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5 year old buck +
How long to hang a deer? Does it really need to age? How old is too old?
These are questions as a hunter I had no answers for despite having hunted for many years. In 2015 I had the opportunity to hunt with the lead butcher at Springfield‘s (MO) famous Harter House market. Based on his extensive life’s work processing beef and venison, going from field to freezer in four hours was his preferred method of ensuring quality meat, when possible. This works for venison harvested at home, and I had opportunity to do this a few times this year. It does mean the celebrations need to take place after the deer has been boned and the major cuts are in the freezer. I will freeze large portions from the hind quarters and shoulders that will be ground later. This allows me to grind semi-thawed chunks at a later date, which keep the grinder cool and the meat fresh when doing final processing.
Aging was recommended for any deer that would not be in the freezer before four hours. Two days was his recommendation, with “the longer the better” for those with a place to hang the deer. We aged my deer with skin-on, rib-cage spread open for four days. The temps ran from a low of 34 to a high of 55 during those days. I then took it to a processor (something I no longer do) and enjoyed some great venison.
In 2021 I aged a deer 28 days in a converted morgue that was now used for aging. The quality of the cuts was excellent, but there was some waste. I used the backstrap from this harvest to introduce three non-venison eating friends to quality venison, and all became believers after feasting on this “cut with a spoon” main dish.
When processing this year’s harvest I found a package of venison from 2020 that had been misplaced in the freezer. After thawing, it smelled ok, so I cut off the freezer burn and made it into jerky, clearly identifying this batch from the others. It came out great. 2020 was the last year we used “freezer bags” and did not vacuum pack our meat, so it was a good test of “how long.” Starting in 2021, I have vacuum packed our venison.
Looking for other ideas, impressions, but most of all, practical real life experiences that will help us all enjoy our harvests more.
These are questions as a hunter I had no answers for despite having hunted for many years. In 2015 I had the opportunity to hunt with the lead butcher at Springfield‘s (MO) famous Harter House market. Based on his extensive life’s work processing beef and venison, going from field to freezer in four hours was his preferred method of ensuring quality meat, when possible. This works for venison harvested at home, and I had opportunity to do this a few times this year. It does mean the celebrations need to take place after the deer has been boned and the major cuts are in the freezer. I will freeze large portions from the hind quarters and shoulders that will be ground later. This allows me to grind semi-thawed chunks at a later date, which keep the grinder cool and the meat fresh when doing final processing.
Aging was recommended for any deer that would not be in the freezer before four hours. Two days was his recommendation, with “the longer the better” for those with a place to hang the deer. We aged my deer with skin-on, rib-cage spread open for four days. The temps ran from a low of 34 to a high of 55 during those days. I then took it to a processor (something I no longer do) and enjoyed some great venison.
In 2021 I aged a deer 28 days in a converted morgue that was now used for aging. The quality of the cuts was excellent, but there was some waste. I used the backstrap from this harvest to introduce three non-venison eating friends to quality venison, and all became believers after feasting on this “cut with a spoon” main dish.
When processing this year’s harvest I found a package of venison from 2020 that had been misplaced in the freezer. After thawing, it smelled ok, so I cut off the freezer burn and made it into jerky, clearly identifying this batch from the others. It came out great. 2020 was the last year we used “freezer bags” and did not vacuum pack our meat, so it was a good test of “how long.” Starting in 2021, I have vacuum packed our venison.
Looking for other ideas, impressions, but most of all, practical real life experiences that will help us all enjoy our harvests more.