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How long to hang

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Squirle hunter

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How long do y'all let them hang I'm kinda a 3day most of the time but if weather permits I'll let them hang for 5 or 6 what's y'all thoughts
 
Just long enough to get them cut up and in the freezer, letting a animal hang requires a very specific temp and mother nature rarely cooperates lol. I wont ever let 1 hang again with the skin on as it's horrible to skin imo.
 
Temps need to be between 35-40, any warmer its rot, 32 or colder a waste of time as nothing happens when its frozen, the colder it is the longer it takes
 
Thanks next one I kill I was going to try and let hang they say it helps in the tenderness department I guess I will have to build me a cooler to try it
 
I read an article on deer not needing the time to hang/cure like beef. It said 2-3 days and process. Next year I will quarter em out if I have my mobile setup, ice chest till the following evening and process.
 
1/2 day to day. Then we cut put in a cooler of ice and keep changing ice for 2 or 3 days. We keep draining the ice and water. That to me seems to do better than letting them hang.
 
Depending on your setup, I have let them hang in a walk-in for 4 days, skin on then processed them. I have set them in a modified side-by-side fridge for a week skinned, then processed. I have quartered them, set in a cooler for a week then processed. All methods worked well as far as getting them tender and no "gamey" taste. The trick is to make sure you get as much blood out as possible, which is usually easily done if left hanging for an hour or two once field dressed, then aged in under 40degs conditions using any method listed above, or the like, for at least 4 days and up to two weeks. I usually aim for 36-38 deg, just to be sure it doesn't get above 40 or less than 33 degrees for a week or so. I start processing a quarter or two a day after that, so some get more than a week, and I grind all the trimming on the last day.
 
JeepKuntry said:
I read an article on deer not needing the time to hang/cure like beef. It said 2-3 days and process. Next year I will quarter em out if I have my mobile setup, ice chest till the following evening and process.
Click to expand...
I don't know who wrote that article, but that's not been my experience.

When we go to Oklahoma, we always shoot a deer on day 1 for camp meat, and it is never as tender as the end product.
 
For all your answers and more, take a listen to this Meateater podcast. Interview with a "meat scientist".
The deboning segment was really interesting.

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

Topics discussed: debunking meat myths; how stress affects the flavor of meat; myoglobin and hemoglobin; why you shouldn't cut into an animal before rigor mortis is complete; muscle is muscle; Steve's insistence on saying "red cutter," when it's actually dark cutter; the benefits of electrocuting meat; to bleed or not to bleed; muscle is 75% water; why you should keep the bones attached; does hanging help?; a certain antiquated way of slaughtering turkeys; why you should wait before freezing; the seven distinct meats in a snapping turtle and PhD. dissertation ideas; what marbling is; the time when Steve ate a sliver of 18-month-aged aoudad that tasted like blue cheese; black fuzzy mold is bad; and more.
 
There are enzymes in the meat that help break down connective tissue if the meat is allowed to age for awhile. Most beef is aged 7-10 days for optimal taste. Hunting in the CWD zone complicates our plans. We process our own and want to keep all the meat separate until tests are in so we quarter and freeze immediatly. If test negative, thaw and finish processing. Positive goes to landfill.

We've been lucky this year. Farm is near ground zero and we've only had one positive out of 6 tested so far this year and it was the youngest buck (estimated) that we've taken this year.
 
Squirle hunter said:
Thanks next one I kill I was going to try and let hang they say it helps in the tenderness department I guess I will have to build me a cooler to try it
Click to expand...

"They" say a lot of things and it's a different thing from a different "they".

For me how long it hangs depends on temp. If it's below 40* I'll wait overnite or even a couple days if I'm busy or tired. If it's above 40* then I skin, butcher, and pack all same day as kill. Venison is venison is venison to me as long as it's clean. My family & I love venison as is so I've never tinkered with aging. It's been my experience that keeping everything clean and how it's cooked makes the difference in meat quality. Some of my favorite meals is throwing meat in the skillet with nothing but salt, pepper, and a little oil to snack on as while we're butchering.

I like my venison steaks fairly rare, and my roasts slow cooked. I eat it pretty much same way I do beef. I also cut it thin and make bulgogi (korean bbq), or sometimes into strips for teriyaki steak with broccoli & rice. We use deer meat for lots of stuff and it's usually not real tough.
 
I do a lot with it too we use it in place of beef in most cases we try to kill 5-7 a year so that we don't have to buy beef we do most of our own processing also unless it warm then I haul to the processors seems like the ones from the processors turnout more tender asked my father in-law and he said it's that they hang longer so I was trying to figure out how long and at what temp was normal since we don't get that cold during the best part of deer season I'm thinking about trying to build me a cooler so I don't have to pay a processor to do it and get better quality of meat thanks for all the good info I really appreciate it
 

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