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mrdoog
10-28-2006, 11:02 PM
How many of us cut up our own deer?
I've always cut up my own deer.
End up with very little waste.
Not a big fan of grinding a prime eater into sausage.

moosehunter12
10-28-2006, 11:37 PM
What do you do with your deer if you don't make sausage?

jettabambino
10-28-2006, 11:49 PM
i do some stew..... even toss it on the bbq... its amazeing...

Gus
10-29-2006, 12:56 AM
cut my own. Lets you keep exactly what you want for what ever you want. Even grind our own burger. Hell of a lot cheaper that way

cowboy-up69
10-29-2006, 02:00 AM
I cut up my deer too, only done it a few times but its wayyy cheaper then gettin some butcher to do it. And at leaast you know what your getting.

Marc
10-29-2006, 02:57 AM
I cut my own because I enjoy doing it. I consider it part of the hunting experience. If I want sausage or pepperoni made I bring some trimmings in to the butcher. I cut up my own steaks, sometimes I bottle some meat up or ground the trimmings into burger.

Marc.

oldtimer
10-29-2006, 06:46 AM
We do all our own butchering . SWAMPER is excellent at the cutting , I will grind the burger and do the wrapping.
Put deer into steaks , roasts, chops, and burger. WillyQ is learning as well on the cutting.
The missus doesn't like me playing with sharp objects so I will stay with the grinding and wrapping. Mike

hitch
10-29-2006, 08:54 AM
I cut all my deer. I agree with Marc, it's part of the whole experiance. I like to be able to cut steaks to a certain thickness and be quite picky about silverskin and bit of this or that. Deer work well for the home shop. I cut my Leh cow elk this year but it took 11 hours total. With our leh shared moose hunt we took both bull's to the butcher. Just too much to bite off..........

mainland hunter
10-29-2006, 08:58 AM
i enjoy cutting, deer i usually do myself, moose/elk get to go to a butcher most of the time.

Blacktail
10-29-2006, 09:06 AM
I cut my own as well
I could never see paying someone per pound for the bones as well
I have even made my own sausages as well as jerky
This way I know exactly what I am getting and as Marc said it is all part of the experience8-)

mrdoog
10-29-2006, 09:27 AM
Moosehunter 12- like some others have said, if you don't want sausages, you can bone out any cut you like.
Grind it up for burger, or cut it up for stew meat.
First time we attempted it we tried to follow a book.
Now if we get a cut of meat that doesn't match the diagrams, we give it a fancy name and everyone is happy.

bsa30-06
10-29-2006, 09:35 AM
I cut my own deer up as well, i agree with most of the others here it is part of the whole experience.My cuts don't always match the pictures in the books put they taste good.

brotherjack
10-29-2006, 10:03 AM
What do you do with your deer if you don't make sausage?

Steaks, roasts, stir fry, stew, jerky, peperoni sticks, etc... We do all that (and sometimes more) at my house. Lots of personal satisfaction in doing it myself. Also, saves lots of money too - given how much my wife and I both hunt. :)

BCKID
10-29-2006, 10:22 AM
Cut my own for years now. Now I just got to get me something to CUT!!

moosehunter12
10-29-2006, 10:33 AM
Me and a buddy of mine want to start cutting up our deer next year. We don't have a cooler to hang it in so we would just hang it in the garage. How could we keep it cool. Also we our looking into getting a meat grinder and a sausage maker.. any ideas on what to get.

dime
10-29-2006, 01:41 PM
We will only take into the butcher if we have to. If we are hunting in hot weather and can not hang the animal, the butcher is a nice alternative. I have heard of guys paying to hang in the meat locker, but if they are charging you $10/day to hang it, you may as well get it cut up for the difference in cost. This year we threw a small deepfreeze in the back of the truck and cut our moose up while we were up in Ft St James. Nice to come home and have most of the work done.
I recommend getting a DVD on cutting big game, it was really nice to know ahead of time which cuts are steak and which are stew.

30-06
10-29-2006, 02:29 PM
Also we our looking into getting a meat grinder and a sausage maker.. any ideas on what to get canadian tire has one that i might get there like 140$ not to bad.

blacktailslayer
10-29-2006, 03:19 PM
Butchering supplies

www.stuffers.com

brotherjack
10-29-2006, 03:36 PM
I got one of the little $39 grinder's with saussage stuffing attachments. Not entirely satisfied - it's pretty cheap stuff, and I've had to fiddle with it a few times to keep it operational. Though that said, for $39, it's ground two elk and 4 or 5 deer for me. It's just a very low end unit that doesn't even have a brand name - just says "CHINA" on the side of it. Does work though.

bochunk2000
10-29-2006, 04:32 PM
I like to cut my own up. As for cuts though....if it can lay flat on the BBQ its called a steak. Anything else gets ground or goes into stirfry.

cdub
10-29-2006, 09:32 PM
For grinding keep an eye on the buy&sell. I got mine for 300 and it does about 1500lbs/hr if you needed to(dont buy a cheap electric one). I got my sausage stuffer from stuffers and it is the 5lb size that makes all my sausage.

Caveman
10-29-2006, 11:30 PM
Used to cut all of my own meat, but I own a quad now so I guess I'm getting to be a lazy hunter now :lol: :lol: so I only cut the deer now. Fully de-boned, mostly steak right down to the medallion sizes. Tried my own sausages, but wasn't too crazy about the outcome so I leave that to the pro's. Freezer bags and freezer paper together and the meat will last ages. I make my own marinades and soak a good steak over night and even the fussyest eaters will eat wild meat,and love it, besides if you're waiting for a beef steak in my house you may as well be a vegetarian. That's what the steak houses are for.

pmj
10-30-2006, 01:18 AM
We don't have a cooler to hang it in so we would just hang it in the garage. How could we keep it cool.
Those who have winter don't laugh, we get desparate in the lower mainland. I have a detached garage. It has good insulation. I put cardboard over the windows and I have a fan set up in one window. I use the fan to draw in the cold air at night when it is the coolest and turn it off in the morning. I remove the attic access hatch. The hot air rises and goes out the access hatch. I plan on putting a bathroom type fan with a timer in the ceiling. This will work even better as it will suck out hot air from the ceiling and cold air will come in through an open window or a supply air vent at floor level at opposite (north or east) end of garage from fan. I also have a temperature gauge on the wall so I know where I am at. With the system working, I can keep the garage close to the low night time temperature.

pmj
10-30-2006, 02:01 AM
I have always cut up my own deer or moose. Learned from my father who grew up on a farm. I only take the small pieces and the tough ones with lots of the white sinue(?) to be ground up by a sausage maker who charges next to nothing to make hamburger. With a moose there is enough small tough stuff for hamburger and sausage. I can do a small deer myself. When butchering the last moose we got there was 5 of us, two cutting three wrapping. Took two long evenings. We label almost everything roasts, you can cut it up for what you want when you cook it. The better parts we label #1. The smaller packages can be shaved for pan fry, cut into stew or even sweet and sour moose! Wrapped the hamburger after it came back from the sausage maker. Tough part in lower mainland, where to get rid of the bones and trimings.

NEEHAMA
10-30-2006, 10:54 AM
lot's of fans. the more the marrier.

dawn2dusk
10-30-2006, 11:44 AM
I got my first deer this year and butchered myself. I understand what marc and other say about this being apart of the hunting experience. I spent many hours after the kill dressing, skinning, hanging, and then trimming and butchering. Spent alot of time with that carcass, makin sure no spoilage or waste. I think it builds a better connection from a living animal to meat on the table, and something about respecting the animal. I also liked the fact that I know exactly how the meat was treated. And finally, I dont like to pay someone to do what I can do myself. I could see next time I would be alot quicker at it. Although my above statements could all be out the window if I bag a moose next week and butcher it. It looks like alot of meat/work.


I vacumn sealed all the prime cuts as roasts. And then a scraped any little bits of carcass or tough parts and ground up and vacumn sealed.

I think all hunters should try butcherin themselves at least once. Just for the experience.

MichelD
10-30-2006, 11:49 AM
Cut it myself.

Roasts, strip loins, ribs, brisket, stew (two grades) burger, soup bones and shanks (whole).

I cut roasts off the hindquarters, label it top, middle or bottom rump, which is technically incorrect in butcher speak, then they can be roasted or in the case of the middle and top parts, sliced into steaks on thawing. I find the meat keeps better in big pieces, particularly if you have a roast that gets lost inthe bottom of the deep freeze. I've got a two-year old roast that is going to be steaked up pretty soon so I can start eating the fresh stuff.

I freeze the loins in chunks too, to be sliced into chops later.

Not fond of the way sausage is prepared by butchers really, I find every sausage I've ever tried no matter who did it to taste like the garlic ring from Safeway.

I like my deer meat to taste like venison and I'm not a big sausage or pepperoni eater anyway.

If they could make it dried, natural tasting and fat free like the French butchers make it in Europe, then I might be convinced.

Schmaus
10-30-2006, 07:29 PM
Those who have winter don't laugh, we get desparate in the lower mainland. I have a detached garage. It has good insulation. I put cardboard over the windows and I have a fan set up in one window. I use the fan to draw in the cold air at night when it is the coolest and turn it off in the morning. I remove the attic access hatch. The hot air rises and goes out the access hatch. I plan on putting a bathroom type fan with a timer in the ceiling. This will work even better as it will suck out hot air from the ceiling and cold air will come in through an open window or a supply air vent at floor level at opposite (north or east) end of garage from fan. I also have a temperature gauge on the wall so I know where I am at. With the system working, I can keep the garage close to the low night time temperature

Thats funny most of the deer that hang in my garage in late October or November I have to start the fireplace to thaw them out before butchering.

quadrakid
10-30-2006, 07:49 PM
i,ve never tried butchering but my try it on a blacktail after watching a video on the net, didn,t look too difficult. i,ll see if i can find the site,i think it,s put out by state of pennsylvania.

3kills
11-14-2006, 03:21 AM
butchering a deer is pretty easy...the first time u do it can be time consuming but whatever right grab a couple beer and a buddy or two and go at er....if any one ever needs and tips or advice or want to know proper nomenclature (sp) of cuts let me know and i will help ya out....

Mr. Dean
11-14-2006, 11:57 AM
Last year I got my first Deer and three of us went in 'green' w/ the help of a video (read: play....pause....rewind, play.....pause, STOP...). :rolleyes:

It took us eight hours to whack it up into mainly roasts (good grief!). But worth the experience.

This year I got two animals and w/ the help of a fourth person AND a new DVD titled Deer Processing 101. From the time the knives were sharpened to the last bucket being sterilized, both critters were done in ten hours. Wrapping included. :)

We mandated that everything was to be de-boned and ALL silver skin and fat were to be removed (picky, tedious work). The meat was then to be turned into steak first, followed by stir-fry/stew, then burger meat. Only three roasts were held back. Half of the burger meat was blended with a little beef fat for grilling (YUMMY!).

I went back up to help others that helped me, this past weekend. Got my hands dirty carving up a Moose and three more Deer. Six of us this time and yup....it was another ten hour day!.

FANTASTIC experience and I for one would be hard pressed to send anything off to be processed. It is a part of hunting IMO. Not unlike cleaning your own fish...Just a HELL of a lot more work.

Next year I'll have my Critter Cooler up-n-running. This'll save VAST amounts of $$ in fuel bills and free up several weekends of having to travel back and forth too the Out-Laws, in the middle of region 3.

But I'll miss all of my 'helpers'. :sad:

Might have to rally up new ones, from here.... :smile:

Gunner
11-14-2006, 08:12 PM
My partner and I spent 6 hours yesterday cutting a whopper mulie buck and a smaller whitetail,I was bagged but it was worth it.I agree it is part of the experience,and in a strange way I think it is a mark of respect to the animal you've taken.Gunner

Deerwhacker
12-09-2006, 01:57 PM
I have done it with my first 5 deer in the two seasons i have hunted. The next animal to go down is going to the butcher. I dont have much waste at all but after a long and tireing hunting trip its tough to have to cut up a deer for 4-6 hours . I dont know anything about hanging my animals nor do i have room at home(hippie pansies walking by would get offended to see a dead animal hanging in my carport).so we pull into our driveway and the deer gets loaded out of the trailer and directly onto the dineing room table.Besides that i tend to just cut everything into steaksanf the trimmings and everything not big enough for a steak goes into the hamburger pile.

tuchodi
12-09-2006, 02:21 PM
There are 4 of us that hunt together from the lower mainland and we all cut the animals together. We have built a cooler so we dont have to worry about getting everything done in one day. Last year we had 3 elk 2 bull moose and 4 deer. Took a couple of weekends. We grind all our own meat and also make our own sausage its a big job but very satisfing. A couple of things for anyone cutting there own meat for many years now we have packaged all our meat in plastic bags which we get in a roll from the supermarket. The heavier vegetable bags are the best. Try to squeeze all tye air out and then we wrap them in freezer wrap brown paper. You can buy the cheaper paper that doesn't have any wax on it that way. I have meat some 3 years old and it is as good as the day I put it in the freezer. Anouther trick an old time hunter told me was if you wanted steaks or stew meat to freeze everything in roast size packages and when it is just starting to thaw cut it then either into steaks or stew. You get a much straighter cut. Good butchering

boatdoc
12-09-2006, 04:53 PM
I worked as a butcher and used to cut my own deer and moose.I don't cut my own anymore,not that i did not enjoy it but have other things i want to spend my time on.Proper hanging time and temp goes a long way towards quality of meat.Big investment in getting an animal why cheap out on cutting cost ? Getting set up with a good butcher,not a hack,will pay dividends on the diner table.Congradulations to all of you that cut your own meat it is no small task. Having had a poor experiance with a large game cutting shop i now deal with a small opperator and know what i am getting.

Chuck
12-20-2006, 01:12 PM
I have a Moulinex model 133 from local hardware store - around 100 bucks. Good torque, fairly quick, sturdy but not a production machine. I've had it some years. Good for deer. Don't think it would handle two moose in a row though. Bought it because I couldn't hand crank and big machine was out of my budget for the once a year grind. Definitely need a room to hang the meat till it sets up. Air has to circulate (fan) and temp brought down (find a cheap air conditioner) and experiment. Prefer hunting in the snow for several reasons as a result. Early season = game spoilage. Butchering your own meat is in my opinion the way to go - safer and part of the experience. Tough if you live in town though - the watching eyes! I can't even walk out to my truck with my rifle without the neighbors gawking - guess that's why we have night time - ha!

johnes50
12-20-2006, 02:12 PM
I cut my own as well
I could never see paying someone per pound for the bones as well
I have even made my own sausages as well as jerky
This way I know exactly what I am getting and as Marc said it is all part of the experience8-)

You certainly do, and your jerky, salami, and pepperoni tasted pretty darn good too! John

mapguy
12-20-2006, 05:12 PM
Me and a buddy of mine want to start cutting up our deer next year. We don't have a cooler to hang it in so we would just hang it in the garage. How could we keep it cool. Also we our looking into getting a meat grinder and a sausage maker.. any ideas on what to get.where you located i have a cooler

Nooker77
12-20-2006, 06:23 PM
I do my own cutting as well...Deer are easy...have it down to about 3 hrs with the wife wrapping for me!! I take front shoulders for sausage as well as other trimmings! Back straps I used to make butterfly steaks but we make nice loin roasts with them now!! Roasts and round steaks off the butt and the rest for sausage and burger..If we make burger we grind it ourselves with a hand grinder...cost about 50 bucks(grinder)...good work out but atleast you know what goes in and that its YOUR meat!! I used a boat trailer winch and a secured it to the wall in the shed....then it runs up to a nice comealong..had a welder friend make me a couple of spread bars....just hook it up and I can hang it by myself and it works well for the cutting up as well!! Elk and moose...I call the fatyher inlaw and brybe them with a nice dinner to help cut all day...this year we used a saws all to cut up our LEH cow elk...lmao worked great!!! I'm not a big fan of ONE IN on my wild meat but the elk turned out great!! lol

yellowlab
12-21-2006, 12:14 PM
buy a :) cheap aircondishinerand put it in your shop or shed plus a fan,that should do it.

WOLVERINE-RIDER
03-01-2007, 08:04 PM
My dad was a butcher with safeway for 30 years and now he kills and cuts beef for a local farmer> I don't ever have to take my meat anywhere but to dad's house> Gotta love it. If we shoot an animal a long way back in the middle of butt f&^#k nowhere he bones it out on the spot and we pack less than half of what most would have to pack out. it's funny how a guy packs his hunting gear and it's mostly knifes and cheesecloth and steels and crap. Mine is calls and warmer clothes and more camo and dirty mags and stuff I really didn;t need but it was cool looking. He is since retired(sort of) and hopes to open his own custom game cutting shop in the near future in nanaoose bay.

eaglesnester
03-18-2007, 05:40 PM
I d-bone in the field and take out just the meat. Leave the bones in the field for the wolves. I allow no hair to get on the meat, remove the organs carefully as well as the colon and urinary tract with bladder in tact. By doing this I can avoid potentially unsanitary conditions that I have observed at some meat processors (I was a health inspector in the US Navy). I also do not like the taste of bone dust or fat in my meat, it makes deer taste wild. When you process your own you know you do not have to worry about getting your own meat back. I just plain do not trust commercial meat cutters to process my wild game. Cheers and Happy Hunting: Eaglesnester

Lingcod
03-18-2007, 11:11 PM
:cry: You don' t know what your missing if you don't properly hang and age your meat

3kills
03-19-2007, 09:19 PM
wild game doesnt have to be hanged and aged....

rollingrock
03-29-2007, 09:08 PM
Bones make good soup. I make most meat into jerky, some premium parts either go as steaks or bbq. No sausage.

Blktail
04-02-2007, 08:05 PM
I butcher my own. It is really simple. Cut all the meat from the bone. Cut all the dirty or ugly pieces away and discard. Romove all fat, lymph, nerve and blood vessel tissue from what remains. Tie the big pieces into roast. Cut peices like the straps into steakk or roast. Prime trimmings are stew and the rest is burger or sausage meat. It easier than it sounds.

I have found that removing all traces of bone, fat, lymph, nerve and blood vessel makes the meat very mild, plus it will last beyond 3 years in the freezer if well wrapped. Bone in it is marginal past 6 months by my delicate palate.:)

one-shot-wonder
04-13-2007, 10:41 AM
wild game doesnt have to be hanged and aged....

Care to elaborate?

I always have hanged and aged my meat.....

3kills
04-13-2007, 12:18 PM
its good to hang it but u dont have to hang it as long...u can cut a deer after one day of hanging....

one-shot-wonder
04-13-2007, 01:10 PM
its good to hang it but u dont have to hang it as long...u can cut a deer after one day of hanging....

Sure you could cut a deer after one day hanging but I have found the extra week to ten days in an ideal temperature range makes the meat that much more palatable.......Not buying it :confused:

3kills
04-13-2007, 07:46 PM
it doesnt take as long for deer to go through the stages of rigor as it would a beef....and the fact of less fat has a lot to do with it too....u dont have to buy it if u dont want but thats what i was taught in the butcher course...maybe they fed me a load of bullshit and some of the other pro butchers here can correct me....

swamper
04-13-2007, 08:17 PM
wild game doesnt have to be hanged and aged....

That may be true to some extent Darcy, but you have to at least way until the rigor comes out of the meat.

I cut a couple of deer for Willy and Tank last fall that had been hanging for almost 10 days. The outside looked almost black and there was a bit of the green stuff starting to form. The chops were the most tender meat I have had in a long time.

Yes you can get away with cutting right away, but in my humble opinion, and I have cut a sh(*load of meat, it is far better to let it hang for at least 4 or 5 days, circumstances permitting.

Mr. Dean
04-13-2007, 10:37 PM
Can't claim it as fact or not, but I was told that the rule of thumb was to hang 3 day's per 100 pounds of meat. Game or domestic.

So far it has worked wonderful for me. I do my own.

Bow Walker
04-14-2007, 08:12 AM
As with some people on here - I'm a retired meat cutter (from the "old school")......my brother BOWSITTER wants to be retired but he's got a few years to go yet.

As far as game goes - it depends on a few things..........
1. do you have a "proper" place to hang meat? I mean a place with controlled temperature at the least. A closed room or space is best as you can also control humidity to some extent.

2. how do you like your meat to taste? Mild? Medium? Strong?

The longer the carcass hangs the more the enzymes within the carcass start to breakdown the tissues. The meat actually is beginning to rot here. It's this rotting - in a controlled manner - which impacts both flavor and tenderness of the meat.


from Mr. Dean
Can't claim it as fact or not, but I was told that the rule of thumb was to hang 3 day's per 100 pounds of meat. Game or domestic.


Mr. Dean is pretty close to what is optimal - as long as this "hanging" is done in the above mentioned controlled environment.

Just my 2 cents worth.

tuchodi
04-14-2007, 08:34 AM
I have 2 real good friends who have been butchering both wild and domestic meat for over 30 years now and they have taught me a lot. They have both said that the way they are taught in their trainning courses is the most efficent way to get the proper cuts from any animal. They both said if you want to do the very best job yourself you should dissect the meat by each musle structure along the membrane lines. that way you dont have to use string to keep the meat together and you get roasts that have no way of falling apart when cooked. It does take a lot more time but as the whole experience I have always done this and it really makes for a great end product. As BowWalker said hanging the meat in controlled conditions is very important for the best meat possible.

Blktail
04-15-2007, 09:07 PM
Regarding the hanging of meat to help tenderize it.
This works to an extent because as the meat ages at the appropriate temperature, the enzymes within the cells which are designed for cellular maintenance begin to digest the protein. This can soften some of the tougher tissues and make good cuts downright soft enough to cut with a fork.
However, the longer meat hangs the more the fat in it oxydizes (goes rancid) and the gamier it can taste. I don't like this in beef and I really don't like it in game where the fats are more unstable and subject to rancidity.
To get around this some of my friends debone and clean up there meat and let it age in the fridge for a week away from the fat and bone. It makes sense to me and the next time I get an old moose or deer I will try it (if I can ever find a mature animal that is.:lol: )

The Hermit
04-15-2007, 09:30 PM
I've only taken one deer to a butcher. They did an okay job but I prefer to do it myself. Like Marc said its a part of the experience.

srupp
04-15-2007, 11:06 PM
80 pounds of Alberta whitetail deer German dinner sausage made yesterday AND 40 pounds of sage dinner sausage..also...yummmm

last batch comming up SMOKIES...perhaps 40 pounds...

Steven

hunter1947
04-20-2007, 04:57 PM
On a smaller deer i be-bone it all and get it made into peperoni es and breakfast sausages.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif hunter 1947

BearSniper
04-20-2007, 06:03 PM
Why not butcher your own deer?

Its easy to learn and the next time you do it , it gets easier still:)

A deer or moose never changes-they're all the same .

Just my 2 cents.

Sooke Hunter
09-21-2007, 10:01 PM
I cut my own deer and enjoy doing it! Hate paying for something so easy. The loins make great roasts & steaks. The hinds I cut & tie into roasts ....the balance is canned/smoked canned. I've a ginder/sausage maker for 10 - 15 lbs of it. To easy to do yourself and save the money for another hunting trip!!:shock: I like taking deer loin slices (1" thick or so) pounding with a meat mallot (to1/4 inch thick) , dredging in flour (mixed with dry mustard powder & garlic powder. Fry in oil/butter mix for about 3 min per side with a nice gravey. UUUUHHHMMMM GOOD!!!! Mashed potaotes doesn't hurt as a side dish.

Mr Cam
09-21-2007, 10:51 PM
Hey Sooke Hunter, I lived there for 10 years, and smoked and canned a ton of salmon, tell us about the finer points of venison, in the smoker and the canner.

Mr. Dean
09-22-2007, 02:37 AM
Good to see that folks are dig'n up on some history... This sites got a TON of valuable info.

If you're willing to use the search engine.

This thread is almost a year old.

SuperCub
09-26-2007, 07:37 AM
wild game doesnt have to be hanged and aged....
Commercial beef (if done properly) is hanged for 21 days in a dry, cold environment and is much better as a result than beef fresh killed. Connective tissue breaks down and flavour is enhanced. Fresh killed meat can have a stronger blood taste to it.

How is that a herbivore type game wouldn't benefit from the same process?

Mr. Dean
09-26-2007, 08:19 AM
How is that a herbivore type game wouldn't benefit from the same process?

I think it's just a matter of personal preferences. While I like to 'age' my critters, there was one that I didn't. The came out fine and edible but I do think that it would've benifited from swinging on a hook.

Sometime ya's gotta do whats you gotta do...

newhunterette
09-26-2007, 08:59 AM
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/scan0004.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/scan0005.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/scan0006.jpg

3kills
09-26-2007, 06:08 PM
Commercial beef (if done properly) is hanged for 21 days in a dry, cold environment and is much better as a result than beef fresh killed. Connective tissue breaks down and flavour is enhanced. Fresh killed meat can have a stronger blood taste to it.

How is that a herbivore type game wouldn't benefit from the same process?

i am sayin u do have to hang it long enough to let the rigor to finish its steps but this is no longer then a day or two...when i took my butcher course this is what i was taught maybe i was taught the wrong things but the two guys that taught me have over a combined 30 years of cutting...

SuperCub
09-26-2007, 08:33 PM
i am sayin u do have to hang it long enough to let the rigor to finish its steps but this is no longer then a day or two...when i took my butcher course this is what i was taught maybe i was taught the wrong things but the two guys that taught me have over a combined 30 years of cutting...
Again, my question is ...... Why is it different from beef to wild game? 21 days was optimum for swinging beef that is not vac-packed.

I'm not saying it's wrong to cut game a soon as it sets up, I just want to know why the difference. :?:

I too was a professional meat cutter from 1978 to 2002 and never heard that said. My grandfather was in the meat business all his life and he always hung his moose for as long as the weather would allow.

Caveman
09-26-2007, 09:03 PM
Again, my question is ...... Why is it different from beef to wild game? 21 days was optimum for swinging beef that is not vac-packed.

I'm not saying it's wrong to cut game a soon as it sets up, I just want to know why the difference. :?:

I too was a professional meat cutter from 1978 to 2002 and never heard that said. My grandfather was in the meat business all his life and he always hung his moose for as long as the weather would allow.

It allows the steriods time to break down, since there aren't any in deer, they don't need to hang as long. :redface:

martyonthewater
09-26-2007, 09:28 PM
I'll cut deer at home but anything else gets to go to the butcher except perhaps a rear quarter, here or there

Blktail
09-26-2007, 11:47 PM
Why is hanging game 21 days is not the same as for beef?

You need to understand 2 things.

Beef is hung primarily to tenderise it. Each cell has small structures containing enzymes the purpose of which are to maintain the cell (break down parts in an orderly fashion for reassembly). These enzymes eventually break down the structures they are contained in and start to digest the protein in the cells. This "tenderizes" the meat.

At the same time the fat in the meat is oxidizing (going rancid). Rancidity is an oxidative process, not rot involving bacteria. This explains the change in flavor with hanging.

Different fats have differring rates of oxidation. Game fat is more succeptible to oxidation than beef fat. (So is lamb and pork.) Bear is very unstable.

As a result, game with fat intact (fat, bone, nerve, blood vessels and lymph) gets stronger flavored over time. How much so depends on the species and the temperature. Trimmed bear is too gamey for me after 3 months in the freezer. Untrimmed deer can be strong after 6 months. trimmed deer can be great after 3 years in the freezer. Game, when hung untrimmed can taste like dung after 1 week if it is too warm.

My rule of thumb: If you have teeth, trim it and freeze it ASAP. If you don't, hang it and plug your nose.

Just my 2 bits, but I don't like fresh bear or mutton.

3kills
09-27-2007, 08:47 AM
Again, my question is ...... Why is it different from beef to wild game? 21 days was optimum for swinging beef that is not vac-packed.

I'm not saying it's wrong to cut game a soon as it sets up, I just want to know why the difference. :?:

I too was a professional meat cutter from 1978 to 2002 and never heard that said. My grandfather was in the meat business all his life and he always hung his moose for as long as the weather would allow.


we were told because of the less fat on game then beef...why is it the beef hang for 21 days yet pork u can cut hot??? different species are different right????