ageing

[deerhunter]

does anyone know how long and the best temp to age your moose or deer.

[adkRoy]

The best way to age your deer is to look at the wear on the teeth. The sharper the points on the teeth the younger the deer. The more worn the teeth the older the deer. Some of the catalogs sell aging kits with models of the teeth on a big ring so you can compare them to your deer.

[millermankt]

Are you asking how to tell the age of the animal or how long to age the meat ?

[need2hunt]

If your asking about aging the meat, I paint on a strong salt water mix on the meat and let it age a week if its below freezing and three to four days if its above.  Seems to work alright.

[adkRoy]

Sorry I misread the post. All aging does is cause the proteins in the meat to break down making is softer. It doesn't affect the flavor that much. It is best to process the meat as soon as possible.

[Pikeguy]

I tend to agree. I don't see much of anything good coming from letting meat sit out. Most people just gring it into sausage etc. anyways. Just my .02

[Dr. IceGeek]

I don't age my meat...I process it immediately.

[buzzbomb]

If it's cold enough I like to hang mine for a few days.  That's just the way we've always done it......Most people who eat the venison remark that it has a very mild taste and isn't gamey like meat they've had previously.  The initial cooling-off is probably the most important factor in keeping bacteria down, and the quicker that's done the better it should taste unless it's been run.

[MASTERGUIDE]

how about letting the meat soak in water in a cooler with ice, all the blood comes out and its kind of nice, although I don't think it helps the flavor, but I was just wondering what everyone thinks about that.

MASTERGUIDE

[deerhunter]

thanks for the info guys. i think i,ll leave the meat in the cooler a few more days. its at about 35 degrees.should be nice and tender by then. don,t care for chewy meat.

[carphunter]

In my opinion, If you have a tough steak it wasn't cooked properly. If done rite all the meat should be tender and taste super. DON'T OVERCOOK IT
        Jim

[bird dog]

I like to hang the deer for 3-4 days so long as the weather will allow it 33-40 degrees. Hanging does in fact make for a better product by the simple fact of breaking down the muscle. Deer are all muscle and lean so it creates a more tender final product. Beef is hung to the point of becoming repulsive looking, and we all rave about prime rib and Delmonico. I am not sold on helping the taste as much. Taste is part of the geographical location and care of the hunters shot and  field processing skills. In many cases what you do with your deer has been handed down by fathers and grandfathers so it is a way of your hunting heritage. So long as everything is used and cherished it is in noway wrong or right. This is an interresting topic, to further the idea who hangs from the head vs the hind quarter? Hide on or hide off?

[deerhunter]

if the weathers cool , i,l hang my deer from the hind legs with the hide on for 4 or 5 days. if its warm i skin and quarter it and put in an old working refridgerator for a couple days. always turns out good.

[need2hunt]

Because the weather here during muzzleloader and rifle season is usually pretty cold, I hang my deer hide off by the hind legs.  I've been told that it is better to drain the blood from the best cuts of the deer by hanging from the hind legs.  I figure its probably best because they sell gambrels designed to hang a deer that way.

[Icedude]

keep it cool and let it hang. if you go to the store and buy a steak it is not fresh. when a slaughter house processes beef you good cuts will be aged for about 26 days at just above freezing.