spoiled meat

[Tom]

Tom, I've talked to a couple of butcher including one that was an instructor in a community college and they have all agreed with what Paul said.

Don, I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I have hunted with more then a few butchers, with high credentials and they say to hang as long as possible. This longer hanging will "loosen the meat" which makes the meat more tender.

The great thing with this forum is that there are many opinions and not everyone has to agree with everyone else.

Tom

[Boo]

Tom, I've talked to a couple of butcher including one that was an instructor in a community college and they have all agreed with what Paul said.

Don, I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I have hunted with more then a few butchers, with high credentials and they say to hang as long as possible. This longer hanging will "loosen the meat" which makes the meat more tender.

The great thing with this forum is that there are many opinions and not everyone has to agree with everyone else.

Tom

Agreed!

[artifact]

Interesting posts about hanging or not hanging deer meat.
Years ago when it was much colder during rifle season, it was pretty common here in Pa to hang deer either outside or at an ice house.
As stated in my other post, we hung deer in Maine for 3, 4, 5, 6 days plus the 13-14hr. trip home with the deer inside the bed of a truck, on a deer carrier, or on top of an army trailer. We never had a deer that wasn't fit to eat upon getting it back to Pa, they were all delicious!

[paulaboutform]

Aging beef is not like aging wild game. You don't have the fat marbling in game that you have in beef so you aren't accomplishing anything by trying to age game. I've had this explained to me by a few butchers, two of them being European trained and certified which is at least three years of training. That being said, I try to gut, skin, quarter and process my game as quickly as possible. I lost a bear years ago by trying to age it and not having the meat cold enough.

Paul

Sorry Paul but I have to disagree with your statement.

Hanging wild game does help break down the meat. Also, from my experiences, it will also break down a real strong wild taste which some deer have.

If a deer has been heavy in the RUT cycle, or has been fighting, the deer meat can easily be lost no matter how it is looked after during processing especially if that animal has been HORNED during a fight. A loosing deer will usually get horned in the hind quarters as it tries to leave.

Since a deer gets "really heated up" during a rut, extra caution needs to be taken.

Tom

Hey Tom, I'm a trucker not a butcher so I certainly don't claim to be a pro. In my statement I simply passed on what was explained to me by the pros. It had to do with the fat marbling in the meat and then they got scientific about the breaking down process; fats, proteins, amino acids, blah blah blah. I'm indifferent to it and just follow their suggestions as it seems they know far more than I do. I've never found hanging to reduce game'iness by hanging but have found that the care taken when skinning and gutting makes a HUGE difference. Especially removing scent glands and keeping hair off the animal...and keeping knives and hands clean. That's been my experience anyway. I'm also a huge fan of washing down the cleaned animal whenever possible and at the very least a good wipedown with vinegar water. I'm not saying this is gospel, it's just the direction I've gone from the butchers I've talked to. Maybe next Boofest you can bring some of your aged deer and I'll judge it accordingly.???

Paul

[newbie]

Aging beef is not like aging wild game. You don't have the fat marbling in game that you have in beef so you aren't accomplishing anything by trying to age game. I've had this explained to me by a few butchers, two of them being European trained and certified which is at least three years of training. That being said, I try to gut, skin, quarter and process my game as quickly as possible. I lost a bear years ago by trying to age it and not having the meat cold enough.

Paul

Sorry Paul but I have to disagree with your statement.

Hanging wild game does help break down the meat. Also, from my experiences, it will also break down a real strong wild taste which some deer have.

If a deer has been heavy in the RUT cycle, or has been fighting, the deer meat can easily be lost no matter how it is looked after during processing especially if that animal has been HORNED during a fight. A loosing deer will usually get horned in the hind quarters as it tries to leave.

Since a deer gets "really heated up" during a rut, extra caution needs to be taken.

Tom

Hey Tom, I'm a trucker not a butcher so I certainly don't claim to be a pro. In my statement I simply passed on what was explained to me by the pros. It had to do with the fat marbling in the meat and then they got scientific about the breaking down process; fats, proteins, amino acids, blah blah blah. I'm indifferent to it and just follow their suggestions as it seems they know far more than I do. I've never found hanging to reduce game'iness by hanging but have found that the care taken when skinning and gutting makes a HUGE difference. Especially removing scent glands and keeping hair off the animal...and keeping knives and hands clean. That's been my experience anyway. I'm also a huge fan of washing down the cleaned animal whenever possible and at the very least a good wipedown with vinegar water. I'm not saying this is gospel, it's just the direction I've gone from the butchers I've talked to. Maybe next Boofest you can bring some of your aged deer and I'll judge it accordingly.???

Paul

x2.
I get my deer cool as possible as fast as possible. Hide off within the hour. I think removing the hide fast prevents the so called gamey taste some talk about.
I have never had a gamey tasting deer.

[janesy]

I think it's safe to say that there are scenarios for and against haning deer. At gun season it's not uncommon for deer to hang for a week or more. BUT, I would hope that the hunter has the common sense to treat venison the same as any meet you want to keep for consumption. If gutted fast, and the temps are cold, hang away.

Truth be told, I've had deer that's hung for 7 days and deer shot the morning we packed up... I couldn't tell you the difference if my life depended on it

[Tom]

Paul, I do not think very many of us here are butchers. I, am not a butcher either, I have only worked with butchers which are family friends when butchering our game (moose and deer).

The thing is that this topic is like "what is the best broadhead". Even the professionals will differ with their opinions.

I do agree with Paul that once the animal is down, the responsibility and hard work begins. The prep work from the very beginning right up to the time it is on the butchers table will determine the quality of the meat.

Many people, myself Included, prefer to leave the hide on for protection from flies and insects. Leaving the hide on does require more time inspecting but it will save time when you do not have to "reskin" the animal to remove the dry outter skin you get when it is left to the air.

It does not really matter who is right or wrong as long as you take the time and energy to protect the animal.

Tom.

[paulaboutform]

Paul, I do not think very many of us here are butchers. I, am not a butcher either, I have only worked with butchers which are family friends when butchering our game (moose and deer).

The thing is that this topic is like "what is the best broadhead". Even the professionals will differ with their opinions.

I do agree with Paul that once the animal is down, the responsibility and hard work begins. The prep work from the very beginning right up to the time it is on the butchers table will determine the quality of the meat.

Many people, myself Included, prefer to leave the hide on for protection from flies and insects. Leaving the hide on does require more time inspecting but it will save time when you do not have to "reskin" the animal to remove the dry outter skin you get when it is left to the air.

It does not really matter who is right or wrong as long as you take the time and energy to protect the animal.

Tom.

Agreed!

[Hunt it]

Quick fix to cool meat if in a bind. Skin and quarter or if your coolers are smaller debone. Put meat in cooler fill 1/2 ice and 1/2 water, drain water and fill each day - new water and more ice. Meat will keep 5 + days like this and all the water removes blood 100% from meat. once butcher has it he will put it in cooler and process soon. This is common practice for many hunters that have tried it even when cooler and butcher are close. It works great on an animal that is in rut or has had to be pushed to find - remove gamey taste.

[nchunterkw]

Quick fix to cool meat if in a bind. Skin and quarter or if your coolers are smaller debone. Put meat in cooler fill 1/2 ice and 1/2 water, drain water and fill each day - new water and more ice. Meat will keep 5 + days like this and all the water removes blood 100% from meat. once butcher has it he will put it in cooler and process soon. This is common practice for many hunters that have tried it even when cooler and butcher are close. It works great on an animal that is in rut or has had to be pushed to find - remove gamey taste.

Lots of guys down here in the south do exactly this. I have never tried it as I feel that draining all the blood will change the taste. Is that so? Seems to me it would be different. Any comments?

[Hunt it]

You are correct it makes it taste way better. The game taste lays within the blood of a critter to some degree. As per your avatar, Bison is the worst offender here in a lot of cases due to the fact that Hunter travels long way and wants to take meat home day after shot. Kinda hard to throw the bison in back and drive home so majority have it processed on the spot, no hang time at all. Try bringing it home this way and you will see tremendous taste difference for the better.

[Hi5]

This has been an interesting thread. There is a lot of solid experience being offered, and although the opinions differ, the sincerity is evident.

However, I'd sure like to have some person with solid, Food Science, background offer an opinion.

For example, is it completely a myth that in European hunting circles, a shot pheasant is hung up by the neck, unplucked and ungutted. It hangs until it has decomposed to the point that the neck no longer supports the weight of the bird and it drops. Then it is plucked, gutted, and cooked. Apparently it is tender beyond belief and flavorful in a positive way.

If that is not a myth, then there is a whole lot of Food Science not commonly understood in North America. There must be some bacteria that are our friends, and some that aren't. Why would some be helpful with birds and not 4 legged critters?

Just wondering, don't have the answers......

[Horizontal Hunter]

I'll try to keep this short.
My nephew shot a nice buck on Thursday last week around 4:30 pm. We collected the buck on Friday morning around 9:30 am the temperature throughout the night was 2 to 5 degrees Celsius. We gutted it when we collected it.

After hanging the deer for just over a week, we butchered it deer on Satrtday (one week one day). The temps during the week were between -2 and plus 4 Celcius. I cold not have asked for better aging temps.

ISSUE the fat (lard) near the groin was SAGE GREEN, and the meat near the arteries in the groin area was also SAGE GREEN and it had a "BAD" scent. All the other meat was regular red. Why is the fat green in the groin area and the meat in the same around the arteries green? I did a "next morning" collection once before but the temperature was quite a bit colder with no issues.
Is the green because we gutted it late OR because we did not clean it well enough after we gutted it?

I think it is because of the time delay to gut it initially but that is my guess. Help

I don't want this to happen again.

Thanks

Inbetween the hams is the hardest and slowest area to cool the meat down. In warmer temps I always put a bag of ice there for the ride home and if keeping overnight it gets wiped down and dried and a quart milk jug of ice goes there. Milk jugs are great as they don't leak water when they melt

I couldn't tell from your post but I am assuming that the buck was hit poorly (read back) and the rumen/intestines were hit and leaked contaminating the meat.

I always process a deer that is paunch hit right away. They always get rinsed and wiped down dry. The vinegar wioe down another poster mentioned is a great idea and will surely kill the bacteria. Bacteria needs moisture, warmer temps and time to turn the meat. Remove as many of those variables as you can and you will be fine.

To age or not age is a timeless discussion right up there with which broadhead is best; does Ford or Chevy make the best truck. Different strokes for different folks.

Bob

[Allan]

Me again,

Wow, I wasn't able to get online for a while, and the topic has kind of deviated from the original question.

Bob,
It was a perfect shot, double lung. But the inexperienced hunter didn't see the buck go down and it wandered into thick swamp, so when I arrived I asked for descriptions of what happened and we thought it best to leave it until daylight.

The "greening" was specifically between the hams. This is only the second deer that I have collected the "morning after". The first one was during colder temps and there was no issue with the meat.

It sounds like the issue was probably late cooling. I did prop open the cavity while it hung and rinse out the cavity with cool water (as I usually do) but in hind sight It looks like skinning could have helped.

Thanks guys.

[Carnivorous]

I butcher mine the next morning. Mainly because I want to fire up the bbq and I have no patience... lol