How long do you age meat?

[R eight]

The best venison I’ve ever eaten, both tender and taste, came off an old bull Canadian moose. It was back strap cooked in a pan with a dash of olive oil and seasoned with salt. That bull had been dead for around 48 hours.

Truely one of the best feeds I’ve ever had.

I’ve also eaten back straps from an old Dall ram that I shot the day before and it was pretty good too.

My worst version feed was from a red stag that had been properly prepared and who had hung for around a week before eating.

 

[Hunt anything]

Funny, here in GA that’s what I/we often do. Prop the cooler up, open the plug and let it sit 5-7 days. It’s only white on the outside. Cut it and still red inside….i prefer it that way but i love dry aged beef just don’t have the room for venison.

These guys don’t prop up the cooler and keep the water drained, it sits in the water. I’ve done your method when on the road and it works fine.

 

[CBeck]

These guys don’t prop up the cooler and keep the water drained, it sits in the water. I’ve done your method when on the road and it works

Hmmm…not me, that’s nasty. I don’t want my meat marinating in game water.

 

[Desaad]

Keep it whole, removing the bone is fine, maybe even preferred, but you need to use either the Umaidry dry aging bags that you vac seal or you can use the collagen sheets, what I use, either way you really need a membrane to control the drying process in a refrigerator, or you can leave it naked and in to a drying chamber with 75% humidity and temp in the low 40’s.

 

[CBH Australia]

The best venison I’ve ever eaten, both tender and taste, came off an old bull Canadian moose. It was back strap cooked in a pan with a dash of olive oil and seasoned with salt. That bull had been dead for around 48 hours.

Truely one of the best feeds I’ve ever had.

I’ve also eaten back straps from an old Dall ram that I shot the day before and it was pretty good too.

My worst version feed was from a red stag that had been properly prepared and who had hung for around a week before eating.

The Dall ram had me intrigued. I don’t see a lot about sheep hunters eating mountain sheep.
I like lamb, jogger and mutton. Not opposed processing a sheep on the land when I’ve had the chance. Usually it’s a whether if you are ever offered a killer. There are a few people that will draft of old sheep to kill but most do you right and offer something decent. Graziers generally wouldn’t expect you to eat an old Ram so it had me wondering what those wild sheep eat like.

 

[Hunt anything]

One thing about meat in Alaska, by law you obligated to pack out every ounce of edible meat. Neck meat, rib meat and every thing. Not sure if they require organ meat to be brought out or not. If I remember correctly the meat has to come out before any trophy parts do.
The Alaskan members can clarify this. So a lot of wild sheep are eaten and I’ve heard mixed reviews of it but I would love to try it but my mountain hunting days are well behind me if I ever had any in me.

 

[Josh P]

Deer: field dress, to include removing the windpipe but not the hide. Hang in a cool place for a week/10 days. If it’s too warm, just go ahead and process the lot. I’d be skeptical of hanging it (outside of a specific aging cooler, etc.) without the hide, but that’s just personal preference.

 

[Kalthoff]

I was curious how long people hang their game meat before processing and freezing?

Not at all.

I do the butchering, deboning, parting and packing strait away, if at all possible.

The meat will be in the freezer within a couple hours after I pulled the trigger.

In my experience "bad gamey taste" stems from:

• failure to trim off the fascia and gristle
• bad hygiene (ageing increases the effects of bad field dressing hygiene or bad shot placement)
• overcooking

 

[Ontario Hunter]

In Montana chronic wasting disease is a big concern. Meat may have to hang more than a week in cold weather waiting for test results. I'm not wasting time and packing material butchering a deer I'll have to throw away. If the weather is warm, yes I'll cut it up ASAP and hope for the best. I haven't found any difference in taste of meat butchered within hours vs a week. The stuff between the ribs becomes dogfood but no big deal. Hopefully, if real cold the hide can stay on it while hanging and waiting for results. That minimizes loss and labor required to peel the rind. If not cold enough, the hide comes off ASAP. The last four bucks have been frosty by the time test results came back.

 

[UKHunter]

Ideally 7-14 days in the skin. Though not always possible and will butcher within 24 hours.

 

[Wyfox]

The Dall ram had me intrigued. I don’t see a lot about sheep hunters eating mountain sheep.
I like lamb, jogger and mutton. Not opposed processing a sheep on the land when I’ve had the chance. Usually it’s a whether if you are ever offered a killer. There are a few people that will draft of old sheep to kill but most do you right and offer something decent. Graziers generally wouldn’t expect you to eat an old Ram so it had me wondering what those wild sheep eat like.

Mountain Sheep are not the same as domestic sheep. No wool, not greasy at all. Bighorn's are some of the best eating game meat I've ever had.

 

[Wyfox]

I hang all of my game for 14 days in a temperature controlled walk-in cooler.

No water on my meat at all, I make sure it's really dry, water produces bacteria and mold if it's hanging for any time.