processing deer

jay.b

hi all. quick question on hanging deer, how long do you hang the deer for? and if you dont have a chiller do you butcher that day and pop it in the fridge? its my first season this year and need to know, cheers j.

steyrprohunter

In this weather if you dont have a chill, I would recommend wrapping an old net curtain around the carcass. this will keep the bluebottles off the meat. Get some plastic containers like coke bottles and fill with water and freeze.put them into the cavity to keep deer cool and fresh. Butcher within 2 days. If you have a cold room 5-6 days.

FISMA

jay.b wrote: »

hi all. quick question on hanging deer, how long do you hang the deer for? and if you dont have a chiller do you butcher that day and pop it in the fridge? its my first season this year and need to know, cheers j.

JayB,
I like to let my deer hang for three days. Some do longer.

I usually hunt in the colder weather from Nov to February. The deer hang in the garage and are not in the chiller. After three days, they are butchered, bagged, and frozen.

Check out youTube. A lot of good info out there.

tfox

I would hang mine in the cold store for 10 days to 3 weeks depending on the age and size of the animal. Hung a 2yr old red stag for 4 weeks, was the tastiest most tender meat I ever ate

doyle61

Usually 10 to 14 days for me but then again I havnt managed to bag a stag or buck yet so if/when I do I'll be leaving it for longer

jay.b

thanks lads. i have a big learning curve ahead. i havent managed to get out yet, maybe next week some time.:)

doyle61

jay.b wrote: »

thanks lads. i have a big learning curve ahead. i havent managed to get out yet, maybe next week some time.:)

I found (advised by uncle who's a butcher) not to put the carcass into the cooler straight away but instead to leave it hang in room temp for a few hours first to cool more naturally. I defenetly got better results this way

Deerspotter

You can also skin the deer on the day you shoot it and let the meat sit in a colander in the fridge. The holes in the colander will let the air circulate, but you should give it a stir around every day too. Put a plate below to catch blood.
Smell the meat every day, and as soon as you get a whiff off it, it is ready to freeze or eat.
If you shoot a calf, you could eat the meet on the day, as it is so tender anyways.
The best meat is milk fed and standing still when shot in the neck or head! This way, there is no adrenalin in the muscles, which can cause the meat to be tougher. (This is just my opinion)

Mauser 308

Hang mine in a cold room for 2 weeks, but thats only because its what I heard or was told was best. Following the replys and advise from everyone here carefully.

jay.b

hi all. i found this article on the subject. what do you's think ?
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2006/01/deer-hang-time

Mauser 308

jay.b wrote: »

hi all. i found this article on the subject. what do you's think ?
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2006/01/deer-hang-time[/QUOTE
Good read, but does'nt bottom out on how long to hang the animal. i.e. says a stag should be hung for longer but how long?
Really interested in seeing what works best, heard so so many different takes on what is best.

mule2

hi aLL
I work for a game dealer in meath. there we skin the animal almost straight away
leave it hang for 48-72 hrs then butcher
this goes for all ages and sizes, no complaints yet

arrowloopboy

mule2 wrote: »

hi aLL
I work for a game dealer in meath. there we skin the animal almost straight away
leave it hang for 48-72 hrs then butcher
this goes for all ages and sizes, no complaints yet

We can't realy go by what a gamedealer does mule,as a commercial set up,he won't hang the meat long enough,because the longer it hangs the lighter it gets,the less its worth.
Thats why you can't get decent beef in this country,takes ther farmer 18 months to rear a beast and the factory 3 days to destroy it:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:.

mule2

arrowloopboy wrote: »

We can't realy go by what a gamedealer does mule,as a commercial set up,he won't hang the meat long enough,because the longer it hangs the lighter it gets,the less its worth.
Thats why you can't get decent beef in this country,takes ther farmer 18 months to rear a beast and the factory 3 days to destroy it:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:.

we hang the beef 14 days (but thats off topic )

arrowloopboy

mule2 wrote: »

we hang the beef 14 days (but thats off topic )

Thats fair enough Mule,but i'm on about the big players,i'm sure their is a few small local set ups trying to do it right,but i'll bet 99% of butcher/supermarket beef isn't hung any more than 3 or 4 days.
That bright red dirt in the likes of dunnes/tescos has the ability to be world class if they'd just treat it right.
The farmers in this country produce some of the best pasture reared beef animals in the world,and as i said earlier,the processers turn in into sh1t in 3 or 4 days.