game meat aging questions

thirtythirty · Sep 17, 2009

How many of you age your elk meat, venison, etc. How do you do it and for how long? What about antelope and others? I have not had a lot of experience w/wild game and would like the best possible meat so that hopefully my wife will like it. Any other tricks for getting the best possible game meat. Thanks in advance.

30-30

EDGE_1 · Sep 18, 2009

I have access to a walk in cooler, so I hang mine for at least a week, sometimes two. I don't age antelope as long as deer and elk.
I also cut my own, and the rule is no bones or fat get wrapped.

upmuley · Sep 18, 2009

I have read where butchers say that game meat does not need to age the way that beef does. You also need to use caution as venison does not have the amount of carcass fat that corn fed beef does that is a barrier to drying and possible bacteria.

That being said I do like to hang my venison for a few days to a week. Maybe it's in my head but if weather conditions allow hanging I think it is better.

fishinghunter14 · Sep 18, 2009

i usually age my elk when its quartered for a week to week and a half and we cut our own. our deer we leave whole and leave bout the same time we have always had the experience that the deer will dry out quicker if it is skinned so we will start skinnin it when we are ready to cut it

$MAVERICK$

DryFlyGuy · Sep 18, 2009

Great topic. I'll be interested to hear the responses.

ARCHERYBUG · Sep 18, 2009

I don't age mine at all and it taste's great !!!

coyoteslayer · Sep 18, 2009

Age it for at least 10 days if possible. If it has a strong smell to it then hang it for longer. It will be more tender and less gamey (sp). I agree with the other posts, no fat, bones or anything you are not going to eat gets wrapped up. The best elk I ever tasted hung about 3 weeks. Very tender melt in your mouth.

WildAntlerMan · Sep 18, 2009

We try and let it hang as long as mother nature will allow, but within a week we try and cut it up, good way we notice it is ready is when most the blood has drained out of it. Just my 2 cents worth anyway. Also we never hang them by the head, always by the back legs or rear hawks, this way the scent glads will drain out through the neck and head away from most the meat. As far as gamy taste of a animal I am a strong believer in 2 things, one being what the animal has eaten and were it was raised as well as how he was taken or killed. If you can make the shot while they havent been running or so then it will be more tender as well as not as gamy tasting, cause once they are dead all organs stop and it is just like when you work out, your adrenilian and blood starts flowing and as soon as you kill over it stays like that so your meat will be more full of pumped up blood vesiles and be more tougher to eat and gamier tasting. This is just my opinion.

DBG3285 · Sep 18, 2009

I do not age any of our meat. we used to raise and butcher cows. the reason you age cattle is cause that is what makes it marble. on deer and elk they don't marble (lack of fat) so there is no need to age game meat. you just want to make sure you bleed them out well.

Frontier · Sep 18, 2009

Here's my 2 cents. I've have dealt with well over a hundred animals. I've helped my brother cut up wild game over the years for others. What I've noticed is once deer or antelope are cooled down to about 40 degrees F, then you can cut them up. Doesn't seem to change tenderness or taste. On elk you want at least 3 days to a week at the most at 40 degrees. If aging at higher temperatures you need to cut it up sooner. I've noticed that most gamey tasting meat comes from a few things. If the animal was run, or heated up before killing. If the meat after killing was not cooled down immediately. Take great care in keeping the meat clean after killing.
Fat is the first thing to go rancid in the freezer on anything. When packaged in heavy duty ziplock bags I've had the fat taste good up to 6 months. Six months to a year it's still OK.
Contrary to popular belief that all fat is bad for you is not true. When beef are fed corn, silage, grains the omega 6 to 3 balance goes to like 12 to 1 meaning it's really bad for you. The fat off of wildgame is closer to 1 to 1, meaning it's good for you. It's the kind of fat your body burns quickly and doesn't leave any deposits. It also has alot of the minerals that we lack, especially in todays fat free diets.

ForkWest · Sep 18, 2009

No aging for me. I cut and wrap as fresh as possilbe, with cleanliness in the field and on the cutting board the highest priority. I've yet to have a bad tasting animal.

TheSaint · Sep 18, 2009

>I do not age any of
>our meat. we used to
>raise and butcher cows. the
>reason you age cattle is
>cause that is what makes
>it marble. on deer and
>elk they don't marble (lack
>of fat) so there is
>no need to age game
>meat. you just want to
>make sure you bleed them
>out well.

I agree 100%

thirtythirty · Sep 18, 2009

How do you bleed them? I know some of the old-timers would slit the throat. I don't do this because I have heard that it is not needed and I think it is rare.

trevriv · Sep 18, 2009

I was a Certified Executive Chef for 12 years. I butchered meat on a daily basis. I used to hang my game meat for a minimum of 14 days, if it was cool outside, less if it was warmer. I was talking to the owner of Palace Meat Co. in Salt Lake (he's been a butcher for over 40 years), anyway he said that alot of butchers are now cutting and packaging the meat right after the kill and then are ageing the meat after it has been cut up. I started doing this on my last six deer and they have been phenominal. My wife doesnt have to stare at a garage full of dead game either. I age my meat using this method for 18-21 days. You need to cool the meat immediately. It is also VERY important not to get the meat wet. DO NOT rinse the meat. It is best to wipe it off or cut it out. Skinning is also easier when the carcass is still warm. Also, make sure that you field dress the animal ASAP and when you are butchering... trim away as much fat as possible (as deer/elk fat tastes rancid). If you like the taste of fat in your meat... there is a method called "barding"... that is where you take some small strips of beef fat and place it in small slits in the meat. This works especially well in roasts and steaks. One of the benefits to ageing beef is that the fat will set (marbling), but it is not the ONLY reason. It also helps to make it tender (which is also a result of good marbling), improves the flavor, and takes the gamey taste out of it (yes, even beef will taste gamey if not aged properly). Most of the time when I have had "gamey" tasting meat, it was either because they left the outside fat on the meat when they cooked it... or because they did not field dress or skin the animal immediately... or because it wasnt cooled properly, or because they didnt age it. I had a friend over for dinner last year about a month after our hunt. He brought some deer over (that he had not aged) and I had also served my deer (which was aged for 21 days in a refrigerator). The deer that he brought was very gamey, mine was very delicate in flavor. I was with him when he shot it, skinned it, heck I even butchered it for him. So, I know the animal had been well taken care of. The ONLY difference was that I aged mine in the fridge for three weeks and he put his in the freezer immediately. By the way, his deer was a 1 1/2 year old and mine was around a 4 1/2 year old buck. Hope this helps.

cheeseheadinOHIO · Sep 18, 2009

I'm sure there are others like me but I hate liver. My deer for over 30 years have always tasted like liver to me. I assume that's the gamey taste. I butcher mine and have the meat processed into sausage, jerky or other things. I always butchered my own deer usually right after getting home (1 day, two max). My uncle always let his deer hang a week. Every time I ate his it was like beef and I liked it. I believe it does make a difference. Problem is sometime it's too warm to let hang, especially archery deer.

Question for the post above me that ages it in the fridge... you cut and wrap it and just let it sit in there for 21 days? If you left a beef steak in there that long it would be brown. Please provide further information on this.
Thanks.

KILLERBEE · Sep 18, 2009

i read alot of posts like this when getting ready for my wifes antelope hunt. out of the first 3 antelope i ate, i hated it all. gave all 3 away.

but after learning some of the tricks alot of you guys have, hers tasted great.

i accually PRE- gave hers away, assuming i wouldn't like it. well we went over for backstraps and they were awsome! i did keep 1 backstrap.

but i wont be giving my next antelope away.
skin and get it on ice FAST! no hair on the meat and get it cooled down. it worked great.

i'll be watching this post to. i'll gladly make deer meat better. i love elk meat , deer i dont mind, we eat it all. but i'll be listening to what you guys have to say to try out on my next buck. and thanks for everyone input!

piper · Sep 18, 2009

I hear one thing and then the other about aging, but I would recommend not aging antelope, do what others have said, skin it and cool it, also getting the blood out of meat cuts is important on all game meat, you can let frozen steaks ect. thaw and sit to drain the blood out, then rinse the meat with water.

RELH · Sep 18, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-09 AT 09:13PM (MST)[p]I do not age antelope, main thing is get it field dressed and skinned and cooled down ASAP after shooting it. I have never had any gamey tasting antelope following that rule and i have killed over 25-30 lopes.
As for elk, bison, my butcher ages it for 12-14 days before cutting up and wrapping. I will not argue with him as it comes out just great for taste and tenderness. Also having the meat vacummed packed, instead of paper wrapped, will preserve it far longer in the freezer.

Most complaints about gamey tasting wild game can be contributed to the hunter not field dressing and cooling down his animal fast enough. I start the field dressing within minutes of downing the animal. If the weather is not cold, get that hide off also to allow the meat to cool down faster. On elk it may also help to cut into the shoulders and hind quarters, where the meat is thicker, and allow it to cool down and not sour.

Piper, that advice you gave about thawing the meat then rinsing it with water cost me a intire elk one time. My son took a bull elk in Colorado several years ago. He called me to complain that he cooked several steaks for the family and they did not like it due to a strong taste. He stated he had started the field dressing and cooling it down within minutes of killing it.

I asked him if he had thawed it and then rinsed the blood off with cool tap water as his mother always did. He had not. Called back in a few days and said he used my advice and the meat was great and he would not be giving me the elk meat after all. Alot of hunters are not aware of this and I am glad you brought to everyones attention.

RELH

trevriv · Sep 18, 2009

If you're referring to a beef steak that you bought at a store... you're right it would go brown if you let it sit in your fridge for 21 days. The meat has already been aged before you bought it. If you had killed the cow yourself, you would be fine to age it for 21 days (the best beef usually is). That was a great question. Also, you CANNOT age meat once it has been frozen.

BigMass · Sep 19, 2009

If you age meat for twenty one days you better have the temperature and humidity just right. If you are just a little off bacteria will have a field day. That is why beef that has been dry aged for 21 to 28 days is so expensive, it is a closely monitored and controlled process. There is a fine line between aging and rotting. I agree with what many have expressed here already,the most important issues that affect taste are,
#1 clean and quick kill
#2 removing all bloodshot meat and cooling as soon as possible
#3 properly cutting the meat by deboning, removing all fat, and I also separate each muscle and fillet off the membrane.
#4 vacuum pack your meat for freezing.

7magman · Sep 20, 2009

>If you're referring to a beef
>steak that you bought at
>a store... you're right it
>would go brown if you
>let it sit in your
>fridge for 21 days. The
>meat has already been aged
>before you bought it. If
>you had killed the cow
>yourself, you would be fine
>to age it for 21
>days (the best beef usually
>is). That was a great
>question. Also, you CANNOT age
>meat once it has been
>frozen.

Ask any meat science major and they will tell you that that last statemeent is a fallacy. Meat can be wet aged in vacum sealed packages after it has been frozen. I have done this with elk, deer, antelope and bison. I've left antelope steaks in the fridge for one month in a vaucm sealed bag. The change in texture and taste can be pretty remarkable. Wet aging has become a pretty popular technique in the restaurant trade the last few years.