# How long to hang a deer?



## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

We have been having a friendly "disagreement" with the next door neighbor here and I'd like some expert opinions on this one.  

The neighbor's son got a doe on Youth Day here in Vermont. He got it one morning, and the next morning they cut it up and froze it. The deer only hung for 18 hours, because "thats what it said to do in the book we used". 

Won't that meat be tough? Isn't 18 hours too short to hang a deer? The temps have been below 40 but not below freezing so temperature wasn't an issue here. I would think after 18 hours it would still be in rigor? :shrug:


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I like to age mine at least a week, but I usually have to do it in a cooler since its usually pretty warm here for a large part of the season.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I have never "aged" a deer carcass. Processing starts within 12 hours of the harvest. Our venison has never been tough or gamey. You can hardly tell it from beef.


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## Janis Sauncy (Apr 11, 2006)

I used to be a meat wrapper for a farm butcher and his opinion (thirty plus years in the business) is that game does not need to be aged, just completely cooled down. The same with hogs. He said the only meat that needs to be hung and "aged" is beef.

Janis


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Janis Sauncy said:


> I used to be a meat wrapper for a farm butcher and his opinion (thirty plus years in the business) is that game does not need to be aged, just completely cooled down. The same with hogs. He said the only meat that needs to be hung and "aged" is beef.
> 
> Janis


I'll second this!
Once its cooled, into the freezer and yum later!


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## cowgirlone (May 9, 2002)

I agree with Janice too. 
The weather here is sometimes too warm to let deer hang very long, we just cut it and chill, then wrap and freeze or can. Same with hogs.....now beef is a different story.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

I have cut up a big buck with in 1 day of harvest, and have hung them as long as a week, (cold out, not near any where to put in freezer), and had good luck both ways.

You need to be careful when you field dress, so as to not get *meat dirty*, be it glands, urine, poop, shot up meat, (sorta brown and muddy looking) etc.
Wash out as best you can, and *cool* down as fast as you can.
Never had a bad steak yet.


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## XCricketX (Jun 7, 2006)

Reading the goat forum about butchering might help too... since goat are related to deer... I know it's not the same, but a relation.

Cricket


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

Well you learn something new every day  I've always been told you need to hang it for days in order to get tender meat, thanks everyone


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

DH shot his deer this afternoon. I'll take it to the butcher tomorrow. We don't age anything but beef.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

MaineFarmMom said:


> DH shot his deer this afternoon. I'll take it to the butcher tomorrow. We don't age anything but beef.


Congrats! No deer for us yet but 3 doe tags for China/Whitefield...

We also butcher deer quickly and moose too (we got a 450# cow last month in Lexington)

Our beef critter was aged 1 week, 10 days would have been better but moose hunt was crowding us.

Poultry should sit in the fridge for a couple days after butchering before cooking or freezing.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

Steve had a doe tag in Castine but took the buck. I'm jealous over your moose. I want to go so badly!


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## mink (Feb 10, 2005)

i like to skin mine the same day i get them , then the next day i cut them up. cooling in my opinion is more important than the hanging time . thats why i like to skin them while their still warm as the hide pulls off so easy and you'd be surprised how much longer a carcass stays warm with that hide on .....mink


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## brownegg (Jan 5, 2006)

Yep, the skinning is so easy if you can do it while the deer is still warm. Then let it cool down overnight or the next day and have at it. No need to let them hang and the meat dry out. I think it is much better than any stinky beef.... and is to superior to even compare.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

We cool our deer down ASAP. While cooling we hang it from the back legs as opposed to head first like everyone else. Helps drain all remaining blood from the better cuts. I think it makes a difference.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I THIRD ,FOURTH ,FIFTH deer do not need to hang any longer than to get them down to temp and if it is not 40 or below then skin and quarter them as soon as possable and get them on ice 

the gamie taste people associate with venison is rot from hanging to long.

also we take a hose and flush the inside as soon as we get them back to the house 
this makes them much more pleasant when you are cutting later 
if the hose has been put away for the year alreay then a few buckets to flush them just toss it up and step back while they hang.

the best i ever hear it described is that aging is somthing that needs be done at such tight teprature controls +- a few degrees with a set humidity that unless you have a cooler to do this that will hold your deer don't bother just cut as soon as you can.


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## Clifford (Aug 14, 2004)

Depending on the outside temperature, I let it hand for a week or less. If it's too warm, then I quarter it and freeze it right away and cut it up later a quarter at a time.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I cut mine up pretty much the same day.Debone it all,I feel Bone Marrow gives it an off taste.I'll wash the inside out soon as it is hung.

My DW said she was talking with a Guy.He shot a Deer on Sunday did't find it until Monday afternoon.This was a week ago,he just worked it up today.The temps have been in the 60's and 70's.And people wonder why they don't like Deer meat.

big rockpile


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## MandersGoaters (Apr 14, 2007)

big rockpile said:


> I cut mine up pretty much the same day.Debone it all,I feel Bone Marrow gives it an off taste.I'll wash the inside out soon as it is hung.
> 
> My DW said she was talking with a Guy.He shot a Deer on Sunday did't find it until Monday afternoon.This was a week ago,he just worked it up today.The temps have been in the 60's and 70's.And people wonder why they don't like Deer meat.
> 
> big rockpile


 OH MAN THATS NASTY! your right, it just sat there and fermented!! it's been so warm here i'm suprised he didn't gag when skinning it! I like to take the whole deer home with out feild dressing it(unless it's too enormus) skin it and gut it at home, it's cleaner and you can get the hose out to chill it down faster then cut it up the same day. I like to run ours thru the tenderizer, and before cooking we soak the blood out. and i always like to get a neck shot so no good meat is wasted!


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

DH got his doe at 7:15 am, she was hung for a few hours/skinned too.. and then we had her all deboned and in "ice water" by 1 pm! Then the next day (or two) I cut, and prepare, and grind and package and freeze all meats. 

He does rinse out with the hose and hangs from back legs also! The longest we have "hung" a deer is over night (when temps arent high) but thats cause he bagged it late in the evening (before sunset) and I said NO WAY am i diggin in this late!


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## hillbillygal (Jan 16, 2008)

Just thought I'd bump this thread up. I had done a search for how long you can hang a deer and this one popped up. We were given our first deer of the season tonight and will start processing it tomorrow morning. It is hanging in our barn for the night and should be chilled nicely for the morning. :goodjob:


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

ask a dozen hunters and you will get a dozen different answers. 

there are a lot of variables as to when to skin and when to butcher. the hide does peel easier when warm. then again, sometimes tallow a=on a fat deer is easier to remove in chunks when it dries a bit. the hide can insulate body heat in or cold or hot weather out. when to skin depends on a lot of things and common sense is the best guide. if the deer was killed and chilled on a cold day, you cannot butcher for another day and it will get up to 70 degrees F, perhaps it is a good idea to leave the hide on. if it is hanging at camp and the sun shines on it, perhaps it is better to leave the hide on. if it is warm enough for flies to be buzzing around, perhaps leaving the hide on is a good idea. if you pick up a road kill in the summer, by all means...get the hide off asap and get the meat away from the flies.

everyone i know in this area has always hung deer by the hind quarters. the only down side i can see is when you try to get a nice, big neck roast and the rest of the hide is in the way. the brisket and neck is the toughest part to skin and it is right at the end with the rest of the hide in your way.

i think the longest i have ever let a deer hang was 6-7 days and only because i had to. there is nothing wrong with aging the meat by letting it hang. it will change the flavor and possibly tenderize the meat, but i don't feel it to be necessary. i normally let the deer hang for a day after i take the hide off (with the head) to let it drain and to let the tallow firm up. since i often can much of my meat, having the tallow and outer membranes firm up makes it much easier to work with as they peel away so much easier when they dry out. it wouldn't really matter if you are cutting steaks or roasts.

as to gamey tastes...IMHO that has more to do with what the animal has eaten and if it has been field dressed properly or gut shot. busted guts and busted bladders ruin the taste of meat more than anything i know of. some folks will tell you to take the hide and glands off of a deer that will hang as the glands can impart a gamey flavor to the meat. that can be difficult if you hang from the hind legs as the glands are right by the tendons that allow you to hang the deer and if you cut the tendons, you cannot hang the deer. those deer "knees" are hard to skin.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

Here in my part of Texas, during deer season, it sometimes wont get very cold. If it does and I shoot a deer in the evening, we gut it, wash it out and hang (in the shade with good air flow & breeze) until the next morning where its skinned and at least put in a cooler with ice. Then we can cut the steaks & grinding meat as we please. We have NEVER taken the hide off then leave it to hang, THAT makes the meat dry out bad and then it toughens it.

I have never heard about hanging related to toughness. That usually relates to the state of the animal when shot or the age.


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## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

The reason to hang meat is to let the fat(marbling) in the meat start to break down. ISU meat lab says the skin deer as soon as posiable and to cut up as soon as cool. Deer do not have marbling in their meat.
Steve


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

You should at least hang them until they're dead.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

yup...its deer not beef so no real need to hang very long


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Weve done close to 12 deer already since October 1st. Temperature is the big thing and 50 is the cutoff, over 50 and it gets cut up or put in the cooler. Aging will help somewhat with older deer/bucks but most of our antlered bucks are loin and burger now days. Fawns and younger does aging will do nothing for the meat as far as tenderness etc, its already tender. Good clean kill, proper field dressing and gettign the meat skinned and cooled are your biggest players in getting good meat or gamey meat. If we're hunting hard and got deer on the meat pole we'll let them hang til lwe get time to work them up IF it stays below 50 and I prefer 40. Ive hung OLD bucks in the cooler years ago to age them and there is a difference after a week or two but with so many doe tags and younger deer now days we dont worry about it. We just process the old bucks into loin and jerky/summer sausage/snack sticks. If you cancontrol the temp on 2 1/2+ yr old deer then you will see some improvement of meat quality but really its not enough to worry about most times. We debone all our meat too and sometimes it will sit in the meat fridge for a few days to a week till we get time to work it up with no ill effects and the older ones you can tell a differecne in meat texture. Button buck was taken this morning and within 1 hour of field dressing it was cut up and freezing with the burger trim in the meat fridge. Also cut and discard all sinew/silver skin, fat, connective tissue. As a butcher I admire says "if its white it aint right".


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## Wis Bang 2 (Jan 12, 2010)

We go both ways. Our 'gang' usually uses a local butcher who retired from a local chain store. He and his grown sons do deer at his country shop. After supper we drive the deer down to him and it is skinned and hung in his cooler. He prefers to hang them for 2 - 3 days and we stop in and he cuts our deer in front of us...

When I'm w/ my one former neighbor we've hung deer by lunch @ camp and skinned them that afternoon and started cutting & wrapping saving a few gal zip locks for mom to grind w/ her Kitchen Aid mixer...

You can't taste the difference.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Ours are skinned, quartered and put on ice the same day, and I work mine through the night and into the morning, mostly canning but some vacuum packing. Had 3 last year and all the meat is tender and delicious. As for the gamey taste, that has to do with how you cut and prepare the meat in my opinion and I take a long time to make sure it is good.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

If the temperature is below freezing you can hang one as long as you like. It will be hard as a rock. When the animal thaws out then you can cut it up. This works well if you are short of freezer space.:thumb:


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Wow! Somebody is digging up some old bones aren't they?

You do not have to age venison, if you don't want to. In my neck of the woods more then likely the weather will be too warm to hang a deer for very long. So most of the time I quarter mine up and stick it in a large ice chest with several bags of Ice placed inside with the meat. As soon as it's cooled down I'll start cutting it up. However, if we do get a fairly long cold spell and I happen to kill one, I will let it hang several days. Letting it age doesn't get rid of the gamey taste but it does tenderize the meat somewhat. 

A cuz of mine gave me a huge buck one day, all he wanted was the head & horns and gave me the rest in turn for capping the head out for him. I placed that buck in a walk in cooler and let it hang for 16 days before I finally got around to processing him. After 16 days of hanging in the cooler he was as tender as any young deer I had ever eaten. You could cut the steaks with a fork and he tasted very good.


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

Depends on the weather. For example, this current hunting season started early October was unseasonably warm with day temps in the 70's and it hasn't gone below freezing or very cold at all at night. So, guys out hunting in camps in the bush have had a rough time keeping their moose and deer meat from spoiling unless bringing it back quick to cool in the locker or cut up within hours for freezer camp. In most 'usual' hunting seasons, hanging deer for about a week if the day temps are cool (below 40 or so) and not hard freezing nights, works well. If you plan to can or process deer or grind for burger, there isn't any need for hanging.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

As far as I know the "gamey" taste comes from the fat combined with bad handling. As far as cutting out the glands that is an old wives tale. Glandular activity stops when something is dead. I worked in a slaughterhouse and the guy who ran it told me that. He said if it makes you feel all manly go for it. My daughter and her husband do deer processing. Her husband worked as a butcher for 20 years. Because of nuisance permits almost all the red meat they eat is venison. They seem to have the prcess knocked. They even got my MIL (animal activest wacko) to Accidently" eat some and she was none the wiser. Some of the best roast beef she ever had.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

_"As far as I know the "gamey" taste comes from the fat combined with bad handling"_

NOT true, not with deer, they have their own NATURAL wild game flavor. Domestic livestock might get "gamey" if you handle it wrong but not deer.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

just my own personal experience talking here...but feed has a lot to do with taste.it seems to me that farm and lowland deer rarely ever taste "gamey". i have only ever had a few of my own deer (those that i knew how they were handled after killed) that have tasted even remotely "gamey". those were taken in areas with no grasses or crops. they were browsing on forest viddles...including sage and such. the fat doe pictured below had access to crops and probably a corn feeder most of the year...and tasted very much like beef.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

There could be some truth to that. Most of the deer I've eaten were taken in heavily farmed areas. My buddy and I often joke that the deer we take out back feed better then most beef animals. I have had "big woods" deer however that had no gamey flavor either. Another factor may be that we each have our own individual tastes. What tastes great to me may turn other people off or visa versa.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

That is SOME fat off that doe!!!! I killed a buck 2 Novembers ago and he has fat like that on his butt, it was crazy. But he tasted GREAT!


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## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

I love Iowa Early Seasom Muzzle Loader season. There is something about shooting deer in a t shirt. It is 70 degrees out at 2:10 PM CDT when I shot a spike buck. It will be 5 or 6 hours from standing in the woods to being in the freezer. I would like to leave a deer hang over night to make sure all of the body heet is out but at 70 it is not going to happen.
I have had big bucks taste bad durning the rut. If I am after meat I will not shoot a big buck unless he is real big durning the rut. There are enough deer around here that I just let the mid sized bucks walk. I have a 180 class rack in the barn so why shoot anything less.
Steve


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

yup as soon as I can its gutted, hung skinned (less then an hour field to that point) and let to cool (that depends on temps), some times I help it a bit by quartering and put it in coolers with ice. gives me time to cut on it, also cool meat is easier to cut even semi frozen is ok ,warm meat has a tendency to tear where and when you dont want it.

but the coolers serve a few purposes.
they will also keep it from freezing solid in cold temp and cool in warm weather. 
from drying out and geting "blood stained".
but most of all help me make the best use of my time by performing those options.
I try to pull as much membrane,tendon,sinew as possiable as well as debone and that can take me a bit as its only me cutting. If I got a good partner can have a decent deer in the freeze in 3 hours. but I like to spend hunting hours hunting and cut when I cant be shooting. I some times drag it out over a week adding Ice and draining water and blood as nessary. thats real important as the blood will go rank long before the meat doing it that way. when Im done it looks like a yote pack had done it in nothin but bones . 

inner loins are always the first thing to go though, they get nasty if you leave them in well the carcass cools and it makes for a nice breakfast the next morning. some mushrooms little onion lots of butter and eggs any way you like (nice runny yolks) toast mmm. best part of the season.

Ive had it both ways, but as pointed out there are factors to consider if its close to a constant 35 but not over 40 and out of direct light you could hang it a week. you need to skin and cool it down though that hide will hold heat awhile.
Ive seen deer consumed like that in the course of a week, just cut off what you need. but I think when it comes to tender its more age and the "stress" effect when killed. 

Cf I would never compare my venny to beef its so much better lol....


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Cabin Fever said:


> I have never "aged" a deer carcass. Processing starts within 12 hours of the harvest. Our venison has never been tough or gamey. You can hardly tell it from beef.


Aye, shoot it, tag it, get it registered with the DNR, and get it in the freezer as soon as it has cooled. There is nothing to be gained and plenty to be lost in letting a dead deer "age".


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Janis Sauncy said:


> I used to be a meat wrapper for a farm butcher and his opinion (thirty plus years in the business) is that game does not need to be aged, just completely cooled down. The same with hogs. He said the only meat that needs to be hung and "aged" is beef.
> 
> Janis


I agree, although I don't work for a processor we go to the same guy for years. He says the same thing....The only meat that needs to age is Beef.

When I shoot my deer it goes to our processor the next morning after I head to the DNR feild office to have it checked for age, etc.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

It has always depended upon the weather. There were many times when deer were shot in the morning and in the freezer that same night. Those were also the hardest to work with on the table. There's been some which were not cut up until 2 or 3 days later. Those were the easiest to work with. Either way, number one rule was always to skin it as soon as possible. Other than refrigeration, that's the quickest way to cool the carcass. The one condition that I hated almost as much as "slimy fresh" was frozen solid. Unavoidable several times but never by choice. The simple key to easy processing is to have it cool and dry when applicable. 

Martin


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

WstTxLady said:


> That is SOME fat off that doe!!!! I killed a buck 2 Novembers ago and he has fat like that on his butt, it was crazy. But he tasted GREAT!


I've had two bucks like that of which one was a 13-pointer. That one had been hit by a vehicle when young and every rib and a shoulder on one side had been broken at a young age. The other was an 8-pointer and had a front leg broken at the elbow and it healed in locked position. Despite being old deer, their meat was the color of a doe and 2" of fat on their rumps. And the reason? For most of their life, all they ever did was walk since neither could run. Wasn't a tough piece of meat on either of them!

Martin


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I want it hung as soon as possible, bled and skinned right in the field. Then I wrap it and move it. If cold I will let it hang, if not it gets quartered and hung in the spring house. I like 3 days myself. I also remove all the sinew, fat and connective tissue when I process it. I learned all this from an old Indian friend. I would rather eat the meat "fresh" for 2 weeks than freeze it, thaw it and then eat it. When I was a kid we had venison all winter, salt packed in crocks for up to 6 weeks. The salt packed meat was the most tender meat I have ever eaten. A little green at times but tender. We had no freezer....James


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## backwoodsman (Jan 21, 2010)

Alot of the gamey taste comes from the deer actually starting to spoil before being processed. The method of the kill or the act of "reducing to possession" will affect meat quality too. Deer drives can be bad at times for good venison. Good hard hit thru the ribs/lung/heart or an ethical neck shot seldom contributes to gamey meat on an unexcited/relaxed/browsing deer. Run that same deer over hill and dale with the pumpkin army blazing away and you'll most likely have a deer thats a good candidate for the grinder and jerky at best.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

backwoodsman said:


> Alot of the gamey taste comes from the deer actually starting to spoil before being processed.


NOT true. We have killed and completely processed a deer in probably the fastest time ever withOUT dropping the temp of the meat or compromising the meat by spoilage or other stuff and it had that GREAT gamey taste.

Im sorry deer is deer, not beef and does NOT need to be hung for better quality unless its some pen raised fat thing. Deer is SUPPOSED to have the wild, gamey taste. I have known some people who swear the don't like the taste but when I ask then why make a HUGE fuss over taking them. I get silence.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

WstTxLady said:


> NOT true. We have killed and completely processed a deer in probably the fastest time ever withOUT dropping the temp of the meat or compromising the meat by spoilage or other stuff and it had that GREAT gamey taste.
> 
> Im sorry deer is deer, not beef and does NOT need to be hung for better quality unless its some pen raised fat thing. Deer is SUPPOSED to have the wild, gamey taste. I have known some people who swear the don't like the taste but when I ask then why make a HUGE fuss over taking them. I get silence.



Im going to go out on a limb here but I think what BWM was trying to get across is most people turned off by venison is due from the mishandling of the meat prior to harvest as in stressing the animal prior to death and after due to
misconceptions on how to handle it after the kill. that includes cooking, my dad thinks venny should be cooked in onion gravy like liver?


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

||Downhome|| said:


> Im going to go out on a limb here but I think what BWM was trying to get across is most people turned off by venison is due from the mishandling of the meat prior to harvest as in stressing the animal prior to death and after due to
> misconceptions on how to handle it after the kill. that includes cooking, my dad thinks venny should be cooked in onion gravy like liver?


Not disagreeing with you but mishandling and stress often do get blamed for the quality of the meat when there are many other factors. 50-60 years ago, deer hunting in Wisconsin meant long trip to the upper third of the state which was recovering from a massive lumber deforestation. That was great for deer population with plenty of browse. Didn't matter how the meat was handled or if the deer were shot in their sleep, they tasted bad. Especially so since only bucks were shot. Down in the lower third of the state, I've had several bucks that just did didn't taste right and both shot very early on opening morning. Since it was in agricultural land, it wasn't the diet but that both were quite virile and simply neglected to eat for a month. I equate the taste to iodine and very similar to pigeon meat. And how or why can venison and pigeon meat taste like iodine? Neither have gall bladders!

Martin


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

I dont disagree with you either Martin, that would be another factor and one I never consider as I hunt the farm fed deer,sure they get some wild forage to but I dont thing they are just eating cedars and junipers. 

I also prefer a fat doe to a rutting buck , horn dont have much nutrition.
but I have had bucks that where in rut and tasted just fine, but hormones and condition factor in also so I will concur.

so I agree there are many reasons your game could be off, but thats where the cook should be able to factor in the equation? 

I was told to soak it in salt water for a few hours at least before cooking 
over night being better with a good fresh soak to draw out the salt, I do think it does help, if it where a little tasty I would use beer or milk with a little salt added.

I really do like the beer marinade,little garlic salt and pepper and just about anything is good to go.


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