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

[IronNoggin]

.....convinced me on benefits of aging game meat, as i was on the fence before

Hung this year's moose (12 - 14 years of age) for 20 days.
Butter soft & excellent flavor.
Always hang them!

Cheers

[.330 Dakota]

Hung this year's moose (12 - 14 years of age) for 20 days.
Butter soft & excellent flavor.
Always hang them!

Cheers

Bone In and Hide Off????

[IronNoggin]

Bone In and Hide Off????

Yep. Hide off the day of kill.
Bones intact for hanging to stretch the muscles after rigor.
Cold room (actual fanned cold room for a local beef operation) at 2 degrees C for the whole time.
Perfection!

Cheers

[MRP]

Never have had to bone out, yet, hopefully never will. In BC Outdoors (I think) way back there was a article on cooling meat. Top packing packing plants to avoid cooling the meat to fast have a pre cooling room to bring it down the temperature. Then later go into the cold cooler to hang the desired days.

[mod7rem]

Lots of variables. Have to be flexible. I usually remove bones based on how far I have to pack it. If it’s close enough and I have time I’ll leave the bones in the quarters and make more trips. If it’s further or I have limited time, I’ll fully debone and make less trips.
I’ve always done my own cutting so aging will depend on what I have going on. For me it’s mostly sheep, goat, deer, caribou and sometimes deboned sheep, goat or caribou meat will get stored in the mountains for over a week. Sealed in plastic and sunk in creeks or dug down to bare earth and covered with moss or hung if possible and weather depending. Then can be 2-3 days to hike out, then get home, and then find time to cut. Sometimes I cut after only a few days but I’ll leave all the packages out or in a fridge to continue aging for 3-5 days.

For deer I don’t have to carry, this has been the best result for me. I’ve hung them head down, whole for up to 10 days with the hide on and only the guts and organs removed. This is a great method when you get warm fall days but cool nights. The hide keeps the animal at an even temperature and prevents the outer layer of meat from drying out. I’ve taken the hide off in those conditions after 7-10 days and the meat is clean, cold and fresh. Very little trim loss and great eating. Tenderloins always come out right away though because there’s nothing protecting them from drying out, especially if you remove the fat and tissue covering them on the inside of the body.

I’ve done it many different ways and it all depends on the situation.
A big benefit to keeping the bones in the quarters is that once you finish cutting the meat, cut those bones into pieces and freeze in packages. Then use them for making batches of bone broth. Very easy to do and awesome nutrition.

The worst thing I ever did when I first started was hang a quartered and skinned deer with fans blowing on it.

[tigrr]

Too each there own. My moose, bear and deer are butchered the next day. If you want to wait for days go right ahead.
I can't comment on other animals. I have never shot them.
Foot note is, all the animals I butchered were delicious.

[HarryToolips]

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.

Interesting.. I've shot a WT before that I had wrapped in my freezer in about 4 hrs after kill... tasted great, and was tender.

[HarryToolips]

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

On deer and elk at least for me, I cut the thinner pelicle into small pieces and throw it into the grind meat, wasn't a prob (though I don't hang them super long)..

[HarryToolips]

Bone In and Hide Off????

From my personal experience, every gamey tasting deer that I've experienced has had the hide left on a little long..

[IronNoggin]

From my personal experience, every gamey tasting deer that I've experienced has had the hide left on a little long..

Depends on weather conditions.
Most winters I engage in the late archery season for whitetails (OK) as I will be doing so again this week.
I always leave the hides on for this hunt.
The carcasses will be almost frozen, I have to pack them into my SUV to get them home, then hang for a few days.
As Mod7 noted above, the end result is clean meat with no "skin" to worry about.
Never ever had a "gamey" one from those hunts doing this for well over 20 years now.

Cheers