Hanging game

ferrete

I was just wondering how long do you guys hang your phesants? Do you hang them by the head or legs? Do you just hang them in the shed or a cold room? If not in a cold room or fridge how long do you typically hang them for?

jap gt

always hang from the neck, hang in a fridge for two days

ferrete

If no fridge availble what can you do? Why do some talk about hanging longer and how does this affect the taste?

tonytoc11

I left one hanging for a bit too long the other day. Was probably hanging 7 days and was green on the inside. 3 or 4 days seems to the norm

cavan shooter

I dont hang for anything more than a couple of days, I dont see or taste a difference

ferrete

Yea but I don't have a fridge so how long do you hang them for just when you leave them in the shed

jap gt

ferrete wrote: »

Yea but I don't have a fridge so how long do you hang them for just when you leave them in the shed

just hang them in the shed, its too cold for flies now so you should be grand, a day or two will do

blackstairsboy

I usually shoot on sundays and I hang pheasants from sunday till friday evening in a cool place in the garage. At the beginning of the season when the weather is milder you must be careful but usually its grand to leave them for 5 days. I wouldn't go too far over this though.

ferrete

blackstairsboy wrote: »

I usually shoot on sundays and I hang pheasants from sunday till friday evening in a cool place in the garage. At the beginning of the season when the weather is milder you must be careful but usually its grand to leave them for 5 days. I wouldn't go too far over this though.

Thanks as i was told to hang them for10 days an it smelt rotton when gutted as in out of date chicken and I hate to spoil good food

ssl

Lads, if hanging is a means of ageing meat. could you not pluck and clean the bird and sit it in the fridge covered for a few days and get the same result?
I've heard you can age cuts of venison in a fridge in plastic bags. I'm gonna test it out with some of my next animal.
Hugh fearnley-whittingstall reckons that meat for supermarkets is aged for up to 21 days in vacuum sealed bags. Vacuum sealed so the cuts don't loose weight.

Any thoughts??

Tackleberrywho

ssl wrote: »

Lads, if hanging is a means of ageing meat. could you not pluck and clean the bird and sit it in the fridge covered for a few days and get the same result?
I've heard you can age cuts of venison in a fridge in plastic bags. I'm gonna test it out with some of my next animal.
Hugh fearnley-whittingstall reckons that meat for supermarkets is aged for up to 21 days in vacuum sealed bags. Vacuum sealed so the cuts don't loose weight.

Any thoughts??

Absolutely no need to hang with innards in and fethers on.
In the fridge is perfect for a bird ~2-3 days depending on how old bird was.

An old wives tale to hang for ages innards in!

IceMaiden

Yes hang them by the neck in a shed or out-building, the daily temp will effect the birds , a lot basically hang for 2 or more days then after inspect once or more a day if temperature is warm, try plucking a breast feather or two, if they come away nice & clean its about prime for preparation, nowadays a lot are putt-off by very gamey birds.
Game sacks of very fine mesh are available or consider buying fine mesh like the old meat safes had before everyone had refrigeration. If you want a easy clean preparation then skin the birds & don’t mess about with plucking them etc but of course some mess & odours will still happen.
. Mostly you need to feel comfortable with the birds preparation if you are going to consume them, hanging helps tenderise & alter the flavour, but fresh shot healthy birds skinned & soon eaten may be far more appetising for some. it’s a matter of personal preference .Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbwSGPtLUxw&feature=player_embedded

lamper35

Also a very handy tip for pluckin the birds are put on a pair of surgical rubber gloves which can be got in most euro shops ...then no need for boiling or anythin like that..u get a lovely clean pluck and no feather stubs.

daithi55

put on a pair of the missus old tights over it that will keep the flies off it

ferrete

Well I would have no problem gutting etc I was just wondering if the bird was off or would it have been ok.

pedroeibar1

ferrete wrote: »

Yea but I don't have a fridge so how long do you hang them for just when you leave them in the shed

Anything I kill at the weekend is hanged by the neck in a shed (I've built an old-fashioned meat-safe to keep the flies off) until Tuesday night or Wednesday when it is plucked (usually skinned) and cleaned. This am,ount of time allows the proteins in the meat to decay which tenderizes the meat. Leaving game hang for too long is a stupid import from another age and is dangerous to health.

This has been discussed several times before - I wrote the following about venison a few months back
Rs
P.

Putting it simply, under a microscope meat fibres look like bundles of drinking straws held together by clingfilm. This is the “grain” in the meat and is why we should always carve across the grain, leaving our teeth to handle the shortened fibre lengths. (Think of the way a sirloin steak or a fillet is cut from the entire piece of meat.)

Like strands in a rope, each of these fibre lengths is composed of fibrils, themselves composed of actin and myosin, the proteins necessary for motion. When the brain sends an impulse to a muscle to move, the actin and myosin react, slide and lock into place, contracting the fibre.
On death, (again broadly speaking) this happens automatically - rigor mortis.

Hanging meat allows these proteins to denature, i.e. decay/relax, and other chemical changes also take place, adding flavour and tenderizing the meat. As said by other posters above, much depends on temperature, air circulation, etc., but it also is influenced by the protein and fat content of the meat. To put that in context, farmed pork has about 45% each of water and fat, and only 10% protein, which is why it can be eaten so soon after killing. In comparison, pheasant meat has a water content of about 65%, the remainder being 32% protein and 3% fat. Venison is the leanest meat, even leaner than pheasant. It has the highest protein and lowest fat levels of the meats we eat (I can’t remember the figures for bunnies....)
But it’s is a very clear indication of why game is such a healthy food! )

Comparing venison to beef and what goes on in Kepak/Clover/AIBP is not very relevant because the protein level of venison is quite different to that of beef.

Bang2 ‘s <4 degrees for about 2 weeks is what I would go with for venison.

J.R.

I hang for 3-4 days by the neck in a ventilated shed.

In olden days the gentry hung a pheasant by the neck until the body came away from the neck..usually 10 - 12 days (depending on weather). I wouldn't fancy it & definitely wouldn't recommend it.

A friend hangs pheasants / ducks / woodcock / snipe for 3-4 days by the neck in a ventilated shed but places a slice of onion in the beak. He says it removes some of the gamey taste which his family aren't too fond of. Never tried it so don't know what difference it makes but he swears by it.

A friend of my father -in - law is always looking for game to cook. He's big into cooking and really enjoys cooking game. As he enjoys it & makes full use of it I always give him anything surplus to my requirements.

He never uses the game I give him immediately. I would have hung the game for 3/4 days and cleaned it for him. He then places it in a freezer for about 4 weeks. He reckons that the freezing really tenderizes the meat and vastly improves it. Again I'm not sure as I haven't tried it but he's a cooking guru and swears by it.

beretta686s

just had pheasnt carbonara it was finger licking good[used breast meat] the i hung he bird for 7 days in my shed,i just covered them in a bit of olive oil black pepper sea salt and chilli flake salt then browned them off cut them and added it to the carbonara yum yum job done.Oh i skinned them just kept legs and breasts.

Don Juan DeMagoo

Always remember that when the grand dad went hunting bird, he always left pheasant hang the longest, to nearly what I would classify as rancid :eek:, tasted superb though.... was always curious why, thanks again for explaining.

pedroeibar1

J.R. wrote: »

I hang for 3-4 days by the neck in a ventilated shed.

In olden days the gentry hung a pheasant by the neck until the body came away from the neck..usually 10 - 12 days (depending on weather). I wouldn't fancy it & definitely wouldn't recommend it.

A friend hangs pheasants / ducks / woodcock / snipe for 3-4 days by the neck in a ventilated shed but places a slice of onion in the beak. He says it removes some of the gamey taste which his family aren't too fond of. Never tried it so don't know what difference it makes but he swears by it.

A friend of my father -in - law is always looking for game to cook. He's big into cooking and really enjoys cooking game. As he enjoys it & makes full use of it I always give him anything surplus to my requirements.

He never uses the game I give him immediately. I would have hung the game for 3/4 days and cleaned it for him. He then places it in a freezer for about 4 weeks. He reckons that the freezing really tenderizes the meat and vastly improves it. Again I'm not sure as I haven't tried it but he's a cooking guru and swears by it.

Three – four days in a cool shed is optimum, IMO.:)

Cooking is one of my hobbies and I have researched quite a bit about preparing and cooking game. There is not much scientific research available, as most is done on beef, lamb and pork for obvious reasons.

Hanging game until it is rotten dates to the era before trains when it took weeks to get game to the city from ‘one’s country estate.’ It dates back to pre-Revolution France, when a bunch of aristos tried to outdo each other with the antics of their chefs. ‘High’ game has no culinary merit and healthwise is dangerous, as all sorts of nasties grow in the putrefied meat and will not necessary be killed by cooking. If it smells ‘off’, it is ‘off’ and should not be eaten.

Putting a slice of onion in a birds beak ( :D ) is futile, on a par with shaking salt on their tails to catch them, or the myth that a bit of onion skin put into your hair will prevent your eyes from watering when slicing them.

Freezing meat in a home freezer will do a number of things

• it will damage the cell walls, leading to greater fluid loss when thawing; (that is why it is best to thaw frozen meat slowly, in the fridge)
• it will lower the pH value, causing the juices to be more acidic;
• it will kill varying percentages of vitamins, depending on which one – e.g. B vitamins will drop by 30-70%
• cell-wall damage means meat will ‘go off’ more quickly after thawing and will also cause the cooked meat to be drier.

If the thawed meat is left around at room temperature, the lower pH will cause the proteins to denature (deteriorate) more quickly so it would be slightly more tender but that would be counterbalanced by liquid loss making the meat tougher. If I’m going to freeze game I do not hang it for as long, for the above reason. Seeing that the guy is a mate of your f-in-law, might be best to say nothing.;)
The cooking will also kill vitamins.

Rs
P.

Chopperdog 2

Excellent post Pedro, thanks for sharing the information

Eddie B

Sometimes if a bird is left hanging a while it might look like its gone off, flesh might look a little green under the skin!
Pluck it, gut it, and leave in a pot of cold water, with some vinegar in it to steep over night!
This gets rid of the stale blood!
When preparing the bird for the oven make sure you pat it dry first, and i guarantee you it'll be tender, and taste fantastic!;)

O and another thing, i always fill the cavity of a pheasant with wedges of cooking apple (skin off) when roasting, you'll never end up with a dry bird this way!;)

DonnchaMc

Why hang by the neck? I always thought you hung everything by the hind legs. Am i totaly wrong or is that only for rabbits etc?
If so, WHY?

pedroeibar1

Pheasant/winged game are hung by the neck because it keeps them ‘tidy’ – hang by the legs and the wings will flop down after rigor mortis fades. It is important that the air can circulate around hanging birds, particularly just after they have been shot – if they are kept warm, the seed in the crop can start to ferment due to a warm temperature. That’s why the big shoots have game carts.
Deer etc are hung upside down because with the head removed it is 'structurally' easiest. Also, it is the best means of getting any residual blood to exit at the neck. In France I’ve seen hare hung this way with a cup under the neck, to collect the blood for use in the gravy.

Rs
P.

ranger4

Hi Pedroeibar1, What timeframe would you recomend hanging deer if you intend to freeze and wanted to keep meat as tender and tasty as possible, thanks.

Tackleberrywho

Hanging deer 1 year old or less 2-4 days.
2-3year old 3-6days

4 year old, week to 10 days in a refrigerated chill.
4year old +, get out the Mincer!:eek:

ranger4

Out of intrest When shooting pigeon and cooking breast meat only do you guys chill breast meat before cooking or can breast be fried etc soon after kill.

pedroeibar1

ranger4 wrote: »

Hi Pedroeibar1, What timeframe would you recomend hanging deer if you intend to freeze and wanted to keep meat as tender and tasty as possible, thanks.

That is an almost impossible question to answer without writing a book.:D My experience on deer is 'book ‘arnin’ primarily, as I shoot feathered game; I’m lucky to get a present of fresh venison every so often so I’ve researched it and do intend to take up stalking.

For feathered game my old man always used the traditional country rule of 120 – using ‘old’ temperature, add the day’s temperature until it reached 120 – that usually meant hanging birds for 3-4 days.

For ‘fur’ the position is much more complicated. In hanging deer there are many variables that influence the process – the age of the animal, the fat content of the animal, hormonal activity present when shot, where shot, climate (temperature and humidity) during the hanging period, how quickly the carcass drops in temperature after shooting, how even the temperature is maintained, whether it is hung hide on or off, etc. Even how the deer is killed will influence the end result. A deer shot and killed instantly always will taste better than one that does not drop on the spot, as a ‘runner’ will produce adrenalin which will taint the meat. The list is almost endless.

Speaking in generalities, older game has more connective tissue which takes longer to break down, i.e. mature into something edible. Hanging by the hind legs causes the meat to stretch which helps the tenderizing process, in addition to getting rid of any residual blood in the haunches. Hanging in quarters will reduce the stretching effect. If you hang with hide on, it will do a number of things, the effect of which will be magnified or reduced as a result of ambient temperature. Firstly, regardless of temperature, hanging hide on will reduce the loss of moisture from the carcass by as much as 20%. Hide on also will provide protection from flies and will protect (insulate) the meat from condensation that can form on the surface due to rapid temperature changes if you are not using a cooler cabinet. Airflow around a carcass also is very important and obviously influences dehydration.
From what I’ve read/researched and what I’ve done myself I’m not that far from what Tack suggests – young sika in top condition 2-4 days in cool shed, or 5– 6 days in cooler. An older fallow would be best 5-6 days in a cool shed or 8-12 days in a cabinet. My issue with non-cabinet aging is that the carcass is much more accessible to fly-blow and also to the possibility of bacterial growth due to condensation forming as a result of rapid temperature changes.
The important thing with frozen meat is to thaw it slowly in the fridge. Nor should it be roasted at too high a temperature, longer & slower is much better.

For pigeon, I usually hang them for 2 days, then breast them and fry or more frequently freeze for use in a game pie/casserole. The only reason to chill meat before frying is if you are going to egg & breadcrumb it, as the chilling helps it to stick to the meat.
Hope this helps.
Rs,
P.

rugerman

my grandad taught me to hang phesants in trough the nose with wire leaving the wind pipe open all the time let any gases inside out tastes better imo

Tackleberrywho

I hung him 7 days, however it was not my choice but circumstance.

I had more trimming of blackish hard meat off the carcass than if I had chopped him up after 4 days.

As you can see there was a nice coating of fat on the rump.
What does affect meat IMVHO is shot placement, head shot meat tastes better, as the animal bleeds out from the head

I have eaten birds and bunnies same day as dispatching, however, they always taste batter left a day or so in the fridge

pedroeibar1

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

As you can see there was a nice coating of fat on the rump.

Can't say that I do see it - probably because it is disguised by that black Chanel number, the haute couture pinny / apron thingy that you are wearing. Fierce fashionable people down your neck of the woods.:D:D
P.

Tackleberrywho

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Can't say that I do see it - probably because it is disguised by that black Chanel number, the haute couture pinny / apron thingy that you are wearing. Fierce fashionable people down your neck of the woods.:D:D
P.

Far from Haute Couture I was raised!
My Granny showed me that a bin liner made a great apron.
Only Blood I got on me was on my arms.

Blood is very hard to get off clothing without doing damage a blood is acidic
That animal was only a little spiker, so the amount of fat showed he enjoyed eating barley

ranger4

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

That is an almost impossible question to answer without writing a book.:D My experience on deer is 'book ‘arnin’ primarily, as I shoot feathered game; I’m lucky to get a present of fresh venison every so often so I’ve researched it and do intend to take up stalking.

For feathered game my old man always used the traditional country rule of 120 – using ‘old’ temperature, add the day’s temperature until it reached 120 – that usually meant hanging birds for 3-4 days.

For ‘fur’ the position is much more complicated. In hanging deer there are many variables that influence the process – the age of the animal, the fat content of the animal, hormonal activity present when shot, where shot, climate (temperature and humidity) during the hanging period, how quickly the carcass drops in temperature after shooting, how even the temperature is maintained, whether it is hung hide on or off, etc. Even how the deer is killed will influence the end result. A deer shot and killed instantly always will taste better than one that does not drop on the spot, as a ‘runner’ will produce adrenalin which will taint the meat. The list is almost endless.

Speaking in generalities, older game has more connective tissue which takes longer to break down, i.e. mature into something edible. Hanging by the hind legs causes the meat to stretch which helps the tenderizing process, in addition to getting rid of any residual blood in the haunches. Hanging in quarters will reduce the stretching effect. If you hang with hide on, it will do a number of things, the effect of which will be magnified or reduced as a result of ambient temperature. Firstly, regardless of temperature, hanging hide on will reduce the loss of moisture from the carcass by as much as 20%. Hide on also will provide protection from flies and will protect (insulate) the meat from condensation that can form on the surface due to rapid temperature changes if you are not using a cooler cabinet. Airflow around a carcass also is very important and obviously influences dehydration.
From what I’ve read/researched and what I’ve done myself I’m not that far from what Tack suggests – young sika in top condition 2-4 days in cool shed, or 5– 6 days in cooler. An older fallow would be best 5-6 days in a cool shed or 8-12 days in a cabinet. My issue with non-cabinet aging is that the carcass is much more accessible to fly-blow and also to the possibility of bacterial growth due to condensation forming as a result of rapid temperature changes.
The important thing with frozen meat is to thaw it slowly in the fridge. Nor should it be roasted at too high a temperature, longer & slower is much better.

For pigeon, I usually hang them for 2 days, then breast them and fry or more frequently freeze for use in a game pie/casserole. The only reason to chill meat before frying is if you are going to egg & breadcrumb it, as the chilling helps it to stick to the meat.
Hope this helps.
Rs,
P.

Outstanding post, many thanks for info and your views.

ssl

i recon this would work for vension. the last deer i took i had to bag up and freeze that night. ive a boned haunch thawed and im gonna age it for two days in the fridge just to see how it goes. looking forward to tender results.:)

"ABSTRACT
Due to religious regulations, the beef imported into Israel is frozen soon after boning. In a search for a method for optimal aging of the beef after thawing and koshering, 8 different aging experiments were conducted, from 0-12 days. Cooking loss and myofibril fragmentation index were found to be more affected by the freezing preceding aging. Nonprotein nitrogen components were found to increase during optimum aging and then decrease. Sensory evaluation of tenderness, performed by multiple-paired comparisons, indicated a significant improvement in meat tenderness after 1 day of aging and further gradual improvement up to 7 days." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1984.tb10421.x/abstract

pedroeibar1

Several different things going on here – and they are not comparable. Most of the meat factories here do both halal and kosher kills. It would be interesting to hear from those guys or any food scientist on Boards – I’m just an amateur.

My read of your haunch –
Shot, butchered and frozen – it will miss the stretching effect of being hung, it will miss the slow-aging (drying) process; as a result will have a higher water content. High water content = more ice crystals in the meat after freezing, therefore on thawing, cell wall damage will be higher, leading to more fluid loss (slow defrost in fridge will help minimise this). Aging in fridge will happen, but at a slower rate. Two days minimum in the fridge IMO, preferably uncovered and raised on a stainless rack to allow air circulate. I guess that it will have higher fluid loss than you would see normally which would also have an impact on flavour.
When finished cooking, DO allow it to ‘rest’ for 20 minutes or so - cover it with a bit of tinfoil over which you can place a cloth, that will keep it sufficiently warm and allow the fibres to relax.

While beef is near to venison, venison has a much lower level of fat and this will alter the aging process. The Abstract you quote is hard to interpret –for starters, kosher meat has to be soaked in water after butchering to get rid of the blood, being frozen is not part of kosher rules. (No fridges around in biblical days:D) That the myofibril fragmentation (i.e. controlled decay) after freezing will be affected is a no-brainer as the meat cells will be damaged by the thawing process, thus aiding denaturing. It’s not clear from the Abstract if the non-protein nitrogen occurs naturally (from degeneration of amino acids) or if it was used in the meat processing, as nitrogen gas is frequently used in food packaging – vacuum packaging is not always suitable, so some products have the air replaced by nitrogen gas, which, depending on the food, will have different effects on it.
Looking forward to hearing the results of your tasting test!
Rs
P.