

[mikew]

Bob - I'd say that slimy membrane dries out a bit with letting it hang longer. It makes the meat a bit slippery but I don't think it hurts any.

Bob, that's my experience as well.
-Mike

[Grizzly Adam]

VixChix is dead on, Bob. The carcass loses moisture when it hangs, and is drier in general when it has been hung.

Here in the South, a kill under 40 degrees Fahrenheit is very much the exception, and you must have a walk-in cooler to "age" deer. It's a rare day that doesn't get above 40 here, so we tend to skin and bone our deer immediately. I've killed many deer in 80+ weather ... nothing teaches you to work on 'em fast like hot weather hunting!

That membrane you speak of is commonly prominent on a freshly killed and peeled deer, and is especially noticeable on very young deer ... particularly if they're still hot when you strip 'em. It can even be filled with fluid and bubbles and can sort of balloon out from the carcass once in a while! I don't bother with it when boning except to puncture it if it gets rowdy!

It doesn't hurt anything and can be dealt with on the butchering table ... no need to fiddle with it when boning (I bone on the gambrel ... no bone enters the house).

So ... yes, what you observed is normal, and not a problem.

[BOB VANDRISH]

Thanks for all the replies!
It sort of confirms my gut instinct,as I have always done hanging and aged deer for more than 50 years,and a mucous membrane like that was never an issue.
I did run into something different on the first one that I had shot in PA this year,where there was a whole series of little tiny blood blisters in the neck of this deer,about the size of grain of rice,all running in the same direction up the neck.
I contacted their wildlife biologist,who in turn contacted their vet,and they came back stating is was safe to eat the deer.
Had never seen that before either!
I guess that too soon old,too late smart must apply to me here!LOL!!

[Dipperdoo]

I was taught to remove it. Easier to do when the animal has aged with the skin on. You can pull it off the hind quarter if you puncture it between the sirlointip and top round.

[bushmaster]

Be very careful....lol....my hunting pard just got his stitches out this morning and I was just getting stitched up at noon.

[VixChix]

I feel your pain, Bushmaster. Finger is healing from 5 stitches - OUCH.

[Grizzly Adam]

Now, kids ... what did mama tell you about playing with knives?

[VixChix]

Now, kids ... what did mama tell you about playing with knives?

But its so much fun!

[Cossack]

I skin as soon as possible and don't age. I do let my deer "set up" overnight before boning, weater permiting, makes them easier to cut. No mucous membrane issues. Also found that the easiest way to remove hair off skun deer is with a propane torch. Fast and slick. Hair just curls up lie down on a plucked/torched duck.