how long is too long to hang meat

[curlyfry09]

Hey guys, so I took my first buck 12 days ago, it took me about 5 hours from taking the shot to getting it in the butchers cooler. Not bad for my first kill, plus I was all by myself. Now its been sitting in the cooler at the butchers ever since and I'm starting to worry maybe the meat will be turning after sitting this long, shouldnt i have received it and frozen it by now? Will it still be ok at this point?

[kgriz]

Meat will not turn if in a good cooler....the longer it hangs, the more the fibers will stretch out and the meat break down a bit..the more tender it will be....sometimes you have to trim some off the outside but it makes the inside so much better.
I hung a large bull buffalo for a month once and it went through several thawing and freezing cycles but never got warmer than a fridge....800+ pounds of hamburger turned into almost cut with your fork delicassy.:wink:

[BearStump]

did you know that once the meat freezes the first time, that the breakdown of protiens(ie:tenderization) stops. The key is to keep it above freezing, 3-4 deg optimum.

Meat will not turn if in a good cooler....the longer it hangs, the more the fibers will stretch out and the meat break down a bit..the more tender it will be....sometimes you have to trim some off the outside but it makes the inside so much better.
I hung a large bull buffalo for a month once and it went through several thawing and freezing cycles but never got warmer than a fridge....800+ pounds of hamburger turned into almost cut with your fork delicassy.:wink:

[Gateholio]

If it's in the cooler at proper temperatures, it should be fine, but he should start cutting it soon. It's not rotting at 12 days, but it's ready to be cut.

Some people erroneously believe that game meat doesn't improve with proper aging, but that has been disproved many times by people that actually age game meat. ;)

[Gateholio]

did you know that once the meat freezes the first time, that the breakdown of protiens(ie:tenderization) stops. The key is to keep it above freezing, 3-4 deg optimum.

He stated that it never got warmer than a fridge...so I assume the freeze/thaw cycles were outside, not the meat?

[The Dude]

So let me get this straight. You're paying only to hang it, or your waiting for the butcher to cut and wrap?
Either way, 12 days is plenty of time for a deer, and you're only going to lose body mass from here on in. (Drying out)
Get it wrapped, labeled and frozen.

[kgriz]

It was a buffalo shot in january...it froze solid before I could cut it....but then it thawed and froze several times again. I think that this process broke the fibers down quite a bit as some pieces were more sitting than hanging and still were very tender unless of course this huge old bull was tender to begin with...doubtful....I wasn't advocating this method so much as giving an extreme example to put his worried mind to rest.

[lilhoss]

yup,12 days sounds too long.The only real tender cuts would be the back loin,and any roast or steaks off the hinds.They would be good to go at around the 6-10 days.Not saying 12 is bad,it will be fine if in a controlled unit,but as has been said,it will dry out and lose moisture,and weight.All my deer,bear will be about the 7 days-ish,and larger critters like a moose will be 12-14 days minimum.

[trapperdan2061]

If you left the hide on it you wont loose too much meat but if you took it off you will loose some to drying, it hasnt been that warm outside so you could have hung it in the garage and butchered it your self

[kgriz]

I didn't realize he was asking for optimim conditions...my misinterpretation....I thought he was worried about it being ruinned....you know...like he said. Stuff dries out etc.. no kidding
Look at what you want when you are stuck somewhere warm...hang it in a shady windy spot and keep the bugs off...dry off? good....good black tough outside, nice, protected yummy inside....as for the outside...dogs gotta eat too.
A realistic idea of what can happen and the meat still ok was what I thought a new hunter should know so that he doesn't pester his local butcher and end up with somebody else's crappy stuff to placate him.

[coach]

Hey guys, so I took my first buck 12 days ago, it took me about 5 hours from taking the shot to getting it in the butchers cooler. Not bad for my first kill, plus I was all by myself. Now its been sitting in the cooler at the butchers ever since and I'm starting to worry maybe the meat will be turning after sitting this long, shouldn't i have received it and frozen it by now? Will it still be ok at this point?

Are you sure it's still hanging? My daughter's recent buck was at our Kelowna butcher for about two weeks. He normally only hangs our deer for 5 or 6 days. It turned out he'd butchered it and frozen it, but the boxes were in the back of his freezer and he accidentally forgot to call me. He's an awesome butcher. I wasn't the least bit concerned - but a situation like this may explain why you're waiting so long.

Regarding your original question: I shot a deer on day one of a two week LEH moose hunt in Region 6 several years ago. Temps were perfect so it hung for two weeks until I finally tagged my moose. We took it to our butcher in the Lower Mainland and it hung for another week. Most tender deer I've ever had! No complaints whatsoever with the steaks and roasts. On the other hand, the burger was terrible. I think the butcher ground deer fat in with it - rather than trimming all of it off. The fat goes bad quickly on a deer. Hopefully your butcher takes more care than ours did.

[The Dude]

did you know that once the meat freezes the first time, that the breakdown of protiens(ie:tenderization) stops. The key is to keep it above freezing, 3-4 deg optimum.

And once it thaws, aging will re-commence. Breakdown of protein fibers is due to an enzyme called calpain, and it will simply go back to work once unfrozen.

[BearStump]

And once it thaws, aging will re-commence. Breakdown of protein fibers is due to an enzyme called calpain, and it will simply go back to work once unfrozen.

hmmmm, thats not how I remember reading it. But I suppose I could be wrong. now I gotta go look it up.

[BearStump]

heres the best and most indepth explanation of aging meat that I could find.
Freezing the meat during the aging process wont hurt the meat but it will slow down the breakdown.

beefextension.com/research_reports/1993rr/93_10.pdf - Cached (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KLq6uZFS2hQJ:http://beefextension.com/research_reports/1993rr/93_10.pdf%2Baging+meat+after+freezing&hl=en-CA&gbv=2&gs_l=heirloom-hp.1.0.0l8j0i5l2.31.2688.0.7203.9.9.0.0.0.0.1125.1 766.5-1j0j1.2.0...0.0...1c.1.53k20-HGiVE&safe=images&ct=clnk)

[trapperRick]

14 to 21 days just like beef and the meat will be very tender and tasty as the man said "The key is to keep it above freezing, 3-4 deg optimum". I would not let it freeze and thaw and freeze and thaw.

[lonnie]

2-3 weeks is great for ideal or controlled conditions. aged meat is far superior to unaged meat, and yes you ALWAYS lose mass with aging, but you gain quality, this is why only the most expensive commercial meats are aged properly.

[The Dude]

Bearstump: here's a pretty good article. had to do a search and confirm my memory :D

http://www.naturalhub.com/buy_food_meat_tenderness.htm

[curlyfry09]

Thanks for all.the helpful info guys. I will call him today again just to check in but at least now I'm not so worried about it. Look forward to seeing it in my freezer.

[bc7mm]

Usually deer and moose I hang 7-12 days, depends on temp. Early in the fall its a bit warmer in the building we use to hang and cut so this dictates the length of time it hangs. Shortest was a whitetail doe, 3 days due to work scheduling and temps were warm as it was a warm spell in late Sept, was the only time I could cut and wrap it.

Longest was 29 days, it was a 3 pt bull moose. Room was at 3 degrees c as it was shot on Nov 4th.

The whitetail was great, the moose you could cut with a fork.

[hunter1947]

If it is cooler temp day and night you can hang it there for 14 days or even longer ,if not cooler temp and around hi of +6,,,,,,, four days to a week depending on night temp..

[curt]

Kolby beef and high end butchers like the beef to hang for 21 days so i wouldnt worry at all the longer the better!!

[BearStump]

Bearstump: here's a pretty good article. had to do a search and confirm my memory :D

http://www.naturalhub.com/buy_food_meat_tenderness.htmya, thats a good one. It means that my next buck will only be 3 yrs old, shot in the head, while sleeping in its bed. after slaughter, Ill throw it in a pond to cool it immediately, followed by a stick of dynamite for the supersonic shockwave for instant tenderization. then hang for 18 days in temps of 3 deg.
Sounds like Ive got a perfect plan for the perfect meat:-D

[Seeadler]

I have hung beef up to 36 days and venison up to 15. Often when i pull meat out of the freezer I let it sit in the fridge for up to a week as well.

[Ltbullken]

Every meat cutter (who knows wild game cutting) has told me: hang in a cooler until cool to the touch and firm - 3 days. Then cut it, wrap and into the freezer. Never a bad animal having done this.

[Darksith]

Every meat cutter (who knows wild game cutting) has told me: hang in a cooler until cool to the touch and firm - 3 days. Then cut it, wrap and into the freezer. Never a bad animal having done this.
to only let meat hang for 3 days unless its very young is silly. A butcher will say this b/c they need to free up the space, but as stated above the longer it hangs the better the quality. Quality beef is hung at 28 days, it even says it on the menu usually, right before you see the price of that cut of meat. Good meat is worth waiting for, and the older the animal the longer you should let it hang...as long as you have it in a controlled environment as also stated above many times.

[Ltbullken]

to only let meat hang for 3 days unless its very young is silly. A butcher will say this b/c they need to free up the space, but as stated above the longer it hangs the better the quality. Quality beef is hung at 28 days, it even says it on the menu usually, right before you see the price of that cut of meat. Good meat is worth waiting for, and the older the animal the longer you should let it hang...as long as you have it in a controlled environment as also stated above many times.

Quality beef is NOT wild game. My game is hanging in someone else's cooler or my garage and the cutter is doing it in my garage so the freeing up space argument is not applicable. Beef has a huge and expansive layer of fat on it, which wild game does not, that protects beef from drying out and forming a hard dry surface on the meat. That dried out surface on wild game gives meat a gamey taste, substantially reduces meat volume the longer you hang it and then having to trim it off creates A LOT of trim so you lose even more meat.

Young or old, my 3 - 5 day hanging window has been sufficient for great tasting meat. Two other factors are important too: (1) field handling - quick dressing, skinning, quartering, hanging, cooling and CLEANING; (2) and proper cooking - too many people over cook wild game making it tough and dry.

Nevertheless, EVERY meat cutter, and they all have either run their own garage operation (I bring the animal to them) or bring their tools to my location (so no hanging in their coolers to have to free up space), have stated hang no longer than cool to the touch and firm - any longer leads to gamey meat and loss of volume.

But there are too many hunters for personal preference not to enter into this. Some swear by rotten on the hook, some like quality, some like tough, some actually like gamey! Gamey taste? - I think it is nostalgia over when dad took you hunting and equally mishandled his animal on the ground! :tongue:

[skibum]

venision is not beef - why can people not understand that.

[Gateholio]

The dried out crust on hanging meat is just air dried meat. It doesn't have any ability to add any "gamey" flavor to the meat, especially once it's trimmed off. 3-5 days is better than no hanging, but as I said on another thread- if you leave a chunk of meat in the fridge and cut some off every day and cook it, you will find it improves in texture every day until about day 10. Younger animals the improvement will be less noticeable than in older animals.

[Jetboater]

We have a walk In cooler at my dads place the 2 white tail bucks we got were hung 17 days and my Muley is in there now for 7 and won't worry about it till next weekend. We age everything 2-3 weeks mind you my dad is a chef and was a butcher. So what does he know. We just put another buck in it last night

[Ltbullken]

We have a walk In cooler at my dads place the 2 white tail bucks we got were hung 17 days and my Muley is in there now for 7 and won't worry about it till next weekend. We age everything 2-3 weeks mind you my dad is a chef and was a butcher. So what does he know. We just put another buck in it last night


Well at least he knows cooking?

[Glassman]

I like this method:
The hydrodyne process:
"Scientists have discovered that placing a carcass in water and then setting off a controlled explosion in the water instantly tenderizes the carcass. The supersonic shock waves instantly fracture the muscle fibers. However, this process seems to be still at the experimental stage. In the long run, this process may be able to guarantee tender meat, every time."
Anybody know where I can get a device that will give me a controlled explosion?

[Monashee]

Just to experiment I shot a buck and on the same day cut and wrapped the meat , popped it in the freezer and cooked up the tenderloins for supper . Result was perfectly tender meat no difference from meat that was hung for a week around 35 F

[Glassman]

OK................... So I phoned up the RCMP and asked them if they had "a controlled explosive device". They said they would be right over. They didn't even ask what I needed it for. And man, where they ever fast at getting over to my house. I didn't even have time to fill up the bath tub and put the quarters in. Oh,,,, By-the-way, as a piece of advice, after phoning the RCMP don't answer the door with a butcher knife in your hand and blood up to your elbows.
So... to make a long story short, can someone go to my house and check on my deer quarters hanging in the garage. It's been 14 days now. In case you're wondering, I am getting 3 square meals a day, the room is warm but there are a lot of angry men around here. And there is some guy visiting me every morning in a white smock who thinks I'm crazy. I keep telling him, "no no, I was just trying to tenderize a couple of steaks and some burger"

[Opinionated Ol Phart]

..................:mrgreen:

[Jelvis]

The guy is charging you by the day, so he won't be in any hurry. So much a day to hang your meat.
Jel -- You owe the man

[gwillim]

Interesting discussion about optimal conditions, but what if a guy doesn't have a cooler. I was lucky enough to get a mule deer this week. A retired farmer/butcher friend offered to help me cut it up after it hung for a week. Problem was it is currently between 6-10'C in Nelson and I was worried that I might loose the whole thing hanging in those temperatures. Yesterday I decided just to take it to a commercial meat cutter and stop worrying.

So, could i have gotten away with hanging a deer for a week in these conditions?

[Whonnock Boy]

So, could i have gotten away with hanging a deer for a week in these conditions?

I think you would have been ok, provided you had it hanging in a shaded area, or garage, and had a fan going on it. A fan works wonders for cooling, and keeping it cooler than ambient temperature. I did this with a moose a couple years ago. Daytime temps were reaching 12, with night time going down to 2. I had it hanging in a garage.

[The Dude]

Next time I'll simply cut and tenderize my meat with det cord. I have the certs to get some, so it's no problem :D

[RiverOtter]

Guys can hang their game meat for as long as their hearts desire, but to use beef hang times as a guage is ridiculous.

Beef has a lot more fat content, which counters the drying out, but more importantly beef has "marbling" which when aged, adds flavour from the inside. Can't ever remember seeing a deer, elk or moose with marbling, and I've shot some fricken obese specimens.

In my experience, more wild game is wrecked at the cooking stage, than the butchering/hanging.

[Seeadler]

The old timers I've talked to said venison is best after it has turned green on the outside.

[HIGHRPM]

As a rule of thumb that I was taught, I always get my meat hung for 12 days. I have always gotten a great product in return. One time only, did I have a new to me, butcher cut up my meat after two days with a 12 day request and the meat was unforgetable, if you know what I mean . Any period around 12 days should be great. Let us know how it turned out.

[Islandeer]

Great thread, here in victoria our crew's pattern is to usually drop bucks in the EK in november,they hang in camp for up to 5 days,then travel and hang outside at home for up to 2 more days. Home temps are up to 9 or ten, with around 8 the norm. Hide is left on and the result is always good, so could let them hang a day or so longer at that daytime temp anf for sure longer if it was around 4 or 5.

Leaving Sunday! :-D

[budismyhorse]

most butchers are processing things hair straight back right now so my guess is the deer has been processed and all you need to do is phone and go down to pick it up........

FWIW.......we've been experimenting with hanging/not hanging over the last few years and haven't noticed a dang bit of difference with our game. I think you shoot what you shoot.......if its tough, its tough. Our moose last year didn't benefit from two weeks of hanging.....it was still a tough *******.

I guess we should split some into different packages, one butchered early and one butchered after hanging and do some kind of blind taste test.........

if someone has done this, post a link.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Hang it until the hair grows back...if you like.

Oddly enough, I actually had this happen one time. Shot a muley doe near the end of November and had it hanging in the garage. Normally I don't have issues hanging a deer in the garage this late in the yr but conditions were very humid(lots of wet/dripping snow). Deer actually started sprouting mould like a Chia Pet. Trimmed off all the outside as I usually do and the deer was perfectly fine.

SSS

[Jelvis]

It's a Euorpean thing brought over to New Found Land, must hang a duck in a fork in a tree by head, body hanging down, then when duck body drops from the head it's hung long enuff, and deer, hang for 12 days.
Some natives here hang the skinned, dressed deer in the porch, and start taking pieces off each day to cook til gone.
Diverse ideas, the UBC study done says 72 hours, after death, rigger mor teece is gone through and out and now after tissue break down foe 72 hours enuff, after this you lose moisture content, it dries out. So 72 hours is about right.
Jel(The Butcher) the baker and candle stick maker -- ding dong your light came on! University of B. C. study doofis, lol.

[Rock Doctor]

I work Shift Work, out in the bush, and have had to split up my cutting of a single animal a few times. Meaning I've cut half an animal one evening, and then gone out to work for a week or even two weeks.
When I've done this, I always keep the cuts seperated in the freezer. There is no comparison, the meat that hangs for 10+ days is always better than the meat that hangs for 2-3 days. There is very little difference between meat that hangs for 10 days compared to meat that hangs for 16 days.
Maybe I've just been lucky and managed to cut the "Better half" of these animals at the later date, lol.

RD