Deboning quarters - do it right away, or wait for rigor mortis to be done

[Gateholio]

I rarely ever hang long enough to allow riger mortis. I don’t have a walk-in and most of my animals are shot when temps are high enough that I’d be concerned about spoilage if I hung animals for more than a half or full day.

Bear in the spring are shot, skinned, quartered, and put straight into a cooler. Early fall season game is treated the same. Later season, when overnight temps are <10C, I hang animals outside on my patio overnight and normally butcher them the next day, or break down to quarters and put the quarters into the freezer for later processing.

Never had an issue with tough meat going this route.

If they are quartered on the bone you won't have a problem- as you have proven. If the meat still has a bone in it then that's all that matters, the animal doesn't need to be whole.

[elker]

Thanks so much for everyone. I have never hanged my game meat. Alreays shot and cut the same time. the meat was always chewy. Will start hanging from the next year.

[oddsix]

If you are a podcast guy...take a listen to this. Rinella had a meat scientist on. Very interesting.

https://www.themeateater.com/listen/...227-red-cutter

[KodiakHntr]

Okay, how much of a difference would you say? If its a healthy animal and cooled right away and cut when you get home is it still somewhat tender or generally pretty tough?

You actually reminded me of another thing might as well ask you, I haven't butchered but me and my Dad are going to start probably next season. I know with cuts of dry aged beef you need to remove the pelical that forms. When you butcher your game and have it hanging for a week or two (bone in of course) do you need to trim/remove the outside similar to dry aged beef pelical?

As to how much of a difference…. Well, I can tell the difference between hind quarters hung for 8 days versus 12 days versus 18 days…I’m pretty particular about the quality of my steaks, so elk and moose get a minimum of 10 days on hind quarters.

About the easiest thing to check for yourself however…. Cut one quarter immediately, let one hang for 10
days. Cook steaks side by side and see for yourself.

You will lose some meat to trimming the pelicle however. Longer the hang time, thicker the pelicle.

Sidenote, a hindquarter on the bone is easier to pack than loose meat in a bag…

[TheObserver]

As to how much of a difference…. Well, I can tell the difference between hind quarters hung for 8 days versus 12 days versus 18 days…I’m pretty particular about the quality of my steaks, so elk and moose get a minimum of 10 days on hind quarters.

About the easiest thing to check for yourself however…. Cut one quarter immediately, let one hang for 10
days. Cook steaks side by side and see for yourself.

You will lose some meat to trimming the pelicle however. Longer the hang time, thicker the pelicle.

Sidenote, a hindquarter on the bone is easier to pack than loose meat in a bag…

Okay appreciate the info! But I should have been more concise with my question what I meant was how much of a difference would you say between some steaks/roasts off the hinds of an animal, deboned right away after kill and cut right away at home vs. packed bone out and hung for a week to two weeks. In terms of toughness/tenderness.

Yeah your right wont know until I try it out so many factors from animal to meat care to what your taste buds are like. Yeah loose meat in a bag sucks and is floppy forsure. Some really really steep sh!t though solo seems like a Buck for instance can just stuff the whole thing boned out in 1 bag and get off the mountain but 4 boned qrts plus the bag of heart/liver/neck/ribs/backstraps and tenderloins, I mean my metal meat hauler could handle that lol but i dont know if it would even fit on it. Just thinking about not having to leap frog the meat which I always do, and not having to leave meat and come back for more trips (for deer. Elk or anything bigger obviously another story)

[digger dogger]

I killed a buck, a couple hundred meters from my house a few yr ago,
I had shit to do that day so I cut and wrapped it rt away.
I’ve never had a deer so tough and chewy.

[spreerider]

deboned lots of animals right away never found a difference in meat tenderness, used to hang for 15 days and found everyone in my family prefers if i cut it fresh instead.

[KodiakHntr]

Okay appreciate the info! But I should have been more concise with my question what I meant was how much of a difference would you say between some steaks/roasts off the hinds of an animal, deboned right away after kill and cut right away at home vs. packed bone out and hung for a week to two weeks. In terms of toughness/tenderness.

Yeah your right wont know until I try it out so many factors from animal to meat care to what your taste buds are like. Yeah loose meat in a bag sucks and is floppy forsure. Some really really steep sh!t though solo seems like a Buck for instance can just stuff the whole thing boned out in 1 bag and get off the mountain but 4 boned qrts plus the bag of heart/liver/neck/ribs/backstraps and tenderloins, I mean my metal meat hauler could handle that lol but i dont know if it would even fit on it. Just thinking about not having to leap frog the meat which I always do, and not having to leave meat and come back for more trips (for deer. Elk or anything bigger obviously another story)

How much different? Different enough that it is going to be some extraordinary circumstances that would have me worrying about removing 6 lbs of leg bone from a deer just to make it more floppy to pack… And it would definitely result in zero steaks or roasts and 100% pepperoni and smokies, for me.

Although to be fair, I don’t have to resort to eating deer steaks either anyway. Elk are for steaks, deer is for pepperoni.

[wallz]

Don't know if I have ever tasted the difference.

My moose this year was shot just as it was getting dark. Gutless method, so lots of loose meat, and the 4 quarters. I was solo, so hit camp just after midnight. Packed up camp, and drove 8 ish hours home as I new it was going to be too warm to travel during the day.

Get home just before noon, and dropped the quarters and loose meat, all in game bags into the freezer, with a quick garbage bag over each game bag so they don't freeze into a single block. Then hit the pillow.

Next morning we got up and started the cutting and wrapping, and with things going on during the day we finished clean up around 10 pm. Yea it was a long day with some "I have to go do this/that today".

Anyways the moose is nice and tasty and tender and has been awesome table fare, no matter how we cook it.

[Dave177]

After hanging can the trimmed off pelicle be thrown into the grinder for sausages etc or will it be too tough?