aging venison

[fordfisher]

so what is aging meat if it is not rotting (the meat beginning the process of breaking down) It sounds crude but I kind of thought that aging was the beginning of rotting or breaking down naturally. I would think hanging the carcass would let gravity speed the process up a little, my dad used to work at a slaughter house and they would age the beef while hanging. I'm just curious because if aging is rotting than it seems like it could be done safely in a refrigerator but if deer meat doesnt age, but does rot then the only aging that would help would be by hanging in a meat locker or a cool shed. Hope that makes sense. :d'oh!:

 

[MK85Shooter]

We gut, wash out, skin, and hang in the cooler ASAP. My dad and uncles went in on a walk in cooler about 15 years ago that's probably 4' W x 6' L x 6' H inside dimensions. If you pack them in tight you can fit 12 average size deer in it. We usually have a butchering party twice during the firearms season. On average we let them hang 5 days at about 0-10 degrees F.

 

[RAF]

At 0 - 10 F you should be freezing them. Most coolers where meat is hung to tenderize is just over the freezing IMO

 

[MK85Shooter]

RAF:

My bad. You are exactly right. At 0 - 10 F they would freeze. I was thinking "C" and hit "F". The cooler normally runs at about 35 - 38 F.

 

[RAF]

THat's better . You had me worried.

 

[jaybe]

I see I'm kinda late with this, but here's what I do:
Always skin it ASAP. If the weather is right, I hang it in my own garage for 7-10 days. As has been stated, best temp is between 34-36 degrees.
If it's warm, I have already located someone who processes deer at his home - he has a cooler. I can take my skinned deer in a cheesecloth game bag to him and he'll hang it for me for $1.00 per day. If you can't find a home processer, even some of the "commercial" processers will do that for you.
I always cut all meat from the bone and remove all fat and connective tissue - never cut through a bone that will drag the marrow across the meat. We have had people who "don't like" venison ask for more after eating ours - and it's nice and tender.

IM jaybe